My aunt on my mother's side had three children.  One girl and two boys.

The girl, Sarah, was 19 and worked as a seamstress alongside her mother.  The oldest boy, Davey, worked in the mortuary.  He was one of the smartest people I knew.  The youngest, Les, was 10 years old and currently attending school.

I walked up to the big grey building, Jacobs' Mortuary.  This is where the body would be for sure. My cousin would surely be the one chosen to do such a critical autopsy.  I pulled open the door and walked down the long hallway until I found the correct room.  I gently opened the door and walked inside. Lab tables with tools and microscopes greeted me.  I walked over to where a figure lay under the sheet and shuddered before looking at the tag hanging off of her slightly exposed foot.  Anne Harbor.

The noise of something falling scared the living daylights out of me and I grabbed the closest thing to a weapon beside me and whipped around to face whoever had made that noise.

A boy my age stood at one of the cabinets to the side of the room, hands raised in defense as he saw the scalpel clutched in my hand. How did I not see him when I walked in?

"Calm down.  I'm one of the live ones." He said, picking up the book that'd tumbled from the open cabinet.

"Who the hell are you?" I asked, looking around for Davey.

"Well gee, a pleasure to meet you too." He said, rolling his brown eyes.

The door opened and Davey walked in.

"Oh hey Kath!" He said, "Something tells me you've come to write a story on this." He gestured to the table that Anne Harbor laid across.

I took my small journal and pen out of my bag with a nod, scribbling my name on it and marking the date and place.

The boy by the cabinets walked over and stood by us.

"She tried to murder me."

"I pointed a scalpel at you because you scared me to death!" I retorted.

Davey ran a hand across his face with a groan, "Katherine meet Jack Kelly, my newest apprentice.  Jack meet my cousin Katherine."

Jack flashed a smirk at me and I rolled my eyes.

"Pleasure to meet you Katherine," He glanced over my shoulder at the writing in my notebook, "Plumber."

"It's Pulitzer." I said.

"Your writing sure looks like Plumber."

"Do you mind?!"

Jack shrugged innocently as Davey walked over to the body.

"Are you sure you want to see this Kath?" He asked cautiously.

I nodded, tapping my pen against the paper, anxiety bubbling at my core.

Davey took a breath and pulled the sheet back down to above her chest.  I walked over and felt all air suddenly leave me.  Anne Harbor had blood streaked blonde hair, her face a pale blue color.  She had a black eye and worst of all- her throat had be slit with what looked to be one precise swipe.

"Oh my. . ." I trailed off at a loss for words.

Davey nodded, grabbing a file next to him and opening it. 

"She was found in an alleyway this morning by a man who works for Jimmy's Bar down the street.  A poor woman with 2 kids, a boy and a girl.  Unmarried.  32 years old.  She worked as a prostitute in order to earn money for her small family."

My eyes trailed along the irritated wound across her throat before I began taking notes in my book.

32.  Found in alleyway by bar tender.  2 kids.  Unmarried.  Worked on the streets.

"Pulitzer?" Jack said from beside me.

I turned my head.

"Doesn't your father own that big printing company?"

"Yes."

"So why are you working as a writer?"

"Because I won't rely on my father's inheritance.  I'm making my own name for myself, thank you very much." I snapped.

"You're quite stubborn."

I sighed in frustration, blowing a loose strand of hair out of my eyes.

"Somewhere out there someone cares. Why don't you go ahead and tell them?"

Jack flashed a grin at me, "Then I'd have to leave your side."

I rolled my eyes, closing my book and shoving it back into my bag. I now faced Jack, crossing my arms in annoyance.

"Jack, could you give me a hand?" Davey asked, more so saving me from this conversation rather than needing help carving open a corpse.

"I'm expected to be home." I said, cutting off whatever Jack was about to see, "I'll be back soon Davey." I nodded towards Jack, "I'll see you as well then."

Jack nodded, a twinkle of mischief in his eyes.

I quickly walked out of the room, hearing the muffled sound of the word "Wow" being said in the other room.  He's surely talking about the body- that was gruesome and horrid.  Yet there was a lighter tone evident to his voice. I heard Davey mutter something and Jack bickered back.  I made my way towards the front doors, keeping my gaze low and ignoring whatever sort of heat currently crossed my cheeks.

Impossible boy.

• • •

My sister was waiting for me on the front porch of our mansion when I walked back.

"Where were you?!" She asked.

"Work?"

Lucille smirked, "Sure, because it takes you an extra two hours to walk home from work."

I felt color drain from my face.

"Is father angry?"

"Nah." Lucille shrugged, "I talked about my marriage throughout dinner as much as possible to keep him happy."

I nodded with a sigh of relief, "You're a lifesaver. I owe you one Lucy."

"You owe me many over the years little sister." Lucille rolled her eyes playfully, "There's leftovers in the fridge."

I gave her a quick kiss on the cheek before running inside, "Thank you!" I called over my shoulder.

"Yeah, sure."

I could hear the smile from my sister's voice as I rounded the corner to the kitchen.