blank to the chest,” said Kreeger.
The two cops stood together in silence for a few seconds.
“All right, let’s go upstairs,” Kreeger said finally.
Rounding the second-floor landing, they squeezed past a gurney and entered the master bedroom. Earlier the room had seemed large, but now it looked small, thanks to the number of people working there. Several people with badges hanging around their necks were dusting for fingerprints, and a smallish-looking, balding man wearing a paper gown was crouching next to the body on the left side of the bed. He was on his knees, peering intently at the corpse, which, Anna noted, was now naked. Anna assumed the balding man was the medical examiner.
On the other side of the room an older man with a bushy brown mustache stood near the window behind a photographer, who was popping off shots of the closet’s interior. The Mustache was only a few inches taller than Kreeger but a lot bulkier, and he was wearing a rumpled brown suit that matched the color of his facial hair. He wore no tie, and the top two buttons of his dress shirt were unbuttoned at the neck, revealing a white undershirt underneath. A tangle of chest hair curled out over the collar like a mass of electrical wire in an overstuffed fuse box, forcing Anna to picture the furry horror that very likely also covered the man’s back too. The gold shield that dangled from his neck glinted each time the camera’s flash went off.
When the Mustache turned to face them fully, Anna could see he wore the hardened expression of a veteran cop who’s seen too much and tries to cover it up with casual indifference.
“Excuse me for a minute, will ya?” Kreeger said then headed toward the man Anna figured was Detective De Luca. She found a spot by the door where she’d be out of the way but could still hear what the men were saying.
“Get anything?” De Luca asked as Kreeger approached.
Kreeger stopped and shook his head. “Not much. I’m going to talk to them again tomorrow,” he said, referring to the distraught brother and sister. He took a breath. “So, where are we, Leon?”
De Luca was holding a notebook, which he tapped absently with a red and black pen. “Ray’s still out with some of the local cops doing the canvass,” he said. His voice sounded like car tires on a gravel-driveway. No doubt he was a smoker. A glance at his nicotine-stained fingers confirmed it. “And I’ve got Jonas looking for parolees with a history of armed burglary,” De Luca continued. He led Kreeger to the window. “We found something outside,” he said, pointing toward the backyard with his right index finger, using the same hand that held the pen. “The guy went in and out of the property through those trees.” He moved the sausage-sized finger slightly to the left, and Anna could hear the sound of the pen scraping lightly across one of the wooden grills. “See that thin spot, there? We got a couple of good footprints from the snow. Size twelve boot.” He moved his finger closer to the window, tapping it on the glass. “There’s a schoolyard directly behind this property,” he continued. “We think the perp climbed up onto the jungle gym and watched the house from there before he broke in. Maybe he had binoculars, I don’t know. But we got another wet boot print off the apparatus and a cigarette butt that might have been his.”
Anna listened intently, amazed they’d learned so much already.
“That’s a start,” Kreeger said.
“I also had the guys comb the house for the usual stuff,” De Luca added. He consulted his notebook. “So far we got two laptops, a couple of electronic organizers, calendars, bills, financial records, stacks of mail…” He looked up. “We can walk through together later to see if there’s anything else we need.”
“You got it,” said Kreeger with a nod. “Thanks, Leon.” He turned and walked to the foot of the bed, where he had a good view of the balding figure crouching over
The two cops stood together in silence for a few seconds.
“All right, let’s go upstairs,” Kreeger said finally.
Rounding the second-floor landing, they squeezed past a gurney and entered the master bedroom. Earlier the room had seemed large, but now it looked small, thanks to the number of people working there. Several people with badges hanging around their necks were dusting for fingerprints, and a smallish-looking, balding man wearing a paper gown was crouching next to the body on the left side of the bed. He was on his knees, peering intently at the corpse, which, Anna noted, was now naked. Anna assumed the balding man was the medical examiner.
On the other side of the room an older man with a bushy brown mustache stood near the window behind a photographer, who was popping off shots of the closet’s interior. The Mustache was only a few inches taller than Kreeger but a lot bulkier, and he was wearing a rumpled brown suit that matched the color of his facial hair. He wore no tie, and the top two buttons of his dress shirt were unbuttoned at the neck, revealing a white undershirt underneath. A tangle of chest hair curled out over the collar like a mass of electrical wire in an overstuffed fuse box, forcing Anna to picture the furry horror that very likely also covered the man’s back too. The gold shield that dangled from his neck glinted each time the camera’s flash went off.
When the Mustache turned to face them fully, Anna could see he wore the hardened expression of a veteran cop who’s seen too much and tries to cover it up with casual indifference.
“Excuse me for a minute, will ya?” Kreeger said then headed toward the man Anna figured was Detective De Luca. She found a spot by the door where she’d be out of the way but could still hear what the men were saying.
“Get anything?” De Luca asked as Kreeger approached.
Kreeger stopped and shook his head. “Not much. I’m going to talk to them again tomorrow,” he said, referring to the distraught brother and sister. He took a breath. “So, where are we, Leon?”
De Luca was holding a notebook, which he tapped absently with a red and black pen. “Ray’s still out with some of the local cops doing the canvass,” he said. His voice sounded like car tires on a gravel-driveway. No doubt he was a smoker. A glance at his nicotine-stained fingers confirmed it. “And I’ve got Jonas looking for parolees with a history of armed burglary,” De Luca continued. He led Kreeger to the window. “We found something outside,” he said, pointing toward the backyard with his right index finger, using the same hand that held the pen. “The guy went in and out of the property through those trees.” He moved the sausage-sized finger slightly to the left, and Anna could hear the sound of the pen scraping lightly across one of the wooden grills. “See that thin spot, there? We got a couple of good footprints from the snow. Size twelve boot.” He moved his finger closer to the window, tapping it on the glass. “There’s a schoolyard directly behind this property,” he continued. “We think the perp climbed up onto the jungle gym and watched the house from there before he broke in. Maybe he had binoculars, I don’t know. But we got another wet boot print off the apparatus and a cigarette butt that might have been his.”
Anna listened intently, amazed they’d learned so much already.
“That’s a start,” Kreeger said.
“I also had the guys comb the house for the usual stuff,” De Luca added. He consulted his notebook. “So far we got two laptops, a couple of electronic organizers, calendars, bills, financial records, stacks of mail…” He looked up. “We can walk through together later to see if there’s anything else we need.”
“You got it,” said Kreeger with a nod. “Thanks, Leon.” He turned and walked to the foot of the bed, where he had a good view of the balding figure crouching over
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