Throat raw, eyes red and dry, voice hoarse from screaming - Boo looks and feels like hell. After being forcibly removed from the remnants of Martha's house, she was unceremoniously dumped into the back of a cruiser and taken to the police station.

The department is alight with an energy she's never seen - phones ringing off the hook, every cop on their feet, doors thrown open to accommodate the heavy increase in foot traffic. As Boo is led to an open interrogation room, she meets the gaze of several officers, including the ever-charming Nathaniel Waters. He flashes her his signature sneer before disappearing into his office with a slam of the door.

After being shown to the interrogation room, the door swings shut and she's left alone.

« • »

An hour later, a man opens the door and flashes her a forced smile as he steps into the room. "Coffee?" he offers lightly, hesitating in the doorway.

Boo shakes her head. He stares her down for a moment before finally letting the door swing shut behind him. He sits across from her at the small gray table, hands folded around the Styrofoam cup in front of him. Boo keeps her head down, eyes focused on a wad of gum scuffed into the tile floor.

"Melita Taylor," he says aloud. Boo's ears perk up but she doesn't lift her head. "That's your real name, isn't it?"

She nods after a long moment and the officer sighs. "You aren't in trouble."

Boo grits her teeth and glares up at him fiercely. "Your officers dragged me away from my grandmother's body. I don't know where she is now or what exactly is going on but I've been alone in this room for an hour. Don't tell me I'm just here for a friendly visit."

The man takes a casual sip from his drink. Grey eyes watch her shrewdly from over the lip of the cup.

"Those weren't my officers," he remarks after a moment, tongue darting out to wet his lips. His Adam's apple bobs up and down along the front of his throat. "I'll bring you to your grandmother shortly. I just have a few questions for you first."

Boo nods her head ungraciously, indicating for him to continue.

"Were you in town during the hurricane?"

She rolls her lips together before shaking her head. "No. I was in Harrisford, at the hardware store."

"Can anyone corroborate that?"

Her head snaps up to meet the man's hard gaze. "What do you suspect me of, Officer?"

He shrugs lightly, eyes twitching slightly and pupils dilating. "Nothing," he says. Boo knows he's lying. "Just need to verify a few things before we officially state a cause of death."

"My grandmother died in the hurricane," she states coolly. "Unless there's something you aren't telling me."

The officer's jaw tightens. The air in the room grows deathly silent as the two stare each other down.

"Do you have anyone to corroborate that alibi?" he repeats coldly.

"It isn't an alibi, it's the truth," she snaps. "But if you don't believe me, ask my boss."

"What's his name?"

"Frank Delawit."

He jots something down in the notepad in his hand, eyes staying glued to her, before he swallows loudly and continues. "Did your grandmother have any enemies?"

"What does that have to do with anything?"

He watches her closely. "Routine questioning."

Boo sighs and folds her hands together on the table, attempting to be delicate. "Listen, I hate to end this lovely chat but the officer at my house, which I was so rudely removed from, told me I'd be here to identify my grandmother's body. I'd like to do that now."

The officer stares her down for a moment before nodding. "Alright, if I have further questions I'll contact you."

"I'm sure you will," she sneers, earning another hard look from him.

They both stand and Boo follows him back out into the main desk area, where the flood of activity hasn't slowed by any means. Several pairs of eyes tack onto her back as she walks through the room, but she keeps her head high and her attention forward. The detective leads her through a short maze of hallways and down to a basement level, eventually stopping outside a large set of double doors. On the fogged glass, the words "County Morgue" are printed in thick black letters.

"In there," he says, rather disinterestedly. "Just tell them you're here for an identification."

Then he walks away, leaving Boo shivering alone outside the doors. The basement is freezing, for obvious reasons. His footsteps click away before fading up the stairs; Boo sucks in a nervous breath and pushes open the doors to the morgue.

Just beyond the threshold of the doors is a small reception area, with warm brown walls and a cozy atmosphere despite the dingy basement. A woman in a white lab coat sits at the large brown desk in front of the doors; she looks up from her computer as Boo walks into the room.

"Hello," the woman smiles. "Can I help you?"

Boo nervously rubs the back of her neck. "I'm here f-for an identification? My grandmother was in the hurricane."

Her voice sounds tiny and afraid. The woman nods and types something into her computer. "You've never done this before, have you?"

Boo shakes her head. "No, ma'am."

The woman flashes her an encouraging smile and hands her a clipboard. "Just fill this out, it's a short questionnaire about who you're here to identify and any features they may have to help us confirm the identity."

She hands Boo a pen and sits back down at her desk. Boo takes a seat in one of the chairs by the door and fills out the paperwork as best she can.

Your name: Melita Taylor

Who are you identifying?: Martha Taylor

Relationship: Maternal grandmother

Hair color and type: silver/grey, fine texture

Hair length: long

Eye color: brown

Height: 5'7

Weight: unknown

Tattoos/birthmarks/piercings/scars: unknown

Last known outfit: long brown skirt, beige blouse, brown house shoes

When she's finished, Boo hands the clipboard back and waits for a few minutes while the woman compares her answers to something on the computer screen. After a while she presses a buzzer on the wall and beckons Boo over.

"So it looks as though we may have someone who is a possible match to the description you left," she says, opening a desk drawer. "Just so you're aware, the room you're going into is a bit chilly so we ask that everyone wears one of the provided lab coats hanging on the wall."

She points to a wall next to a windowless gray door before pulling two plastic booties from the desk drawer. "Put these over your shoes to protect them before going into the room." Boo obliges and tugs on a lab coat and the shoe covers just as a man in a police uniform emerges through the front double doors.

"And just so you're not too alarmed, a storm like this is likely to do some significant damage to a person," the woman says gently, her blue eyes carefully watching Boo. "The body you see probably won't look like what you expect, so do your best to find something distinguishing that could confirm if this is your grandmother or not, okay?"

Boo nods silently, not trusting her voice. The woman tries again to give her a reassuring smile. "Don't worry, sweetheart. Take as much or as little time as you need."

"Thank you," she whispers.

"Hey, Tony, this young lady needs to be escorted to table 3A," the woman says quietly.

Tony nods and glances at Boo before unlocking the windowless door and pulling it open. "Thanks, Joanne."

Joanne looks back at Boo one more time. "Tony here is one of the Coroner's officers, he'll take you to the body."

Boo quietly follows the officer through the door and into a large room with white tile floors and stainless steel walls. Hinge doors are cut periodically into the massive walls, labeled with letters and numbers. The plastic covering her shoes squeaks uncomfortably as she plods along behind the officer. Boo swallows the lump in her throat, knowing there are bodies behind each of the doors.

The officer leads her to the door labeled 3A and stops to pull out his key ring. "Are you ready?" he asks, peering at her over his shoulder.

"Yes," she says faintly, not really sure if she is.

With a twist of his key, the door swings open and the table slowly rolls out. On top, a white sheet lays draped over a still form. Boo holds her breath as the officer steps aside and she gingerly pulls back the sheet.

hi friends! how is everyone doing? getting ready for spooky week yet? will you be reading or joining me in writing? :)

i'm sorry it's been a minute since i updated, i've just been enjoying my family while i've been home. but lets discuss what's happening so far. what do you think happened to martha? and what is this officer's problem?