Cooked Goose

object in the room to the next, making notes and sketches on a yellow legal pad, “how’s it going?”
    “Slow. Methodical. Careful.” Jennifer looked sad. “Especially when it’s one of our own.”
    On the other side of the room, Savannah could see Cindy Oleksiak, who was also collecting blood samples. Savannah recognized the process as a quick and effective method of typing the specimens.
    “Is all of this Titus’s blood?” she asked Dr. Liu.
    “We’ve tested samples from in here, the bedroom, and the bathroom,” she said. “They’re all the same type: A Negative.“
    “His type?”
    Dr. Liu nodded. “Afraid so. It’s a fairly uncommon type. Of course, we won’t know for sure until we do the DNA tests. That’s going to take a while.”
    “Do you think he was murdered?”
    The doctor glanced around and lowered her voice. “Hon estly? Yes. I think so. There’s a lot of blood here. And that was a .357 slug that we took out of the paneling. Judging from the blood spray on the wall, it went through a body first… about chest level. It would have done a lot of damage.”
    Savannah digested that information a moment or two before she could speak. “Why do you suppose they removed his body?”
    “Who knows? But there are blood drops leading through the kitchen, out the back door, to the driveway. Like Hansel and Gretel, they left a pretty clear trail.”
    “We saw some of those drops earlier. Dirk said Titus keeps a classic Charger in the garage.”
    “It’s gone. They’ve put out an APB on him and the car.” Savannah’s brain searched for a happier, less tragic explanation. “Maybe he was wounded and left on his own, tried to get to a hospital and passed out along the way... something like that?”
    “Anything’s possible.” She gave Savannah a cheerless but understanding smile. “To be honest, I’m afraid that’s wishful thinking,” she said. “I doubt someone who had been that badly wounded and had lost that much blood, would still be able to get around on their own, let alone drive an automobile.”
    So much for happily-ever-after endings, Savannah thought. “I suppose you’re right. It’s just that... well... Titus is a sweetheart and...”
    “I know. We’re all pretty fond of him. This is going to be terrible for Christy. She’s so in love with him. I hear they just got engaged last month.”
    “And her mom’s terminally ill. Poor girl. Like they say, ‘When it rains... you might as well start building that ark.’ Has anyone told her yet?”
    “Dirk made the call just before he took off for lunch. She can’t leave her mom. Asked him to keep her informed.” Savannah glanced around the shattered remains of the room that said so much about what had happened inside those walls, and yet revealed so little. “Did you find anything else that might point a finger at who did this?” she asked.
    Dr. Liu smiled. It was her cocky, almost arrogant, grin that she got when she had something good. She reached into her lab coat pocket and withdrew a small plastic bag that was sealed and labeled. She stuck it under Savannah’s nose. “I thought you’d never ask. Take a look.”
    At first, Savannah thought the doctor had handed her an empty bag. Then she caught her breath. “Wow! Is this what I think it is?”
    Inside the bag were three hairs. Coarse, silver, curly hairs. “I won’t know for sure until I get them back to the lab and under a microscope, where I can compare them with the ones taken from the rape victims. But I’m ninety-nine percent sure it’ll be a match.”
    Savannah felt the adrenaline rush to her knees, and they turned to warm gelatin. “Where were they?”
    “On the carpet right there, about three and a half feet from where the victim would have been standing when he was shot.”
    Savannah fingered the bag thoughtfully. “Does Dirk know about this?”
    “Nope. I found them after he’d left,” she said proudly. Looking over Savannah’s shoulder, she peered out the window. “But I’m pretty sure that’s your old partner, pulling in the driveway right now. You can tell him if you want. I’m sure it’ll make his day... or ruin it.”
    Savannah hurried out the door and met Dirk on the lawn. He had a McDonalds’ large Coke in his hand, and a sated look on his face. “Hi,” he greeted her. “Did you get the teeny-hopper’s junk to her?”
    “I left her happy and sassy, lying on the bed, watching soaps. Oh, and she’s discovered the wonders of