Subject: Arthur Penkins - Part Three

He peered inside and there were several cops inside.
"Hey you" Arthur called for this young looking cop.
"What in God's name happened in here?"
"I'm sorry sir, I'm not allowed to tell civilians."
"Excuse me? I work here, and now, apparently there was a crime committed, I think I have the right to know why I can't go to work!"
"Sir, please.."
"I don't care!"
"Alright, just,...stop making a fuss. Listen, I'm new, so please don't tell my boss, ok? This guy, he worked at the editing department.."
"Is it Sam? It's him isn't it?"
"Why yes, how do you know?"
"He was acting weird this past week, all jumpy and frightened."
"Well, I'll have to take you with me for your statement."
"Is it serious?"
"Come with me, and you'll see" And the young cop turned and left.
Arthur, was ready to answer back, but he left the sentence in the middle. He quickly caught up with the cop. The hall was empty, which was weird at that hour. There were other cops, about seven, some of them taking pictures to a completely bloodstained couch, others checking for prints, and two of them talking to Arthur's boss, Mr.Peterson.
The young cop approached one of those who were talking to Mr.Peterson.
"Sir, this man knows something about the victim...You better come and check him out." the young cop whispered to his superior, who was a man in his 50's, gray mustache, short hair, and a pot belly peeking out of his uniform.
"And you are...?" The older man asked him.
"Arthur Penkins, writer and creator of the "Urban Pathfinder" chronicles and the bestsellers "Farm House" and "Touched Lips". I work here and I want to find out what happened to Sam."
"Where you close to Samuel Goldarck?"
"You might say so, we lunched a couple of times, talked about trivial things, you can say we were friends."
"When was the last time you saw him?"
"Yesterday, as I left work, I found him. He was in a really bad shape, but nowadays he was always like that, so I didn't suspected a thing."
"Hmm...What time was it, when you last saw him?"
"About 11.30 P.M"
"I see. Did you talk to him?"
"Yes. The usual chit chat. I asked him how was he going. He said he was fine. Now that I remember, he was really in a bad shape. He looked like he hadn't slept for a week. Ah, but here in the newspaper we must learn not to sleep."
"Did he mention anything worth reporting?"
"Well...no, but he did act strangely. Constantly looking at the door and sweating. He looked sick. But what exactly happened to him? Is he...dead?"
"He passed away last night. We believe it was murder."
"What?!" Arthur was astonished. Murder? Here? He thought Sam was hurt, not dead.
"Do you know if he had any family members alive?"
"Wait. How did he died?"
"That is not of your concern."
"If you want to contact his only family member, yes, it's my concern."
"If you don't cooperate, we'll simply check his data base, please, don't make this job harder than it is."
"This person is not in his data base. Sam erased him after a huge fight. Listen, he was my friend. Please, tell me."
"We...we still don't know how he died. It is...hard to identify the murder weapon."
"Why?"
"Lets say the victim is hardly recognizable."
"Oh god..." Arthur remembered his murder experience, from years ago. "Can...can I see him?"
"Sorry but no. So, who's the family member?"
"Edgar Penpoe. 63 years old. Awful father, and the worst husband possible."
"Penpoe?"
"Sam always used his mother's maiden name. Please, let me see him..."
"Were done with you. Please give your phone number to agent Finn so we may reach you when necessary." The older cop left him with the younger, who apparently was agent Finn.
When they were finally alone, Arthur didn't resist to ask:
"Hardly recognizable? You'll have to explain that to me."
"Well, we found the victim on that couch. I still can't get used to the memory...he was...argh"
"What??"
"We didn't found a body. We found parts of it. Altogether in this...meat ball. It was...absolutely disgusting."
"You know, when I was a kid my mother died in a violent accident. The image still lingers my dreams, but I'm so used to revive that night, that it doesn't disgust me anymore. You'll get used to, don't worry, soon it will be one of the most common things in your life."