Late Night Phone Calls

Their Future? They must have had plans. Someone with a suspicious mind would wonder if Beverly's murder happened because she was in the way of those plans. Another motive.

She thought about staying if only to help calm him down but his mood never improved during the drive. Frank was still furious over what had happened at his home. She dropped Frank off at the motel, kissed him goodbye and told him to calm down and concentrate on the presentation. It was just a little before 10pm before she drove back.

Did I believe her? My gut says she was telling me the truth and it's normally spot on. She waived her right to counsel and did not hesitate in answering any question I had. But there was something bothering me about her hands. There was something missing. Without that little piece of circumstantial evidence, I didn't have enough to request a court order for a blood sample nor enough to hold Barbara.

Right now all I had was her being in the wrong place with the wrong person at the wrong time. Even the hit man said she stayed in the car. If I can prove Frank was the killer, then she could be charged with being an accessory after the fact but that was about it.

The next morning I hoped the latest forensics report had two items that would wrap up this investigation and I could retire with on a positive point, finger prints and a DNA match from the blood found in the shotgun shell box lid would do it.

Of course it wouldn't turn out that way. There were no usable prints on the box or on the shot gun trigger and the blood didn't match any DNA on file. The lab techs were able to type the blood and distinguish it as belonging to a female. That was the good, the bad was there were no other distinguishing markers. Even the blood type was extremely common, Type O+.

A DNA match would have wrapped this case up nicely but with the absence of that, I needed evidence from another source implicating one of the other players. Then I I could get a court order for the courts to demand a sample for DNA testing.

It was obvious the killer used rubber gloves. They did however cut their finger on the edge of the box of shotgun shells leaving just a small amount. The cut wasn't bad enough to tear the glove away from the finger so it was exposed to whatever they touched.

Since this investigation started, there has been only one female implicated and she did not have a cut on her finger. That's what was missing on Barbara Baxter's finger. If she was my killer, she would still have evidence of the wound from the box edge. It was still too recent to have healed completely. As we all know, paper cuts don't heal quickly.

I looked over the interviews from the officers who questioned the patrons at the restaurant where Beverly and her lover dined before they were killed. All who witnessed the two love birds thought they should have been hosed down with cold water. One woman especially was very displeased with the disgusting display the lovers put on that night. This patron voiced their displeasure quite vehemently, as noted by the officer who took her statement. According to the officer's report, she used some very colorful language as to how the adultering fornicators should be punished.

The woman mentioned in the report is well known to everyone in the department and extremely well thought of. I know her as well and I noticed she has had a Hello Kitty Band Aid on her index finger since the night of the murders. That itself meant nothing to my investigation. There had to be evidence showing her involvement with the killings or that put her at the house the night of the murders. No judge would give me a court order just on speculation. Hell, according to the contract killer, no other woman besides Barbara Baxter was in the neighborhood that night.

I had to either get lucky or accept that I couldn't solve this one in time. But you can only build a case against an individual with evidence and we had absolutely nothing pointing toward this person. My gut was telling me this person was our killer, but all I could do was follow the evidence.

I worked this case and did my best but I knew it was over. When my time was up and I handed my badge over to my Lieutenant, I would no longer be a cop. I wouldn't care if this person confessed to the me one hour later. I wouldn't care. One minute after 1500 hours I would Helen's husband and nothing more.

Tomorrow I had to bring my replacement in on the case and sit with him and review all the evidence compiled so far. I've known Sean Wilkes for years and he is an extremely capable detective. After I told him all my suspicions and his review of the forensics he took up the active investigation of the case.

Two days and I'm done. Sean Wilkes was now the lead investigator even though I was still the detective of record. I sat in with Sean while he talked with the D.A. about the case and I clarified issues as needed. Of course the blood tests showed our hit man wasn't a match to the blood found on the box of shells and the trigger, so he wasn't responsible for killing Beverly and the Canadian fuck. A video from an ATM across the street from Frank's motel room showed he was guilty of that crime, so he was at least going away for attempted murder and a slew of other charges. Guess he was telling the truth.

He didn't gain any points for implicating Frank Nelson and Barbara Baxter since the forensics report proved Frank wasn't the killer. As Barbara Baxter goes, there's just not enough circumstantial or physical evidence showing she did it.

