| Mulder looked at the man strangely. That name was very familiar. Mulder had heard the name before when investigating other murders in Rhode Island. He had worked closely with Piper a few times before. “The death remains unexplained. We couldn’t gather any evidence but we left it basically as it was. The girl’s body is at the morgue.” The officer said. Mulder nodded and walked into the bathroom. Scully had put on a pair of latex gloves and was crouched down looking closely at every detail of the bathroom. Scully looked up when she saw Mulder come in. She stood and walked towards him. “So what does the report say?” She asked taking the folder from Mulder’s hand. She scanned the first page and looked up at him. “Mulder, why didn’t you tell me this?” She asked rather annoyed. “Tell you what?” He said innocently. “That the body was burned. This is an obvious case of fire.” She said. “It would appear that way but did you happen to notice that no area around the body was found to be burned?” He asked. “I admit it doesn’t make a whole ton of sense, Mulder, but it doesn't warrant us coming all the way to Rhode Island to investigate a series of arson?” “Did you happen to read who found the body?” Mulder asked. “No, who?” “Our little Sailor Moon friend, Sailor Venus, AKA Mina.” He paused. “Piper Alexander.” Scully raised her eyebrows and looked at Mulder. She, too, remembered the interesting teenage girl. “I’ve ordered an autopsy to be done in less than an hour.” Mulder grabbed the report back from Scully’s hands. He read it more carefully and to warranted some confusion. “The victims name is Rose Young. Is reads here that the last person to see Rose officially alive was her boy friend, Thomas Urwin.” “What do you mean officially alive?” Scully asked. She continued to scan the bathroom but saw nothing out of the ordinary. She spotted a small black spot in the corner but dismissed it as spilled soda. “The report says Piper walked into the bathroom and claimed she saw Rose alive. Supposedly her eyes were open and her arm was outstretched as if seeking for help. Her lips were moving slowly as if she was trying to say something.” Mulder read from the report. “Mulder, look at this.” Scully said crawling under the sink. Scully picked up a small patch of what seemed to be a wool sweater. She showed it to Mulder whose eyes lit up. “It says here Piper claims she saw the sweater Rose had previously been wearing wrapped around her neck. After Rose had successfully been choked to death, the sweater continued its way to wrap itself around her entire torso. Piper claims the sweater turned her black.” “That’s a pretty bizarre story.” Scully said. “But something tells me you have a theory.” Mulder said. “See Mulder, you do think like I do. I believe that a young girl at midnight who probably had more then a little to drink, probably didn’t know what she saw.” “That would be the scientific explanation, but Piper doesn’t seem like the type to drink, especially at an eighth grade social.” “Okay, so what’s your theory?” Scully asked. “Well, I think before we figure out a theory you and I should go look at that body.” Mulder said. Scully nodded and they made their way out of the bathroom. Forty-five minutes later Scully was suited up and ready to perform the autopsy. Mulder was in the morgue looking at the body. She was laid out on a cold, metal table. The girl’s head was hardly connected with her body. Something had burned its way through her clothing and flesh. “Oh my god, Mulder.” Scully said walking into the morgue. The body shocked her. Pictures were one thing but seeing the poor, teenage girl in real life was different. “Looks like it was a little less than fire that killed her.” Mulder said. “No, I think you’re right. Fire would have spread over the entire body unless it was put out before it could reach it.” Scully paused and turned on a microphone above her head. She fastened her mask over her mouth and nose and picked up a scalpel. “Due to the abnormality of the body a y incision cannot be performed. I’ll begin with the cutting of the cranium.” She said into the microphone. As soon as she made the first cut, Mulder began to walk out of the room. “Mulder…” She began but she didn’t have to finish the sentence. “I’m going to interview Piper, and see if I can talk to Rose’s boy friend.” He called back to her. Scully looked to where Mulder was standing and shook her head. She knew the interview wasn’t the only reason Mulder wanted to leave. For some reason he was able to face aliens but he couldn’t deal with the blood and guts of an autopsy. Scully cut open the cranium and began investigating the inside of the skull. She looked to her right to pick up a suction tool when she saw something on the burnt part of Rose’s body. There was a long piece of string where a sweater might have been. Scully picked it up with a pair of tweezers and looked at it more closely. It matched the color of the patch she found in the bathroom. Scully bagged the fabric and put it aside. Mulder walked out of the morgue and into his car. He looked through the initial report and gathered the information he needed to find Tom’s house. He realized it was not far from where the junior high school was. Mulder went to the front steps of Tom’s house. He rang the doorbell and waited. A few seconds later a young boy opened the door. “Are you Thomas Urwin?” Mulder asked. “Yes.” The boy answered. Mulder took in the boy’s appearance. He didn’t look sad like Mulder figured he would. “Can I help you? “I’m Special Agent Fox Mulder, I work for the Federal Bureau of Investigation, may I come in?” Mulder asked. “Yea sure come in.” The boy said. He stepped to the side and Mulder entered the house. He was led into a small room. “Can I get you anything?” Mulder found the boy to be rather polite for such a young age but shook his head. “Take a seat.” Mulder sat down on a small two-cushioned pink couch. He thought he sensed a bit of nervousness in the boy’s voice as if he didn’t know why Mulder was there. He looked around and saw a picture of Tom and Rose from what appeared to be a party. They were standing next to each other with a beautiful flourished background. Tom sat across from Mulder in an ornate, wooden chair. He sat there with a concerned look on his face. He had no idea why the FBI had arrived at his house. “I need to ask you some questions.” Mulder said. “Okay.” Tom answered. “Were you and Rose Young at the dance last Wednesday at Nathaniel Greene Junior High School?” Mulder asked. “Yes she was my date.” Tom said. “Why what happened?” “Are you aware that Rose died?” “She what?” Mulder made a weird face. “She was found in the girl’s bathroom by Piper Alexander. Her body was burned on certain parts. What was the last thing Rose told you?” Tom hesitated before answering. The information Mulder was giving him was too much for him to handle. “She said she was going in the bathroom to freshen up.” “How could you have not noticed she was gone?” Mulder asked. “One of her friends told me she had gotten a ride home, because she wasn’t feeling good. I thought it kind of odd that Rose wouldn’t tell me but I had no idea.” “You said a friend told you. Who was that?” “Her name’s Anna Brown.” Mulder could tell tears were welling up in the boy’s eyes. “Do you have any idea who might have wanted to hurt Rose?” “Rose was friends with everyone and everything. She would never hurt anybody and I don’t think anyone could ever have thought of hurting her. “Would there be a reason why she might want to do this to herself?” Mulder asked. “No, Rose had a great life. She was having some disagreements with her mother but they always made up. I just…” The boy began to cry. “Thank you.” Mulder said knowing he wouldn’t get anything from the boy. He led himself out and he got into his car. He sat there for a second trying to gather his thoughts. There were no leads on the case but he knew it was just the beginning. Mulder started the car and headed towards a familiar house. He had been there a few times before and it brought back interesting memories. He walked to the door and knocked. A teenage girl answered and Mulder recognized her right away. "Agent Mulder?" The girl asked. |