Left a message

Left a message
The smell of disinfectant clung to the air, sharp and cold, as Alisha stepped into the morgue. Joel and Sam were right behind her, both silent. The hallway felt too quiet, as though the walls themselves were listening.
Richard and Georgia Moore were already there. Georgia’s face was streaked with tears, but her rage made her eyes shine like glass. Richard stood rigid, gripping the edge of the counter so tightly that his knuckles were white.
The moment they saw Alisha, Georgia’s grief turned into fury.
“He should have told us!” she shouted, her voice cracking. “Archie should have told us where Aubrey was before he died!”
Richard’s voice was low but deadly. “He either killed himself to avoid confessing or someone silenced him before he could speak. Either way, he took the truth with him.”
Alisha forced herself to keep calm even as the air seemed to thicken around them. “We don’t know yet if it was suicide or murder. We’ll get the full autopsy report soon. But right now, we need to talk to the people who found him.”
Miss Jackie, pale and exhausted, sat on one of the waiting benches, her hands clenched together. Mia sat beside her, wrapped in a blanket, her wide eyes fixed on the floor as though she could still see Archie lying there.
Alisha crouched in front of them. “Jackie, Mia… tell us exactly where you saw the body.”
Jackie’s lips trembled before she spoke. “It was near Morton Street, in that empty lot by the park. We were driving back to get Mia’s things, and there were rats… so many of them. At first, we thought it was just garbage, but then we saw him. He was lying on his back, staring up at the sky. He looked…” She stopped and shivered.
“Like he was still alive,” Mia whispered.
Sam frowned. “What do you mean?”
Mia’s voice was barely audible. “His mouth… it was open, like he was trying to scream, but no sound was coming out. And his eyes… they were wide, like he saw something terrible before he died.”
Richard slammed his fist against the wall. “Good! I hope whatever he saw terrified him. He deserved it after what he did to my daughter!”
Alisha turned sharply toward him. “Mr. Moore, there’s still no evidence Archie abducted Aubrey. The police never proved it.”
Georgia glared. “He was the only suspect. He was seen near our house the day she vanished. He ran from the police! Who else would it be?”
Joel crossed his arms. “Maybe someone who wanted you to think it was Archie.”
Georgia froze, then shook her head. “No. No, this is just a game. Someone is trying to confuse us.”
The coroner emerged from the back room, pulling off his gloves. His face was grim. “We’ve confirmed the identity. It is Archie Rivas. Cause of death is consistent with asphyxiation, but there are injuries that suggest he struggled before he died. We also found soil under his fingernails.”
“Struggled?” Sam said. “So someone buried him alive?”
The coroner nodded slowly. “It’s possible. There’s evidence of dirt in his lungs. Whoever did this wanted him to suffer.”
Mia whimpered and covered her face. Jackie wrapped an arm around her shoulders.
Richard’s eyes burned with fury. “Then someone killed him before we could question him. Someone out there is protecting the real monster. If Archie didn’t kill my daughter, then he knew who did. That’s why he’s dead!”
Georgia took a step closer to Alisha. “You’re the reporter. You dig up the truth. If the police can’t do it fast enough, you do it. I want to know who killed him. I want to know where Aubrey is.”
Alisha nodded slowly. “We’ll keep looking. But we need more than anger. We need evidence.”
Joel glanced toward the morgue door. “Can we see him?”
The coroner hesitated. “It’s not recommended. The body…” He glanced at Mia, then lowered his voice. “The body isn’t in a peaceful state. Some people find it disturbing.”
“We’ve seen worse,” Sam said grimly.
The coroner nodded and led them into the cold room. The air was icy, heavy with the smell of chemicals. Archie’s body lay on the metal table, covered with a sheet.
The coroner pulled the sheet back.
Mia gasped and turned away.
Archie’s face was twisted into a horrible grimace. His mouth was frozen open, teeth bared, as though he had died mid-scream. His fingernails were broken, caked with mud and blood.
Georgia took a step closer, tears streaming down her face. “Tell me where she is,” she whispered, her voice trembling. “You can’t take that secret with you. Tell me where my daughter is.”
But of course, the dead man said nothing.
Alisha’s stomach knotted. Something about Archie’s expression unsettled her. It was almost as though he had been looking right at the person who killed him, right up until the very last breath.
Joel leaned closer, frowning. “What’s that on his hand?”
The coroner used a gloved finger to pick up a piece of dirt near Archie’s wrist. “We found something else buried with him,” he said quietly. “A piece of fabric. Pink.”
Georgia’s breath caught. “Aubrey was wearing a pink ribbon the day she vanished.”
The room went silent.
Sam broke it with a whisper. “Then someone wanted us to find him like this. Someone left him there as a message.”
Richard turned away, his face like stone. “Then we have our answer. This isn’t over. Whoever did this wants to play a game.”
Joel shivered. “And we’re all in it whether we like it or not.”
As the coroner began to slide the sheet back over Archie’s face, something happened that made every hair on Alisha’s arms stand up.
The body moved.
It was small, just a twitch of the fingers, but everyone saw it.
Mia screamed and bolted for the door. Jackie chased after her.
Georgia’s face drained of all color. “He… he moved.”
Alisha’s throat went dry. “It could just be muscle reflex.”
But then Archie’s lips parted, and from somewhere deep inside his ruined throat came a sound — a long, wet rattle that echoed through the cold room.
And then a single word, rasped so faintly it sounded like a breath.
“Aubrey.”
The lights above flickered, and the room seemed to grow even colder.
Richard stepped back, his face pale.
Georgia clutched his arm. “He said her name.”
Alisha couldn’t move. She couldn’t even breathe.
Because Archie’s mouth was still open.
And this time, she swore she saw him smile.