The First 48: Too Close to Home
I love working as a homicide detective. I was recently transferred from Los Angeles to Miami Florida. They consider me a rookie here, but soon, I will show my stripes. I am sitting right next to Kevin Rogerio. I heard we are going to work together on the next case. But, when is that he's going to be?
During my lunch break at noon, my phone rings. It's from dispatch. Turns out, paramedics were called to my house because of shots being fired. My wife and kids are there alone. This doesn't sound good.
Rogerio drives me back to my house. When we arrive, I see A stretcher covered in a white sheet. The person under the structure is quite big but short. It's my wife. The paramedics bring me to the side of the stretcher after they see my shocked face. They pull back the blanket and I see Patrice's face with a gunshot wound to the back of the head. Who could have done this to her? After I think for quite a while, I think I know exactly who would have done this. I'm going to have to tell them about her death anyway, so this is perfect. When I'm there to tell them that she is dead, I will be looking closely at their faces. But, I have to survey the scene and do my job first. The paramedics tell me she was slumped over in the back of her chair, which was right in front of the TV. The Sims four was playing on her PS4. She was getting some game time in while the kids slept. Speaking of the kids, I hear Emelia, my find your old daughter, calling for her mom. I look over at Rogerio, and he tells me to go see my kids. When I enter Emilia's room, I see her sitting up in bed looking very scared. She told me that she used her Google home mini to call for help. She is such a smart girl. I give her a big hug. Then, she asks about her mom. I tell her that I will let her know when I can tell her. Then, she looks up at me with her big brown eyes. " is mommy dead? I heard grandpa Dain and grandma Cathy talking to her, and then a big bang went off. After the big bang, they left. I think I heard them congratulating each other. I also heard grandpa Dain tell grandma Cathy to get rid of the gun, and they threw it in our big trashcan." I tell my poor little daughter not to tell me anything else for now. I tell her that a friend of mine and I are going to take her and Jonah somewhere for a while. Of course, she asked me where. She's getting scared. I tell her that we are going to take her and Jonah to my work. I grab her favorite unicorn stuffed animal and pick her up. She lays down on my shoulder. I tell her to go ahead and follow sleep on my shoulder as I carry her out. I cannot let her see her mom on the stretcher. I see Rogerio go grab their wheelchairs and Jonah. Another one of our coworkers has already put a couple car seats in the back of our car. once I put Emelia in a car seat, I noticed that she is very fidgety. Her ADHD and anxiety are really starting to act up. Jonah is put right next to her. He's only three. Since he didn't get to talk to me before being picked up, he is getting a little scared. He's not as vocal and talkative as his big sister. After their wheelchairs are loaded in the back, we set off to the crimes against children unit at my office. I apologize to them for not bringing them any socks or shoes, because they are barefoot. They have cute little feet. I'm just sad they can't use them to run around. When the crimes against children unit hears that they are my kids, they asked about what happened to Atrice. I put them aside and whisper about it to them. They are absolutely stunned. Then, they help me grab their wheelchairs and put my kids in their chairs. Amelia holds on to her little unicorn, Sparkles. I can see how scared she is. I would love to talk to her first, but Jonah needs to see me. Rogelio is going to talk to Jonah first, with me in the room with him. One of my colleagues, Eunice Cooper, will watch Emilia while I talk to Jonah. When Emilia here's that she's going to go see my friend Miss Cooper, she smiles. "Is she related to Amari Cooper?" We both smile, and I tell her no. That would be pretty cool, though. Eunice Leads her to another room. As Rogerio and I went into another interrogation room with Jonah, I told everyone that my kids both have ADHD. Miss Cooper understands what that means. She grabs some crayons and paper fit Emilia. I do the same thing for Jonah. Then we go into our separate rooms. I start off with talking to Jonah. Of course, he is very scared. He tells me everything. Before he starts talking, he starts to cry. Of course, as his dad, I hug him tight until he stops crying. He then tells me that he heard grandma and grandpa talking to mommy as well. They were mad at her for not talking to them for so many years. Atrice told them that she was afraid of them because of all the years of abuse she went through. They got really mad again because she is confronting their lies. He heard way too much. Poor thing. He even said before the gun went off, Dane hit her on the back of the head a few times. He said he hit her with something hard. It sounded like something metal. He asked if mommy was going to be OK. I told him that God decided it was mommy's turn to go. He burst into tears. He begged me to tell him. " please, daddy! Tell me! You always tell me everything!" I can't hide this from my own kid. "Jonah, mommy is not coming back. Her spirit has climbed the stairway to heaven." Suddenly, he stopped crying and started praying. "Please Lord, take good care of my mommy." I left the room so I could go talk to Emilia. I told Jonah that I would be right back. His daddy will never leave him.
