The coroner

Dr. Hefner Eric has been the coroner for the Lagos state police department, Allen District for as long as his certificate was handed to him 20 years ago. He didn’t get to stay that way without his super apt sense of discerning. He was one of the best they have got and was the only one available when the need for one arrived. Despite being forty-three years old, he is still one to jump around when called to work. The reluctance other staff younger than him would show, was never in him since he began.

Just like every Thursday, he was always sleeping over at the station. He was called to check out the corpse of a boy at Allison Baker's way. A police restriction line had been created 2 hours before Dr. Hefner got there.
The Lagos city Police Department had received a call early in the morning from a woman who wasn’t ready to reveal who she was.

"Hello. Oh my God” she cried to the phone

“911. What’s your emergency”

“A man is lying in his pool of blood,” she replied, shivering and lowering her voice. She feared that anyone who had hurt the man might still be lurking to get his next victim.

“Where are you ma’am?” the call taker asked

“I am on Allison Baker’s Way.” She replied.

“I advise you to leave where you are right now,” the call taker said.

The public safety communicator who picked her call must have thought she was pathetic, but not like she cares. There would be no explanation for her death if it got out that she died around 5 am. The woman turned back home. She was glad she wouldn't go to work today. She would give an excuse of nearly being attacked.

An ambulance arrived minutes after but it was rather late. The police had to be called in since the dead man no longer needed medical attention but justice for whatever might have happened to him. They could see injuries all around the man. It was obvious to be an attack from an animal. And this was when Dr. Hefner had to step in.
Dr. Hefner began studying but there was only so much he could do with the light he had with him. He felt it would be better to wait for the morning when he could get more information. Despite that, he continued with the little investigation he could make.
"What's the cause of death?" Jason Berly asked. He is of the department of homicide. He arrived quite later than others.
"Cause of death seems to be animal attack and blood loss." Dr. Hefner said, still studying Tony's body. "It's within the box of reality to say he was chased down by a rabid dog and got bitten. The experience must have been traumatic." He stood up from the pale corpse and moved back.

“Hmm! I see. So that’s how much we know?” Jeff asked, stepping back from the Doctor.

"That explains why his eyes are open and his body so pale," Jeff said and he lit his cigarettes. He's got a knack for smoking whenever he is encountered with a case. The behavior began after he started reading Sherlock Holmes, but he attributed it to the boring nature behind some people's death. He is a man of mystery. He has preferences for cases he attends to and for some reason, he solves a few of them. He is not the most intelligent officer in his department.

" What about the injury from the head?" Jason asked

"That's clear. He must have seen the animal late and tried escaping. Since the possible time of the death is around 8 or 9 pm, and you know how early it gets dark these days" he said, still collecting evidence from around the corpse.

"He must have plunged and landed on this weakened tree thinking it's solid. There is a bit of struggle around here. I guess the bastard didn't get him in one attack. He must have been bitten here, the blood here dried up and fell here. Hitting his head against this stone." Dr. Hefner concluded by giving descriptions of how he thought the incident might have happened. He is a bit of a dramatic man but no one dares mention it.

"I see. I heard you found some pills on him."

"I already sent it to the lab to know what kind of drug it is. Also, I already sent samples for a toxicology test" Dr. Hefner concluded standing up.

"And his identity?"

"With his school uniform, he is a high school student. The name on the I.D card is Dave Tony. I think you should dispatch some officers to go to his school. His parents need to be informed."

"I see... Since this is an animal attack, and it's not like there is a footstep of another human around, it's safe to say it's just a random animal attack right? This would be the first of its type." Jason said and exhaled the smoke he inhaled from the cigarettes. He shaped his mouth in a way he thinks is cool. He holds his cigarettes in his mouth whenever he is not talking but this time, he has it in his hand.

"Well, let's be done here. We can just close the case and set a manhunt for the beast. It's dangerous to leave it out there. Can we have the DNA of the beast? We need to be sure it's some animal we have a record of. If it's an animal within Allen, then we can know how to find it."

“my biggest bet would be a rabid dog. That should be it. But I will try finding some things that can help us trace the animal” the coroner said

“So dogs are now killing humans,” He said and left the coroner alone.

He is already more relaxed than he was earlier on. He had thought this would be a case where he might get promoted or recognized as a better Detective than his colleagues. After all, he has been acknowledged by the state government as one of the best detectives in Borno. It's not a problem but he only has to live up to the expectations of people. Even though he believes that you should live for yourself. Or maybe he just has that thought because it is a popular saying.

There are so many things people do that negate what they advise. How could he live for himself when the whole world looks upon him. He had never felt better responsibility than the day the governor acknowledged him. But this is just another case that would be in the records book for future references, not something to get him attention. Even though he is a man sworn to the servitude of justice, once in a while, he needs something other than the belief that "justice is just" to keep on motivating him.

He left the coroner who was still moving around the corpse gathering evidence. It's getting brighter and there is no need for the light they had made provision of. Jeff knew soon enough, people will be gathered and behind the yellow lines will be people who will pity the dead boy unlike him who saw the boy as an opportunity to get more attention.

Among the audience will be those who might know the boy and commiserate, there will be those who are there to feed their curiosity and he expects those he hates more than the criminals he has sworn to put to justice -the journalists-. He thought of his encounters with journalists. Those people who think they are next to God.

It is past seven am now. Dr. Hefner, who had been expecting daylight, continued working after he rested in one of the vans around. He could see around now. He began studying the shoe print and the paw print of the animal. He could see now as the day got brighter. He would have done that earlier to know where both the prey and the predator came from but he didn't want to tamper with evidence.

He saw the shoe print of Tony and how he had fallen after stepping on the wood. He traced both back and could see differences in the stride and length and depth of the animal's paw print. He continued tracing and he got to a place where he could see the shoe print coming from the paved road. He continued tracing the shoe print and the paw print -which was increasing in length and depth-.

"Holy shit! Detective Berly! Detective! I need back-up" he cried, not believing his sight.
Jason Berly, still lost in his series of thoughts, was drawn back by the call of his name. Other officers around him looked at him and he wondered where it could be from.

"Dr. Hefner?" He hurried down from the top of his jeep's boot. He nearly missed his balance but gained his composure immediately. He ran towards where he left the coroner with four different officers tailing him and their hands on the hilt of their gun. He realized the coroner was no longer in his position but about 400 yards away. He moved close, not noticing the footprint till he got close to the coroner and was awed at what lay before him.