and Mac freshened both of their cups.
Gnarly was already asleep in his bed, which Tonya, the desk sergeant, had brought in for him to use during his visits.
The file room was located on the ground floor. Rows of shelving contained white file boxes for each of Spencer’s cold case files, those cases not yet solved. David had no trouble finding the three boxes for the murders of Genevieve Wagner and Bill Jansen, and the disappearance of Damian Wagner—which was now officially a homicide.
David pushed a box in Mac’s direction while taking one for himself. “You take Genevieve Wagner,” he said.
“Is that because you slept with her?” Mac asked with a grin.
“I’d appreciate it if you could keep that information to yourself.” David’s cheeks turned pink.
“I’ll do my best,” Mac said while taking the lid off his box, “but there’s no guarantee that it won’t come out, considering how I found out about it.”
A silence fell over the police station while Mac and David became absorbed in their respective cases—even though they were shared. Upstairs, they could hear the station coming to life. Officers were arriving and checking in—Sergeant Tonya being the first.
She came halfway down the stairs to greet them. Gnarly was by her side. When she stopped, he sat down on the step next to her feet to study them. When she returned up the stairs, Gnarly followed. He was confident that she would be giving him a donut after his plea of starvation.
“Here’s something I didn’t expect to find.” David broke the silence that had fallen back over the table. “Bill Jansen wasn’t hacked to death.”
“Was the COD stabbing?” Mac asked.
“No,” David said, “Poison. They found evidence of strychnine poisoning. Forensics was able to uncover that in his remains. He was already dead when he was dismembered and then burnt.”
“That’s strange.” Mac referred to the autopsy report. “Genevieve was stabbed. They found evidence of blade marks on her ribs that are consistent with a butcher knife.” He tapped the top of his pen against the report. “Why two different CODs? This was meant to look like a madman run amuck.”
“Maybe that’s why the killer tried to burn the bodies,” David said. “To cover up the poisoning.”
“Why poison Jansen? Why stab Genevieve, but not Jansen?”
David opened his mouth to make a suggestion, but when he came up with no answer, he shut it and shook his head. “If the killer didn’t have the stomach to stab Jansen, then he wouldn’t have had the stomach to stab Genevieve.”
“Maybe Genevieve escaped the poisoning and so the killer had to improvise,” Mac said. “I had a murder case like that once. A wife tried to poison her husband, but he wouldn’t eat her meatloaf. Said he was full from lunch. So she had to find another way to kill him.”
“What did she do?”
“Burnt down the house after he went to sleep,” Mac said. “She was furious when the fire fighters saved him.”
“He didn’t die?” David asked.
“Nope,” Mac said.
“How did you end up with the case?”
“She killed the psychic who told her that her husband was going to kill her,” Mac said.
David was still digesting that news when his cell phone rang. From where he sat across from him, Mac could read the caller ID, even though it was upside down. Randi. Her smiling face filled the screen.
“She’s calling early.” Mac noted the time was nine-thirty.
Excusing himself, David took up the phone. “Hey, Rand. How’s it going?” As the conversation continued, David’s grin fell from his face. The topic shifted from conversational to serious—directed from her end. “Yeah, I can talk.” He got up from his seat and moved across the file room.
“I’m going to go get some more coffee.” Grabbing both of their cups, Mac went upstairs to give him privacy.
As Mac expected, Gnarly was eating his second donut. Tonya had sent most of the officers out on patrol. Hanging up
Gnarly was already asleep in his bed, which Tonya, the desk sergeant, had brought in for him to use during his visits.
The file room was located on the ground floor. Rows of shelving contained white file boxes for each of Spencer’s cold case files, those cases not yet solved. David had no trouble finding the three boxes for the murders of Genevieve Wagner and Bill Jansen, and the disappearance of Damian Wagner—which was now officially a homicide.
David pushed a box in Mac’s direction while taking one for himself. “You take Genevieve Wagner,” he said.
“Is that because you slept with her?” Mac asked with a grin.
“I’d appreciate it if you could keep that information to yourself.” David’s cheeks turned pink.
“I’ll do my best,” Mac said while taking the lid off his box, “but there’s no guarantee that it won’t come out, considering how I found out about it.”
A silence fell over the police station while Mac and David became absorbed in their respective cases—even though they were shared. Upstairs, they could hear the station coming to life. Officers were arriving and checking in—Sergeant Tonya being the first.
She came halfway down the stairs to greet them. Gnarly was by her side. When she stopped, he sat down on the step next to her feet to study them. When she returned up the stairs, Gnarly followed. He was confident that she would be giving him a donut after his plea of starvation.
“Here’s something I didn’t expect to find.” David broke the silence that had fallen back over the table. “Bill Jansen wasn’t hacked to death.”
“Was the COD stabbing?” Mac asked.
“No,” David said, “Poison. They found evidence of strychnine poisoning. Forensics was able to uncover that in his remains. He was already dead when he was dismembered and then burnt.”
“That’s strange.” Mac referred to the autopsy report. “Genevieve was stabbed. They found evidence of blade marks on her ribs that are consistent with a butcher knife.” He tapped the top of his pen against the report. “Why two different CODs? This was meant to look like a madman run amuck.”
“Maybe that’s why the killer tried to burn the bodies,” David said. “To cover up the poisoning.”
“Why poison Jansen? Why stab Genevieve, but not Jansen?”
David opened his mouth to make a suggestion, but when he came up with no answer, he shut it and shook his head. “If the killer didn’t have the stomach to stab Jansen, then he wouldn’t have had the stomach to stab Genevieve.”
“Maybe Genevieve escaped the poisoning and so the killer had to improvise,” Mac said. “I had a murder case like that once. A wife tried to poison her husband, but he wouldn’t eat her meatloaf. Said he was full from lunch. So she had to find another way to kill him.”
“What did she do?”
“Burnt down the house after he went to sleep,” Mac said. “She was furious when the fire fighters saved him.”
“He didn’t die?” David asked.
“Nope,” Mac said.
“How did you end up with the case?”
“She killed the psychic who told her that her husband was going to kill her,” Mac said.
David was still digesting that news when his cell phone rang. From where he sat across from him, Mac could read the caller ID, even though it was upside down. Randi. Her smiling face filled the screen.
“She’s calling early.” Mac noted the time was nine-thirty.
Excusing himself, David took up the phone. “Hey, Rand. How’s it going?” As the conversation continued, David’s grin fell from his face. The topic shifted from conversational to serious—directed from her end. “Yeah, I can talk.” He got up from his seat and moved across the file room.
“I’m going to go get some more coffee.” Grabbing both of their cups, Mac went upstairs to give him privacy.
As Mac expected, Gnarly was eating his second donut. Tonya had sent most of the officers out on patrol. Hanging up
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