When I saw Emilia, she was holding onto her little unicorn super tight. I saw that she drew something. When I asked her what it was, she said it was our whole family. It was me, Atrice, her and Jonah. She really hopes mom is going to be OK. I had to tell her the same thing I told Jonah. When I told her that mom climbed the stairway to heaven, she burst into tears as well. She had lots of fun memories with her. Patrice took her to mother daughter tea parties, dances, build a bear workshop, and lots of other fun places. Now, all Emelia has our pictures and memories. She does, however, have her mom's voice and her build a bear. It would tell her that she was right there, and everything was going to be OK. Atrice said that in a voicebox so whenever Emelia was going through a panic attack, she could hug her little ballerina bear. Now it's my turn to make memories with her. I pull her in for a nice long hug. Then, it's time to get to business. I asked Amelia about what she heard, and she told me everything. Since her room is closer to the living room, she heard everything in more detail. She heard the argument that Atrice had with her parents. She heard the trees express how afraid she was and how much she hates them. After they told her their true feelings, that's when the gun went off. They never wanted her. They wanted her gone from the beginning. They wished that they had put her up for adoption as a baby. After the gun went off, Kathy and Dane both told her that she will rot in hell. To hear my own daughter say that about what her own grandparents said made me break down. Kids shouldn't have to hear that. She even asked if mom really is going to rot in hell, and I told her of course not. "She' sitting in heaven, close to God, watching you right now." She nods, with tears in her eyes and whisper something in my ear. " can you please play with my feet when we get home?" I will definitely do that. When we get home, I will do her favorite things. She loves when I massage them, tickle them, and lick them. It makes her laugh and forget about things for a while. He knows I get very excited when I play with someone's feet. Since she is new to the foot fetish thing, she just gets very playful with them. She likes when I lick them because they get slippery afterwards. She can't run on her feet, but they still smell really good. Now, back to work. Before I go, I carefully reach to one of her feet and gave it a quick tickle. She laughs and thinks me. I kiss the top of her head before I walk out. Time to make the death Notification. I called her parents number, and surprisingly, they are home. I hope they didn't speed all the way back home. I ask if they are free, and they say yes. Then, Rogerio drives me to their house. When we knock on their door, I can hear Oscar barking from inside. Cathy opens the front door and let us in. Rogerio and I noticed that she is smiling, as if she knows what's coming. It's a very evil looking smile. I put my hand on my hip, which is where I have my cuffs and gun. Cathy and Dain take a seat in there nice plush leather couch. They might not be needing that when the investigation is over. They are our prime suspects right now. When I give the death notification, they look shocked, but I can tell fake shock from real shock. They're not crumbling in tears. They're not pacing around asking why. They just took it. They said "Oh. OK. When did this happen?" I told them it happened earlier today. I see Cathy's face go pale. Dain covers his face with his hands to hide his red cheeks. I can still see his flushed face through his hands. He looks stressed. So, I confront them. "My partner and I are noticing how stressed you guys look. I need you to tell me where you were earlier today. Start from the top. Go." Rogerio pulls out a pad and paper and starts taking notes. When Cathy speaks, her voice is shaking. She's trying to lie. I can catch that shit real quick. Before she begins speaking, I tell them that there were two young kids in the house. Both of their faces went white. They started stuttering, trying to make up excuses. Enough is enough. I flat out stand up and walk out the door. I'm not listening to this bullshit. Rogerio with me. He can see the anger on my face, and applied me for walking away. I was the bigger man here. We will be back for answers.
