I actually forgot to post something on my blog this morning, so this is late. The following is another excerpt from my work in progress, The Throuple Private Eye—Business is Booming; a Jen McDowell Series. This is the second draft. I’m at 31k words now. If you want to catch up, order the novella The Throuple Private Eye—Hate Crimes, on Amazon ($2.99). The link is https://www.amazon.com/dp/B084LTTHGN. I made few changes to Chapter 5 for this second draft and posted the first half. Here’s the second half of Chapter 5. Enjoy.
Another Excerpt from my WIP (9)
“And in spite of all this evidence, Keira Shader, the sister of the vic, claims Ken is innocent,” Molly said. “I wonder why.”
“That’s a good question.,” Jen answered. “Read the file first and then we’ll get to work.”
After an hour. Molly had caught up on the police file on the Ken Rice case. Jen updated Molly on the additional information she gleaned from Jonah. Then she rolled a white board over in front of Molly’s desk.
Molly walked over to the white board with a marker. “Let’s write down the timeline according to the police report.” Jen agreed. Molly talked as she wrote. “According to Ken, his wife was always the first one awake. She had to be to work by 0700 hours. Ken didn’t start work until nine. Sandra usually got up at 0500 hours and left for work by 0630 hours.”
Jen picked up from there. “The police report said they got the 911 call at 0712. They arrived at 0724 hours. Ken met them at the door. He had blood on his clothes. After Sandra was declared dead at the scene, the police said they found that the security system was turned off at 0613 hours. Ken said that was usually, Sandra would turn it off on her way out the door around 0630 hours. The police found the rear patio door open but no forced entry. A search of the kitchen didn’t reveal any fingerprints other than Ken’s and Sandra’s. The police said they found no footprints in the back yard. They even brought in K-9 units but found nothing.”
“According to Jonah’s notes,” Jen interjected. “he thinks Ken turned off the alarm at 0613 just before killing his wife. He thinks Ken staged the whole thing to look as if Sandra let someone in through the patio door. The crime scene looked staged to Jonah.”
Molly continued, “Ken told the police that he heard a scream and woke up. He went downstairs and checked the security system and saw it was off. He’s certain that he set it before going to bed. He then went to the closet and removed a golf club to use as a weapon. He went into the kitchen and found his wife on the floor with a knife in her chest. He didn’t see anyone else. He started CPR and that accounts for the blood on him. While doing CPR, he touched the knife which accounts for his prints on the knife. Suspects?”
Molly wrote down Ken Rice name at the top center of the white board and his wife’s name underneath. She connected the two with a solid line. Then she wrote Keira Shader’s name to one side and connected it with a dotted line to Ken Rice. “Let’s brainstorm possible suspects,” she suggested. “That’ll help guide us.” Once she was done, she turned to Jen.
“According to the statement that Ken gave the police,” Jen began. “He speculates that she might have turned off the security system and went into the kitchen. He believes she may have let someone inside through the rear patio doors. That unknown suspect grabbed a knife from the kitchen counter and stabbed her. So, we have an intruder. Could it be a robbery gone bad?”
“Not likely,” answered Molly. “The police found nothing taken, and Sandra’s purse was on the kitchen table. Her cell phone and car keys too.”
Jen started listing hypothetical suspects as Molly wrote them down. “Ken may have had a lover who wanted his wife dead so she could marry him. Maybe Ken had an enemy at work or somewhere outside of work.”
“It had to be someone Sandra knew,” Molly said. “Not a stranger. That eliminates a robbery gone bad. At the same time, maybe she turned off the alarm, because she was expecting someone. Could be a lover. Then they quarreled, and her lover killed her.” Molly wrote lover with a line connected to Sandra.
“The problem with that theory,” said Jen “is there was only one stab wound. A spurned lover usually stabs multiple times. Still… You never know.” She wrote another ‘lover’ with a dotted line connecting Ken. “Let’s not forget the employee in maintenance.” Jen wrote ‘employee’ to one side.
