This image showed the dashing young Andrassy seated upon a bed within the same humbly furnished bedroom, judging by the distinctive flowered wallpaper in the background, and he was now wearing the same clothes but without the jacket. These images indicated that the troubled deviant obviously had an admirer with a camera whom would most defiantly need to be investigated. Once he had quickly noted down this query within his trusty notepad he then searched the intriguing images for clues because he knew that they had been taken not long before his murder. He searched intently but unfortunately could not find anything except for an overwhelming desire to identify the mystery photographer and location whereby they were taken.
The cunning Merlyo then took a deep breath in as he attempted to look causal whilst awkwardly leaning over to detective May’s desk, picked up the Coroner’s report and returned the Andrassy file back to its original position. The ever observant Trunk rolled his eyes as he watched the unconvincing detective, thinking him foolish to act in such a childish manner and totally unconvinced by his limited abilities of deception. Merlyo then attempted to look casual again as he stretched in anticipation of reading the gruesome details of the homicides until a quiet Zalewski caught his startled attention by voicing his latest observation “Hey! Check it out! Look who’s gracing us with his macabre presence, ‘Ghouly Gerber himself! Hehe!”
Merlyo then looked up and watched as the County Coroner, Samuel Gerber then clumsily made his way straight for Ness’s office whilst holding his familiar leather Gladstone bag in one hand and a pile of cumbersome files within the other. The comical coroner then awkwardly handed these files to the ever attentive Poppy, unwittingly expressing to all his complete ineptitude for the social niceties that are usually to be expected. Gerber then nervously spoke to her whilst he stood by her desk, obviously eager to catch up on current events within the department’s always eventful environment.
Gerber was sporting a fetchingly handsome grey, double breasted, pinstripe three piece suit which was obviously selected for him by a woman whom had fashion sense because he was famously renowned for having none. He used to carelessly wear his staple well-used, white autopsy overall religiously around the department until a few people complained about him wearing such morbidly gruesome attire. Gerber had apparently been oblivious to the gruesome nature of the macabrely decorated overall, as well as to the sensitivities of his work colleagues, unwittingly further alienating him and increasing his strange reputation. Elements of his white overall where still however present within the immaculate suit because the minuet overall fibres liberally covered it, silently acknowledging that he had recently taken it off and was still obsessed with wearing it outside of these four walls.
His immaculately clean white shirt, tie and spectator shoes pleasantly accommodated these small fibres and he also carried something else of immense interest to all, his distinctive leather Gladstone bag. After many within the office had curiously speculated upon its preciously secret interior, Gerber had felt forced to quash the negative rumours and stated that it housed a selection of his finest quality autopsy equipment which was exceedingly rare within the medical community. People talked about the bag incessantly because it was strangely always on his person and he would never leave it anywhere alone, even for the briefest of moments, which caused many to jokingly speculate that it contained a macabre collection of grim autopsy specimens. Some even amusingly called it his “Jack the Ripper” bag in reference to the notorious unknown killer whom terrorised London in 1888.
Jack was supposedly seen with a similar bag during his murderous rampage on the gloomy cobbled streets of London and many speculated that Gerber’s bag also contained equally troubling dark secret. Gerber wore his usual round spectacles which sat oddly upon his thinly tanned face which in turn had spent many years buried deeply within his medical studies and his guilty pleasure of romantic penny novels. The coroner had a strange fondness for such romantic novels that where filled with unparalleled love whereby the masculine hero would always save the damsel in distress and make love to her by the end. Many thought that this was a peculiarity too far for the already aloof man and more would make rather unbecoming insinuations about his sexuality, but none whom knew him took such gossip seriously.
Gerber’s short hair was neatly parted on the right hand side and was slightly greying, along with his well-trimmed moustache that hugged his upper lip, as middle age slowly but surely consumed him. His long tanned face was well worn but had an attractive quality about it that many female admirers would have eagerly explored if it were not for his many peculiarities and slightly odd behaviour. His face was like a complex patchwork of contemplation because of his exceedingly pronounced frown lines upon his forehead and his many veins that covered his temple, allowing for a well needed vast supply of blood for his ever expanding mind.