Detective Wilkes decided to look closer at Barbara Baxter to see if he could find that missing piece. It only took a few hours for him to clear her as well. She had stopped at a Denny's on the way home from Parkersburg for some food. The date stamp on the receipt showed her there at the time of the murders.

So we had a murderer running free and we had nothing definitive as to who she was. My career was going to end not being able to solve a double murder. That was a negative. However, I was going into retirement by putting a contract killer and the guy who hired him away for a long time. For me that was a positive.

Even if Beverly was a cheating skank, I wanted to solve her murder because the law says she deserved justice. The part that irritates me is, deep down I knew who the killer was. But I knew the law and violating a person's Constitutional rights, especially when I'm about to retire, wasn't going to happen. So what could I do?

Frank's divorce lawyer and his defense lawyer weren't wrong arguing a number of people had motive to kill Beverly. Detective Wilkes would need to look at the list Frank's private investigator compiled and see if he could make a case against any of them. I however had the feeling this was going to turn into a cold case and it would remain that way unless the killer made a mistake and handed us the physical evidence needed to convict her.

I looked at the clock realizing my next to last day was done. I went home and hugged my wife. We spent a quiet night together cuddling, both of us hoping the next 30 years would be just like this.

I woke up in the morning to the smell of coffee. My last day would involve noting more than sitting in the office. I was done being a Homicide Detective. Helen sent me off with a sly little smile. She knew this day would be bitter sweet for me; first because my career was ending, second because I was also going to be on the receiving end of a LOT of jokes. Helen and I both knew that at the end of my shift I would walk away leaving it all behind me. Literally.

This case had really put a bad taste in my mouth. Two former friends turned out to be adulterers. OK, maybe the one didn't start until after the other, but why not separate, then divorce and start living again without turning yourself into what you despised most?

I wasn't wrong about being on the receiving end of a lot of jokes. OK, I didn't mind the balloons and cake. It was my going away present that hurt. My fellow officers whom I had served with for decades, got me a walker to use in my retirement. You know the type, the same kind used by the old man in the movie "UP?" Would you believe the fuckers even put bicycle training wheels, a bell ringer and little girl streamers on the damn thing! Assholes!

Needless to say, I loved it! I even gave it a try there in the squad room to a room full of laughter. It turned out that the idea was my Lieutenant's and Chief of Police's idea. Actually they said it was "mostly" their idea.

Since I had already completed all the administrative work to collect my retirement, all I had to do was hand over my gun and badge. The gun was accepted by my Lieutenant, but the badge was placed back in my hand by the Chief. He told me my badge number was being retired in honor of all my years of service. This sentiment was completely unexpected and supported by all my colleagues with a round of applause. I actually got choked up a little while graciously accepting their gift.

I did refused beers after the end of day telling everyone I needed to get home and start being a full-time husband to Helen. She deserved nothing less.

Helen's reaction to the walker was something I'll never forget. She laughed so hard she had tears running down her face. Eventually she said something about them actually doing it. I looked at her is confusion, not too sure what she meant. She ended up telling me, "who do you think gave the chief the idea? But they were too worried of offending you but I told them to do it and I would soothe it over."

Didn't I tell you she was the best?

We were holding each other tightly laying in bed after a round of retirement sex knowing this is was just the beginning of a new life together. No more watching other peoples grief after you tell them their loved one was murdered and especially no more late night phone calls.

It actually felt nice knowing I was no longer a cop. No more obligation to the law and the sacrifice that came with it. Like I said, I knew who he killer was. She had eyes on Beverly and Canadian Bacon the night they were killed. She hated the display the two put on and voiced her absolute displeasure seeing them act the way they did. Our killer being female was proven by forensics evidence caused when they cut their finger opening a box of shot gun shells. Her blood was left behind on the box and the trigger of the shot gun, but we had no match in any DNA file.

The woman was not seen at the house by the one person arrested for his involvement in the whole fucking mess. The killer knew who Beverly was and hated her cheating with a passion. The same woman was seen with a Hello Kitty Band Aid wrapped around her index finger shortly after the murders.

And now...I don't give a damn. I was in bed with my wife.

Helen obviously wasn't done "performing." Shes' pretty spry for her age. I felt her right hand reach down and start stroking my cock which was quickly coming back to life. Her stroking was a little uncomfortable, not because I was old and my dick hurt from our previous coupling. It was hurt because of the rough edge on that damn Hello Kitty Band Aid on her index finger!