Cheat the Truth

Chapter 1

A triple homicide was bad enough, but the fact that two of them were kids made it even worse.

As he pulled up to the scene, Thomas noticed dozens of other officers already standing around. It seemed as if every unit in the city was here. They parked and got out.

"This is your first homicide scene, right, rookie?" Wes, his mentor asked.

"Ive never seen a murder, but I was lead officer on some car accidents before becoming a detective."

"This'll be a bit different, take it slow. The first murder is always the hardest, and it looks like this one's gonna be as bad as they come. If you need a break to process things or gather your thoughts, don't be afraid to take one."

Thomas nodded "Yes, sir. Thanks for the advice."

"Good, let's go see what we can do to help." He walked off but then stopped to look back. "Oh, and if you're gonna up-chuck, don't do it in the crime scene." Wes rolled his eyes as if there was a story behind that comment.

He knew Wes was being serious, but Thomas chuckled and followed him up to the house.

It looked like a fairytale home for a married couple—white two-story house with a huge wrap-around porch and a beautiful picket fence. Childrens play sets and toys were scattered around in the yard.

A once serene middle class neighborhood was now surrounded by black and white cruisers. Neighbors were standing around gossiping to one another. Thomas felt a shiver go down his spine. This didn't feel like the type of place that murders usually took place.

When I heard we were on a murder investigation, I imagined it wouldnt be in such a nice looking area. Thomas thought to himself as they walked.

Thomas and Wes walked into a nightmare. There was blood everywhere, furniture and other belongings were scattered and destroyed. An errie feeling swept over Thomas as he looked around the room. He never expected something like this for his first crime scene.

He had honestly never thought he would be dealing with a murder at all. He had just moved to this town, but from what he gathered it seemed like a pretty quiet place. He imagined dealing with the occasional stalker here and there, but never would he have imagined this.

As he walked further into the house he saw one body was sprawled out on the floor of the living room. Her head had been hit so many times that her face was struck beyond recongnition. Looking around at the photos on the walls, Thomas came to the conclusion that it was the mother laying on the floor.

I wonder if the father of the house did this? That's usually what happens, right? Thomas thought to himself as he continued to follow Wes through the home.

They were told the sergeant was upstairs. They made their way past the technicians who were working on processing the bloody shoe and footprints, children's bare footprints. They led up the stairs to where they saw the seargent in the hallway.

"How is it?" Wes asked the sergeant.

"Bad, really, really bad." the sergeant replied. "We've never seen anything like this here."

While they continued to talk, Thomas peered down the hallway and into the open bedroom door. He noticed children's artwork scattered around the room. Near the artwork, a child's hand lay on the floor, just inside the doorway. Just the hand. It had been severed from the body, as if it had been hacked off.

Thomas swayed slightly, suddenly feeling light-headed and nauseous. The house seemed to start spinning around him. He could barely make out the family photos and other artwork that blurred on the walls.