Merlyo covertly observed his humorous interactions with his former girlfriend from his advantageous positon before he then eagerly opened up the coroner’s report on Andrassy. The shrewd detective was continuing to relentlessly pursue his illicit affair with these three most shocking unsolved homicide cases which he was determined to solve, having an insatiable hunger inside him to conclude the Lady of the Lake case especially. He momentarily paused as he worryingly thought that Gerber was about to leave Poppy and inspect where May and Musil had gone but soon realised that he was simply looking towards their former location whilst talking to her, apparently uninterested in inspecting there vacant desk.
The relieved Merlyo then recalled the first memorable time that he had ever seen the socially reclusive coroner and it was ironically within his favourite haunt, the county morgue. The preoccupied Gerber was just finishing cleaning-up a particularly messy young victim of domestic violence when a younger and curious Merlyo covertly snuck into his sealed, tomb-like domain. He had been asked by Matowitz to hastily collect the report on the unfortunate victim of violence in order to clarify an insurance claim that had been partitioned by a close family member. He had not been interested in the mundane task at first but when he heard about the prominent family member whom had been killed, he decided not only proceed out of curiosity but also so that he could finally formally introduce himself to the famed coroner.
He had seen the white overall wearing Gerber numerous times before within the department but had never had to opportunity to talk to the man, mostly just hearing rumours about his political ambition to register as a Democrat. Now he had the perfect opportunity to meet him and had a good excuse to finally enter his morgue, which many people had already grimly described to him as a dingy, greenish chamber of horrors. Merlyo had made a point to come through the morgue doors quietly in order to hopefully catch the ghoulish coroner doing what he had only ever heard about in stories, singing and talking to his dead companions.
He was not disappointed as he heard Gerber’s less than pleasant signing voice ring throughout the echoing hallway with a vigour that would had put the very best soprano to shame. Gerber would amusingly speak to any given corpse that he happened to be working on and would occasionally even break with this fully fledged conversation in order to sing. Merlyo was one of many whom found this notoriously bizarre behaviour incredibly amusing but never believed these macabre tales to be true, putting them down to simple office gossip and malicious rumours. He then waited to let the impressive Gerber finish his impressively disastrous rendition to his silently non-judgemental audience before he finally came out from the shadows to introduce himself.
The startled Gerber had then hastily readjusted his spectacles to get a better look at the intruder whom had disturbed him and this caused the detective to feel somewhat guilty for not making his presence known earlier. The annoyed Gerber then hastily finished with his autopsy whilst he spoke to the interloper with a distinct distain within his voice “Yes! Can I help you detective?” Merlyo enjoyed that memory of their initial meeting immensely and smiled to himself as he thought of Gerber’s singing ability, which left a lot t
o be desired. He would often imagine “Ghouly Gerber” amusingly singing, dancing and talking to all his silent customers whilst he worked into the late hours of the night. This characteristically unbecoming nickname was primarily because of these famed morbid interactions that he partook in within the safety of his morgue but he was also a little bit absent minded when others would try to speak to him.
He was within his own world most of the time and would often be seen talking to himself because his lips would silently mimic words but these words would never be vocalised. Many of Merlyo’s colleagues had comically speculated that he was actively in communication with his dead residents back at his morgue and although this theory was obviously ridiculous, it was given credence by his continual success within his chosen profession. His work ethic was renowned around the department and he always had an uncanny knack at solving conundrums of a case, forcibly probing them for the most logical explanations that science would allow. He was meticulous with all his autopsies and relished in the dark investigations of the human anatomy, adoring solving mysteries that had confounded others. Merlyo knew that some of his colleagues disliked the peculiarities of the man, seeing them as a warning sign of an unbalanced mind but in all honesty he was an excellent coroner whose talent was renowned throughout the state of Ohio.
