Connor lifted the blankets and saw that blood had pooled in the back and buttocks area. This meant the body had not been moved. He then looked under the bed. Nothing.
“We really need to stop meeting this way.”
From behind him, Connor heard a deep, gruff voice. He looked toward the doorway. It was Malcolm Greenblatt, ME, his large frame filling the doorway. Connor always thought that no matter what time of day or night he ran into Malcolm, his clothes looked like the sheets on an unmade bed. Malcolm’s shirt was buttoned but gaped open, exposing his belly button.
“So, what do we have here?” Malcolm asked.
“Bud Hampton, age 35, single. Girlfriend told dispatch they were asleep in their bed when a perp came in and shot him, then went out the back door.”
“Shot, I’ll buy,” Malcolm said as he put his hand on Bud’s neck, checking for a pulse. Malcolm pulled back the covers and looked over the body. He then got his stethoscope out of his bag and listened for a heartbeat.
Connor wrote some notes in his book: “Judging by the residue on his forehead and the blood spatter on the wall, he was shot at close range.”
“Did he upset the girlfriend?” Malcolm asked.
“Not sure what happened. Only time will tell.”
Chapter 5
The police department was a zoo that night. Connor gave a friendly smile to the female dispatcher as he entered with Sundae at his side and weaved his way through uniformed officers and perps.
“I thought this happened only on full moons,” Connor said.
“Apparently not,” the dispatcher said.
“Listen, if any of the uniforms pick up a guy dressed all in black, about six feet tall, let me know as soon as possible.”
Connor walked down the hallway and stopped in front of a large window. Watching through the one-way glass, he observed Ellie Peters. She sat calmly, waiting. Too calmly, he thought, for a woman who had just lost her boyfriend. Once he entered, Connor walked over to the chair across the table from her.
“Ms. Peters, my name is Detective Connor Maxwell and this is my partner, Sundae. I hope you don’t mind a canine in the room.”
“No, not at all.” She reached out to Sundae, who sniffed Ellie’s hand and then sat next to Connor, watching her.
“I’ll be recording this interview,” Connor said, pressing the start button on the machine on the table. For several seconds, Ellie’s gaze fell on the red light on the machine in front of her.
“Detective, where is my daughter?”
“She’s with Detective Kate Stroup right down the hallway.”
“I don’t know why she can’t be here with me.”
Connor watched Ellie’s hand and facial expressions.
“Could you state your full name, please?”
“Yes, Ellie Peters.”
“Ms. or Mrs.?”
“Ms.”
“Ms. Peters, I’m sorry for your loss.”
Connor waited for Ellie to say something but there was no response.
“Were you in a relationship with Mr. Hampton?”
“We lived together, if that’s what you’re asking.”
“As a couple or just roommates?”
“No, we were a couple.”
“How long had you been living with Mr. Hampton?”
“A couple of months.”
Connor noticed she used the proper syntax. When asked the question, many people who had just lost a loved one said “we are” a couple, not “we were.” Connor wrote a notation in his book.
“And the young girl, Kim, is she your daughter or Mr. Hampton’s?”
“No, Kim is my daughter.”
As she talked, Connor jotted notes in his book.
“So Kim is from a previous relationship?”
“Yes, I was married before and we are divorced.”
“So, your ex-husband is Kim’s father?”
“Yes, we divorced about a year ago.”
“And do you share custody with your ex-husband? I don’t believe you said his name.”
“Sam Peters. We share joint custody of our daughter.”
Sundae walked over to Ellie, who reached down to pet her. Connor knew that Sundae was at work, too, sniffing Ellie’s hand and pant legs. He watched, as Sundae seemed to relieve some of the tension in the room.
“Would you say the breakup was…”
“We both no longer wanted the marriage.”
“How old did you say Kim was?”
“Twelve.”
“How does your ex-husband like your present living situation?”
“We talked about it before I moved in with Bud. He seemed okay with it.”
“And your daughter, how did she get along with Mr. Hampton?”
“Ah...well, I guess she’d rather have her father and I back together... but...” Ellie looked at the floor. Connor watched her body language. “I think she knows that’s never going to happen.”
“Is Mr. Peters seeing someone now?”
“Detective, he was before the divorce.”
“So would it be safe to say that your daughter may not be happy with your living with Mr. Hampton?”
“Detective, what does any of this have to do with what happened tonight?”
“Will you excuse me? I’ll be back shortly. Can I get you anything?”
“Water would be nice.”
Connor left the room, Sundae trailing closely behind him. They walked down the hallway. Connor knocked on a door several rooms down from where Ellie sat. Kim was with a man whom Connor didn’t know. Detective Kate Stoup stepped into the hallway and closed the door behind her.
“Who’s the guy?” Connor asked.
“Her dad.”
Connor was well aware that to talk to a juvie, they had to have either a parent or an attorney present.
“What do we have?” Connor asked.
“The father is clearly upset. He wants to take the daughter home. The daughter is 12 years old. She said she was asleep until she heard her mother scream.” Detective Stroup bent down to pet Sundae, who wagged her tail while looking up at Kate.
