Thursday Threads: "He stared in horror at the body."

It's Thursday, and the lovely Siobhan Muir has thrown down her 250 word challenge for the week. The prompt:

He Stared in Horror at the Body

Joey had seen a lot of atrocities during the course of his career. Not just the in the month he had been working for the department, but during his freelance years. And at school before then. In fact, the seedy underbelly of his chosen profession had caught his attention long before he ever gave thought to taking it personally. Others passed by, unknowing and uncaring, but not Joey.

These days when he saw a crime, he called upon the hosts of heaven and hell to avenge the wrong, not caring which arrived first, so long as someone had his back. And then grumbling, he’d set about sorting out the mess.

He stared in horror at the body. She looked like she had been stretched on a rack. Thinking that a girl’s legs went on for miles was one thing…but this sicko tried to see if they could. Arms, too. And neck.

What a mess, Joey thought, rubbing his face with his hands, wondering where he should start first. The unnatural limbs? The emaciated frame? The malnourished, jaundiced skin?

Looking close, he found artifacts in her hair and on her skin. The culprit was cocky, to be sure, but he was getting sloppy.

"Joey, can you fix that image, man?" He swiveled his chair around and pretended his eyes could shoot laser beams. His art director didn't notice. "We're due at the imagesetter after lunch."

"This ain't an image, Rick," he growled. "It's an effing crime scene."

246 words

Please check out the other wonderful little stories built upon this prompt at Siobhan Muir's (18+) blog.