Murder at McDonald's by Phonse; Jessome Page B

could, Darryl Aucoine faced yet another painful duty—informing Neil Burroughs’s young wife that she was now a widow. He could see Julia Burroughs fighting for control as he spoke with her, but the shock in her eyes told another story. Please, Lord, this can’t be happening. Justin loves his daddy. Don’t take his daddy away.
    In North Sydney, Dave Trickett tried to console Olive Warren as she reached for the telephone. There were people to call, things to arrange. Olive was acting out of reflex, trying to busy herself, and the young officer knew her state of mind could change at any second. He offered to wait with the family until the calls were made and relatives came to the house. Olive declined, and Dave Trickett headed back to his car, leaving a tearful and shocked family behind him. He was not sure what role he would play in this investigation, but the young constable wanted to help find those responsible for making him the bearer of such emotionally shattering news. Olive Warren’s life had been changed forever when a bombshell was dropped by a policeman she did not know and whose name she quickly forgot as he drove away in silence.
    With the painful job of notifying the families completed, it was time to tell the public what had happened at McDonald’s. Dave Roper had been busy writing a statement for reporters, who stood huddled in the cold outside the Sydney detachment, but he could not read it until he got clearance from Kevin Cleary and Herb Davies, the two officers in charge of the case. They were both busy debriefing officers who had been at the scene and formulating a plan for the next few hours. The first twenty-four hours are the most critical in any major investigation, and the RCMP were determined not to let this trail grow cold. Roadblocks had been set up in several key areas on the island; John Trickett was preparing to take his dog Storm on a daytime search of the area around McDonald’s; and the restaurant owner and managers were being questioned about any possible motive for the shooting, other than robbery. Police wondered, for example, whether only one of the four victims was the target of the attack, and whether the others had just gotten in the way. There was also the question of the possible eyewitness, Derek Wood, still squirming in his uncomfortable chair in the interrogation room, elsewhere in the building.
    Finally, Dave Roper came outside and invited the reporters into the building. The briefing was held in the reception area of the detachment, with Constable Roper standing behind the counter and reporters on the other side, reaching towards him with their outstretched microphones.
    â€œShortly after 1:00 a.m., RCMP received a report of gunshots fired at the McDonald’s restaurant in Sydney River.… Investigation at the scene revealed that as a result of an apparent armed robbery, two persons were killed and two other persons were shot and are in critical condition.… All four victims are employees of the restaurant. Sydney detachment of the RCMP is requesting the assistance of the general public. Anyone who may have been in the area … is asked to call.” The call for public assistance became Roper’s signature in the days ahead, and it paid off; the phones began to ring steadily and continued to do so for days. At the end of the prepared statement, the questions began.
    â€œWas the restaurant open at the time of the shootings?”
    â€œNo, and we want to make it very clear that all of the victims were employees of McDonald’s. This is not a case of someone walking into an open restaurant and shooting people.”
    â€œCan you tell us the type of weapon or weapons used?”
    â€œWe believe at this time it was not a rifle.”
    â€œSo it was a handgun?”
    â€œWe believe so, yes.”
    â€œDo you have any suspects at this time?”
    â€œNo, at this time we are pursuing a number of avenues.” Roper knew