Just as the daydreaming detective was finally about to start reading Gerber’s report he was startled to see a smiling Gerber standing directly over his desk. The curious looking Gerber held his usual Gladstone bag and an accompanying mug of freshly brewed hot coffee whilst keenly observing Merlyo’s apparent absence from his body with immense interest. Merlyo’s wandering eyes offered Gerber a comforting familiarity which was reminiscent of his own odd behaviour, which would often take him to the far flung corners of the universe and on other more macabre journeys of discovery. The startled detective awkwardly smiled as he quickly released the file upon his desk, instantly recognising the coffee aroma as his favourite blend which rich smell saturated him in a wave of comforting recognition. Gerber instantly identified with the shock of being thrust out of an imaginary world and spoke to elevate any uncomfortableness that he may of involuntarily induced “Good morning detective! So sorry to disturb you but I did brought your favourite coffee to bribe you into answering a question. Do you know if May and Musil got my updated report on the Andrassy homicide?”
Gerber looked at him expectantly whilst he awkwardly handed him the cup of coffee and eagerly awaited his forthcoming response. Merlyo then hesitantly replied whilst sipping his new supply of beloved caffeine “Er? Thanks! Yeah! I think so? I’ve not seen it! They left a while back but I’ll let them know you asked” Merlyo then awkwardly smiled as he leaned in and sipped his coffee with both hands as he attempted to hide the open file that was upon his desk with both his elbows. Merlyo then voiced his appreciation on the quality of coffee that the ever thoughtful Gerber had gifted to him, determined to change the topic from the report and confound his forever calculating mind “Humm! This is good stuff! Columbian isn’t it?”
A satisfied Gerber then smiled at his speculative question and his admiration of the coffee that he had made him with so much dedicated loving care only moments ago. He then smiled reassuringly at the detective as he replied “Columbian, yes detective! We have the same taste buds don’t we? Hehe! Please would you kindly inform me when detectives return, thanks and sorry once again for disturbing you” Just as he was turning to leave he momentarily paused and turned around again to speak, having forgot to inform Merlyo of an important message he had just obtained “Oh! I almost forgot! Mr Ness would like to see you in his office in five minutes, I believe he’s going to put you and your partner back on these three unsolved homicides full time! Congratulations detective!”
Upon hearing this alarming news the panicked detective accidentally burnt his tongue on the hot coffee and spit out a small amount on the report that he now had the right to read. The surprised Gerber was then abruptly stolen from the panicked Merlyo by an intruding Trunk whom wished to discuss an important matter with the ghoulish coroner urgently, instantly destroying Merlyo’s ability to follow up on the forthcoming meeting with a barrage of questions. On the one hand he was secretly elated about this new turn of events but on the other hand he now had to contend with not only seeing Ness for the first time but also walking past his old flame within the restrictive reception area of her office. He mumbled a few choice swear words to himself as Zalewski’s dishevelled looking head shot-up from the desk’s patrician wall, as if it came from out of nowhere.
The red eyed Zalewski had heard the alarming news but was in no state to discuss the matter further because of the marijuana that had long ago infused into his system, causing him to have all the desired effects of secret elation that he now enjoyed. The silent Zalewski could only offer his loyal partner a worryingly anxious looking awkward smile before he then abruptly lowered his head again to finish off whatever paperwork he had neglected to do. The now agitated Merlyo gave his red eyed partner an annoyed look of distain as he was not in the mood for his immature tomfoolery. The pain of his burnt tongue now reverberated deep down within his very being and pulsated with every frantic heartbeat that pushed his alarmed blood around his trembling body. Adding to his state of agitated confusion was that his newly cleaned pink shirt was now clumsily coffee stained with residual residue from his prior spitting.
