Chapter Two

Kate knew police work was hard but the job of motherhood was even harder. She was well aware that Megan blamed her for the divorce. She heard more than once “If you had a different job, Daddy would not have left.” She knew there was a likelihood that some truth resided in that statement. Kate even felt relief when she stopped at the school and Megan jumped out of the car without saying a word.

When she pulled into the parking lot at the station, Sean was already parked and stood waiting by his car. She thought he was handsome, in spite of his cheap polyester suit.

She asked, "Have you been waiting long?"

He replied, "I have been here all of two minutes. The wife had some things to complain about."

She asked, "What were her complaints?"

He answered, "Beats me, I just tune her out."

Kate responded, "Maybe that explains what your problem is. Do you want to take my car to the morgue?"

Sean replied, "That will work."

She got back into the driver's seat and Sean climbed into the passenger side. The coroner actually had their victim on the table when they entered the examination room. Kate was quick with their main question, "Do you know the cause of death yet?"

The coroner said, "I knew that as soon as the body was dropped here. The ligature marks on her neck are obvious. I will work up more of a story but she was strangled and I would guess it was someone known to her."

Sean wondered how the coroner knew that.

Kate said, "Strangulation is a personal way to commit murder. The murderer has to be close to the victim to do it and the victim has to trust that person enough to allow them to be that close to their personal space."

Sean responded, "I am catching on. It is basic common sense. The answers are there, you just have to analyze the facts and picture the crime in your head."

The coroner said, "It looks like he was behind her and she was in a sitting position. You can see from the marks he pulled up, so he was standing and she was probably sitting in a chair. He may have gone to the bathroom or went to get something in the kitchen and she had her back to him when he came up behind her and dropped the ligature around her neck. Did anyone find the weapon, a cord or wire? The marks show it was too thin to be a rope."

Kate answered, "The forensic guys are still combing the place but we are pretty sure the body was dumped. It may have happened in her or the killer’s apartment."

The coroner said, "I am pretty sure your guy is a man. It took a lot of strength to leave these kinds of marks. I found some marks on her hands too, she fought and tried to pull the ligature off. Her larynx was crushed from the extreme pressure.”

Kate said, “If you find any evidence on the body you know how to find us.”

Kate and Sean left the coroner’s office and decided to return to the crime scene or at least the site where the body was discovered. No one at the department thought the crime happened at that spot. The CSI team had discovered tire tracks close to where the body had been dumped, unfortunately there were more than one set so they needed to isolate each one and if they found a vehicle in the future that had other evidence, they could see if any of the tire tracks matched.

Kate squatted down to look at the tracks at a lower angle where the shadows were different and then she called the lead CSI investigator and Sean over. She talked as she pointed and said, “These tracks end right here and just away from them is a deep indention similar to what would be made from the weight of a body and then there are drag marks from the indention to that spot where the body was found. These tracks are from the vehicle that dropped the body off.”

The investigators wasted no time taking photos and processing the markings that Kate pointed out as important evidence. Kate looked closely around the area, but knew they needed the real crime scene to solve this crime and they needed an identity for the victim. They had photos of the victim and they would check with missing persons to see if the photo matched anyone missing. She didn’t know if it was a coincidence that the body was left in a place just a few blocks from the police station, or some kind of challenge from the killer.

Kate said, “Let’s get some photos out to the media to broadcast and see if anyone calls in.”

Sean asked, “What do we do now?”

Kate responded, “We wait. The coroner has the body, forensics has the clothes, shoes, and underwear as well as photos of the probable tire tracks of the killer. We have to let everyone do their job. Once we can get an identity we can find out where she lived, who she knew and maybe talk to her family.”

Kate had barely gotten the words out of her mouth when her phone, still on vibrate, buzzed and she looked to see who it was before she exclaimed, “Oh crap it’s Megan.” She answered the phone and Megan asked, “Mom, a few of the girls are going to the library to work on a project, is that okay with you that I go?”

Kate replied, “Don’t stay too late, I plan on being home early tonight.”

Kate didn’t know if she would be home early or not, she just wanted to plant that seed with Megan to make her think her time was limited. She didn’t believe for a minute Megan was going to a library. She reached for her phone and opened her tracking app to check where Megan was now. It was a little extra protection to keep up with Megan and one Megan wasn’t aware of. It tracked Megan’s phone, which Kate knew Megan would never let out of her site. The device showed Megan still at school and Kate left it running to know when Megan left.

Sean said, “Since we are at a standstill till some of the evidence is processed, do you want to go to the Pig for lunch?” The Squealing Pig was a local restaurant not far from the station and they went there often for lunch.

Kate replied, “That makes sense, there isn’t a lot we can do till the forensics is completed. It seems like all we do is eat.”

Kate and Sean made their way to “The Squealing Pig”.

Sean said, “I don’t know where they came up with their name, there are very few pork dishes on the menu.”

Kate replied, “Maybe back when it was first opened pork was a bigger part of their line of items. I am going to have the braised sirloin Guinness Stew.”

Sean responded, “I think that sounds good, they should cut back on the sirloin and add more Guinness.”

The two detectives ordered as soon as they sat at their table without ever opening a menu. They had been here enough times that they knew the menu without ever seeing it. Kate ate hearty even though she stayed slender. She burned a lot of calories. In the summer months she often ate a salad of some kind but as soon as the weather got colder she opted for more in the range of comfort food.

Kate again checked her phone to see where Megan was and it showed no movements. She was still at some residence that Kate was not familiar with. Kate called on another friend in the department that worked with drones. Kate gave him the address and asked if he could check out things for her. The friend made a good run around the property and sent Kate a video that was shot from the drone.

Sean asked, “Do you have some concerns about Megan?”

Kate replied, “Yeah, she told me she was going to the library with friends to study and yet in this video she is in a bikini out by a pool in forty degree weather. She is not only a liar but she is also an idiot.”

Kate said, “I don’t know whether to show her she didn’t get away with anything or to keep quiet and protect my sources in case something more important happens later. How about for now we concentrate on the stew.” Timing is everything and the waitress was just setting the bowls of the stew down after Kate made her statement.

Sean said, “If she thinks she got away with something, she may be even more careless in the future. That might be when you need the information the most.”

Kate replied, “Thanks for the input, I think I will have to agree with you. When she comes in tonight, I am just going to ask how her day went and let it drop.”

Braised Sirloin Guiness Stew was sitting in front of them and Kate could smell the hearty aroma of the Guiness as she stirred the chunks of meat and potatoes around before she took a bite with the grilled bread that came with it.