Picture Perfect

Chapter 6

    There was a crowd of neighbors congregating outside the Olsen home. The normally quiet neighborhood was buzzing due to the police presence. Rumors flew through the crowd but no one really knew the horrors that had occurred within the house.
    No one knew, that is except one unassuming person. After having gone home the killer couldn't help but return and witness the chaos they created. The act of killing those three people created such a feeling of euphoria, but this was actually more exciting. Seeing the fear in the onlookers eyes was amazing, the story scaring them more with each version.
    'Look at them all,' they thought. 'I caused all this. I created this beautiful scene with three simple acts: one perfect picture, one beautiful day.'
    The killer's musing was interrupted when two women exited the house.
    "Well, well, who do we have here?" The killer quietly whispered. "I've always had a soft spot for brunettes." They mused while quickly snapping a picture on their cell phone. "We will meet again."
    "Could you please come this way?" A uniformed officer said.
    "Is there a problem officer?" The killer asked calmly.
    "Not at all, we just need to question all the neighbors." The officer responded with a friendly smile.
    "Alright them." The killer said with a cool smile then thought, 'You have no idea what I did.'

    "Where are we heading Hayley?"
    "27th street station, uniforms on scene figured it would be easier to do delicate interviews in private." Hayley responded as we pulled into a street spot outside the station.
    There was a uniform at the door who escorted us to an interrogation room. He seemed nice enough but I could tell he wanted to be back at the scene, hell so did I.
    I looked in on our suspect through the two way mirror then turned back to the young officer, "How did you find the suspect?"
    "Spoke with her when we got there, she's the one who called 911. This one knew a lot about what the inside of the house looked like, found it a bit suspicious."
    "Thanks." I said with a smile then turned to Hayley, "Ready?"
    "Let's do this." Hayley said as she opened the door.
    I calmly strolled into the room and looked directly at the suspect fidgeting at the table. "Hi. I'm Detective Morris, this is Detective Williams."
    The woman at the table stood and held out her hand, "Hi, I'm Cassidy Martinez. I'm a reporter for the Journal Sentinel."
    "Nice to meet you Ms. Martinez." I said as I sat down at the table ignoring the offered hand. "Please have a seat. We have just a few questions for you."
    Hayley began the questions, "So why were you at the house on 72nd and Beloit?"
    "I was there to interview the family for the community page. Donovan Olsen won a concerto competition last week put on by the Milwaukee Symphony. The competition was for 13-18 year olds and he was the youngest ever to win at 13 and two weeks." Cassidy replied, a slight edge to her voice.
    "When did you arrive at the house?" Hayley followed up.
    "About 5:45pm. The interview was scheduled for 5:30 but I was running late. I tried calling the house several times but never got an answer."
    "When you arrived at the house what happened?" I spoke up. There was something off about this woman but I hadn't yet placed what it was.
    Cassidy took a deep breath then began, "I knocked on the front door and it just opened a bit. I thought it was weird so I peeked around the side of the yard to see if they were out back but I didn't see anyone."
    Damn, I missed that. The grass was a bit long so I should have seen where someone would have walked. Unless of course she was lying and she never walked around the yard. I could tell Cassidy was becoming upset so I put on my best serious yet encouraging expression, "Go on."
    After a few more deep breaths Cassidy looked composed enough to continue. "I went back to the front door, opened the door a little more and called into the house. When no one answered I got concerned and went in."
    "You didn't think to call the police Ms. Martinez?" Hayley inserted.
    I had thought the same thing. A woman this high strung would usually dial the cops after the first knock but instead she entered the house.
    "I just thought they were busy inside and didn't hear me. They do have a 13 year old, he may have thought he closed the door but didn't. I never imagined something bad happened."
    "Okay, so you're in the house, what next?" Hayley asked hoping to move this interview along.
    "I kept walking in calling out as I went. I made it to the dining room doorway, smelled blood, turned around and saw those three sitting there. I high tailed it outside and called 911." Cassidy finished.
    It could be a believable story I thought, but Cassidy talks with her hands a lot which lead me to a clue, "What happened to your left hand Ms. Martinez?"
    "I think I hit my hand harder than I thought as I ran out of the house." Cassidy replied as if just realizing her hand and wrist were bloodied by cuts.
    "We'll need to collect blood samples, fingerprints and DNA from you." I paused to look for a reaction, she revealed nothing. "Since you were in the house we'll need to exclude you from the possible suspect samples."
    Cassidy shrugged then said, "I've got nowhere to be so I can stick around as long as you need. I'll give you whatever you need."
    "Thank you Ms. Martinez. We'll get the ball rolling on that. And we'll get someone to clean up your hand and make sure you don't need further medical attention." Hayley said then got up.
    Once I closed the door behind us we both looked back through the two way mirror. "I'm not sure what to make of this reporter."
    "Her story is plausible honestly." Hayley had to admit.
    "True and she was willing to let us take prints, blood and DNA." I pointed out.
    "But that hand injury is pretty nasty. Gotta imagine if someone her size committed these crimes she'd be bound to get banged up." Hayley countered.
    I sighed, "We'll have to wait for the DNA cause the science doesn't lie." Then my phone rang.
    Hayley asked after I hung up, "Who was that?"
    "Let's go. Kayla's got something already." I said.