Chapter 6
CHAPTER
SIX
Casey was finishing up her rounds, her feet aching from the long shift. She looked down at her watch and saw it was almost seven.
The hospital had finally quieted down, the bustling hallways now eerily silent as she prepared to jump in the shower, and then she and Tracy could head out to the trendy restaurant they picked. Just as she entered the code on the door to the locker room, her phone buzzed.
Pulling the device from her pocket she saw it was a message from Tracy. “She better not be bailing on me,” Casey mumbled under her breath as she pressed the message to open it.
Tracy: Help! I’m stuck!
Casey: ????
Tracy: I accidentally locked myself in the medical examiner’s office.
Casey frowned at the text, her thumb hovering over the screen as she quickly typed back.
Casey: First, what are you doing in the ME’s office this late? Second, how did you “accidentally” get locked in?
She didn’t have to wait long for a response, and when it came, she couldn’t help but roll her eyes.
Tracy: Trey…I’ll explain when you get here.
Casey shook her head. She should have known why Tracy was in the ME’s office after hours, considering Tracy had a “friends with benefits’ situation going on with Trey, the Assistant Medical Examiner, and the two often snuck off to the locker room down in the basement for a quick rendezvous once the staff had left for the day.
Laughing to herself, Casey sent back another message.
Casey: Be there in a minute. Try not to get into more trouble.
She stuffed her phone into her pocket and headed down the deserted corridors toward the stairs that would take her to the basement, where the medical examiner’s office was. She hated going down there because it was so creepy.
She exited the stairwell through the door and made a right down a long hallway. The closer she got to the imposing double doors with the words Medical Examiner’s Office stuck to the outside, the more she felt her skin crawling.
Reaching the doors, she swiped her hospital badge, and when the light on the keypad turned green, she pulled open the heavy door.
She continued walking down the dark, short hallway before she came to another set of double doors.
Swiping her badge again, she was granted entry.
When she stepped inside, the only light was from the few fixtures that stayed on through the night.
The silence pressed down on her as she walked through the dimly lit office.
“Tracy?” she called out. But the only answer she got was her voice echoing off the cold, sterile walls.
The main room where the examinations were done was empty, and a creepy sense of unease began to work its way up Casey’s spine. The hair on the back of her neck prickled as she called out again. “Tracy, where are you?”
Her phone vibrated in her hand, making her jump. She glanced down at the screen.
Tracy: Please don’t laugh, but I’m in the body refrigerator.
Casey’s eyes widened in disbelief. What in the ever-loving hell was she doing in there? She thought to herself. But then again, this was Tracy—curious to a fault, even in the creepiest places. Disgust curled Casey’s lips as she made her way to the room where the bodies were stored.
Eyeing the steel door with the words “Body Refrigerator” on it, she walked over and saw it was indeed latched.
She unlatched the heavy door, and as it swung open, cold air rushed out, sending a shiver through her. The room was dimly lit like the rest of the office, and as she stepped inside, she saw only one body covered with a sheet on a gurney. There was no sign of Tracy.
Even though all her spidey senses were telling her to run, she felt frozen in place, her eyes glued to the body covered by a white sheet.
Any time she had ever been to the ME’s office, which wasn’t very often, she always saw bodies placed in body bags.
“Tracy?” she called again, her voice shaky now.
But there was no response. An uneasy feeling gnawed at her, telling her to get out there. But another part of her urged her to check that covered body. Tracy had said she was in there, but there was no sign of her.
With trembling hands, Casey approached the gurney. Her breath quickened as she reached for the edge of the sheet. Slowly, she pulled it back.
The sight before her made her gasp, her heart lurching in her chest. Tracy lay there, her face pale, her eyes closed, and her body unnaturally still.
“Oh my God,” Casey whispered, stepping back in horror. Before she could reach out to check if Tracy was alive or dead, a large hand clamped over her mouth, and a strong arm wrapped around her waist, pinning her in place with her arms by her side.
Panic surged through her, and she struggled against the person’s firm grip, but the hold was too strong. Then she heard his voice against her ear.
“I told you we’d catch up someday, Casey,” Michael’s voice was low and menacing, sending a chill down her spine. “God, how I’ve missed you.”
Casey’s heart pounded in her chest as she realized she was in serious trouble.
Casey felt her phone buzzing, but there was no way to answer it to call out for help.