On the way back to headquarters, I radio in to the crime scene technicians, and told them about what the kids said about the gun in the trashcan. They immediately radioed back that they found it. Thank God! They told me that the bullets found at the crime scene where 9 mm bullets. The gun they found was a 9 mm handgun. Smith and Western. Silver. Very shiny. It almost looks brand spanking new. The only thing that is wrong is a single neck where it hit the side of the trashcan. They are going to test fire the gun to make sure it's the murder weapon. They also swap it for fingerprints. Evidence is evidence. If Dain's prints are found, it could take up to 72 hours. The crime scene technicians also said they found short and straight pale hairs. I ask if the hairs are a kind of Sandy color, and they say yes. Askers for meds have been on their clothes once they came to kill my wife. I will have to get some of askers for to confirm. Then, I asked the ME if he did a rape kit, and he said there is no need to. I shot to the head is the cause of death. Based on what the kids said, they didn't do anything to her body after they killed her. Then, I decided to message her cousin Kayla and tell her about what happened. She drives to headquarters straight away to give a statement. She heard some shit before this happened, and wants to tell me everything for evidence.
When I got back to headquarters, Kayla is waiting for me in an interrogation room. I didn't tell her that the kids are here, but they may have to go with her when she leaves. When I open the door to the room, I can see pain in her eyes. " I should have warned her! I should have been there today to protect her. I should have told her what they were planning. They planned out everything. Dane said he went against his morals and bought a gun. I saw him polishing it, calling it his new baby. I heard him and Kathy planned the whole thing out. They were basically going to surprise her. Of course, she would let them in the house because they are her parents. Then, when they start arguing, Dane was going to let his temper get over him and hand Kathy the gun. He didn't have the heart to do it, or so I thought. Maybe it was going to be his plan to blame Kathy for it so he wouldn't go to jail. He was going to friend her for the murder and get out of town. Something held him back from leaving town." That is all I needed to hear. The fact that this was premeditated and they planned the whole thing out was the icing on the cake. Now, in order to add the candles, I need the fingerprint analysis and test fire analysis. I asked Kayla if she could take the kids for the day, and of course she says yes. She will stop by the house to pick up some of their clothes and a couple toys for them while they are at her house. I let her know that they are barefoot as well, and she understands. I give my kids a hug and kiss goodbye before they go. Daddy's got to go back to work. I have a lot of paperwork to file. The kids give me a big hug before they go. Emilia even reminds me of what I was going to do when we get home. I will still do it.
When I get back to my desk, I see a surprise envelope waiting for me. It's the ballistics evidence. When I look it over, I see what I'm looking for. That silver Smith and Weston 9 mm handgun is the murder weapon. I run the gun's serial number through the database, and it turns out to be registered to Dain Warner, who is a convicted felon. Son of a bitch. He is not supposed to have this gun by law! Revere you see is the look on my face, and asks if I know the suspects. Of course. They are my in-laws. Things are about to get juicy. I start typing the arrest warrants for Cathy Renee Warner and Dain Nicholas Warner. Once I'm done, I fax it to the court system so they can sign it. I'm sure I will get a response in the morning.
