But the feeding him part…?
That worked for her. She unwrapped part of it and let him take a bite.
He chewed, and as he did, they did the dance.
“You have a sixty-ish-year-old man, and it looks like he’s homeless. His clothes are filthy, and there’s the smell that the homeless tend to get since they are unable to wash up.”
She was making notes.
Oh, and standing back a few feet.
“Any ID?” she asked.
He nodded.
“He’s got tags and a wallet,” he said, moving his collar of his old flannel shirt. “IDs say his name is Jonathan M. Miller, Corporal in the US Army. They’re pretty worn, and I’m going to say by the look of him, so is he. Someone’s seen some shit,” he admitted.
Immediately, she sighed.
Well, that sucked.
“I hate when we find a vet. It’s such a sad way for them to go, being homeless. Since I know you, the wallet and tags won’t be enough. So, get me positive ID, and I’ll contact the vet center. How did he die?” she asked.
The man moved the rest of his incredibly bloody shirt, and there was a stab wound to his chest.
“It looks like he took a jab to the heart. I’ll say that’s likely COD, but don’t hold me to it until I open him up. I’ll know then, Detective.”
She wrote it down, and then fed him more granola bar to keep him talking.
A girl had to do what a girl had to do.
Oddly, this was the most normal part of her job.
“There are no blood trail droplets, so I’m going to say he likely got assaulted right here and dropped. The blood pooled under him.”
Yeah, likely.
That sounded right.
The homeless community tended to squat in the abandoned buildings during storms and the winter.
It was an ongoing issue for the city. What always befuddled her was that they could just renovate all the closed buildings and give the people a place to call home.
The city would be happy.
The place would be less run-down…
But she was just a cop.
What did she know?
“How about TOD? Can you give me that so I can see if I can talk to some homeless people and see when they saw him last?” she asked.
There was no doubt he had friends.
The homeless stuck together.
“There’s a homeless encampment not far from here by the river, and that’s where Mac and I will head first.”
