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“WHY THANK YOU,” SOLOMON said to Laurie, mimicking her accent, a grin splitting his face. He took his seat, and Gordon waited for him to initiate the conversation, which he did seconds later. No milking the moment today.
“I have to say, that’s the cleanest crime scene I’ve ever encountered. Lab techs were in and out in a flash. Not much trace. No sign of a break-in. Asel’s got the body, and he’ll schedule the autopsy.”
“You seeing this as premeditated?” Gordon asked.
“Can’t imagine any other scenario.”
Gordon rolled that around. “I suppose there’s a remote chance the victim was killed elsewhere in accidental circumstances, and the killer needed to dispose of the body.”
“Which means he’d have to know about the vacant house and the code for the lockbox. I can think of dozens of easier places to dump him, starting with Aspen Lake. Dumpster in an alley. The woods behind the cemetery. All of which imply he knows Mapleton. There’s one detail I haven’t mentioned yet.”
Of course there was. “Which is?”
“We found ten empty plastic ice bags in the yard waste trash can. I’m guessing the owners are still having yardwork done—curb appeal and all that—”
“So whoever dumped the body was prepared,” Gordon interrupted. “Chilling the body would slow down decomp, less chance of the neighbors noticing the smell. Combined with cranking the air conditioning down, that could put time of death earlier than what it seemed.”
“Asel’s wheelhouse, not ours,” Solomon said.
“According to my Realtor, the listing agent was at the house Saturday morning. I can’t imagine she’d miss seeing the body, although if she didn’t go into the master bathroom, it’s possible, I suppose.”
“Asel will give us a better window.”
“We know who the victim is yet?” Gordon asked.
“No wallet, no cell phone—nothing on him, but—” Solomon’s eyes lit up. “Lab techs have a portable Live Scan unit, so yes. Prints came back to one Mister Dorian Fowler, twenty-eight years old, arrested for grand theft auto and DUI in two-thousand eleven. Apparently, the result of too much youthful game day partying. Nothing since then.”
Gordon made a mental note to bring up Live Scan units when he met with the mayor. “Name doesn’t ring a bell, but I don’t pretend to know every one of Mapleton’s citizens. Is he one of ours?”
“Address in the trailer park complex. Rental. I need to spend some time with my computer, dig out more details, find known associates—the usual drill.”
“As in who might want him dead, and why put him in that vacant house for starters,” Gordon said. “Asel give a preliminary cause of death yet? I didn’t notice any blood in the tub.”
“Techs drained it, sprayed with Luminol. No blood anywhere in the bathroom. When we turned him, lifted his shirt, there was considerable bruising on the torso. Possible internal injuries, but Asel won’t know for sure until he peeks inside. He’ll let me know.”
“You’re not going to the autopsy?”
Solomon frowned. “County’s started cracking down on extraneous personnel. I’ve got plenty to keep me busy until Asel sends his report. I thought I’d start with a trip to the trailer park. Might need the lab techs there, too. I doubt it’ll be as neat and tidy as the house.”
Could Gordon spare the time to go to the trailer? His reports were ready. Even if Solomon’s detective chops were better than Gordon’s, having someone to bounce things off of could be useful. He suggested tagging along. “I’ll meet you there. Unless you’d rather I stay here and run searches. I could interview the Realtor who listed the house, find out who had access to the lockbox.”
“Could end up being a long list.” Solomon scratched his jaw. “It would save a lot of time if we split the labor.”
“Agreed. I’ll cover that end, you can work the victim side.” Gordon swiveled his chair and grabbed the binder from the credenza. “I started the book and the board.”
“Good. When Perez and Redstone finish knocking on doors, we can add whatever information they have. I’m hoping I won’t be gone too long. We can confab when I get back.”
“Sounds like a plan. I’ll make a quick trip to Evergreen to the listing agent’s office. I want to look her in the eye when I ask her what she saw when she went to the house on Saturday.”
“Works for me.”
Solomon left. Gordon called the real estate office in Evergreen and made an appointment with the agent for three o’clock. He went through the paperwork Iris had given him. Procedure seemed to be when an agent wanted to show a house, they notified the listing agent, who kept records. There had been a flurry of showings when the house first came on the market. A month later, the prospective buyers signed the contract, and showings stopped. According to Iris, the house wasn’t officially back on the market yet, but if Judy had told Iris about it, she might have told others as well.
Gordon made a list of everyone who’d shown the house. Twenty-three showings, but only fourteen agents, spread out from Evergreen to Denver to Westminster.
Laurie buzzed him. “Chief, Officers Redstone and Perez are here to see you.”
“Send them in.”
Gordon stacked the papers and put them in a file folder, then into his inbox.
“Solomon said to report to you, Chief,” Redstone said.
“You canvassed the neighborhood, correct?”
“Yes, Sir. Three blocks in all directions,” Redstone said. “With emphasis on the last week, per Officer Solomon’s instructions.”
“Any results?” Gordon asked.
“All negative,” Redstone replied. “The neighbor across the street reported seeing a yard maintenance vehicle, which she recognized because it’s the same company she uses. Comes every Thursday.”
Perez, Gordon assumed from his uncharacteristic silence, had deferred to Redstone, one notch above him in length of time in the department. “Anything to add, Perez?”
The officer rubbed the back of his neck. “Other than mentions of real estate showings when the house first went on the market, nothing, Sir.”
“Thank you both. Get your reports written up and leave them with Officer Solomon, then resume your duties.”
“Yes, Sir,” they said in unison, and left.
While neither officer had been on the force long, there’d been a stiff, stilted atmosphere in the room. Gordon understood there was a definite line between Chief and Officer, but this one felt as though it was razor-sharp. Somewhere, there was a balance that continued to elude him.
Speaking of officers, he figured he’d do well to show up at the real estate office in Evergreen in uniform. He changed, made sure he had his recorder, and let Laurie and Dispatch know he was leaving.
A thought hit him, and he opened the Budweitz case file, jotted names and phone numbers. As long as he’d be in Evergreen, why not compare notes?