A Degree in Murder

Chapter Fifteen: Day One

Detective Edgar Ross Jr pulled up to the side of the road, got out of the car and strode confidently towards the perimeter. He had to wade through a crowd of curious onlookers and reporters before reaching the yellow tape. He quickly flashed his ID to an officer before being ushered through. This was the first crime scene he had visited since he made detective and while this was nothing new to him, the lens through which he was looking at things now certainly was.

"What do we have here?" queried Edgar, looking at one of the numbered spots on the floor.

"Detective, I'm glad you could make it," said Owens, the officer in charge. "The neighbours called 911 thirty minutes ago when they saw suspicious activity in this house. The home owners are apparently away on vacation and the maid only comes in twice a week to do the cleaning. She's expected to be here at eight am today."

"Has anyone managed to get in contact with her?" Edgar asked while glancing at his watch. There was about an hour left before she would arrive.

"We are in the process of doing so," replied the same officer.

"Great. So... what do we know so far?"

"The neighbour, Mrs Connolly, woke up at six thirty to drink a glass of water and went into the kitchen. The kitchen is at the rear of the house with one of the windows overlooking the backyard of this house. She saw two men in dark coloured clothes carrying duffle bags out of the house via the rear door. However, they were wearing ski masks so she couldn't get a look at their faces."

Edgar walked around the house, following the markers placed to develop a mental picture of events. He noted the broken glass in front of the door leading to the backyard. It's definitely how they got in. He stepped into the backyard and noticed parts of the grass had been trampled on. They were either massive guys or they were carrying some massive loot. I'll need to look at the list of stolen items. Edgar followed the depressions in the grass towards a small brown picket fence gate, walking parallel to them to avoid tempering with the evidence. He stepped onto the curb and looked down at the road in despair.

No tyre marks means a clean getaway. Damn!

He looked around, hoping to find a lead no matter how small. He was determined to make sure his first case as a detective would not be a cold one. The suburb of Fleetwood was relatively upscale compared to his so police response was much quicker but he believed some of its residents did not completely rely on this. He looked around in desperation, his eyes darting wildly in all directions for a break in the case. When it seemed like all hope was lost, his eyes finally settled on a traffic camera mounted on a pole due south of where he was standing.

Bingo.

He headed back into the yard and relayed everything he had found to the other officers in a concise manner. "I'll go follow down the traffic camera angle while you follow up with the maid. If she isn't involved in all this, she could help us with a list of what's missing which would really help us close in on the suspects," Edgar yelled over his shoulder as he left the scene.