I took a cleansing breath. “Well, maybe the doctor can help. You go on Thursday, right?”
“Yeah.” He answered, stunned.
I lowered myself down next to him and laid in my favourite spot on his chest. We lay there for a few minutes in silence.
“Well, don’t worry too much baby. I’m sure it’s just the medication or something. It’ll be fine,” I said, patting his chest, and then I rolled the blankets up to cover us. After a while, Mark broke the silence. “I hope so. Because if I have to give up sex as well as everything else. I think I would rather die.”
Chapter 5
“Good morning.” A noticeably brightened smile was on Richard’s face.
“Hey.” Mark looked up and did a double take. “What’s up with you?”
“Nothing.” He shrugged, but he had a devilish grin.
Mark was in no mood for games after last night’s letdown on top of everything else. Shelley had insisted he move up his doctor’s appointment. Which meant Mark would see his cardiologist after lunch.
“What the hell is your problem?” Mark asked. Richard sensed his frustrated tone. “It’s no big deal. I just went out to dinner last night.” Richard’s eyes went over to Lisa’s desk and his chin rose slightly, as if to point in her direction.
Mark’s eyes went back to the file he was thumbing through and his head waved from side to side “Well it’s about time.”
Richard laughed. “Glad you approve.”
Mark changed the subject. “We got all the stuff back from the Reed case. I’ve been through it all with Andy, do you want me to brief you on it, or have you got something else going on.”
“Nah, I’m good. Hey, you must have been here early again. Jeez, it’s only seven thirty now,” he said, looking at his watch.
“Yeah, I gotta leave for a bit this afternoon and I wanted to get through this stuff beforehand.” Richard sat down in the guest chair and waited for Mark to start.
Mark handed Richard the crime scene photos first. One by one Richard viewed them, turning them over to get a better angle on some. His face screwed up to focus on a couple, and he closed his eyes in disgust for one in particular. “Is that the one with the blood splatter?” Mark asked, watching Richard wince.
“Ugh, yeah. That’s pretty nasty. What’s Charlie saying about this?” Charlie Thompson was their best crime scene investigator.
“He says it was obviously done by someone she knew. I think I told you before Charlie could find no signs of forced entry.” Richard nodded while he looked at a couple of less gruesome shots. “There’s not a lot to go on in this case. We’re going to need a lot of Charlie’s help.” Mark’s phone rang; he looked on the screen “Speak of the devil, here’s Charlie on the line.”
He picked up the phone and hit the speaker button “Hey Charlie I’ve got you on speaker with Richard here, what’s the word?”
“Sorry I haven’t got better news. My guys have been over the scene three times now and there are no prints or casings. Nothing. Zilch. Nada. Everything is hers and there are a couple of partial finger prints, but nothing we can work with.”
“What about anything wonky looking in the place? Any of the samples look odd?” Richard asked.
“Nope. This guy was slick. She was a clean freak, too. Nothing but dust and normal stuff.”
“One sec.” Mark and Richard could hear the phone being covered and muffled voices in the background.
Two seconds later Charlie came back on. “Hey guys, sorry about that. Reed’s house is still cordoned off and her body is still with the coroner if you want to have a look yourself. Let me know and I’ll let Nelson know when to expect you. He’s keeping watch until noon and then Wendell is taking over.”
Mark looked at Richard and he nodded. “Sure, we’ll head over now. Then we’ll hit the morgue,” Mark said.
“Sure thing.” The phone clicked and Mark hit the end button.
“Should we take the file with us?” Richard asked.
“Yeah, good idea,” Mark said, “In the meantime I’ll have Lisa dig up what she can on Reed, deeper than what the rookies have dug up so far,”
“Yeah, Lisa’s sure got a knack for digging,” Richard commented.
“You would know,” Mark said, winking at him. Richard jokingly seethed.
“She’s late for work you know.” Mark teased. “You keep her up past her bedtime last night?”
