Time of Death
He had followed the instructions,
it was a prolonged abduction,
he was finally there,
riddled with fear,
he kicked in the front door,
not waiting for back-up,
and the body was on the floor,
it was difficult for him
to catch his breath,
and without a time of death,
he wouldn’t know when she died,
her mouth was gagged,
and hands tied,
the Medical Examiner would have to
estimate based on body temperature,
and that was difficult to translate,
but he knew he was way too late,
sadly, her soul was set free,
only way to figure out the time of death,
would be through the degree
of rigor mortis and lividity,
although rigor mortis sets in,
and then disappears,
as the detective cupped his face
to wipe away the tears,
it was a mess,
and the coroner could only provide
a rough guess,
but the instrument that took her life,
was a serrated table knife,
and the saddest case a detective could be on,
was the one which involved his wife.
© 2012 Frank Atanacio