Snippet 3!

Cathe Smithe was looking at something through her microscope as Ralph buzzed in through the double airlock doors. She looked up from the eyepiece and smiled.

“Well, well. Look what the cat dragged in. Long night?” She said with her usual happy grin.

“Yeah. The Donaldson case. Got the call from Internal Odd Affairs yesterday afternoon. Torg is putting in the reports as we speak.”

“I heard it was brutal. Kids this time.” Cathe lost her smile and sadness shown on her face. She had grown kids of her own, even a few grandkids. She looked too young for those, but life is what happens.

Ralph looked somber. Playing absentmindedly with the pen that was chained to metal skull on the counter. “Brutal is an understatement. Hardly a drop between the five of them.” He placed the evidence box on the scales.

"The the unborn baby too?” Cathe asked as she rose to take the container and scan it into evidence. The shock of the reality caused her to pause for a moment when he nodded yes.

“Somehow." A moment ofsilence passed before he continued. "The bodies were sent to the coroner's office. We'll have the report by tomorrow morning.” He looked down at the kit. “Be careful with the packets. One of them looked like a feather of some kind. Very small.”

“I will.” She placed the container onto an automated lazy suzzane that put the evidence into a sealed vault of its own. “Ill get Jonathan on it right away.” she turned again to her microscopes and her lab work, a tear in her eye. “Catch ya later, Ralph. Take care.”

“Later. Oh, Torg says hello.”

“He still owes me fifty bucks from last month's poker game.” She smirked as she went back to work.

“I shall.” Ralph did a small two finger scout salute and made his way through the airlocks and back to the desks.

The main room was large and spacious with offices around the central arena of desks and equipment. Everything had its place. Brick from the original building still showing in place and well maintained. Painted with a clear varnish to help seal out particulates and dust. The floors were made from a special polymer that was solid yet had a gentle give so you could walk all day without fear of getting floor fatigue. The ceiling was painted black like most modern facilities to help focus the eyes on the room below. All HVAC, Heating Ventilation and Air Conditioning, was done by a negeative pressure system that kept all air inside and filtered it on sub-nanometer scale. To say it was high tech was an understatement. Hoosier Gateway Investigations spared no expense in doing it right. Even Feds and other private entities took notice of HGI operations.