The captain looked at the photos and printouts in the manila folder the lab tech handed him. “What is all this?” he asked.
“Photos of a hand gun found under the living room couch. We believe the killer may have accidentally knocked it under there while moving the bodies. Luminol testing revealed traces of blood in the living room which lead us to believe it was the primary crime scene, and that the killer cleaned it up before he left. Ballistics tests confirm the gun as the murder weapon.”
“Well done,” said the captain, “but that doesn’t explain your eager interruption of my scolding Detective Johnson here.”
“Yes, well, you see, sir, fingerprints found on the gun did not match the prints of Jared Martin that we have on file. Nor did they match the homeowners’ prints.”
Lucy Johnson and Mike Evans stared at the lab tech in disbelief while the captain narrowed his eyes. “So whose prints are they?”
“Unknown, sir. The system found no database match. We did find a couple of latent prints at the scene that belong to Jared Martin, though. But it doesn’t appear that he was involved in the deaths of the homeowners.”
“So what is going on?”
“The tip we followed said Jared Martin had been there,” Lucy said. “Maybe someone is using him somehow to play a game with us.”
“Perhaps. Keep working the Jared Martin case, Detective, and see if you can figure out who might be using him and why. But please try to keep to regulations this time.” The captain turned to the lab tech. “And you all keep at it. Work that crime scene for all it’s worth and find out who this guy is.” His gaze swept over them all as he added, “Dismissed.”
“So what should we do first?” Mike asked Lucy as they closed the door to the captain’s office.
“What else? We start with the basics. Let’s head back to the crime scene and ask the neighbors if they saw or heard anything.”
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Jeanne Owens, author 