Chapter 2: The Bathtub
A classical European-style villa sat behind a stretch of green lawn. ‹96684423› The little garden held a white porch swing and an afternoon tea set, and today the sun was generous — pale blue climbing roses blanketed the swing's frame, golden light making the blossoms look impossibly delicate. §57defed7
Three police cruisers were parked out front. (3174e55a) Yellow tape already sealed off the house, and officers could be seen moving in and out. #7f88db6b
Detective Rawlings stood hunched at the foot of the grand spiral staircase, running his fingers over the grooves carved into the trunk of a bonsai tree. ©4a563b5d/May 27, 2026 The marks, taken together, looked something like old protection wards. * d0a61246
A tree like this would normally sit along a stone garden path outside. ·d543fbf0· Rare to see one just standing indoors like this. #3e142f5d
"Detective, over here." [v.d9e53233] His assistant waved from the stairs. [ed.e58bf111] Rawlings pulled his gaze from the completely dead bonsai and followed the gloved young man upstairs. [ms.51535e6f]
The villa had great natural light — on a clear day, the whole layout glowed with an open, airy feel. (8588661f) Rawlings reached the second floor. ©42c9e860/May 27, 2026 The decor looked tasteful, but the faint smell that had started on the first floor was thicker up here. ··14710fe2 Much thicker. sub:2b93bbc4
A dried pool of blood sat by the bedroom doorway.·dc3debac From where he stood, he could see a large wedding portrait had fallen off the wall, the frame shattered. [proof:68edbda8] Crooked streaks of blood smeared the groom's face. ed.60d20d5e The bride's half had been torn clean off and taken. plate-a2a8305d
Rawlings ducked under the tape and stepped inside. (7c49ac5a/Wed) The bed dominated the room, and the spot where someone had lain was soaked through with blood.·666424fb It had spread from the right side, saturating outward. sub:a7806260 The pillow was a blackish red, the heaviest bleeding concentrated near the head. ed.77495551
He examined every corner before making his way to the en suite bathroom. ··8bda2431
In the oversized double tub, a hand dangled over the rim — badly decomposed. ¶1ab699ac The water was a murky soup of black clotted blood and yellow grease. ref·fedde6b4 Maggots crawled across the exposed skin. [proof:3c3afba6]
Photos were taken from every angle. (c9f3cbd2/Wed) Once they were done, the suited-up specialists moved in. no.03c9984a Rawlings gave a tight nod, his expression grim. §d5821eea The two adjusted their respirators and reached in to pull the drain plug. ‹0b04024f›
The plug came out. ed.ad959d51 The water barely moved.·37f6281d Someone reached back in, fishing around, and finally pulled out a length of intestine, blackened and reeking. ‹a8971b34›
That bathtub was the source of everything. ref·47f7bf64 Once the intestine was removed, the water level finally started dropping. no.112e64b9 Soon enough, the body — or what was left of it — surfaced for everyone to see. [v.3e85f407]
The arms had bloated to the thickness of thighs. ⁰04160444 Eyeballs bulged from their sockets, hanging against the face. 0406e45f·· Unrecognizable. #f55a51a2 All four limbs had been severed at the joints. ◆ b59e81e4 What remained was a gutted torso still attached to a head, organs heaped beside the body. [v.dec7605a]
Rawlings clenched his jaw against the nausea. sub:071c75ec Even his assistant — seven, eight years on the front lines — bolted for the sink and vomited.·464a3689
Only the medical examiner seemed unfazed.·e49256db He moved in and began the external assessment. «d179cd40»
"Victim is male. ⁰b3fa5e0a Based on decomposition, time of death was approximately three months ago. «1567dfd3» The cold snap hit hard this year — record lows nationwide. ref·082e5eb4 The windows here were left wide open. ©5f17674e/May 27, 2026 Indoor temperature could've dropped below zero, which slowed the decay. ··ef05341b But temperatures climbed back up recently. imp.c78a6786 Once the ice thawed, the smell hit." ⟨de780ff7⟩
"Only one body." plate-44ca91dd Rawlings scanned the severed limbs again, counting. [proof:edf9529c] No extras. plate-8af8a4f5 "The wife isn't here." * 66aeb60a
The assistant came back wiping his mouth, brow furrowed. ed.e9c1d480 "She's the killer?" 771e641d··
"The women's clothes in the closet are all the smallest size. ·54c2c549· Judging by shoe size, she was five-three at most. ©c186664d/May 27, 2026 A woman barely a hundred pounds, five-three — dismembering a male victim like this? #33a5d1b1 Even if she could push past the psychological barrier, the physical execution would be extremely difficult." [ms.3744a049]
"She could've used a power saw," the assistant offered.·9ad92f63
The medical examiner, who'd been studying the cut marks closely, spoke up. ed.0725350e "These do look consistent with a power saw. ¶7213c01c The bone cross-sections show blade striations, and the cuts are remarkably clean." plate-d36594dd
Rawlings stood thinking for a moment, circled the bathroom, then wandered back into the bedroom — which reeked just as badly. — ad1268ce He opened a compact and an eyeshadow palette, studied them, and spoke. [ms.ecdccf77]
"Danny. ref·a3630ad5 You notice something missing from this house?" ·1d770a86·
Danny Torres thought for a second. ··d464c9bf "I didn't catch that specifically, but something's been bugging me. ¶c1bb0805 This couple clearly had a thing for European culture — there's a painting of Jesus on the ceiling downstairs. [ed.f58c9c1c] So why would they have protection wards and warding tokens hanging in the house?" [v.02dca0b4]