“Nothing happened if that’s what you’re implying,” Richard said as he picked up his coat. “Besides, how can she be late? It’s not even eight o’clock.”
“Not late by my standards. Hers. You never noticed before how early she gets here?” Mark picked up the file after shrugging on his jacket.
Richard nodded, opening the door and waiting for Mark to go ahead. “That girl needs a raise,” Richard commented.
The word ‘raise’ made the hair on the back of Mark’s neck stand up. Normally he would have said something like “I bet she got one last night”, but he declined to comment.
“My car or yours?” Richard asked. Mark was about to answer when Andy walked in.
“We’re just heading over to review the Reed scene. You want to join us?” Mark asked Andy. Andy’s face looked pale, and he was sipping a large coffee and appeared to be taking small, slow movements. Mark noticed the change in his pallor “Hey, you look like the way I looked a few weeks back, what’s going on?”
Andy swallowed and cleared his throat. “My brother surprised us last night with tickets to the hockey game. We went out to the bar afterward. Never let your brother talk you into drinking something called a ‘snakebite’. They’re called that for a reason.” Richard and Mark laughed. The laughter prompted Andy to put his hand on his head and wince.
“Sorry man. Okay, we’ll catch you later,” Mark said, patting Andy gently on the shoulder.
“I don’t suppose you’re up for a noogie or two are you?” Richard teased, speaking slightly louder than normal.
“You do and I’ll puke in your hat,” Andy retorted, taking another sip of his coffee and walking away. Richard grabbed the bill and back of his police hat and pulled tightly with a grin on his face. The crown of his head peeked up from the material slightly, and then he pushed it back to its rightful place.
“We’ll take my car if it’s all the same to you. If we run late, you don’t mind tagging along to the cardiologists with me, do you?” Mark asked.
“Sure. Hell, he can check out my ticker too if he wants,” Richard said, picking his keys out of his pocket. Mark grinned.
…
The victim’s home was across town, about ten minutes from the police station. When they pulled up, the red tape was still tightly wound around the perimeter of the house, which stood quaintly on a quiet street not far from the highway. There was a large concrete wall partitioning off the residential area from the noise of the highway. Karen Reed’s house was ordinary, like the cookie cutter style homes on the rest of the street. The only difference between her detached bungalow and her neighbours’ homes was an awning on the front porch. It was metal and painted robin’s egg blue. It looked like it had been added recently since the paint wasn’t peeling or faded.
Constable Nelson’s police cruiser was parked in the driveway. He must have heard Mark and Richard’s cruiser pull up because the door opened and he suddenly appeared in the doorway. When Richard exited the car, Nelson tipped his hat to greet him and Richard did the same. Nelson was in his early twenties, tall with short hair like all the rest of his peers. He had only been on the force for a few months; hence he was given low risk tasks such as watching scenes under investigation. He wasn’t assigned a partner yet, but it looked like he and Wendell, another newbie, would be partnered up soon.
“Good morning Chief Tame.” Nelson saluted as Mark exited the car.
“No need for formalities, Nelson. At ease.”
“Sir, the scene is secure; no intruders today…er…at least as long as I’ve been here.”
; “Great job Nelson. Why don’t you grab a coffee or something while Richard and I have a look around? Unless you want to stay. You’re more than welcome if you’d like.” Nelson gave Mark a swift bow and walked to his car.
Richard entered the house and realized the windows were all open; then he looked around and learned why. The victim’s blood spatter was still all over the walls and floor. There were bits of grey matter and clumps of hair mixed in with the blood. All the particles must have begun rotting because the smell was enough to make Richard gag. He took his shirt sleeve and tried his best to cover his nose. Mark did the same.
“God, it’s a wonder we still eat meat after all the blood and shit we’ve seen over the years,” Richard commented.
“Somehow I’m not as desperate as I thought I was to get back into red meat,” Mark added.
“I’ll remind you of that when we go to the doctor’s.”
“Thanks, but you can wait in the car,” Mark said.
