| Mystery and Crime Fiction posted August 26, 2019 | Chapters: |
...6 7 -8- 9... 
|
  |
The investigation of Lonnie's murder
A chapter in the book Monica
Monica Chapter 8
by Roxanna Andrews
| Background A narcissistic young woman invades the lives of newly weds, Rob and Sarah. She is determined to have Rob for herself. |
Ending of Chapter 7 -She quickly took off her blood-soaked clothes and threw them in the fireplace along with the bloody rag and all the things she had taken from Lonnie. Jumping in the shower, she scrubbed away the blood. The water turned a brownish red as it went down the drain.
Monica filled the sink with bleach and put the hammer in to soak. She smiled, remembering she had taken it from a neighbor's garage. She wondered if they had missed it.
Lighting the fire, she used the poker to stir the flames, making sure they spread to consume the clothes and other articles she placed in the fire. Almost forgetting her tennis shoes, she put them in at the last minute, pushing them into the flames.
Pouring a drink, she sat in front of the fire and went over all the details of the killing in her mind, making sure she hadn't forgotten anything and had covered her tracks. Satisfied that she had, she put it out of her mind, not be thought about again.
Knowing she wouldn't sleep, she turned on the TV and binge-watched all the Downton Abbey episodes she'd missed.
************
"What have you learned, Doc?" Sheriff Rob Mitchell asked. He and Martin Robinson stood in the medical examiner's autopsy room. The body of Lonnie McGovern lay on a table covered in a sheet.
"Well, other than the fact that he died from blunt force trauma and his last meal was spaghetti and meatballs, I think there's some garlic bread in there too." The doctor held up a bag of Lonnie's stomach content. "Not much."
"I don't need to see what Lonnie had for dinner," Rob said.
"Ed's Diner has a spaghetti dinner every Monday. You get a salad too, but it doesn't look like Lonnie had any. I'd say from the shape the man was in, he wasn't big on eating his veggies. It's a pretty good dinner, only about six bucks."
"Thanks, Doc, for the critique of Ed's. Anything else?"
"Nope. No fibers, no hairs, no foreign DNA. It was a clean crime scene."
"I'm pretty sure Lonnie knew whoever did this. Why else would he be in the park? He wasn't there for the swings. The person had to get close to use a hammer. Or it was an ambush, someone jumping him. But my gut tells me he knew his assailant," said Martin.
"Okay, lets go to Ed's and see if one of the workers knows anything helpful. Thanks Doc. "
"Maybe we can have lunch while we're there. I'm hungry," Martin said as they left the autopsy room, and the smell of disinfectant behind.
"How can you be hungry after seeing what Lonnie had for dinner last night?"
"I've seen worse."
Rob and Martin got a booth at Ed's and ordered burgers and fries. They asked their waitress if she knew Lonnie and if he had been in on Monday night.
"Yeah, I know Lonnie. I waited on him Monday. He was here at around six o'clock. Hard to believe he's dead."
"Did he say anything about going to the park or meeting anyone?"
"Not to me and I didn't see him talking to anyone else."
"Okay, thanks."
"I'll get your order in. It should be right up."
"Thanks." Turning to Martin, Rob shook his head. "This isn't going to be easy. We don't have any suspects, no witnesses, no evidence. It's like a ghost committed the murder."
"It's early days. Things go a bit slower out here in Big Sky. You just got to be patient. Someone saw something. They just don't know to connect it to the crime. We need to go public. Ask if anyone saw anything or anyone going to or leaving the park. We'll get it figured out."
The waitress brought the sodas the men ordered and the conversation turned to small talk and other cases.
"Did I tell you that they found a bullet at that car fire out towards Bozeman? It had the victim's DNA on it, human tissue. Looks like the car fire wasn't an accident after all," Martin told Rob.
Rob raised his eyebrows. "So who has jurisdiction? Bozeman?"
"Yeah, they're going to take it but may ask for our help. The guy was a lawyer. Just moved to Boseman. He was separated from his wife, but they were working on patching things up. She was pretty devastated according to my cousin. He's on the case. They had a three-year-old."
"Rough. How many family members do you have in law enforcement? Every time we talk about a case, you have a cousin working on it."
"There's about five of us. Might be a few I don't know about and there's more coming up. I have a nephew in the academy."
"Well, if they are all half the cop you are, we're lucky to have them."
"Thank you, Boss. They're all good."
Their lunch arrived and conversation ceased as they dug in.
****
Monica watched the news as Rob asked for help in the murder of Lonnie McGovern. "If you saw anyone going to or coming from the park between the hours of eight o'clock to after nine Monday night please contact law enforcement. We need the public's help to solve this crime."
Monica switch off the TV and poured herself a drink. She smiled. She was confident no one had seen her and wasn't the least worried.
"Dinner is ready, Miss Landers."
"Thank you, Anna."
Monica sat down to an exquisite dinner of beef medallions and mushrooms in red wine sauce. Anna was worth every penny she paid her.
Monica chewed slowly, her mind on Rob Mitchell and how she could manage to spend time with him. Maybe a neighborhood party. She hated the thought of having so many of the clodhoppers that lived around her in her home, but it was a sacrifice she was going to have to make. Perhaps a smaller dinner party would be better. How else would Rob find out how special she was. When he saw her beautiful home and what an excellent hostess she was, he'd be impressed.
She would work up a menu with Anna and get the invitations out.
Monica smiled at her plan. Rob would be so wowed by her. Poor Sarah, she paled in comparison. What did he see in her? She was such a little nothing. I have to think on what to do to get dear little Sarah out of the way.
