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ONE
a snake's death
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Eden Cho hated the smell of rotten flesh. It was a foul smell, clinging to her skin and erasing all evidence of the smell of pomegranates and flowers. It meant that she had to take a long, steaming shower in order to be pure once more. A low chuckle escaped plum painted lips. Pure was no one in this forsaken town. Money ruled here. The ones who had money had the power. The ones who had gained power in other ways were people of interest. This town looked pretty with its houses from the 1900s yet behind the facades laid an ugly truth. Yet that was not why she was here; she had to remind herself as she left the black SUV.

The smell of rotten flesh hung over the town square. People stood huddled together, whispering and stealing glances at the government cars. Blood sprinkled the staircase that led to the small courthouse. The scorching sun caused human flesh to decompose more quickly, until at some point only bones remained. All that remained of the once beautiful facial features was a pulpy mass. Where the eyes once were, only a pair of hollow eye sockets remained. The eyes lay in her hands, the skin burnt. It smelled of burnt flesh and decay. Fly larvae scattered as the woman sat down beside her.

Eden's shortly cropped ebony hair fluttered in a light breeze. The special agent ignored the detective, even her partner Nassim Zidan, instead she took it all in. Only as she rose she started listening to the conversation. She brushed her hands off at her dressing pants. Nassim glanced at her before he turned back to the detective. Nassim Zidan was a tall man, his black hair slicked back. He wore tailor-made suits, In his inside jacket pocket was a picture of his family, the picture Eden herself had taken at the last celebration of the local FBI office. Eden smiled at the detective, signalizing him to continue.
"The victim's name is Marina Baines, she was well known in the town yet for nothing good. According to the ME she died at around 3 am, more after the autopsy. He had to go to another case."

"What does 'known for nothing good' mean? Nothing good? Was she a snake that made others turn against each other?", Eden asked. The detective stared at her, probably wondering  why she spoke like that. Eden just smiled sweetly at him while her partner glanced around.
"One could say she was. However, I would say that she was disliked in her highschool for sleeping around." Eden nodded before she pointed to the eyes.
"I want to know if she lost her eyes post mortem until 6 pm. And now I would like to speak to whoever found the body. The first 48 hours are most important in this case so apologize if I seem like I make haste but you told us that it was the fifth dead body within three weeks. If that is true the perpetrator is escalating."

Wilson nodded, wiping away sweat. Eden noticed the tattoo that was shortly visible as his sleeve moved. She would ask later. Now, she followed him towards a pale looking woman who sat surrounded by paramedics. As a raven screeched, Eden looked up towards the sky. The scorching sun shone onto her face, letting it appear like a halo.

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author's note

and with that, officially welcome to
Eden Cho and a case that might be
bigger than she thinks.
Happy reading!