Murder! Too Close To Home

Chapter 9

Chapter 9

February 18, 1997

The next morning had dawned for the sheriff with more information, but little more. A recovered slug revealed that the caliber had been a .357. No other clues were garnered from the bodies save that they hadn't suffered much.

The victims had been the veritable 'perfect' couple: high school sweethearts, college educated, good jobs. They had actually been traveling home from volunteering at a hurricane Fran cleanup project.

Reading this information from a report now laying in front of him, Sheriff McHenry could only utter a sad "damn shame."

It had also been determined that a call had definitely been made from the couple's cellular phone at about the time of the murders. The recipient of the call was also a cell but was so far untraceable. It was not certain if the couple or the perp had made the call, but it was a local number. If it was the murderer that made the call, it could indicate that there was more than one person involved in the plan. The Sheriff wasn't quite ready to speculate on that thought yet though.

Physical evidence now seemed played out; everything had been gone over at least three times with no additional results. The soil sample was also being held up at the state lab; it could take up to three weeks to get the data back on that.

The sheriff sat back and pondered his next move, knowing another angle of attack was needed. Sitting up suddenly, the others around the conference table leaned back in surprise. Without preamble, McHenry started issuing orders right and left.

"Jason," he said speaking to his Chief Deputy, "get someone in touch with the police department involved in the car theft, see if there were any witnesses or clues left at the scene. Check to see if they canvassed the area for any security cameras that might have been recording the crime by accident, if not ask them damn nicely if they could check on that."

Jason nodded and got up, leaving the room in a hurry to assign people to the tasks.

"And tell Jane I need another cup of coffee," the sheriff added as an afterthought, pushing the cup of cold coffee away with a disgusted look on his face.

The sheriff rubbed his eyes before glancing over at the two deputies left at the table, appearing to size them up for their tasks.

He had hand picked these men for this duty months ago, both good men, both picked for completely different reasons.

Tucker Vance was a tireless worker, and was wise to the ways of the street. His other choice was Larry London; a very smart man that interacted well with others. One of his main jobs would be interacting with the other departments. He would be the sheriff's liaison officer, keeping the sheriff in the loop as the case progressed.

"The prosecutor, in all his eminent wisdom," the sheriff started, "Has deemed it a wise move to activate the Major Crimes Taskforce for this case."

"I don't agree with him. I think it shows a general lack of confidence in our department."

The sheriff sighed in resignation. "Be that as it may, I have already chosen the two of you to be our representatives, even though I had thought at the time it was mostly a publicity stunt. You know, photo ops and such."

"As you know there are two officers from Allenville, as well as the two investigators from the prosecutor's office. Your new unit will take the lead in the investigation, and report directly to the prosecutor. This will be your full-time job until we get this guy, our department will act as support."

McHenry spit out the last word as if it had a sour taste.

"I expect you two to do your best work on this, and let me know if there is anything you need. You're dismissed, good luck."

Both men replied "Yes sir," then got up and filed out of the room. As they opened the door they were met by Jane in the doorway carrying a steaming cup of coffee. The men yielded to her respectfully as she passed before they exited the room.

Jane McHenry was the sheriff's assistant, a smart looking woman in her early thirties with shoulder length, dark hair. It was very hard to ignore how well Jane filled out the uniform, but she had long ago earned the respect of every man on the force with her efficiency and work ethic.

Graduating college with a degree in law enforcement, as well as having graduated from the police academy, she was highly qualified... even over qualified for her current position. There was of course one other reason why the deputies respected her to such a degree.

She was the sheriff's daughter.

Listed on the rolls as a deputy, Lean McHenry considered his daughter much more then that. She was actually his secret weapon, as he depended on her to handle everything that he couldn't or wouldn't do. Catching the movement of her approach out of the corner of his eye, he rolled back in his seat and placed his dangling cigarette behind his ear, relaxing instantly at the sight of his favorite deputy.

Setting the cup down in front the sheriff, she took an empty chair across the table and sat down.

"That's your fifth cup since you got here this morning," she stated with a firm tone. "Your pending heart attack is not going to help this investigation."

Smiling at the rebuke, he assured her that he would try to control his intake the rest of the day.

"Tucker and Larry have been assigned to the prosecutor's task force until we can crack this case open." The sheriff remarked with a grim smile. "Make sure that the paperwork gets filed, and get with Jason to re-arrange the schedule to cover their shifts, please," the sheriff asked.

Jane was the only one in the office that could get a please out of the sheriff.

"Sure thing, sheriff," Jane said with a smile, "Anything else I can do... Dad?" Her face grew more serious as she spoke.

She knew he hadn't been the same since her mother had died about six months before...complications of a long bout with Lupus. She knew her dad had a rough exterior, but he was probably hurting inside from the loss of his wife of thirty five years.

Waving away her concerns, he said he was fine, just wanting to get to the bottom of this business.

"Tell you what," he continued, "When this is over, lets go up to Michigan to fish, like we did when you were little. A vacation," he finished with a smile.

"Sounds like a plan," she smiled back, standing up and heading back to her desk. "I expect to be seeing maps and plans in the next couple of weeks," she called over her shoulder as she exited through the door.

Sheriff McHenry hoped like hell he would be able to keep that schedule.