Monica filled the sink with bleach and put the hammer in to soak. She smiled, remembering she had taken it from a neighbor's garage. She wondered if they had missed it.
Lighting the fire, she used the poker to stir the flames, making sure they spread to consume the clothes and other articles she placed in the fire. Almost forgetting her tennis shoes, she put them in at the last minute, pushing them into the flames.
Pouring a drink, she sat in front of the fire and went over all the details of the killing in her mind, making sure she hadn't forgotten anything and had covered her tracks. Satisfied that she had, she put it out of her mind, not be thought about again.
Knowing she wouldn't sleep, she turned on the TV and binge-watched all the Downton Abbey episodes she'd missed.
************
"What have you learned, Doc?" Sheriff Rob Mitchell asked. He and Martin Robinson stood in the medical examiner's autopsy room. The body of Lonnie McGovern lay on a table covered in a sheet.
"Well, other than the fact that he died from blunt force trauma and his last meal was spaghetti and meatballs, I think there's some garlic bread in there too." The doctor held up a bag of Lonnie's stomach content. "Not much."
"I don't need to see what Lonnie had for dinner," Rob said.
"Ed's Diner has a spaghetti dinner every Monday. You get a salad too, but it doesn't look like Lonnie had any. I'd say from the shape the man was in, he wasn't big on eating his veggies. It's a pretty good dinner, only about six bucks."
"Thanks, Doc, for the critique of Ed's. Anything else?"
"Nope. No fibers, no hairs, no foreign DNA. It was a clean crime scene."
"I'm pretty sure Lonnie knew whoever did this. Why else would he be in the park? He wasn't there for the swings. The person had to get close to use a hammer. Or it was an ambush, someone jumping him. But my gut tells me he knew his assailant," said Martin.
"Okay, lets go to Ed's and see if one of the workers knows anything helpful. Thanks Doc. "
"Maybe we can have lunch while we're there. I'm hungry," Martin said as they left the autopsy room, and the smell of disinfectant behind.
"How can you be hungry after seeing what Lonnie had for dinner last night?"
"I've seen worse."
Rob and Martin got a booth at Ed's and ordered burgers and fries. They asked their waitress if she knew Lonnie and if he had been in on Monday night.
"Yeah, I know Lonnie. I waited on him Monday. He was here at around six o'clock. Hard to believe he's dead."
"Did he say anything about going to the park or meeting anyone?"
"Not to me and I didn't see him talking to anyone else."
"Okay, thanks."
"I'll get your order in. It should be right up."
"Thanks." Turning to Martin, Rob shook his head. "This isn't going to be easy. We don't have any suspects, no witnesses, no evidence. It's like a ghost committed the murder."
"It's early days. Things go a bit slower out here in Big Sky. You just got to be patient. Someone saw something. They just don't know to connect it to the crime. We need to go public. Ask if anyone saw anything or anyone going to or leaving the park. We'll get it figured out."
The waitress brought the sodas the men ordered and the conversation turned to small talk and other cases.
"Did I tell you that they found a bullet at that car fire out towards Bozeman? It had the victim's DNA on it, human tissue. Looks like the car fire wasn't an accident after all," Martin told Rob.
Rob raised his eyebrows. "So who has jurisdiction? Bozeman?"
"Yeah, they're going to take it but may ask for our help. The guy was a lawyer. Just moved to Boseman. He was separated from his wife, but they were working on patching things up. She was pretty devastated according to my cousin. He's on the case. They had a three-year-old."
"Rough. How many family members do you have in law enforcement? Every time we talk about a case, you have a cousin working on it."
"There's about five of us. Might be a few I don't know about and there's more coming up. I have a nephew in the academy."
"Well, if they are all half the cop you are, we're lucky to have them."
"Thank you, Boss. They're all good."
Their lunch arrived and conversation ceased as they dug in.
****
Monica watched the news as Rob asked for help in the murder of Lonnie McGovern. "If you saw anyone going to or coming from the park between the hours of eight o'clock to after nine Monday night please contact law enforcement. We need the public's help to solve this crime."
Monica switch off the TV and poured herself a drink. She smiled. She was confident no one had seen her and wasn't the least worried.
"Dinner is ready, Miss Landers."
"Thank you, Anna."
Monica sat down to an exquisite dinner of beef medallions and mushrooms in red wine sauce. Anna was worth every penny she paid her.
Monica chewed slowly, her mind on Rob Mitchell and how she could manage to spend time with him. Maybe a neighborhood party. She hated the thought of having so many of the clodhoppers that lived around her in her home, but it was a sacrifice she was going to have to make. Perhaps a smaller dinner party would be better. How else would Rob find out how special she was. When he saw her beautiful home and what an excellent hostess she was, he'd be impressed.
She would work up a menu with Anna and get the invitations out.
Monica smiled at her plan. Rob would be so wowed by her. Poor Sarah, she paled in comparison. What did he see in her? She was such a little nothing. I have to think on what to do to get dear little Sarah out of the way.
Monica-a spoiled narcissist obssessed with Rob
Rob Mitchell-Sheriff of Big Sky, Sarah's husband
Sarah Mitchell-Wife of Rob, ex-detective, now a bakery owner
Martin Robinson - Sheriff Lieutenant
Doc Grant Young - County Coroner
Lonnie McGovern-builder's asst.
Pays
one point
and 2 member cents. Rob Mitchell-Sheriff of Big Sky, Sarah's husband
Sarah Mitchell-Wife of Rob, ex-detective, now a bakery owner
Martin Robinson - Sheriff Lieutenant
Doc Grant Young - County Coroner
Lonnie McGovern-builder's asst.
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