For Love and Rex
By
18lzytwner
Chapter 1
Charlie and Rex left the house where the body was located. The neighbor had called it in when she noticed the newspapers and mail piling up. The man they found had not gone quietly into that good night. He'd been shot in the chest with what Sarah believed was a shotgun. The crime scene was messy and she and her forensics team were going to be there awhile. Charlie figured that he and Rex should talk to all of the man's neighbors and get a picture of just who the man was and who would have wanted him dead. They had just reached the sidewalk when Rex stopped in his tracks.
"What is it pal?" Charlie was confused. That confusion did not last long as he heard shots ring out. They came from the direction he'd just come – from the crime scene. The first thought in his head was Sarah.
Earlier that day…
Charlie and Rex walked into the SJPD and went to their respective corners. Charlie had paperwork to fill out and Rex, well he was waiting for someone to feed him a snack, despite being fed breakfast already.
"Hey Charlie," Jesse smiled at him as he entered the Major Crimes Unit.
"Morning Jesse. Looking forward to a day of paperwork?" Charlie smirked.
"You know when I signed up, they failed to mention just how much paperwork there would be," Jesse teased.
"At least we can do it on the computer now. Was a time they had to use a typewriter," Charlie told him. Jesse involuntarily shivered at the thought. The tech analyst was now the head of the Electronic Crime Division, which essentially meant more paperwork.
"No such luck for a quiet day, fellas," Joe announced as came out of his office. This made Rex perk up.
"What's happened?" Charlie asked.
"A welfare check turned into a DOA," Joe said.
"I guess that would do it. What's the address?" Charlie wanted to know, grabbing his jacket as Rex left his cozy post.
"I'll have Sarah and forensics meet you out there," Joe promised. Charlie nodded, called for Rex, and was out the door with his trusty partner. They climbed into the Dodge Charger and took off.
Pulling up to the address, Charlie made note of the quiet subdivision. The houses were not close together but not so far apart that there would be privacy without a fence or some large shrubs. A neighbor supposedly called it in, wondering why the mail and newspapers were piling up. Charlie noted that he couldn't see the mail from the street where he parked but he only got about halfway up the driveway when he saw what the neighbor had meant. There had to be at least three or four days' worth of mail sticking out of the mailbox near the front door.
"What happened here Rex?" Charlie asked. Rex's response was to stick his nose to the ground. Charlie followed him but they wound up on the doorstep. The paper boy's trail it seemed. Constable Stevens let them in and Charlie thanked him. That same officer pointed to the body. Moving toward it, Charlie took it all in.
The man, who went by the name Tim Watkins, was lying on the floor in the living room, a large gunshot wound in his chest. There were signs of a struggle and also signs that whoever had gotten into the house was looking for something. Rex seemed interested in the coffee table and Charlie looked at it. He opened the small drawer that was in the middle of it but it was empty.
"Maybe they got what they were hoping for?" Charlie wondered aloud.
"I hope so. That's quite the bullet hole," it was Sarah. Charlie turned around and smiled.
"Yes, it is. Rex keyed on this drawer but it's empty," he frowned.
"Ok so how did his neighbors not hear the gunshot?" Sarah asked, pointing out that the windows were open despite the fact that it was only about six degrees Celsius out (about forty-three degrees Fahrenheit).
"An average day for May but a little cold for open windows," Charlie said.
"They were open when we got here. I told the others to leave them that way," Constable Stevens told them.
"I think the killer was trying to affect the time of death. Problem is, cooling the body slows the decomp. They should have left the windows closed and cranked up the furnace," Sarah pointed out.
"So maybe the window cranks will have some good fingerprints. There was no sign of a break-in, so either the killer had keys or…"
"Or our victim let them in," Sarah nodded and quickly got one of her techs to start fingerprinting the windows.
"Rex, you get anything?" Charlie looked at the dog, who was interested in a cabinet, whose drawers were all pulled open to varying degrees.
"So, our killer was pawing at everything in this room," Charlie said. Rex growled like it was a bad joke.
"Sorry pal," Charlie petted him on the head.
"So, our killer opens the windows but doesn't leave enough for Rex to sniff?" Sarah asked.
"The fresh air and the breeze would have aired out the space but maybe our killer had something on their hands that is still there. I think we should check the rest of the house. I'm sure that if our killer didn't find what they wanted in the living room, then maybe they found it somewhere else," he suggested.
"Happy hunting. I'll be here, this will certainly be keeping me busy," Sarah gave him a slight smile. Charlie and Rex walked through the entire house, pointing out other spots that the killer may have been. The victim's computer was missing but not his television.
"We're heading to talk to the neighbors. The robbery, if you can call it that, was very specific," Charlie said before explaining what they found.
"Anything that Rex can sniff?" Sarah wondered.
"Nothing yet but maybe once we speak to people, we'll get a better sense of what this guy was like," Charlie figured.
"Sounds good. My team and I will be here awhile. The coroner is actually running behind," Sarah told him.
"Huh?" Charlie asked, even Rex looked confused. While the crime rate in St. John's was not that high, it was rare to have the coroner running behind.
"Heart attack on a boat. Doesn't seem criminal but anyone who dies out there, it has to be confirmed," Sarah reassured him. Charlie nodded.
"See you back at the station," he said.
"Yup, see you then," she smiled. Then the partners headed outside and down toward the sidewalk.
To Be Continued...