Dark Trails: contos, #1

By Ricardo Almeida

Embark on a gripping journey into the heart of mystery and intrigue with "Echoes of the Unseen: A CSI's Quest for the Unthinkable." Join a seasoned crime scene investigator as he unravels the chilling enigma behind a series of bizarre deaths that defy all logic.

Dive into the gritty reality of crime scene investigation, where long hours at unsettling locations become the backdrop for a relentless pursuit of answers. This eBook peels back the glamorous façade depicted by the media, revealing the harrowing challenges faced by investigators as they grapple with the stench of crime and the weight of their responsibilities.

The narrative unfolds like a chilling thriller, starting with a murder scene that leaves even the most seasoned investigators in stunned silence. A young girl, inexplicably entwined within a tree, presents a macabre tableau that transcends the boundaries of normalcy. As the investigator delves deeper, a series of perplexing deaths, each more baffling than the last, unfolds before the reader's eyes.

Experience the tension and intrigue as the investigator, burdened with the weight of each discovery, navigates through the silence that envelopes the investigative team. The story takes an unexpected turn with each revelation, leaving you on the edge of your seat, questioning the very fabric of reality.

With meticulous attention to detail, the eBook delves into the unsettling intersection of human DNA and natural elements, challenging conventional understanding. The investigator's relentless pursuit of the truth, even as he grapples with personal connections to the victims, adds a layer of emotional intensity to the narrative.

As the investigator's determination intensifies, he finds himself drawn into a web of inexplicable occurrences, culminating in a shocking revelation that defies all rational explanation. "Echoes of the Unseen" is not just a crime story; it's a haunting exploration of the human psyche and the profound impact of the inexplicable on those who seek to unravel it.

Prepare to be captivated, disturbed, and ultimately enthralled by this gripping tale of crime, mystery, and the uncharted territories of the human mind. "Echoes of the Unseen" will leave you questioning the boundaries of reality and the chilling echoes that linger in the unseen corners of the investigative world.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Ricardo Almeida
• Release date: Nov 17, 2023
• ISBN: 9798223710813

Book preview

Table of Contents

Dark Trails (contos, #1)

I work as a crime scene investigator and let me tell you it's not as fun or easy as

the media portrays.

Long hours at random locations and most of which smell horrible.

You need to bag everything hoping you picked up something relevant to the case and you

take at least 10,000 photos at different angles.

Not to mention all the sketches and diagrams that you need to make with accurate notes.

The DNA you send off to be tested doesn't come back for months and most of the time

it doesn't even output the case that you're working on.

And but it's a job.

Most of my career has been documenting drug dens.

Drug crimes in my area are way higher than any other kind.

I was called to a scene of a death caused by unknown circumstances.

It was a sight that none of us would ever forget.

A ghastly scene and we still haven't been able to unravel the mystery of it.

It was a murder.

What else could it have been?

It was impossible that death happened due to natural circumstances.

I found myself standing beside my boss, burdened with all my gear but for once not feeling

the weight.

I stared unable to say anything for a few minutes.

Out of the hundreds of dead bodies that I've seen, this one stabbed me in my tracks.

I was looking at a young girl stuck inside a tree, literally stuck inside a tree.

Her upper half, limply hanging out with both arms and the rest of her bodies till inside

the tree.

There was no hole that somebody cut to shove her inside.

She was too fresh to have the tree grow around her.

It was like a video game glitch with an NPC being halfway inside of a wall.

This was reality and things like this just didn't happen.

We did the normal routine of taking photos and documenting the scene.

However everybody was silent.

We only spoke when necessary.

Something like this was so mind-boggling that I felt as if everybody would want to talk

about it to get answers.

Instead we all averted our eyes as much as possible from the dead girl.

In the end a good chunk of the tree was cut out to retrieve the body.

To our horror there wasn't much left.

Only an inch of her body was inside the tree.

The rest was missing.

It took days to find the painstakingly separate the two of them to find out how little we

were working with.

I had access to the autopsy photos.

For a few hours I looked through them trying to understand what I was seeing.

The parts of her that should be inside the tree were missing.

It appeared that the wood had naturally grown around her flesh instead of being perfectly

cut away from her.

She was easily identified as a teenager who worked a midnight shift at a gas station.

Another confusing fact is that her workplace.

It was located two hours away from where she was found dead.

She was on camera leaving me building one hour before she was found.

There was simply not enough time to transport her.

Let alone cut her apart and pose the body.

Have you ever seen anything like this before?

My boss asked as I was in the station looking over the photos.

I really shouldn't be looking at them as often as I did.

There wasn't much else to learn from just staring at