Free Always Watching by LS Sygnet

Devlin’s boots came into view in the sand in front of
me.  He reached out and tucked a damp strand of hair behind my
ear.
    “ He’s fine.  I think
you scared him more than anything.  Scared the shit out of
more than Briscoe.  He was out of line, Helen, but
damn.”
    “ I’m sorry.”
    “ Are you all
right?”
    I nodded.  “Is he pressing charges for
assault?”
    “ I think he’s too scared
of pissing you off again,” Devlin chuckled.  “Did you see what
Maya wanted you to look at.”
    “ Not yet.”
    “ You don’t have to do
this.”
    I sniffled and tucked my riotous emotions
into the pit of my stomach.  “Yes I do.  Whoever she is,
she deserves more than washing up on a filthy beach.”  I
turned around.  “Show me what you wanted me to see, Maya.”
    She carefully pulled back enough of the
shroud for me to see the wisp of an arm.  Breath hitched in my
throat.  So tiny.  My lips rolled inward.
    Maya shined a flashlight on the bluish
skin. 
    “ What the hell?”  All
squeamishness evaporated.  I knelt beside the body for a
closer look.  “It looks like a UPC symbol.”
    “ That’s what I thought,”
Maya said, “though for the life of me, I can’t figure out why
somebody would put one on a child.”
    “ Is it a
tattoo?”
    “ I won’t know for sure
until I get her back to the morgue for a better look.”
    “ How old is she?”  It
looked like the arm size of a toddler, a little too thin.  I
wondered what sort of physical abuse would spring out if I pulled
the cover away from the girl’s body.
    “ I’m going to say five to
seven years of age.”
    “ Malnutrition? 
Neglect?”  Dev’s thoughts mirrored mine.  He thought she
was too small for that age too.
    “ Asian,” Maya said. 
“From the look of her teeth, this little girl was very well cared
for.  At least until she was dumped in the bay and left to
wash up on shore.”
    I cleared my throat.  “Can I have a
better look at her?”
    Maya pulled back the sheet.  Black
glassy eyes stared up at me.  She was missing a front tooth,
the bud of its permanent replacement piercing the fleshy
gum. 
    “ Her cause of death isn’t
jumping out at me, Helen.  It doesn’t look like some of the
other cases we’ve seen over the years.  No obvious
fractures.  No evidence of physical abuse.  She’s not
malnourished.”
    “ Is she already out of
rigor?”
    “ No,” Maya shook her
head.  “Her body temp indicates that she hasn’t been dead long
at all.  I’d say she was dumped within an hour of washing up
on shore.  She was probably dumped close to it in shallow water. 
Otherwise she would be on the bottom and we’d see all sorts of
predation in a few days when a body would be
discovered.”
    Briscoe approached with extreme
caution.  An apology wasn’t forthcoming from either one of
us. 
    I barely acknowledged his presence, but
asked a general question.  “Is there a missing person’s report
on an Asian girl that matches this victim?”
    “ Are you aware of any
other Amber Alerts in the past twelve hours?”
    I had to admire the balls on a man who would
be so openly antagonistic toward a woman that could’ve snapped his
windpipe not five minutes earlier.  “Somebody has to be
missing this child.  What about other states?”
    “ He’ll look into it, or
someone from Bay View will,” Devlin said.  “I think we should
get back out to headquarters, Helen.  We’ve got a lot to do
that doesn’t appear to be related to this case.”
    “ Don’t it?” Briscoe
sneered.  “You ain’t spoken to Puppy in awhile, have
ya?”
    Devlin’s jaw tightened.  “Detective
Briscoe, if there is a link between this case and the missing baby
from Saint Mary’s, you can count on Darnell calling to put the case
in our hands.  Maya, good to see you again.  Let’s go,
Helen.”
    “ Wait,” I said. 
“Briscoe, what makes you think this girl’s Amber Alert would’ve
been issued in the past twelve hours?”
    “