Disclaimer: See previous Chapter(s)
Ten Minutes to Closing
Chapter 2
Danny glanced over at Flack. "Who found the body?"
"Dylan Mala. Seafood Clerk, college student and the half brother of Frankie Mala."
"Stell's gonna love that." Danny frowned at his friend. "First at the scene, first suspect."
"Says he was just getting something from the freezer when he found the guy." Flack pointed out a young man standing a few yards away. The kid seemed nervous. He was starring at the body. Danny walked over to him.
"What happened?" he questioned.
"Like I told your friend, I went into the freezer to grab a case of King Crab Legs and found the fat man like that." Dylan spoke with a thick Boston accent.
"You don't seem too upset someone killed your boss." Danny observed.
"I'm not. Guy's an asshole. Or was, I guess. Anyone who works down on the sales floor will tell you same. Hard to like a guy that couldn't even run the shop right, and reminds you that you can be replaced every thirty seconds. A few people in the office like him, but that's all." Dylan adjusted his glasses and looked at Danny. "When can I get out here? I didn't kill the guy, but you'd have a hard time finding someone who didn't want to." The blue-eyed clerk sighed. "I'll even give you fingerprints or DNA to prove I didn't do it. I just want to get out of here. Got a dog waiting at my apartment. "
"Thanks" Danny answered. " I might just take you up on that offer." He walked over to Stella, who was talking to a small group of employees. Their nametags read Jack, Doug, Jess and Andrew. Most of them, like Dylan looked like college kids. The exception was Doug, the assistant manager. Danny asked Stella, "They have anything say?"
"Not really. Seemed like a typical, slow weeknight until Dylan paged Doug." Stella paused thoughtfully, then added, "Sid should be here soon. Go help Lindsey process.
Danny nodded, "I just spoke to the kid that found the body. Seems innocent, but that doesn't mean much until we look at the evidence. He's also Frankie's little brother. That gonna bother you?"
"That's interesting. I didn't know he had a brother." She shook her head. "Don't think I'll have a problem with it, though. You think he did it?"
"No, I don't, he even offered to give us fingerprints and DNA. Why would he do that if he's guilty?"
"Just focus on what over evidence says." She responded.
Danny went to look at the body and help Montana. He entered the cold, dark crime scene. The body was lying near the back. It was clear why Dylan had called him the 'fat man'. Mr. Bennet was sprawled in a frozen pool of blood, a blue, plastic knife handle sticking out of his chest. He glanced around and noticed a few shoeprints around the area. He took photos of them, hoping the suspect had left them behind.
Montana was looking at the body. She noticed a few faint red spots on the vic's shoes, well away from the blood from the stab wound. She tested to make sure it wasn't blood, and then took a sample to analyze back at the lab.
"Oh, Hi Danny," She greeted her friend without looking up. "Find anything over there?"
"Got shoeprints. Could be from the killer or anyone else with access to the freezer." He looked at the prints again. "Strange pattern. Looks like some kind of slip resistant shoe." he noted. "How 'bout you?"
"Something red on his boot that isn't blood. Looks like some kind of sauce." A few seconds later Sid walked in. He took a look at the body.
"C.O.D. looks obvious. Body was here long enough for the blood on floor to freeze but your guy isn't completely frozen. I'd say he's been here no more than 8 hours, but at least 4."
"And nobody found him? This is a busy supermarket. Some had to have been down here." Lindsey didn't believe it.
Danny shrugged "It's a slow night. We got more employees than customers here. He's also at the back of a dark cooler. They could've just not noticed him."
"How do you 'not notice' a dead guy in your freezer?" Stella walked in.
"It is kind of dark in here." Lindsey pointed out. "The other employees say anything interesting?"
"Just that, expect his daughter, Jessica, no one was all that sorry someone killed him."
"Fits what Dylan, the kid that found the body, told me. Says most of his employees hated him." Danny added. The three of them continued to process the scene as Sid and his assistant took the body back to the morgue. Danny and Lindsey went over every inch of the freezer, finding blood spatter on the wall, and more shoeprints. Stella stepped out to take a phone call. A moment later, the freezer door slammed closed!
Startled, Danny sprang to his feet and ran straight into Lindsey. "Watch it, Montana!" They got their bearings and headed toward the door together.
"These doors won't lock without a padlock on the outside." Lindsey remembered. After a few seconds, they found the emergency release and opened the door.
"All right. I doubt we're going to find much else here. Let's had back to the lab." Danny decided.
A/N: I meant to post earlier, but I had go to work. I'll update as fast as I can. Please read & review. Thanks!
