The Contingency Plan

Chapter 4

Entropy

Captain Hugh McPherson had the harsh countenance of a man who's walked through hell and refused to deign any excuse the devil had to offer. Standing at a daunting 6 ft 2, the veteran homicide detective made for an imposing figure with keen eyes, broad shoulders, and a crisp white goatee, which framed the perpetual scowl that was his face. He ducked under the yellow police tape with a cup of starbucks in hand, annoyed with everything. "Grierson, you got here fast. I thought you were off tonight." He growled.

The officer who Kudo helped break down the door, reached out to shake the offered hand. "I am, sir. I was pulling security for the event as a side job when I heard the shot."

"That would explain why you're dressed like that. Alright then. Let's hear it."

Lt Grant Grierson took out a notebook and flipped it open. "Deceased name is Michelle Wei, age 52. She's a curator at the museum here. At 9:37 p.m., a gunshot was reported. No sign of rigor mortise, and the blood hasn't coagulated yet, so it's a fair guess that's the time of death. I arrived on the scene within 2 minutes. The door was locked, and I got forensics looking for prints as we speak. Victim suffered a single 9mm shot to the right side temple at close range, judging by the burn marks. A Smith and Wesson revolver of the same caliber was found in the deceased hand, one empty shell in the chamber with preliminary GSR tests indicating she recently shot it."

"Who's the gun registered to?"

"Serial number was taken off with acid. But her prints are the only ones on it."

The captain ran his fingers along his chin and shrugged. "Must have some skeletons in the closet."

"That's not all. We found what appears to be a suicide note on the victim's computer."

"Well, that settles matters. Coroner should be up in a few minutes. Think you can handle the paperwork by yourself?"

Kudo, who had been preoccupied with the bookcase behind the desk, returned an ornate bible to its home on the shelf. "You should run a ballistics test on that pistol."

"Excuse me?" McPherson returned icily.

"There are two distinct blood spatter patterns. One perpendicular, one near horizontal. There may have been two shots." Kudo traced a circle from floor to ceiling with his finger, outlining the evidence.

"And just who the hell are you supposed to be?"

"Kudo Shinichi, detective."

Greirson's jaw dropped. "Hey, I know you! This is the guy who made the cover of Modern Forensics last July. Remember, captain? They featured him in an article about inductive reasoning in the 21st century. This guy's famous over in Japan!"

"Mr. July, huh?" The old inspector sneered. "You're a long way from home. Mind explaining what it is you're doing in my crime scene?"

Grierson stepped in, saving Kudo from an awkward situation. "That would be me, sir. He helped me gain entry. I asked him to stick around as a potential witness."

"A witness you say?" McPherson said in mock surprise. "Well, well, well. Being so close to the scene, did you hear a second shot?"

"No."

"As I suspected. I'm not sure how they do things in japan, but around here, suicides typically only have one chance to go about their business. Best leave things to the professionals, hotshot."

Kudo grinned at him devilishly. "You presume it's a suicide. A normal 9mm round at point blank range would have gone clean through her head and lodged in the wall. No sign that the projectile traveled through another median suggests either the range is greater than expected or this is not a normal 9mm round. A subsonic bullet is more likely, with a reduced gunpowder charge. That combined with a suppressor would have easily masked the killing blow and been all but inaudible to anyone outside this room. I believe the killer first fired at distance with such a weapon, resulting in the vertical blood spray pattern. Then they wrote the note at their leisure before taking the revolver, placing it in the dead woman's hand and firing a blank. That would explain the gunshot residue, the burn marks, lack of an exit wound, and the second, horizontal blood spatter ring. You can even see a gap in the splatter where they stood."