INT. REBEKAH SMITH'S OFFICE - MOMENTS LATER
Detective Chris walks into Rebekah Smith's office. He looks at the door lying on the ground and frowns.
DETECTIVE CHRIS
Forced entry...? Maybe.
He looks around the room and sees the body of Shalissa Roberts. The corpse is lying on its side, sitting in a pool of blood. The detective purses his lips, walking towards it. He stops once his boots reach the edge of the pool.
DETECTIVE CHRIS
Bob was right about the murder...
He pulls out a glove from his coat and puts it on. Kneeling, he gently touches the corpse's chest.
DETECTIVE CHRIS
Still warm. Took around ten minutes to walk here; Bob came to the precinct 15 minutes ago. Considering he must've been running...She couldn't have been dead longer than an hour.
Detective Chris studies the hole in her head. The angle of the corpse places the wound directly in his line of sight. It's a two inch, jagged gash on the side of her skull.
DETECTIVE CHRIS
(wincing)
Never get used to that. Yeesh. At least it was quick.
He stands, walking over to the table. Multiple papers and a beat up purse sit on top. Detective Chris opens the purse and begins pulling out objects with his gloved hand.
DETECTIVE CHRIS
Gum...lipstick...more makeup...ah!
He takes out a wallet. Opening it, he finds an ID.
DETECTIVE CHRIS
(reading)
Shalissa Roberts...
He compares the ID to the body, tilting his head to the side.
DETECTIVE CHRIS
Yup, that's her. Little more bald than when she took the picture though.
The detective chuckles, shaking his head. He replaces the objects of the purse before parsing through the papers on the table. He frowns as he reads.
DETECTIVE CHRIS
Reading on Amazon or a pirate site? This novel is from Royal Road. Support the author by reading it there.
Looks like it was a standard domestic violence case.
(pausing)
Yeeep, I handled this about a week ago. You move fast, Becca.
He smiles faintly, dropping the papers. Turning, he faces the closet.
DETECTIVE CHRIS
Now, this is odd.
Detective Chris approaches the closet. He peers inside but sees nothing other than a few coats and a shirt hanging inside.
DETECTIVE CHRIS
It's just a coat closet...Nice ones, but why's it open?
He turns, looking at the body and then the door.
DETECTIVE CHRIS
Possible forced entry, a recently dead body, and an open coat closet.
He walks to the table. Tapping the papers, he narrows his eyes at the body.
DETECTIVE CHRIS
It's rare that Becca ever loses a case. Maybe Roberts came in, angry, thinking this might not go her way? She came in while-
(sighing)
No, no, they'd found more evidence. They were going to convict. So, what? Burglary?
He rubs his chin.
DETECTIVE CHRIS
Who would rob a law firm? Not much to steal besides papers and *maybe* a few personal objects. Then...confidential papers...
He looks down at the file on the table. His eyes widen.
DETECTIVE CHRIS
The man Roberts was filing charges against! Likely suspect. But most evidence would be found at the precinct; all he'd find here are...well, not of enough importance to get him off. So if he wasn't coming here for papers, he wanted...Roberts. Maybe even Becca? But how would he know they were meeting late at night? He could've had someone tail the girl, then burst in once most everyone was gone. That's...likely.
Detective Chris walks towards the felled door. He stands in the doorway, hunching his shoulders.
DETECTIVE CHRIS
So they're in here. Likely finishing up a meeting. Two chairs are pushed out, so they must've been getting ready to go. Becca's at the closet, about to get her coat.
He pantomimes throwing open a heavy door.
DETECTIVE CHRIS
The guy bursts in-no, he had a tool. Something strong enough to take it off its hinges. Mostly intact, too, so it's gotta be big. The door goes flying, then. Roberts moves to the end of the table-
He nods towards the body.
DETECTIVE CHRIS
Guy comes in and-hmm. Does he shoot? There's no blood anywhere but the body. He could've just shot Roberts, but that was a pretty big hole in her head. He could've used a shottie, but that would've been way messier. There's no blood splatter on the walls, so it must've been a single entry wound. A knife then? That's plausible.
The detective frowns. He looks at the open closet.
DETECTIVE CHRIS
Then what about Becca? Why would he take her instead of just killing her, too? She's an orphan, she has no business partners so what...What am I missing?
His phone buzzes in his pocket. Huffing, he pulls it out and reads the text.
DETECTIVE CHRIS
(reading)
'Sent the file you wanted. Really don't know if you're gonna get anything from this guy. He's a loon!'
Detective Chris sighs, staring at the body.
DETECTIVE CHRIS
What happened, Becca?