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    The Stress Fracture, Chapter 2: The Autopsy Report

    She would stay up until morning talking with Alice while she studied and compared her father’s two autopsy reports–one the “official” report, the other, left by a mysterious messenger, which contradicted all Bette had believed about her father’s death for last fifteen years.

    ***

    A Dojo

    Unknown location

    2:00am, Thursday, January 25th

    Two figures, dressed in traditional Kendo Bogu, sparred with bamboo Shinai swords. Each fighter seemed confident, strident in his attacks, parries, deflects, blocks, and reposes. They spoke little other than the customary expression “Kiai” as they landed blows and strikes on each other’s armor. After some moments, it became clear this session was in fact a training, as one of the combatants was clearly a student, for he slipped and fell over his own feet, getting himself tangled up in his Hakama, the long, floor length garment, separated in the middle to form wide trouser legs.

    After an hour of the practice progressing, the student and his master removed their breastplates, called do, their protective girdles, called tare, and their gloves, or kote. Only their helmets, called men, remained in place over their heads, with the flaring neck protection on either side. The two bowed to each other and placed their bamboo swords in a stand. Then each picked up a long gracefully curved weapon, a katana. They faced each other, bowed again, and simultaneously unsheathed the razor sharp swords. The sound of the metal as it left its protective carrier echoed loudly in the small dojo.

    At the ready, the master allowed the student to approach. Sparks ignited as blades engaged. The power of the master was evident then as the student retreated and frantically attempted to deflect the strikes. But the sound of the master’s hissing blade only intensified. The student parried, blocked, and parried again only to be surprised with a stinging slice across his forearm. He dropped to his knees and lowered his blade. Blood oozed from his wound, and he applied pressure with his other hand. He could have easily have lost his entire arm below the elbow. He’d been lucky this time. Lucky or blessed.

    As he panted and waited, he gazed up through his protective mask. Slowly he removed it, revealing how sweat poured from his face and head. It was the student, Tim, who’d been on the UMass campus earlier that day.

    “Sensei,” he said, still gasping for breath. “I was foolish and missed my mark. Forgive me.”

    The master’s sharp blade came up under Tim’s chin, along his neck and vulnerable artery.

    “Hanshi!” Tim gasped in panic while using the honorific title for his master’s ranking. “I will not fail you again. You have my word.”

    The master’s sword lowered, and Tim watched as the figure of his teacher retreated into the dark corner of the dojo. Tim sighed, cringed with discomfort at his wound, and then began to clean up from the evening’s practice session.

    The master would sit and mediate upon a single lit candle, Tim knew, until sunrise. But he would be denied the tranquility of mediation. For he had to atone for his mistake, clean the dojo, chop wood for the morning fire, and prepare his master’s tea. All this and to study for a biochemistry exam, too.

    He groaned and got to work after he bound his wound in clean, white cotton gauze and vowed to himself to never disgrace his master again.

    TBC

    Comments

    1. Please read the trigger warning in the author’s note.

      Thanks for all the positive feedback on chapter 1. I appreciate knowing your thoughts on the story, especially since this is a new style for me.

      There are a lot of characters to keep track of, I know. But the plot is complicated with a ton of twists and turns, so I hope you don’t get too confused as it develops.

      I forgot to thank iHeartHeart in the last chapter for finding the name of the character, Leigh Ostin, from season two of TLW. She’s the glass artist Bette buys the glass mobile from for the baby’s crib, and who Bette had wanted to date but found she was already involved.

      Enjoy this chapter. Let me know if you have questions. Again, you can reach me through this site, through my Twitter or blog.

      See you next week!

    2. Finally read both chapters. You do have quite the imagination. You have all my favorite strong women in this story, not including jenny, she is just a looney tunes and can’t help herself. This is reading as though it will be another one of your epic tales with things happening that I know I won’t believe. And it appears that you will scare the living water out of me with this one. Great writing as always. So proud of you. Thanks for taking the time, we know how busy you are and thank your family for giving you the time to write and share with us. Only for you will I read something that will have me looking under beds, behind doors etc. You know what I mean.

    3. Hi BenMac – for once I’m glad Bette has Alice to talk to and sounds like she might be a good friend and sounding board. Leigh is a huge weight and doesn’t seem to be doing anything to pull herself out of her depression. Don’t know her story yet, but seems she would have been better off staying in Los Angeles. Looking forward to the next installment. Thank you.

    4. Thankyou I love this, now a bit of help from my side. Please just get Leigh to pack her stuff and go. Bette needs a woman to look after her and love her. Just thought I would help you a bit. Love your storie can’t wait untill next week. See you then.

    5. I love detective stories with a lot of plot twists. It is fun to see names of characters from different works of fiction. Thanks for taking the time to give us readers such a captivating story.

    6. BenMac,

      Your character build of Detective Porter and her empathy toward the tortured and murdered victim, in opposition with those of the male members of the Special Victims Unit, who feel that he is a monster in his class of criminal “who eat their own”, sets her apart in an interesting contrast to the other cops. Significantly so, given that her own father was a murder victim. Your reveal on how she handles this perp when she comes face to face with him will be compelling. Again, it’s an interesting contrast. Nice job.

      A second good one is the comparison between Bette’s home life and that of Stef’s – one chilly, dark, quiet, lonely, with their possessions missing, while the other full of warmth and chaos. There’s another contrast perhaps you’ll be drawing out in the future that of the mostly male Irish Catholic Police force to a contrast – I’m making in my mind – of Bette’s own racial lineage, if you’re intending on making her mixed race. Unsure about that at the moment. Nevertheless, I feel the steely dark glare of her notoriously disapproving eyes!

      What I’m not sure about is why the professional women around her keep saying something about her illness in the second chapter? I see its narrative point to contrast that Leigh hasn’t seemed to even notice, while the women around her at work do, however; after a few coughs and blue lips and lightheadedness they keep after her. Perhaps, to point out repeatedly that Bette is driven and out of touch with her weakened state? Just wondering if it’s a critical narrative and character flaw that needs so much refreshing? She’s a wounded hero, who’s out of touch with most things about herself except her steely nature, getting on with the job and avoided her once close friends and not making any new ones – any time soon.

      Are the other cops as good on the job as she is? They seem very motherly at the moment, but I’m glad to know they have their eyes on Bette’s welfare, both on the job and off. Waiting on more “cop-like” demeanor in her female colleagues.

      Also, I wonder what Bette and Leigh’s relationship was like before Leigh’s brother was a victim of a horrific crime? Certain you will get to this in time.

      I do also want to commend you on the interesting connection you made with the cats being part of a victim’s therapeutic recovery program. But mostly that, unlike a lot of mystery and crime writers who find an interesting scientific fact to add to a crime puzzle, you didn’t overload us with lots of science. You made the point, make it interesting and unexpected, and moved on.

      I sense you don’t want to make Ken Kennard mewing or anything too on the nose like that within his descriptions, but meeting him surrounded by weird little feline objects I waited for a physical tic or similarity with his obsession.

      Thank you for your excellent storytelling. You’re spinning a gripping tale.

      Blackbird

    7. I love crime drama shows, especially the two you have included in this story. I can usually guess who the assailants are. I was correct about Melvin’s death. I have loved your other stories and this is no exception. So this story is all about the moral dilemma that Bette will have to face, got it.

    8. Updating this story.
      And I apologize for not having accompanied
      publication.
      Worshipping all this junction of different characters
      you put this story.
      I loved the family atmosphere fosters, and when
      if you have more than one child, the mess and total.
      The entire universe.

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