"I miss the days when you could just replace a part, and it didn't cost an arm and a leg,” Mr. Welling said. “They build stuff now so you can't fix it. Ought to be illegal."
Mrs. Welling continued. "Anyway, I hadn't heard from Ray in a long time. I went out to check on him and see if he wanted a glass of water or something." She choked up, and her eyes filled. "I found him like that.”
"Did you hear any gunshots?” I asked.
Mrs. Welling exchanged a look with her husband. They both shook their heads.
"No," she said. "I didn't hear anything. That's what’s so strange. You’d think I would have heard something.”
"The assailant could have used a suppressor. It would have sounded like a snap or pop. Probably around 90 dB.”
She exchanged another look with her husband. "No. I don't recall hearing anything like that.”
"Do you have any surveillance cameras around the property?”
"Just a video doorbell," Mrs. Welling said.
“How long had Ray been in the backyard working on the air conditioning?" I asked.
The couple exchanged another glance.
"I don't know. Maybe half an hour," Mrs. Welling said.
"And you didn't see anyone else come or go?”
They both shook their heads.
"I take it neither one of you shot him?”
"Oh, God no!" Mrs. Welling said.
"I don't even own a gun," Mr. Welling said.
They didn’t look like the type to execute a man in cold blood, but you never knew.
"Did Mr. Coleman express any concerns to you when he arrived this evening?”
"No," Mrs. Welling said. "We were just grateful that he showed up. He was friendly and talkative as usual. Didn't seem to have a care in the world. He was really such a nice guy. It wasn't his fault the unit gave us so much trouble. And I have to say, he was always willing to come out and fix it, no matter what time of day or night. It was still under warranty." She frowned.
I gave them both a card and asked them to get in touch if they remembered any details that might be helpful.
"Do you think we're safe here tonight?” Mrs. Welling asked.
"This looks like a targeted hit, ma'am," I said. "Nothing was stolen from the victim. I think you’re probably safe.”
I asked her to show me the doorbell footage. She pulled the history up on her phone. The camera had recorded a clip when Ray pulled the repair van to the curb. He strolled up the walkway and rang the bell.
That was the last recorded clip in the timeline.
Brenda and her crew bagged the body and transferred it to her van.
Paris and her crew grabbed footage.
JD and I talked to the crowd and banged on neighboring doors, hoping to acquire more doorbell footage.
The sensitivity of the neighbors’ cameras was low. None had picked up any movement at the Welling residence.
We wrapped up at the scene and returned to the station to fill out paperwork. I called in another favor with Isabella and asked her to see if any other phones pinged the tower from the Welling’s residence at the time of the murder. I didn’t expect her to find anything other than Ray’s phone and those of the Wellings. The killer was a pro. Pros turn off their cellular devices when doing heinous things.
