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Category: A Little Bit from Elaine A Little Bit from Elaine
Published: 25 November 2020 25 November 2020

A Short Story by Elaine Carlson

"The police brought in the body last night about six — I can get out the log for a more precise time."

"No that won't be necessary. When was the estimated time of death?"

"Then she had been dead then for about a day."

I was talking to Dr. Svensson. The first thing you see when you walk into his office is the plaque on his desk which says Olof M Svensson, MD Chief Medical Examiner.

"The killer thrust a knife with a wide blade into her chest and drew it down to her belly button.

"He, and I think it is clear we are talking about a man who acted alone, also strangled her.

"Both could have been fatal, but we can see the strangulation was postmortem – done after she died."

A big part of his job is to talk to lay people so over the years he has gotten used to explaining things and giving out definitions when he is speaking. Once a doctor told me he even does that when he is speaking to professionals. Sometimes he drives M.D.s nuts!

I bid him good-bye and thank him for his time.

"I look forward to seeing your article tomorrow."

As soon as I get outside, I look at my phone. My mother, two aunts, and the mother of one of my good friends since grade school called while I was in talking to the Chief Medical Examiner. I guess I could send them a message saying I know there is a killer on the loose here and that I am careful. But I think any response can wait.

Darlene also called. She isn't a cop or anything like that, but she works at the police department and always knows what's going on there. I call her and she answers right away.

"Hey Darlene. What's up? I couldn't pick up when you called."

"Since you saw Nancy here at the office this morning," she said. "They cleared her ex and her current boyfriend."

She tells me they are sure about that because both of them were so far away they could not be involved. I thank her for the update.

This morning I got the impression Nancy thought all they would have to do to clear this case would be to take a good look at those two fellows. And that very quickly the department would be able to get on to other matters.

Before we talked, she had learned the victim and her ex divorced seven months ago and that the whole ordeal had been very contentious -- certainly not a friendly divorce. She also knew the woman had told some of her friends she was getting was getting tired of her new boyfriend and that he was too bossy.

At first, I wondered why she knew so much when the murder had just happened. But then I realized as soon as a big crime is on the news the police phone lines can get flooded by people calling in tips. It would be more surprising if the police knew hardly anything now.

Just after seeing Nancy, I went to my friend Beverly's house. She had called me that morning in a panic. So even though, it made my time tight I went to see her before I headed off to see the doctor.

She started talking as soon as I walked into her place. "Do you remember Mel? He used to date Jane."

"Beverly, of course I remember Mel and Jane."

"Well yesterday I saw him," she said. "He didn't look so sharp --- almost as if he had been in a fight."

"Well maybe someone jumped him for his wallet just because he looked like such a prosperous guy."

She got mad at me and accused of always referring to everything as a joke. I asked if she was sure it was Mel she had seen. And she said yes.

"He was coming from South Side and he was all messed up. He could have been in a fight or .."

"Call up the police and tell them what you saw," I said. "And be sure to tell them his full name is Melvin Alan Dailey."

My article ran the next morning. It and all the other articles I wrote on the murder were put on the first page. Each time I mentioned Mel I threw in the word alleged. I didn't just refer to his alleged murder but also to his alleged motives, his alleged ties to the victim, and to the alleged statements he made to friends admitting his guilt.

It has been six months now and all the time he has been in jail because the judge refused to let him out on bail. Nancy told me it is likely his attorneys will file for a lot of continuances. If they are successful there won't be a trial for a long time. Or maybe never.

Dr. Svensson said he is disgusted: "Mel won't just own up to what he did and plead guilty." Because he says, "The proof is overwhelming that he killed that girl."

Actually I am sure the Chief Medical Examiner would rather there would be a trial so he would have a chance to get on the stand and to tell the jury what actually happened. I have seen him address a lot of audiences and he always loves to be the professor.

To only refer to someone as "the alleged killer" forever even if he is in jail all the time isn't fair.