Enjoy!
CHAPTER ONE
Simon Templeton snaps off his
gloves, tosses them in a red medical waste bag set up just outside the door, and
says to the Forensics team, “Two bodies in the second floor bedroom. Top of the stairs, first door on the left. Murder weapon is in the male’s right
hand. Beretta 9mm, from the looks of
it. Female has two rounds in the chest
and the male one, also in the chest.”
His investigations partner,
Kolin Raynes, follows him outside. “Why
would he do that? Kill her, then kill
himself. And why a chest shot? Why not in the head? Yeah, I know, I know, I heard the divorce was
getting pretty nasty, but it seems to me he was the one making it nasty. God, I’ll miss hearing her at MECC. I heard once that she was in line for Eva
Rosen’s job when she retires.”
MECC is the Minneapolis
Emergency Communications Center, responsible for coordinating emergency calls
throughout all of the suburbs in the Twin Cities area. Eva has been working as a 9-1-1 dispatcher
for over forty years, half of that time in a mentor capacity for all trainees.
Grinning, Simon says, “I
don’t believe Eva will ever give up her post. Even when
she’s ninety, she’ll still be taking 9-1-1 calls.” His cell rings. “Great.
The boss.” He brings the cell up,
plugging the other ear with his thumb.
“Yes, sir. Yes, murder-suicide,
just like we thought. What was that,
sir? Gary worked for Dope?”
“You’re kidding,” says Kolin.
Dope is the nickname for the
Minneapolis PD’s Narcotic Enforcement Unit, housed in the same building as
their department: Violent Crime Unit.
Kolin had the unpleasant experience of working with an infamous Dope
sergeant Jim Brandt—AKA Dope Jim—six months back when his daughter Claudia was
kidnapped by the serial killer Marie Holter.
AKA The Video Slayer.
Simon nods. “Yes, sir, we’ll contact them. Not sure how much they’ll tell us. I’ll keep you informed.” He disconnects, then rubs his ears.
“Is your hearing ever going
to be back to normal? I mean, I’ve been
to a few rock concerts in my day, and I still have near-perfect hearing.”
During Claudia’s rescue,
Simon was forced to shoot his way out of his car which had plunged into a river,
causing much damage to his hearing. He’s
currently doctoring at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester—the result of a second
opinion when the first doctor he consulted said nothing could be done and
wanted to fit him for a hearing aid—and has seen tremendous improvement.
They walk out to the
car. “Captain said Gary worked for
Dope,” says Simon. “Been working for
them at least a year.”
“Why would the PD promote a
drunk like that?”
“Kolin, Gary was good at his
job. You know that.”
“Of course, but after his
seventh or eighth DUI, you’d think the department would strip his license.”
Simon sighs. “Gary was two years away from putting in his
twenty. He’s not the first cop to get
arrested for drinking and driving. Nor
the last. Certain cops just have skills
that aren’t easily replaced. And when
that’s the case, the higher-ups have a tendency to look the other way. It’s not right, but that’s just the way it is.”
“Now what?”
“We talk with someone from
Dope. Just in case this isn’t a
murder-suicide.”
“You and I both know this is
a murder-suicide. Hell, the world knows
it is.”
“Just need to cover the
bases,” says Simon. “Boss’s orders.”
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