A Degree in Murder

Chapter Eighteen: Homecoming

Well, that's a wrap.

Edgar Ross Jr finished typing up the report on his first ever case and clicked the print icon on the office computer. While waiting for the printer to do its thing, he began to reminisce about the case. The traffic camera angle led to a dead end. The vehicle used during the robbery had been reported stolen a few days prior and was found abandoned a few miles from the scene. The maid angle panned out a lot better. After receiving a list of the stolen items from the maid, Edgar checked in with his criminal informants and asked the other detectives to do the same. Looking at the items on the list, he knew that the number of potential dealers was a short one. Ten days later, both suspects were apprehended and the stolen items were kept as evidence. It would be a while before the owners got any of their stuff back.

Edgar looked over at the calendar suspended on the wall and realized he had a free weekend.

I haven't been home since my promotion to detective. I wonder if I should pay them a visit.

Edgar leaned back in his chair, stretched and let out a long yawn. Taking that as his cue to leave, he submitted his report to the captain and went home. He stopped by a food truck that sold Thai food a few blocks from the precinct. He wasn't sure if men had cravings but the simple fact was that he deserved this treat. Thirty minutes later Edgar was in the comfort of his home where he quickly devoured his meal, showered and went to bed.

***

Edgar instinctively woke up at five in the morning even though it was a Saturday. After rubbing the sand from his eyes, Edgar swiftly moved through his bedroom packing up all the stuff he deemed necessary for his trip. Although he would have saved a lot of time doing all this the previous night, his level of exhaustion had been next level. Pun intended.

The task was completed one hour and forty-five minutes later and he hopped into the shower. Twenty-one minutes later Edgar was seated in front of his Smart TV watching highlights of all the football games he had missed during the week. He was more than a little upset when he saw his team surrender a two goal lead in the last ten minutes of the game.

Better get going before I'm stuck in traffic.

Edgar shoved the last few spoonfuls of cereal into his mouth, turned off the TV, washed the dishes and hurried off to change. He wore plain white T-shirt, faded light blue denim jeans, black workman boots and a black leather jacket. After locking the door of his apartment behind him, Edgar tossed his bags into the backseat of his four door pickup truck. Before sitting behind the wheel, he checked his person for his service weapon and badge. It was one thing to be a black man in this country but it was an entirely different matter to be an armed black man without a badge.

The trip to his hometown of Ransburg would take approximately six to eight hours. Edgar stopped at a gas station to fill up his tank before setting off. Three hours and two hundred kilometres later with startlingly sparse traffic, he pulled over at a convenience store, took a leak, bought a few snacks and resumed his journey.

Damn it all to hell.

Were it not speed traps and cops, Edgar would be in the comfort of his parents' home discussing all manner of things. He sighed for what seemed like an inordinately long time in frustration and drove off. It took all of three hours and fifteen minutes before Edgar saw the one sign on the road that he brought him joy: Welcome to Ransburg.

There's no place like home.