The Red Shoes

San Antonio is a small and peaceful town. There are barely any crime news reported, which makes it hard for Cali to get her ideal beat. Ever since she’s young, Cali admires those reporters who are in the crime scenes. She is fond of seeing reporters analyzing what happened. She believes that all types of reporters are amazing but those who risk their lives to write a story are the best.

It’s not like she wants something bad to happen to their town, rather, she just wants to get some excitement. She’s sick of telling stories about schools winning sports or random person winning the lottery. She wants more. More juicy stories, more mysteries. She wants a story that can get the attention of the whole world and she is sure that crime stories are perfect.

That’s why on the 26th of July, when the editor immediately asks them to have a meeting about a crime beat, Cali knows this is the opportunity she’s been waiting for.

“A body was found by the river this morning. I need someone to go to the morgue to get the identity and write a story about it.”

Cali’s eyes shine in excitement but she knows she can’t volunteer unless no one wants to take it. She’s new in the industry and the editor isn’t really that fond of her. She waits patiently even if she is dying to raise her hand. She looks around the room. Everyone seems to be worried about getting involved in the case. She knows that they don't want to risk their lives for some story. They aren't like her.

“No one?” the editor asks as he looks around the room.

“I’ll take it!”

Cali confidently raises her hand. Waiting for 30 seconds is enough. She’s sure that these reporters are scared to investigate about this but not her. This can be her ticket to being known, not only in San Antonio, but in other parts of the country too.

The editor looks at her as if analyzing if she is fit for the job. She's new and she doesn't have much to prove yet. But since no one is willing to take it, and this is a big case since San Antonio doesn’t get news like this, he has no choice but to give it to her.

“Fine. Give me a story tomorrow morning, 5 am sharp. I don’t want any information missed. Got it?”

Cali nods excitedly. She can feel her body shake in excitement.

---

Even if Cali spent all her life in this town, this is her first time going to the morgue. The place is eerie and old. It’s also the only morgue in San Antonio.

When she arrives, she sees a group of people waiting outside. Curious, she walks up to them to get any information she can before going in.

“I heard that the victim is a young woman.”

“Poor girl. It’s the first time something like this happened in San Antonio. What’s going to happen?”

Cali is about to ask a question to them until a group of men approach them.

“Excuse me, only family members are allowed to stay here”

A tall guy who seems to be in the same age as Cali says. The other men behind him try to convince the citizens to leave. He then looks at her as he notices that she is not moving.

“Miss, you should go too”

“Oh! I’m not with them. I’m a reporter from San Antonio Daily. I’m assuming you’d expect media to cover this, right?”

She says and shows her ID. He seems surprised but he just nods and leads the way.

“But I do hope that you won’t make people panic because of this. As you know, our town is known for being peaceful and crime-free.”

She smiles as she gets her notepad and pen. They continue to walk inside the morgue. The place is rather dark and has a distinct smell that Cali assumes are the smell of the corpses. The man stops by the door and turns to her.

“You are only allowed to take a photo when her body is covered. We promised the family not to show her face.”

She nods. “Can I get her information?”

He opens the door. Inside is a dead body and two other people who are investigating the corpse.

“You can get it from them.”

She is about to ask his name but he walks to one of the people inside for an update. Cali then turns to the other person who is looking at the body closely.

“Hi. I’m from San Antonio Daily. I’m here to write a report about the case.”

The woman stops from investigating, turns to the man then back to Cali. He nods to give her a cue to continue.

“From her ID, we found out that she’s Jane Morales. She’s 23 years old. According to her family, she was supposed to come early at home that night. But she didn’t come at all. They tried contacting her until a random citizen found her body the next day.”

“Do they have any suspect?”

The woman is about to answer but she is interrupted by the man.

“None for now. They said she was friendly and hardly fights anyone. Maybe you can go to her workplace and know her status there?”

Cali nods. “I can do that.”

“Lance are you sure this is a great idea? Trusting the media?” the woman beside Cali asks.

Lance sighs. “No one expected a case like this to happen so the town leaders didn’t really prepare a crime team. I can’t handle this alone and I need as many help as I can.”

The woman does not respond and continues her work. Cali can feel the tension in the air but she decides not to interfere. Lance turns to Cali.

“Is it okay with you to help me with this case?”

Cali smiles and nods.

---

“Sorry for Shane’s attitude. She has issues with the media”

Lance says as he and Cali walk outside Jane’s room.

“It’s fine. I totally understand. But thank you for asking me to help you with the case. Based on your name, I’m assuming you’re the only detective in this town, right? I heard your name before.”

He smiles. “Yes. I’m Lance Lopez. But just call me Lance. Shane and Mel are doctors but they help the police when needed. We never thought we’d need their assistance until today.”

She nods and turns to him.

“Lance, what do you think happened to Jane?”

He pauses and takes a deep breath.

“Murder”