“Kim stated she stayed in her room until her mother came to get her,” Detective Stroup continued.
“Her mother told me she wasn’t a happy camper about her mother living with the vic. Said she wanted her mother and father to get back together.”
Kate smiled at Connor. “So does every little boy or girl of divorced parents across America.”
“Any emotional expression from the child regarding what happened tonight?”
Detective Stroup shook her head no. “Any from the mother?” she asked.
“No, calm. Too calm. Oh, and McHenry told me there was a backpack left in the den that didn’t belong to either the mother or daughter. Did the child mention that?”
“No.”
“I have the CSI team looking at the scene. Maybe something will come of that.”
“What did the house look like?” Detective Stroup asked.
“Clean. Almost too clean.”
“Did the child have any blood on her?”
“None.”
“The mother?” Detective Stroup asked.
“Not a drop and says she was lying right next to our vic in bed. I better get back to her.”
“Listen, if it’s okay with you, I’m going to cut the daughter loose and let the father take her home. If we don’t, I think he’ll lawyer up. He’s pretty pissed at this point. I have all his contact info. I’ll be in to listen to the girlfriend in a few.”
Connor stopped outside the room and once again watched Ellie sitting there. Within inches of her hand was a box of tissues, which she hadn’t yet touched. Odd, he thought to himself.
“Let’s go back inside, Sundae.”
Sundae, wagging her tail, followed Connor back into the room. He handed a water bottle to Ellie.
“Ellie, can you think of anyone who would want to hurt Bud?”
“No.”
“Did you and Bu
d ever do drugs?”
“Oh, God no!”
“Did Bud gamble, hang around with anyone…who didn’t seem like they were on the up and up?”
Ellie hesitated. “No, not that I’m aware of.”
“Was Bud married before, or did he have any ex-girlfriends?”
“He was never married. To my knowledge he didn’t have any long-term relationships until me.”
“How was your relationship with Bud?”
“We were planning to get married, we just hadn’t told anyone yet,” Ellie said.
“Getting married, that can be stressful,” Connor said.
He leaned back in the chair and tapped his pen on the pad, studying her reaction and body language.
“Not really. We felt it was the natural next step,” Ellie replied.
“What about you? I know you said you were married. Was Bud the first person you dated after your marriage broke up?”
“No. I had a relationship with one guy and moved in with him.”
“How long did that last?”
“About three months and we broke it off.” Connor waited to see if she would volunteer anything more.
“Can you tell me what his name is?”
“Brad…Hopper. There was another guy. We went out on maybe...three dates, but I never returned his calls after I met Bud.”
“What was his name?”
“Jeff, let me think, …Gilbert, that’s it. Jeff Gilbert.”
Chapter 6
The day after the murder, as he entered the backyard, Connor retraced the killer’s path at 7 Woodlark as Ellie had described it to him. Sundae kept sniffing the living room carpet where the black backpack had once laid. Kate carefully looked over the bedroom in case something had been missed. The three of them met in the backyard.
Connor motioned for Sundae to do a sweep of the backyard. Sundae quickly crisscrossed the yard, sniffing every step of the way.
“I’m going next door to talk to the neighbor. I saw her unloading groceries a few minutes ago,” Kate said.
Connor watched Sundae for any sign that the beagle had found something. Several minutes later, Connor called Sundae. He locked up the house and put her into his unmarked patrol unit. Then he joined Kate next door.
As he approached the front door, he saw the elderly, silver-haired homeowner in a blue chair, talking to Kate. The elderly woman motioned for him to come in through the glass storm door.
“Why, I thought you’d bring that cute little puppy over. I had a beagle when I was a child. Wonderful pets,” she said with a smile. She paused, reminiscing.
“Hi, I’m Detective Connor Maxwell.”
“Such a sad thing that happened to Mr. Hampton, such a nice man he was. He helped me put up new rain gutters last summer. I have a handyman coming over today to install safety locks on all my doors and an alarm system by the end of the week.”
“Mrs. Wilson, have you ever met Mr. Hampton’s girlfriend?” Kate asked.
“Why yes, I had them over several times for dinner. Nice couple.”
“Did you ever hear them fighting or yelling?”
Mrs. Wilson thought for a moment, then shook her head no.
“Did you ever notice anything odd at their house, say, cars coming at all times of the day or night?”
“Why, no. Both of them worked and left early in the morning, then returned around six when I watch the news.”
“Did you hear or see anything last night?” Connor asked.
Mrs. Wilson pointed toward Hampton’s house. “I did notice our street light was out. The city had just replaced it about two weeks ago.”
Connor stood and handed a business card to Mrs. Wilson. Kate did the same.
“If you think of anything else, please give us a call.”
Kate and Connor said nothing until they were in the police unit.
“Any thoughts yet?” Connor asked as he pulled away from the curb and headed downtown.
“Let’s grab some lunch and then pay a visit to her ex-boyfriend. Maybe they decided to rekindle the fire and Bud was in their way.”
Kate sat on one side of the booth, while Connor and Sundae sat on the other. The owners of the café had no problem allowing Sundae into their establishment. As the owner always said, Sundae served her community and was always a quiet customer – unlike some.
