The Fighter Within. B. Cochrane Clark

      Chapter 3

      “Nothing. That is what we have. It has been four days and absolutely nothing. Even trying to contact next of kin was a bust. No one in their contact list seemed to know who we were talking about, that is if anyone answered at all. The only people who seemed to know who they were, were the neighbors and their bosses. Then there’s also the fact that nobody saw or heard a damn thing. There were no strange cars or people. Whomever did this must have been a ghost, or a stealthy little ninja. When I spoke to their employers, they had both said about the same thing. They showed up for work on time, hardly called in sick, and were decent workers. Neither of them sounded overly ambitious, but did their jobs well enough.” Cody grumbled to his partner. “Mrs. Gray worked as a clerk down at the grocery store on Fifth and Main. Her shift was nine to three Tuesday through Saturday. Mr. Gray worked as a mechanic downtown eight to four Monday through Friday.”

      “You did go back and talk to all the neighbors again, including Miss Feldberg, right?” Cody continued, hardly taking a breath.

      “Yeah, sure did, and you are right on the nose there. We have squat, except next time you get Miss Feldberg. I could hardly get out of there, she’s a talker. Unfortunately, everything she needed to say had nothing to do with this case, but I am pretty sure she would have done her own strip search if I had allowed it. Not that it would have mattered. The damn woman was undressing me with her eyes the whole time I was there.” Dustin tried to complain, but his face told a different story.

      Cody didn’t bother holding back his amusement as he chuckled and taunted Dustin. “As fifty shades of red as your face is, I’m thinking she was really going more for a shade of gray. Maybe you could let her make good use of those handcuffs, break them in for you.”

      “She’s not getting anywhere near my handcuffs or any other part of me.”

      “Oh, come on, Andrews, let yourself have a little fun. She could probably teach you a thing or two.”

      “I’m perfectly fine in my little sheltered love life. I have work and a good woman at home. That is all I need. Besides, you are not one to talk. When was the last time you went on a date?”

      “You know, I can’t really remember. I do remember it was a blind date set up by my sister and her husband, and it turned out awful. She never shut up and pretty much only talked about herself. I don’t think I have ever met someone so high on themselves. I am perfectly content in my life with work as my mistress. Now, in your case, you are almost thirty and probably need to start looking for a good woman. I don’t think your dog counts. Although she will be more loyal than any woman you can find and won’t nag at you all the time. On second thought, I think you’re probably on to something. Let’s head back over to the crime scene. I want to take another look. We had to have missed something,” Cody blurted out in a quick subject change as he threw on his jacket.

      “Trying to follow your thought process is like trying to herd cats,” Dustin mused. “You almost think you have it under control, and then all the little buggers split and dart.”

      “I know, keeps people on their toes. I wouldn’t want anyone getting bored.”

      As they made their way across town to the crime scene, Cody couldn’t shake the feeling that something was off with this case. There had to be something left behind. He couldn’t believe anyone could be that big of a neat freak. Even his father, who had been extremely anal about the house and all of his things being kept clean and maintained, didn’t hold a candle to this house. The more he thought about it, the more the house seemed like a spec home that nobody lived in. He also couldn’t figure out why the door was left wide open. Someone who was that careful to leave no evidence behind would surely shut the damn door when he left so as not to arouse suspicion.

      As they pulled up and stopped in front of Mr. and Mrs. Gray’s house, Cody asked, “How old do you think this house is? It looks like it could be about a hundred. I mean, very well kept, but it must be one of the few original structures left. I think we should pull the records on it when we get done here.” Cody looked at Dustin only to find he was looking at Cody like he thought he should pack his shit and head to the loony bin.

      “I don’t know why yet, but something tells me we need to know the history on this house,” Cody explained to his partner.

      “Whatever you say. You are lead detective on this case.” Dustin grinned as he climbed out of the car and headed for the crime scene. “Have you heard back from forensics on the bullets found in the victims’ bodies?”

      “No, they’re busy working some big drug deal case in Missoula. They said it could be a week or more. The medical examiner’s office is getting pretty frustrated with me for calling them so much, pushing them to finish their autopsies. Not that it will stop me from calling, but so far they haven’t found anything.”

      “This all seems very neat and clean. Not very often do you find a double homicide without some sort of mess around it,” Dustin surmised.

      “I know, and I just can’t shake the feeling that something is off with this house. I mean, really, who lives like this? Not a paper on the counter, outside of a small stack of mail, a dish in the sink, or a book on the table. No shoes sitting around or anything.” Cody huffed.

      “There is a full wardrobe in the closet, but I swear they have never been touched. No dirt on the shoes or stains on any of the clothes. In fact, most of them look all but brand-new.” Dustin looked around the kitchen. “Do you think they were maybe getting ready to sell it? That could explain some of why the house is so neat and tidy.”

      Dustin’s thought process made sense; maybe Cody was just overthinking things after what had happened to him.

      “So besides trying to get you out of your uniform, what did Miss Feldberg say?”

      Automatically, Dustin’s face turned red again, but he quickly turned his head and focused his attention on the house, looking as if he might have found something of use. Of course, he wasn’t quick enough. Cody just chuckled to himself and let Dustin think he had gotten away with the sleight of hand, so to speak.

      “Just that the Grays seemed pretty routine. He left about seven thirty in the morning every weekday, and she left just after him, except she also worked Saturdays. She said they worked too damn hard because neither one would get home until super late at night. She had invited them to a couple of neighborhood BBQs, but they always, in her words, ‘made some piss-poor excuse,’ so eventually she stopped asking. Denise said it always took them forever to answer the door. The first time she went over there, she was about to leave thinking they must not have been home, when Maxine finally opened the door.”

      “Denise, huh? First-name basis with the nice neighbor lady.” Cody grinned with satisfaction in making his new partner turn red. Again. “So, if they were both off in the early afternoon, what took them so long to get home?”

      “Maybe they met up and ate dinner out together. That could help explain the lack of food in the house,” Dustin speculated.

      “Possibly, but that’s a very long dinner, and every night? That seems like a stretch. We need to find out where they would go after work. I haven’t had time to check their bank and phone records. We’ll do that first thing in the morning. I’m going to head to the bedrooms. You check out the living room and kitchen,” Cody suggested to his partner. “Maybe a fresh set of eyes might pick