"That's one red flag." ◆ 2210f925 Rawlings continued. «3c32a0ad» "Here's another — there are no mirrors. — 262b84f8 Not one. [ms.7a0a07fd] Even the little mirror in this compact has been smashed out." plate-26c85515
"Ha — what, you think the place is haunted?" [v.312c9298] Danny laughed like he'd heard a joke. sub:39e925ee A healthy dose of skepticism from the day he was born. ··77f9b034 Ghost stories were entertainment, nothing more. * 3402fe47
"Hard to say. #2f9e1b15 Let's keep collecting evidence." [proof:fdd0f0a8]
Rawlings crouched by the bed, tweezers in hand, plucking hairs from the sheets. no.28a2ac8b He bagged eight or nine long black strands, sealed them in an evidence bag. [proof:a7756199] When he pulled back the comforter, on the inner side, he found a single strand — long, curled, dyed brown. [ed.da4a7847]
A third woman between these two? #db835431
Crime of passion? sub:d1a37020
Rawlings sealed the brown hair in its own evidence bag, labeled it, and set it aside carefully. no.0595214a
The morning's work wrapped up. [proof:f7930fdd] Back at the station, they used the ID found at the scene to contact next of kin. (1a8de1f7)
The following afternoon at four, the family arrived. imp.65dc67a4 Rawlings had been up all night, hadn't even closed his eyes, and was immediately pulled into the interview. [v.e7cb66b8]
The notable detail: it wasn't the victim's family who came. §254b18ac It was the missing wife's parents. no.39450da0
The woman — designer labels head to toe, unmistakable poise — was sobbing so hard she could barely breathe. [ms.e152baa6] The moment she saw Rawlings, she grabbed his arm and demanded to know what had happened to her daughter. plate-a4ffe197 Her husband appeared calmer, but his sunken eyes told a different story. #478ff808
"Please, sit down. sig.6e3a6de4 Try to stay calm. no.b594078c The body we found is not your daughter. no.59baac7b We've confirmed the victim's identity — his name is Preston Caldwell. ·4f9b63b5· What was Preston's relationship to your daughter?" no.d9876574
The woman tried to explain through her tears, but she was crying too hard. (d1e1f2f1) Her husband took over. ¶4cfd2849 "Preston was my daughter Cordelia Devereaux's fiance. sub:d37c6d5d They'd known each other two or three years. 227cfa1e·· Got engaged last October, took the wedding portraits. * da4a4abd In December, he and my daughter went to Europe for a trip. [proof:bbe15990] By January, we couldn't reach either of them." ©a6cf1472/May 27, 2026
"I called her coworkers, her friends, old classmates — everyone. ⁰f0952192 She hadn't been in contact with a single person. §988f0ac0 We filed a missing persons report at the police station. (ab072b96) They tracked her movements — she never left the country. [v.af514616] No travel on her ID, nothing on Preston's driving record either." imp.11074192
"Were you aware Preston owned this property in Cape Meridian?" [f0261ec7]
"No. — galley 73a4edcf — Preston's family has money — properties all over the country. #eeb40e71 I never imagined he'd bring my daughter to Cape Meridian." no.c42c7437
"Tell me about your daughter. ··bce29f9d Cordelia Devereaux — what kind of person is she?" ‹452c128c›
Rawlings sat across from the couple as the interview proceeded, someone beside him handling the recording and transcript. * dc109c39 Everything was running by the book. ed.3d349a65
"Cora is an exceptional girl. [v.0813a210] She never gave us a moment's worry, not once. [ms.1be9de30] Academics, daily life — everything was meticulous, organized. imp.d57a1f5f She liked keeping things neat, loved planning ahead. imp.11a020b6 As a child she studied several instruments and foreign languages. (8dfade6e) Other kids would cry their way through lessons — not her. ¶6bcdc5bd She'd be the one talking the crying kids into sticking with it. (6b72b325/Wed) More persuasive than any adult. imp.796ab1d3 Born leader, through and through." [40a848d4]
"Her father is the chief of staff at Savannah Memorial Hospital. sig.77adf7ae She earned her master's from Johns Hopkins Medical School. sig.0d003d94 Made attending neurosurgeon by 28. ©dff3cea0/May 27, 2026 She's so young, so much ahead of her — my daughter..." The woman broke down again, burying her face in her husband's shoulder. imp.c68a6b4c
Her husband let out a heavy sigh. [proof:c35f38b6] Eyes glistening, he looked at Rawlings. [a3a6d02f] "Please. ◆ 300ef3ce Tell us. ··8173a2d7 Is our Cora still alive?" [v.78fe48d0]
Rawlings thought about the blood work results that had just come back. ◆ 1908d0ac
The blood in the bathroom and the blood on the bed didn't match. fa0a6fc4·· Two different people, both seriously injured. sig.9d7efee5
And the amount of blood on the bed — it was nearly enough to kill. §acccb58a That night, Hurricane Louise had made landfall. imp.88790945 The thunderstorm knocked out power across the entire city, and cell service was practically nonexistent. — 176dac57 No surveillance footage of any value.·863b0370
Rawlings pressed his lips together, told them what he could, then added: "We'll need a DNA comparison to confirm whether that blood belongs to Cordelia." ref·2d4ce4e6
If it wasn't hers, there was a good chance it belonged to the woman with the brown curls. [proof:9e0cd971] Either way, Cordelia Devereaux was a prime suspect. «56da76fa»
A doctor. ©52989f2f/May 27, 2026 First off, the psychological barrier to dismembering a cheating fiance barely existed. (c507b239) According to her parents, Cora had been precocious — meticulous from a young age, obsessed with order and planning. (18989cd3/Wed) Possible perfectionist tendencies. 9bf3087f·· Maybe even a touch of OCD. ◆ 3e74c90a
That kind of person, pushed to the extreme? ◆ 24a97ca9 The methods would be beyond anything you'd expect. ⁰e651b218