Flutter by L. E. Green

keeps saying things are classified and Fisher is pissed.”
    “I like him already.”
    They opened the office door. Fisher and his team were taking pictures.
    “Find anything interesting, Fish?” Brown pretended to care.
    “Just an incompetent guard and an unidentified forearm on the ledge.” Fisher pointed to the ledge. They looked over to see a man’s severed forearm on the ledge of the building. “I was able to gather that the window cleaners work this area once every two to three weeks.”
    Finch jumps in. “So, that explains why we are just getting the call now. Nice!”
    “I’m getting the idea that Chief Downy wants you guys to take over here.” Finch wasn’t surprised at all.
    “Homicide.” Brown had an answer ready for the comment he knew would come.
    “Except there’s no body to prove homicide, just an arm, buddy. Sounds more like a missing person than a homicide,” Fisher said in response.
    “I’m sure a body will turn up.” 
    “Either way, I have to get outta here and get back on that Brandeis case.” Fisher handed the cameras memory card to Finch.
    “How’s that going?” Finch asked as she inspected the memory card.
    “Pretty well. We should be wrapping things up. Hopefully warrants will go out this afternoon. So, I’m outta here. Let’s go. Good luck with those Yankees, Brown.” Fisher smiled and walked out with two other officers.
    Brown shook his head. Finch was surprised. “I’ve never seen him jump off a case without a fight.”
    “I’m not asking questions.” Brown located the coroner.
     
    Finch dropped the memory card into her pocket. She took out her phone to take her own pictures for upload to the cloud drive and take notes. The coroner approached them. 
    The coroner was Michelle Cox. She had worked for the force for about ten years and was always Brown’s first recommendation. He was happy to see her on the scene working with Tammy. Cox shook their hands. “Good to see you guys.”
    “How’s it going?” Finch asked as she folded her arms.
    “Pretty well. Have you taken all your pics? We wanna get this off the ledge and down to the lab ASAP. We think it is Robert Benson’s.”
    The guard jumped in, “I know it is Robert Benson’s arm.”
    Cox introduced them, “Sorry. This is Sam Petit, the guard on this floor.”
    “I’m Detective Brown. This is Detective Finch. Who is Robert Benson? And how do you know this is his arm for sure?”
    Petit was happy to explain, “Robert Benson is COO of this company. He’s been missing for what… a week or two?”
    “And no one said anything?” This didn’t make sense to Brown.
    “They knew. They wanted to keep it quiet,” Detective Tammy jumped in. “This place has been buzzing with reporters since the death of Alan Jiang and they’ve been concerned about the stock price I assume.”
    “Whose decision was it to keep things quiet?” Brown asked.
    Tammy answered, “The family… and the board of directors of course.” She went back to dusting for prints.
    Petit confirmed, “She’s right. The board held a meeting with all managers, supervisors and security informing us that he went missing. They told us if anyone asked to say he was on vacation while the family did their own private investigation. Most figured he went into hiding after the murder. That was most of the mailroom chatter I heard.”
    Finch thought for a moment, “Oh yeah! The Alan Jiang murder thing. Remember that? That lines up pretty nicely if there is a connection.” Finch made a note in her file.
    “If… But that’s a good if.” Brown knew to trust Finch’s instincts.
    ALAN JIANG: CEO
    ROBERT BENSON: COO, MISSING ABOUT TWO WEEKS
    SAM PETIT: GUARD ON DUTY
    “That’s definitely his hand right there,” Petit insisted with confidence. He slightly gagged when he looked at it. He patted his head with a paper towel as sweat dripped down his forehead. The nausea raised his temperature. He felt heat running underneath his uniform. He