He theorised that the multitude of stains could prove to be fatal for the stylish shirt because its splatter marks ran down the entire length of the expensive material. He desperately tried to dab up the coffee ruminants with a tissue from his desk with little success and to him, just simply knowing that it had the coffee embedded deep within its fabric already ruined the shirt because he would always from now on consider it his “coffee-incident” shirt. He knew that from that moment forth this shirt would be supernaturally imbued with the emotions of anxiety and alarm due to its dramatically accidental creation. Eventually he stopped dabbing it because he realised that there was no salvaging this wonderfully unique shirt from its untimely sad demise.
He then became irritated at himself for his momentary lapse in concentration whilst listening to Gerber’s revelation about his imminent meeting with Ness. The imminently dreadful possibility of not only passing his ex-girlfriend but also talking to her on the way in to the dreaded dragons den also besieged his alarmed mind. His head was spinning as this paralysing realisation alarmingly flowed over him like some unwanted present but he had to accept the reality of the troubling situation that was about to occur. He then attempted to refocus all his efforts upon his forsaken shirt and tirelessly persevered in the unwinnable task of salvaging it. Just then he heard Poppy’s familiar voice loudly call him above the frantically busy office noise “Detective Merlyo! Mr Ness would like to see you now!”
Her every word and syllable pounded his mind like a sledge hammer, having not heard her directly vocalise his name in such a long time and instantly flooding his panicked mind with memories of pleasant times past. Merlyo pretended not to hear her as sheer panic now spread throughout his entire body and he kept his head hidden below the desk patrician wall in the vain hope that she would simply go away. He now felt like an ostrich burying its head deep within the sand, pretending that the danger will disappear from view if not seen until then he heard her dreaded voice again, confirming the unavoidable nightmare that was about to unfold “Detective Merlyo?!”
The standing Poppy squinted her eyes and stood on her tip toes because she could still just see the top of his head and his shrinking silhouette through the unclear glass of the desks patrician wall. The cowering Merlyo finally relented, looked-up and pretended to be startled whilst awkwardly smiling as she reciprocated his obviously false acknowledgment with an equally false smile. Poppy then swiftly returned back to her desk and began to type, happy to have finally got an acknowledgment from the eccentrically elusive detective whom sadly did not talk to her anymore.
Merlyo relu
ctantly got up from his squeaky chair and slowly walked down the busy office and into Poppy’s awaiting reception area. Poppy did not make eye contact with him as she continued to type a letter, only pausing to sip her green tea as the detective nervously waited outside Ness’s door. He worryingly turned to Poppy and awkwardly smiled once again as their eyes momentarily met and she reciprocated this communication with a genuine smile this time because she could now plainly see how badly he did not wish to enter the dreaded room. He then took a deep breath in before then knocking on the wooden and glass door which was inscribed with the dreaded words that he had only ever read from afar “SAFETY DIRECTOR – ELIOT NESS”.
He heard the familiarly quick response from Ness “Come!” to which he tentatively entered the room as he was greeted with the sight of a busy Ness behind his desk, filling out some paperwork whilst his head remained lowered. After a few seconds of an awkward silence whereby Ness appeared to have already forgotten about his presence, Merlyo plucked-up enough courage to gently speak “Hello sir, you asked to see me?” Ness immediately looked up from his chaotic desk and smiled as he replied “Ah! Yes! Detective please come in and sit down will you. Would you like Poppy to get you a drink?” Ness instantly noticed Merlyo’s eccentric looking attire, which he did not approve of, and the unbecoming coffee stain that effortlessly eradiated the distinctive aroma of his favourite blend.
The dishevelled looking Merlyo replied with his characteristically shaky voice whilst he sat down and uncomfortably moved within his seat “No thank you sir, I’ve already had one accident this morning Hehe!” He internally self-reprimanded himself for his ill attempt at humour in front of the man whom he both admired and was strangely scared of. Ness knew that Merlyo was one of his most dependable and honest detectives and he respected him immensely but he liked his men to always be alert around him and the coffee stained Merlyo gave him the distinct impression of a man whom laboured tirelessly for success and was not naturally gifted at acquiring it.
The Noir Evil Page 12