When I get home, I noticed the crime scene has been cleared up, and Kayla is sitting on the couch. She tells me the kids are in bed. She is a great nanny. She knows their bedtimes. I tell her thank you, give her 20 bucks for her time, and let her go. When I go into Emilia's room, I see her hugging ballerina bear, fast asleep. I carefully lean over and kiss her on the cheek. Then, her little eyes open. " daddy! You're home! I'm so happy to see you!" I give her a big hug and lay her back down. Of course, she propped her feet up. Time to make my promise. I tickle them, smell them, and give them a nice big lick. She's laughing the whole time. That's my girl. I tell her that her feet taste salty from all the sweat. She giggles. They smelled really good too. They are also extra ticklish tonight. As I leave the room, she thinks me and said good night. I also hear her praying to God and mom. That's my little girl. When I go to check on Jonah, he is hugging his little stuffed a lizard friend. He calls him Mr. Scaly. He helps chase the way the monsters every night. I gently kiss him on the cheek and massage his feet for him. No tickle for him right now. He's too fast asleep. Instead, I gave his feet a nice long sniff. They smell perfect. After that, it's time for me to hit the hay. It feels so weird sleeping without Atrice. She's always sleeping right next to me. At least I won't have to wake up to her snoring.
My Google Home wakes me up at 5 AM sharp. I'm so glad I had it to do that for me every morning. I get up, make myself a cuppa coffee, and a bowl of cereal with Lactaid. Suddenly, I remembered that the kids are going to be home alone. I need to find them a sitter, and fast. When I check my phone, I noticed that Kayla sent me a message. She said if I need her to watch the kids while I'm at work, she is always available. I message her back telling her that I will be leaving for work in half an hour. All I need to do is shower and get dressed, and then I will go. Right after I finish breakfast, she's already at the door. Perfect timing. I want to tell her everything that I've gathered so far, but at the same time I want to wait till the end so Cathy and Dain won't suspect a thing. I give her a hug and a big thank you. I told her I would treat her to dinner tonight. Her choice. She suggests that we take the kids to Chuck E. Cheese. Great idea! Pizza, games, and family time.
After I get out of the shower, I can hear the kids calling for me. They are ready to get out of bed. Kayla lets me get ready for work and goes to help them. I can hear their pure excitement when auntie Kayla walks through their doors. They shared it that same excitement with mommy. A couple minutes later, Rogerio is honking, waiting for me. I waved goodbye to everyone and leave the house. Rogerio asks who I was waiting to, and I told him that my cousin in law is going to be there nanny for a while. He thinks that's a great idea.
When we get back to headquarters, I notice a couple envelopes on my desk. The first envelope was the signed arrest warrants. Perfect. The second one was fingerprint analysis from the gun. Two sets of prints were found. They were Cathy and Dain's prints. Time to catch the killers. Today is a good day so far. I radio to dispatch so they can set the warrant squad out to their address. I hope they didn't decide to bounce out of town. Half an hour later, I get bad news. They did leave. So weren't squad scatters around town to try to find them. I start calling different anyways and asking if they saw them poured any planes, and got a hit. They boarded a plane back to California. Maybe they are with Cathy's parents. I give her mom, Dianna, a car. Of course, I have to mention that it's me. I then ask her to tell the truth and tell me if she has seen Cathy. Turns out, she's there. I think Dianna for her time and hang up. I then called Forest hill PD and briefed them on the suspects I am looking for. They said they will get on the case right away. Half an hour later, I get a call that they are being extradited back to Miami. When are winner, chicken dinner.
A few hours later, I get a call from Forest Hill PD asking if the suspects made it back safely. Rogerio goes to check around headquarters, and reports that they are here. Time to interrogate the shit out of them. We put Cathy in one room and Dain in another. Of course, they are questioning why they are here. They know why they are here. I can see past their lies. Then, I delegate Rogerio to go talk to Cathy. I will handle Dain.
As I get into the interrogation room, I see Dane is on high alert. He looks tense. He is fidgety. All signs are pointing towards a guilty suspect. I start with small talk. I ask him how he's doing, and how his day has been. He says he has had a lot on his mind lately. Geez. I wonder what that is. Then, I get straight to the point. I ask him why he and Cathy ran off to her mothers house in California. He tried to lie and say there was an event going on. I don't know of any birthdays or holidays happening right now, so I just shrug it off. I'm tempted to walk out of here, but I'm ready to push for a confession. So, I just lay it on the table. " why did you kill my wife?" His eyes go wide, his face gets pale, and hegoats nervously. " don't lie. I have a lot of evidence stacked up against you and Cathy. You will both be charged with felony murder and murder in the first degree. That is a capital felony offense in the state of Florida." I then start reading him his Miranda rights. He's shaking. He's crying. He's about to break. I keep pushing.
