Expert Advice

“When did it take place?”

“I’m thinking between three or four hours ago.”

“Mmmmm, any identification found on scene?”

“According to her license, name is Megan Birchell, aged twenty-three, home of record out of Vermont. Probably a college student.”

“Anything else besides her license?”

“Couple credit cards, a library card, and some kind of fitness boot camp access card. All with the same name.”

“Be sure to bag all that.”

“I’m already on it.”

“Any signs of a struggle?”

“Not at first glance, but I’m sure autopsy will find something. As far as anyone can tell, she just fell asleep at the scene.”

“Asphyxiation does that. Once they lose consciousness, there is no struggle. Everything just kind of stops.”

“It’s a shame. She’s pretty young. Probably had a promising future ahead of here. Not too bad looking either.”

“Another tragedy for sure. Probably be all over the nightly news when this breaks.”

“How long do you think that will be?”

“Probably not long. PD might try to keep a lid on it for a few days till the investigation is complete.”

“What about the family? Won’t they go to the news?”

“Most likely. I wouldn’t be surprised if this was tomorrow night’s headline.”

“Won’t matter anyway. People feel bad for a few minutes, then go back to their lives. The world keeps on spinning.”

“Find anything unusual in the room? Something left behind?”

“There was a pair of gloves on the dresser that looked out of place. I bagged 'em.”

“Good Catch.”

“Yeah, other than that, room is pretty well sanitized. Forensics will come in later and probably find some things, but they will have to work for it.”

“Anything left behind look like a murder weapon?”

“Nothing on the scene was an obvious murder weapon. No blood, tears, or anything along those lines. Points to manual strangulation. That or the weapon was taken off scene.”

“Her makeup isn’t smeared or anything. Rules out a pillow or other smothering object. She really does look like she just fell asleep, huh?”

“It’s pretty eerie actually. Kind of reminds you of your own mortality, ya know.”

“Everyone of them reminded me of that.”

“Unfortunate side effect of the job I suppose.”

“I supposed it’s something like that. Been doing this long enough now. To be honest, I don’t know what that feeling is anymore.”

“We can’t all be successful businessmen, I guess.”

“We definitely all have our place on the bus. Some seats are more desirable than others.”

“Amen to that.”

“What about the doors or windows? Any signs of forced entry?”

“No broken glass. Doesn’t look like the door frame is cracked or broken. Doorknob was wiped clean of prints.”

“Points to someone who had access to the apartment then. Could help narrow down a suspect. Take a note of that.”

“Ms. Birchell was only twenty-three. Seems like a pretty young age to have an enemy with enough hatred to want to kill you.”

“A young, attractive woman killed in her prime? C’mon, is this amateur hour? All signs point to a crime of passion here. Prime suspects would be to look into previous boyfriends or any history of stalking.”

“I guess, yeah… That makes a lot of sense actually.”

“It’s textbook. Anyone with eyes would put money on it being a jealous ex.”

“Seems like such a waste though. I guess some people just can’t move on from someone.”

“You don't know the whole story. Ms. Birchell may not have been much of a saint.”

“What do you mean?”

“Well, for example, Megan here may have had a tendency to get a little too friendly with the guys at the gym. Or perhaps she pushed her boyfriend too far with her disrespectful comments and unappreciative behavior.”

“You think that justified her being killed?”

“I’m just saying… you don’t know the whole story.”

“Still seems like a waste to me. A life ended because of someone’s overreaction.”

“Lives end every day. We all want to die in a glorious, memorable way. Truth is, it will most likely be something small and insignificant that takes you out. A virus, the size of a molecule, a tiny miscalculation of the steering wheel, a tumor smaller than a golf ball.”

“Pretty morbid way to go through life, don’t you think?”

“It’s just the facts of life. Doesn’t matter if you want to hear them or not.”

“You ever think you’ve been at this too long? Ever think about retirement? Some time away from stiffs might be good for you.”

“It's crossed my mind a few times. I guess I just keep finding myself drawn back by the thrill of it.”

“Do you remember your first one?”

“Never forget it. Same MO as this one. Young woman, strangled. It was done much more sloppy though. Not as elegant as this one.”

“What part of it was sloppy?”

“She struggled a lot more, blunt force was needed. They brought blood splatter experts in to analyze the place. Pretty gruesome.”

“What was she hit with?”

“A piece of pipe, left at the scene.”

“Any prints left on it?”

“Wore gloves, the pipe was clean. Other than the victim’s blood all over it. The carelessness of that case still gives me chills.”

“Wasn’t sloppy enough to tie it back to anyone?”

“That is the craziest part. As messy as it was, there wasn’t enough evidence to send anyone to trial.”

“Have all your cases been the same MO?"

“Yeah, it’s always a young beautiful woman. Strangled. Mostly in the same way. Each one becomes more precise, more perfected.”

“Interesting. So, nobody found any kind of link to them?”

“As far as I can tell, nobody has any idea they are connected. Probably because they are so spread apart.”

“Impressive. Well, I think I have everything bagged up. I’m ready to wrap this up. PD can take it from here when they arrive.”

“Great, I’ll dump that stuff in a river the next state over. I think locking the door behind me is a good move. I don’t want to brag about my work, but she looks so untouched they honestly might believe she died in her sleep if the door is still locked.”

“Good idea. They might believe it for a bit. At least till autopsy finds out.”

“In any case, I will be long gone by then.”

“Thanks for helping out. I appreciate the company.”

“Of course. You know what I always say: when you need expert advice, talk to yourself.”