They both looked around the house. Mark along one side of the house where the kitchen, living room and powder room were located, and Richard down the hall towards the bedrooms and bathroom.
“Charlie was right, this place is spotless,” Richard commented.
“I’ll say. I thought Shelley was neat,” Mark responded.
There was not a thing out of place; no clutter whatsoever. The entrance had a small console table for keys and mail and it held a small, organized pile of unopened envelopes wrapped in a thin elastic band. There was one letter on top with a fresh stamp on it, waiting to be mailed. Mark entered the powder room beside the console table and switched on the light. The sink was spotless, there were no brushes or combs to be found since they were all gone to trace for DNA samples. The toilet seat was down and there was a blue fluffy seat cover and matching floor mat. The mirror had a small blue rosette in the same color as the cover and mat affixed to the top left hand corner. The bathroom light was also in the shape of a rosette.
“She liked blue flowers,” Mark yelled from the bathroom, opening the cupboard under the sink. The sound of his voice was muffled.
“Yeah. She was into fitness and crap, too. There’s a bunch of exercise DVDs in the master bedroom. One left in the disc player as well,” Richard yelled from the back of the house.
Mark turned off the bathroom light and went into the living room. There was a small, formerly blue sofa in the middle of the living room. It was covered in blackish red blood. There was a pool of blood right in the center of the couch. The shape of it reminded Mark of those old cartoons where the character ran through the wall and a matching form was left in the void. “She definitely died on the couch.”
Richard entered the living room “I’ll say.” He said, examining the bloodstained couch. The wall behind the couch was equally spattered with blood. Mark searched the room and found the box of latex gloves that the crime scene investigators left; standard procedure. He walked over and pulled four gloves out of the box.
“Here,” Mark said as he threw a pair of gloves to Richard. Richard caught them and put them on. When he had on both gloves, Mark walked back over to the couch.
“Give me a hand with the couch, will you?”
Mark removed one of three cushions and examined it. Richard bent down and looked in the gap between the couch and the floor. The carpeting was off white, but in the area around the couch, it was peppered with blood spatter. Satisfied, Richard stood up and took a cushion and examined it. Mark loosely replaced the first cushion and picked up the last one. The cushions were microfibre. Like corduroy, if you ran your hand across it, the nap would stay in place. The middle cushion had the least amount of blood on it. The first one had the most. Mark noticed a strange indent pattern in some dried blood on the side of the middle cushion.
“Grab the file, would you?” he asked Richard. Richard brought the file over and began thumbing through the crime scene photos. When he found the ones taken of the living room, he brought them out and spread them across the carpeted area that was cleanest; by the door.
“What are we looking for?” Richard asked.
“Are there any pictures of the couch?”
Richard scanned them and found one of the couch and the wall. He brought it over to Mark. “It appears this one was taken”. Mark glanced at the picture and said, “It looks like this pattern might be an earring or necklace or something. But it was removed after the victim died.”
“Did you notice a jewellery box in the bedroom?” Mark asked.
“A small one, and there’s also a trinket box beside it full of crap.”
“I’m just wondering if the jewellery was picked up by the investigators. Let’s head over to the coroner’s and see what was on her.”
Mark carefully set the cushion on the floor next to the couch and grabbed a plastic ‘evidence’ tag and placed it in front of the cushion. He took as good a picture as he could using the camera on his cell phone and they left. Nelson was just pulling up.
“We’re heading to the Coroner’s now but we might be back later,” Richard said. Nelson nodded and went back inside the house.
“That boy better learn how to talk or he won’t survive in our precinct,” Richard commented.
“Well, not with you anyway.” Mark laughed.
…
Richard hated going to the Coroner’s office. It was the most dank, cold and creepy place. What made matters worse was the Coroner, Bob, loved to listen to metal music while he worked. His favourite band was Metallica, and you always knew when he was having a bad day because the song ‘Enter Sandman would be playing. Bob had just returned from vacation and he was playing catch up because the rookie who covered for him left many loose ends. His day wasn’t going well and that song was on just as Mark and Richard arrived. Richard shuddered when he saw the bodies all laying there, covered in white sheets like furniture being protected from dust, lined up like lady finger cookies on a tiramisu.