" all right! All right! We both decided to kill her because we didn't want her as a daughter anymore. We didn't want her in the first place. The gun that I used to shoot her was a gift before I was convicted. I kept it hidden just for this purpose. I had this planned out for years. I was going to kill her in her sleep when she was a kid, but I never got the opportunity because she always had to wake up to go pee! I have been thinking of a lot of ways to kill her. I'm just glad I finally did it!"
That's all I needed to hear. I had him stand up, put his hands behind his back, and cuffed him. I told him that he is now going to be charged with conspiracy to commit murder, felony murder, and murder in the first degree. Afterwards, I called Rogerio to put him in the back of our car. Now it's time for me to chisel away at Cathy's ego. When Rogerio left the room, I can tell he is worn out. I can tell she's not moving. She is locked into a story, reading Dain for everything. Now I needed her side of the story. Her face also went white, and I saw a cold expression show up on her face. So this is the death stare Atrice talked about. I started reading her Miranda rights and told her what she is charged with. She burst into tears, broken and defeated. She tried to scream out that she's innocent, and I'm not listening. Her lies fall on deaf ears. I cut her and start leading her to the car. Case closed.
After I put Cathy in the car, which year you drives them to jail. It's time for me to finish the paperwork to get them locked up for good. As I'm working on it, I feel pure rage well up inside me. All I want to do is strangle them to death, but that's not my duty. I will stop by the gym on the way home to let my aggression off. Once I'm done with the paperwork, I faxed it to the DA. I'm sure I will get a response in the morning. There is a lot of evidence stacked up against them. Even my own kids made a statement. Speaking of which, I better get back to them after a trip to the gym. Rogerio decides to join me. Seeing how coldhearted they both were makes him cross. He has some rage to let off as well.
A couple days later, Rogerio and I are sitting in the court room waiting for the trial to start. And the judge Wachsen, we all rise as a sign of respect. Here we go. Kayla decides to speak for the kids because they are the main witnesses. She even makes her own statement as well because she heard most of what they said prior to the murder. When the judge saw the crime scene photos, heard all the statements, and saw all the evidence, he was shocked. I could see rage on his face too. Now, we wait for the jury. As the jury does their thing, I turn to the suspects. I hope they get the death penalty for this. I even made a statement because Atrice was my wife. It's very disrespectful to kill the wife of an officer and the mother to your own grandchildren. If they do get the death penalty, I want it to be slow and painful. Suddenly, I see someone in the jury and a paper over to the judge. Here it comes.
After a short exchange with the jury, the judge starts to speak. " The jury has found both of the defendants guilty of felony murder, conspiracy to commit murder, and murder in the first degree. I hereby sentence the two defendants to death. Nobody will be hurt by you again. Case closed." He pounds the wooden mallet on his desk. Cathy and Dain are then led away, screaming threats at everyone. I want to taste them right now, but I keep my hands folded. Then, I turn to the judge. He smiles at me. He knows me very well. He tells me that he will make sure that their death comes quickly. I think him for that and leave the quart room. Time to go celebrate with my children and Kayla.
Kayla drives me home, and we stop by Starbucks on the way. I haven't had a good coffee in weeks. I order my usual, a white chocolate mocha. Of course, I asked for them to substitute any dairy with almond milk. We set our coffees all the way home. Kayla has decided to move in with me and the kids so there will be someone to watch them while I'm at work. Atrice would have wanted that. Atriceis aunt Dana meets us when we get home. Of course, she asks how the trial went. Kayla and I hug her and tell her the good news. They were sentenced to death. Their coldhearted cruelty will not be allowed on this earth. Everyone is happy. The kids are also happy to see me home. Time for the tickle monster to come for both of them.
The end