“I almost forgot to tell you that the reporter from the Morning Times called wanting a statement about last night’s homicide. I tried to give her one but she wanted to talk to you.” Kate smiled at Connor. “I think she just wanted to talk to you.”
Connor set down his menu and looked at Kate. “She asked me out the other night.”
“And?”
“I’d rather sit on I-95 during rush hour with a sign that says ‘hit me.’”
“Connor, not every woman is like your ex-wife.”
A young woman sat behind the walnut desk.
“I’d like to speak to Mr. Brad Hopper, please,” Connor said.
“I’m sorry but Mr. Hopper is with a client right now and can’t be disturbed.”
Connor reached for his badge under his sport coat and showed it to the woman behind the desk.
“I’m Detective Connor Maxwell and this is Detective Kate Stroup. We need to talk to Mr. Hopper right now.”
The woman quickly picked up the phone and dialed.
“Mr. Hopper, two detectives are out here. They say they need to talk to you.”
She set the phone back on the cradle. “Mr. Hopper will be right out. If you wish, you can take a seat over there by the window.”
Before Connor and Kate sat down, Brad Hopper entered the lobby. Connor noted that he was about six feet tall, with an athletic build and dressed in a suit and tie.
“I’m Brad Hopper,” he said, his hand extended to shake hands with both of them.
“Is there somewhere a little more private where we can talk?” Connor asked him.
“Yes, of course. Why don’t we step into my office?”
Connor and Kate followed Brad down the hallway and into an office. Brad shut the door behind them, then took a seat behind his desk.
“How can I help you, detectives?”
Kate took a seat as Connor looked over the framed diplomas on Brad’s wall.
“Harvard. I’m impressed,” Connor said as he sat next to Kate.
Brad smiled and looked at Connor. “Thank you, but I’m sure you’re not here to discuss my degrees.”
“Mr. Hopper...”
“Please, call me Brad.”
“Brad, do you know Ellie Peters?”
Brad hesitated.
Chapter 7
Kate scanned the computer screen on her desk. The clicking sounds from the keyboard suddenly stopped as her hands hovered over the keys. Connor glanced across his desk in her direction.
“Got something?”
“Mr. Hopper said he had never owned a gun. But I found that he purchased a gun about six years ago.”
“What caliber?”
Kate looked at the screen. “It was a rifle.” She shrugged. “Could he have forgotten?”
“Or lied.” Connor smiled.
“You know that old saying: Words are silver but silence is golden.”
Connor thought about what Kate had said. Brad Hopper could have omitted the fact that he had once purchased a gun.
Kate came over and leaned on the side of Connor’s desk. “He stated that he and Ellie broke up and remained friends.”
Connor chuckled. “Kate, not every guy is a dirt bag like your ex-husband.”
“Don’t remind me.”
Connor stood and walked over to an old gray steel filing cabinet, where he put the file in the top drawer marked “active”.
“Kate, Brad was on a business trip. The hotel has already confirmed he was hundreds of miles away on the night of the murder.”
Kate turned toward Connor. “What if he hired someone to get rid of Bud?”
“Anything is possible, but it seems
to me he has moved on from their relationship. He has a girlfriend and he said they’re engaged. To me, that says he has moved on, or did you forget?”
“You’re right,” Kate said, looking back to a file on her desk.
Connor walked to the whiteboard. With his back turned to Kate, he studied its contents, which resembled a family tree of sorts. First was a photo of Bud Hampton, the victim. From there, the tree branched off to Ellie Peters, the girlfriend. Another branch, with a red marker, led to her daughter, Kim Peters. The last branch on that side came to Sam Peters, Ellie’s ex- husband. Below the victim’s photo were the only two other branches. One contained a photo of Brad Hopper, while the other was a photo of Jeff Gilbert. Ellie had given both photos to Connor.
“I wonder about the girlfriend or even the 12-year-old daughter.” Connor turned and looked at Kate.
“The CSI team turned the house upside down. There wasn’t so much as a toy gun,” Kate said over background noise of ringing phones.
“What if it was…” Connor turned back to the whiteboard and pointed at the photo of Sam Peters. “The ex-husband. You said he was pissed off.” Connor turned back to Kate.
“Connor, I think you’d be pissed off if your little girl was woken up in the middle of the night by her mother screaming and her mother’s boyfriend dead in his bed.”
“You have to admit, the little girl could have let her father in the house to hide in her bedroom until the deed was done. The little girl gets her family back, the ex gets his wife back, and our vic is out of the way.”
“Connor, my gut tells me the little girl had nothing to do with it, nor did her dad.”
Kate reached down to pet Sundae, whose head was in Kate’s desk drawer. From it, Sundae quickly grabbed a box of cheese snacks.
“Sundae, I wish you’d help us find the killer instead of all my treats.”
“We still have the girlfriend,” Connor said as he walked back to his desk. He grabbed his sport coat off the back of his chair and his car keys off the desk. At the sound of the keys jingling, Sundae wagged her tail. “Let’s call it a day. Maybe tomorrow we can talk to the other ex-boyfriend.”
In a Split Second Page 2
