Standing outside the apartment were multiple police cars, and fire trucks, several local media showed as well, and many onlookers had crowded around as well. The local police department decided to call for some outside help. They had never seen a homicide like this before let alone knew where to start processing evidence for something like this. When Officer Thorn saw what he saw in apartment 217 he picked up the phone and called for help. He knew he needed someone with different experiences for a case like this one.

                Detective Brightside walked up to the apartment complex located in the small town. It was tucked away off the major highway kept in a good part of town. The red brick architecture, white doors, and white shutters shouted Southern comfort all around. He was stopped by the police officer who oversaw keeping everyone back, but Brightside politely flashed his badge and continued. As he was putting his badge away, Officer Thorn appeared and led him to the apartment where the crime took place. Both men shook hands and exchanged small pleasantries but quickly got down to business. Officer Thorn informed the detective that the victim was a young lady twenty-five years old. She lived alone except for her cat Mr. Mittens. She’s an elementary school teacher, who moved here six months ago. Her name is Aster Page. He hands Brightside her driver’s license.

                “You ready to see this crime scene, tell us what you think?”

                Brightside nodded to the officer and held up a finger gesturing that there was something he needed to tell him.

                “We can go in as soon as my assistant gets here. She must go in with me to depict everything otherwise we won’t get the real view now, will we?” He said with a slight grin. Officer Thorn could answer when a bubbly young woman appeared with her hand extended, “Penelope Jacobs, Detective Brightside’s assistant. I’ll be depicting the crime scene verbally for him so that he knows what’s realistically there.” She released his hand after her introduction and took her place next to her boss. She was a young lady, but very mature attitude and style. You could tell she took her job seriously. The three of them proceeded to enter the second-floor apartment. Penelope pulled out her notepad and pen as well as her recorder, she had learned early on the best ways to keep notes for Brightside over the years. The two of them had to be a pair of eyes together for these crime scenes. Walking into the living room one wouldn’t think any crime was committed, it was clean, comfortable, and undisturbed. They continued down the hallway, passing the bathroom to the bedroom, Penelope gasped when she saw the body. Her mouth wouldn’t open any further in astonishment as she stood blocking the bedroom doorway.

                “Sometimes I envy you Brightside.” She said as she finally moved out of the way. Brightside entered the bedroom seeing the same young lady’s corpse dangling from the ceiling above her bed, but not in the same horror as Penelope.

                “Depict what you see Penelope. In detail.”

                Penelope cleared her throat, found a good angle to see the body, pen in hand, and then she pressed the record button.

                “The victim is a young lady, twenty-five. The body is in the main bedroom above her bed. She has been hung with fishing lines to pull her head and feet to meet, this has been pulled so tight that the flesh is cut causing excessive bleeding from her throat and ankles. It is hard at this time to know at what stage the victim is alive or dead until a proper autopsy is performed. The skin on both arms and legs is sliced making a fanning design with the flesh. The way she is hanging keeps her in constant motion, this feels like more than a homicide detective, it looks like there’s a personal connection.”

                Brightside surveyed the slowly swinging corpse, watching her body dance in the last of the day's sunlight. She sure did look pretty for her last performance he thought.