“That’s a good start,” Molly said. “I’ll start with Ken’s place of work. I’ll see if we can meet with the HR director or with someone from the Environmental Services Department.” After a few phone calls, Molly announced, “We have a meeting with the HR Director after lunch. Why don’t you come with me?” Jen agreed.
Another Excerpt from my WIP (9)
“And in spite of all this evidence, Keira Shader, the sister of the vic, claims Ken is innocent,” Molly said. “I wonder why.”
“That’s a good question.,” Jen answered. “Read the file first and then we’ll get to work.”
After an hour. Molly had caught up on the police file on the Ken Rice case. Jen updated Molly on the additional information she gleaned from Jonah. Then she rolled a white board over in front of Molly’s desk.
Molly walked over to the white board with a marker. “Let’s write down the timeline according to the police report.” Jen agreed. Molly talked as she wrote. “According to Ken, his wife was always the first one awake. She had to be to work by 0700 hours. Ken didn’t start work until nine. Sandra usually got up at 0500 hours and left for work by 0630 hours.”
Jen picked up from there. “The police report said they got the 911 call at 0712. They arrived at 0724 hours. Ken met them at the door. He had blood on his clothes. After Sandra was declared dead at the scene, the police said they found that the security system was turned off at 0613 hours. Ken said that was usually, Sandra would turn it off on her way out the door around 0630 hours. The police found the rear patio door open but no forced entry. A search of the kitchen didn’t reveal any fingerprints other than Ken’s and Sandra’s. The police said they found no footprints in the back yard. They even brought in K-9 units but found nothing.”
“According to Jonah’s notes,” Jen interjected. “he thinks Ken turned off the alarm at 0613 just before killing his wife. He thinks Ken staged the whole thing to look as if Sandra let someone in through the patio door. The crime scene looked staged to Jonah.”
Molly continued, “Ken told the police that he heard a scream and woke up. He went downstairs and checked the security system and saw it was off. He’s certain that he set it before going to bed. He then went to the closet and removed a golf club to use as a weapon. He went into the kitchen and found his wife on the floor with a knife in her chest. He didn’t see anyone else. He started CPR and that accounts for the blood on him. While doing CPR, he touched the knife which accounts for his prints on the knife. Suspects?”
Molly wrote down Ken Rice name at the top center of the white board and his wife’s name underneath. She connected the two with a solid line. Then she wrote Keira Shader’s name to one side and connected it with a dotted line to Ken Rice. “Let’s brainstorm possible suspects,” she suggested. “That’ll help guide us.” Once she was done, she turned to Jen.
“According to the statement that Ken gave the police,” Jen began. “He speculates that she might have turned off the security system and went into the kitchen. He believes she may have let someone inside through the rear patio doors. That unknown suspect grabbed a knife from the kitchen counter and stabbed her. So, we have an intruder. Could it be a robbery gone bad?”
“Not likely,” answered Molly. “The police found nothing taken, and Sandra’s purse was on the kitchen table. Her cell phone and car keys too.”
Jen started listing hypothetical suspects as Molly wrote them down. “Ken may have had a lover who wanted his wife dead so she could marry him. Maybe Ken had an enemy at work or somewhere outside of work.”
“It had to be someone Sandra knew,” Molly said. “Not a stranger. That eliminates a robbery gone bad. At the same time, maybe she turned off the alarm, because she was expecting someone. Could be a lover. Then they quarreled, and her lover killed her.” Molly wrote lover with a line connected to Sandra.
“The problem with that theory,” said Jen “is there was only one stab wound. A spurned lover usually stabs multiple times. Still… You never know.” She wrote another ‘lover’ with a dotted line connecting Ken. “Let’s not forget the employee in maintenance.” Jen wrote ‘employee’ to one side.
“That’s a good start,” Molly said. “I’ll start with Ken’s place of work. I’ll see if we can meet with the HR director or with someone from the Environmental Services Department.” After a few phone calls, Molly announced, “We have a meeting with the HR Director after lunch. Why don’t you come with me?” Jen agreed.
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