“Murphy, you’re it. Summary. Now!” Detective Lieutenant Fuller barked as he walked into conference room two, ending the chatter among the four detectives in attendance.
Kate cleared her throat as she walked toward the board where she’d pinned several pictures.
“Lori Davis, age twenty-two, only child of Doug and Francine Davis, was found dead in her bedroom earlier today at her family home by her boyfriend of two years, David Dempsey. She still resided with her parents—”
“Parents,” Fuller repeated. “Have you notified them?”
“No, sir.” Kate looked at her watch. “They’re still traveling as we speak, coming back from a Caribbean cruise. Their flight is expected to land in two hours. I’ll be at the airport when they arrive”—Kate swallowed hard—“to tell them their only daughter is dead.”
“Fun times ahead,” Detective Jenny Wang said, tucking a long strand of black hair behind her ear. Her face was as solemn as a monk’s.
“Yep. Moving on.” Kate tapped her finger on the zoomed-in version of the map and the photo of the vic’s body lying in bed.
“This is the cleanest photo of footprints left on the carpet. We don’t know for sure, but this here”—she circled an area with the tip of her pen—“could be a sign that the victim was dragged into the room or it could be someone trying to wipe the footprints from the carpet. We’ve got at least two shoe sizes. Could be the victim’s, the killer’s, and/or the boyfriend’s.”
“The latter two could be one and the same,” Chainey chimed in.
“Too early to say.” Kate stepped back to point to a large photo of a brown-haired man with bright blue eyes. “Meet David Dempsey. He’s the one who broke into the home.” Kate referred to her notepad for a second. “I quote, ‘I hadn’t heard from her in over two weeks and I knew she had to pick up her parents at the airport tonight.’ End quote.” Kate closed her pad. “Scene markers like the overflowing mailbox confirm this as a plausible timeline. Boyfriend didn’t have a key to her house. Broken glass on the floor says forced entry from the outside. The fingerprints lifted on both the outside and inside latch will likely confirm that story. We’ll know soon enough.”
“A suspect?” Fuller asked.
“For now, but we didn’t arrest him. No way we could collect sufficient evidence to prove probable cause, let alone without a doubt, within twenty-four hours. We’ll keep an eye on him then try to build a case once we get a time of death.”
“Isn’t it weird that he hadn’t spoken to his girlfriend for two weeks?” Wang asked.
“Tough to tell. Items found in the vic’s house all point to religion being important. Perhaps it was typical for them to only see each other once or twice a month. I’ll interview David Dempsey again tomorrow. Give him a chance to digest the news and possibly contradict himself on record based on what we got from the squad car camera today. He seemed genuinely affected by his discovery.”
“What else?” Fuller prompted.
Kate pointed to a map of the area. “The residential neighborhood is mostly multi-dwelling buildings. The vic’s home appears to be an exception. One of the rare homes that hasn’t been converted into multi-family housing, and based on renovations, the family probably has money. Wang will comb through the parents’ financial situation and insurance policies for potential motives. Possibly a large life insurance payout. She’ll check to see if there are more relatives who could have stood to gain from her death.”
“Security footage?” Fuller asked, a line between his brows.
Kate shook her head. “The house isn’t equipped with anything. No alarm, no cameras. I checked the streets in the neighborhood. No luck. I’ll canvas the neighborhood over the coming days, but with so many tenants, many of whom could work various day and night shifts, it will take a while.”
“I’ll approve a few extra officers to help,” Fuller said. “Businesses nearby?”
“Nothing for a few blocks.”
“What are your priorities?” Fuller prompted.
“I’ll attend the autopsy first thing tomorrow morning. There was no sign of struggle, but perhaps the medical examiner will find something underneath the nails—a lose hair, or some other fiber. Rosebud will look into the boyfriend—his whereabouts for the past two weeks, their history, any potential motives. In addition to the recorded interview we did earlier today, we’ll get him to commit to a timeline on record again, to see if he contradicts himself. Tough to confirm an alibi until we get an estimated time of death.”
“Go with your scene markers for now. You said Wang’s on the parents. What about Chainey? What’s he looking into?”
“The vic. Her story, phone calls, credit card and bank statements. Tracking down her whereabouts for the past three weeks. Talking to friends—work and church—to see if we can narrow down the time of death.”
“Warrants?” Fuller asked.
“Filled out and submitted already so we can look into the vic’s past. I don’t expect any issues. I doubt I’ll get any information from the parents tonight. I’m hoping I can talk to them again after the autopsy and show them photos to ask about anything missing or out of place in their home, or potential enemies.”
“You’re going to break the news at the airport?” Fuller asked, his brows raised.
“I can’t think of any other option. I checked with border control. Scene markers and witnesses say she was alive when they left. The death occurred while they were out of the country. Unless they hired someone to kill their daughter, they’re not suspects. I don’t want to bring them all the way here to tell them. They deserve to know before they learn about it on the news.”
“Take Rosebud and do your best to avoid a public scene.”