Crossing Mia

1 - THE WOMAN IN THE JACKET

POLICE DO NOT CROSS

The barricade tape was the first thing that Mia looked for when she got out of the unmarked car.

She found it in front of the small cabin with a lawn in front. There were no nearby houses. The nearest neighbor was a minute away by car.

There was nothing but vast greenery. At the back of the house was probably the woods.

Mia would not be surprised if she heard the howling of the wolves any minute at this hour.

Moments ago, she was cooped under the blanket while nursing a bottle of beer in one hand and a slice of pizza in the other. The rerun of the seven o’clock news was on TV when she got a call from the precinct about a crime scene in some part of town, twenty minutes away from her place.

She put on the discarded jeans she had thrown on the floor when she arrived home a couple of hours ago after spending half of the night at the precinct perusing a case about a missing child.

The sweet smell of her shirt’s fabric assaulted her nose as she traversed the short pathway towards the cabin.

It was a newly washed button-up shirt. That she was sure since she picked it up from the top of the laundry basket, where she placed the folded clothes she washed last week.

She sipped the jacket when the cold breeze ran by.

She had half a mind to grab the jacket from the backseat when she got out of the car. It was hers, and it had the embroidered logo of the police department and its precinct. It was the latest issue. And was yet to wash.

The plastic where it came from was still on the floor of the passenger seat of the car.

The familiar face of one of the officers nodded at her when she approached the yellow tape. He was standing before the two-stair porch.

“Sorry to bother you on your day off, Detective.”

“You’re not even an ounce apologetic, Carter.” Mia retorted before she crossed the barricade that the young officer pulled up for her to get through.

“You’re a sight for sore eyes, Detective. I miss your ass parading at the precinct.”

“This ass will arrest you, Junior.”

Anyone sensitive would react differently to their banter, but she and the young officer were a little close, on a platonic side. Carter started his job in the department as her assistant before he was assigned to another officer. These days, he was often at the field accompanying his senior officer.

“My apologies, ma’am.” He said with a smile. “Nice jacket, by the way.”

He saluted before he turned his back to stand guard by the barricade.

An unfamiliar, uniformed man was standing by the porch where a child’s bike was parked by the window. He must be new since she did not know him.

“Good evening, detective.” He greeted.

“The scene remained untouched, Smith.” Another man said. He just went out of the front door.

The second man was a senior officer in the department. He and Mia passed each other a few times at the precinct but did not have the chance to work together.

A while ago, as Mia approached the house, she saw a shadow in the house. It must be him.

Mia nodded at the man who went out of the front door. Before she could make a step onto the porch, she heard a plea from a few meters away.

“Please, can I see them?”

She turned to where Carter was. He was trying to stop a man from entering the barricade.

“You are not allowed there, man. It’s a crime scene now.”

The same man was pulled back when he tried to walk past the yellow tape. The senior officer who went out of the house joined Carter to apprehend the man.

“It’s my family in there! I want to know if they are alright!”

That got Mia’s full attention.

There was fear on the man’s face as he tried to force his way in.

The police officers did not allow him to approach the cottage. Instead, he was guided to the nearest police car. Another officer spoke to him. Carter walked back to his station. Right before the yellow barricade.

However, her eyes remained on the senior officer and the man who said that he was family to the people inside the cabin.

Mia was not able to hear the conversation between them. However, by their gestures, it appeared that the man was trying to reason with the uniformed personnel.

“He and his partner were the first responders when the 911 call was taken.” Carter disclosed.

She did not know that the young officer was looking at her.

“Get their names.” She ordered, instead.

“Already did.”

“Thank you.”

She turned her back on him. She glanced inside the cottage.

Blood was all over the couch in the living room.

An adult woman was lying on the carpeted floor. She has a large wound on her left temple. A meter away was a young boy, about four years old. His middle was lacerated, judging from the amount of blood coming from there down to his pants. There was also some tearing at the upper part of his front shirt.

Mia’s eyes went back to the mother.

Her body was lying on her stomach. Her right cheek was pressed against the bare floor. Both hands were palms down but raised above her head.

Blood was splattered on the floor where her middle was. There was blood on her hair and face, too. At first glance, it must have cascaded from the open wound on her left temple.

The detective looked at the angle of the mother’s body. It was in the opposite direction from the son lying nearby.

Is she going somewhere?

The question ran through Mia’s thoughts.

There was a trail of blood from where the boy was to where the mother was. It appeared that she crawled away from him.

Mia looked ahead. She followed the angle where the mother’s hands were going in case she was trying to move away.

It was pointing to a closed door.

There were two doors in that direction. One was open, and Mia learned that it was a bathroom.

From where she was standing, she could see the lavatory despite the absence of light in the open door.

Her eyes went back to the closed door beside the bathroom.

It must be a bedroom.

When Mia moved her eyes a little, she noticed another closed door in front of the bathroom.

She heaved a sigh. She inserted her hands inside the jacket she was wearing.

With precision, she put the rubber gloves on her hands before she set foot inside the cottage.

“Sorry, I’m late.”

She smiled at her colleague. The camera was attached to her neck like always.

It was Jenny. The woman was a member of her team. The only other member of her team.

For a small town, having a buddy at her team was a huge development.

She texted her the address when she left the house after receiving the news about this crime scene.

They moved without saying a word. The flash of the camera made itself known as they quietly worked.

This is how they do it. They would have the deliberation in the office when they are done here.

“Jesus…” Mia muttered when she opened the door next to the bathroom.

A body of another boy, about ten years old, was on the bed.

He had the same fate as his brother. Except that the laceration was not in the stomach. It was right through his heart.

She could see it from where she was since the boy appeared to be sleeping. The blanket was on top of his middle. A pool of blood was right on top of it.

He was not given a chance to move out of his bed. Or to open his eyes.

He must have been in dreamland when this happened.

“Oh my god….”

It was Jenny. She was standing beside Mia.

They did not say another word as they stared at the vicious sight.

After a minute of silence, they continue perusing the place.

One thing was sure, what happened in the cottage was done by someone who had too much hate.

This was personal.

Insofar, this was the most brutal case that Mia had ever had in two years that she worked as a crime scene detective.

For a small town like St. Vincent, a crime that includes murder was a huge thing. Much less involved a family with small children.

This would definitely have a space at the town’s paper in the morning.