Knowing how Richard felt about the place, Mark offered to wait in the car. “Na, I’ll tough it out. I’m curious anyway. It’s been a while since I’ve seen a point blank shot.”
“Suit yourself.” Mark said, holding the door for him as he winced once his foot touched the highly polished floor.
His face darkened when he saw Bob standing over a body with his back to them. Bob turned around to greet them and then immediately turned back; the man was not easily distracted. “Reed’s body is the one over there,” Bob said, pointing his gloved hand over to the body nearest the cadaver storage drawers. Richard closed his eyes tightly when he noticed something hanging from Bob’s glove. He had to stifle the urge to walk with his eyes closed, holding Mark’s shoulder for direction.
Mark noticed Richard’s expression and he said under his breath, “This is why you’ll never make chief.” And he nudged him gently with his elbow. Richard opened his eyes and looked up at the ceiling, as though he had walked in on someone using the washroom and he could later claim “I didn’t see a thing.”
Richard nearly walked right into Mark when they reached the table where Karen Reed’s body was located. “Do you mind?” Mark said.
Mark pulled aside the sheet covering Karen’s face, lowering it just to her collarbone. “Was she wearing any jewellery?” he asked Bob. Mark seemed to be oblivious to the sight of her. Richard, however, couldn’t keep it together and turned his back to avoid looking. There was a small hole between her eyes on her forehead, slightly to the right. The shot went clean through to the back of her skull. Her eyes remained open.
“It’s in the bag under the table,” Bob answered with his back still turned.
Mark bent down and raised the sheet far enough to see the yellow manila envelope. He dumped the contents onto the clean table beside them. There was a watch, a pair of cubic zirconia earrings, and a birthstone ring inside.
He looked closely at her earlobes; she had two sets of holes for earrings. He looked at her left hand; there was no mark where her wedding ring used to be and no mark on
her wrist. Then he pulled up her right hand and couldn’t see any marks on her fingers, but her wrist had a noticeable set of indents and scratches.
“Were these marks post mortem?” Mark asked.
Finally, Bob turned around. “Yes. Must have been a bracelet. Nothing was on her though.”
“Did you get a shot of the markings?” Mark asked.
“Yeah, but it isn’t great. I can try to get a mould of them if you think it’s relevant.”
Richard interjected, “Yeah, that would be great….are we done here?”
“Yeah, we’re done for now.”
“Thanks Bob, we’re going to head back to the house and see if there’s a bracelet in with her jewellery. See if it matches the markings on her wrist and the couch.”
Bob grunted and turned his back again.
When Richard and Mark exited the morgue, Richard said, “That guy gets along better with the bodies.”
…
“So you think this freak killed her and then removed some bracelet?” Richard asked Mark on the way back to the victim’s house.
“I think so. It was probably a gift he gave her. If so, we might have a chance matching it up if we can get a description or something to go on,” Mark said.
“At any rate, we need to go back to the house and search for anything else. We also need to contact Lisa and see what she’s been able to dig up.”
Richard shuddered again at the mention of ‘dig up’, thinking of the bodies in the morgue.
They pulled up to the house and it was like a déjà vu. Constable Nelson appeared at the front door instantly and saluted both men. Mark immediately noticed that Nelson’s face looked very much like Andy’s had, pale and sick. “You look like you need to be relieved Nelson. Go get some air, my man,” Mark said, patting Nelson on the shoulder. He watched Nelson almost miss the first step off the porch, then gain his footing and lose his breakfast in the bushes just to the side of the steps.
“You wanna go make sure he’s okay while I get started?” Mark said to Richard.
The Wife of a Lesser Man (LA Cops Series Book 1) Page 4