Free Deity by Steven Dunne

been misplaced or misappropriated, so Brook had Noble contact the Coroner’s Office to request a list of all recent post mortems performed on corpses fitting a broad description of their John Doe. Brook then compiled a list from
Yellow Pages
and the trade website for undertakers and funeral directors of all organisations who might employ a mortician.He restricted the search to Derby and the surrounding area but even so there were still dozens. Death was a reliable employer.
    One drawback to Higginbottom’s theory was the unusual incision in the man’s side. The doctor had never seen a corpse after a PM with such an aperture, and neither had Brook or Noble for that matter. More often than not, a British pathologist or mortician would cut a corpse down the middle of the chest from the neck to the pubis with a slight detour around the sinew of the belly button, because it was difficult to both cut and sew up afterwards. Brook had known pathologists who’d trained in the United States as Medical Examiners and used the Y-shaped incision often preferred over there. But no reputable pathologist would extract the organs of a cadaver from a six-inch opening on the flank. It just wasn’t practical, according to Higginbottom.
    Before heading for home, Brook and Noble searched the Missing Persons databases for both Nottinghamshire and Derbyshire and marked the files of the dozen men around the right age who were unaccounted for. Unfortunately, though some had seen the inside of a prison, none had been born in Scotland. The attached photo IDs for the subjects didn’t look promising either, though some of the images were out of date, sometimes by many years, depending on the date of disappearance.
    ‘Want me to start ringing round the funeral homes?’ Noble had asked.
    Brook picked up his car keys and shook his head. ‘Let’s have that conversation tomorrow when we have more information and maybe an ID.’
    AmericanBeauty
starring Kevin Spacey, directed by Sam Mendes in 1999 – an exploration of romantic and paternal love, sexuality, beauty, materialism, self-liberation and redemption
. According to Wiki at least. He could show them that film at the party. Adele would love it. Kyle too. Maybe Becky would be more cynical.
    But the bonus was Ricky Fitts, one of the characters. He was young and cool and spent all his spare time filming on his camcorder.
Just like me
.
    Rusty stopped at the side of the road and bent down to the pavement. Yeah,
American Beauty
. Life – a journey without meaning. This pigeon knew. You live, you get by, you die and everyone forgets you. He lifted his camcorder and zoomed into the pigeon lying on the ground, its neck slack, and its opaque sightless eyes half-open. Maggots were chewing through the bird’s intestines.
    A few seconds later he zoomed out and continued on his short journey across the Brisbane Estate, at the western edge of Derby. He replayed the short sequence as he walked through the cool night air then deleted it. His brand new Sanyo camcorder had great picture quality even at night. Just as well.
    Becky Blake read the letter one more time, refolded it and slid it into the small gap between the carpet and the actor’s make-up bureau which her dad had made especially for her. The light bulbs around the frame were to accustom his daughter to stardom.
    She sat on the padded chair, cradling her old teddy bear and staring at her reflection in the illuminated mirror for what seemed hours. Finally, she sat up straight and Justin thebear fell to earth. She looked away from her reflection but there was no escape from her face – wherever her eyes wandered in her bedroom, her image glared sassily back at her. Sometimes writhing on a bearskin rug, sometimes peeping coquettishly over a bare shoulder, sometimes hands on hips in
Don’t-fuck-with-me
mode. The confident, self-assured bitch snarled next to the vulnerable girl/woman, who jostled for wall space next to the siren looking for love. Her