"Hello, I'm Deputy May Moore from the Sheriff’s Department. I'm here to ask you some questions about the murder in the neighborhood," she said.
The door opened.
A round-faced woman, in her sixties, stared back at May. A halo of gray-blonde hair framed her face, and she was wiping her hands on her apron. The fragrance of baking bread filled the house.
"I was scared to come to the door. I can't believe we have a killer breaking into houses in this neighborhood. It's terrifying," she shared.
"We're doing all we can to find him," May reassured her. "But what I'd like to know is whether you heard anything at all from the house yesterday. Especially in the afternoon, toward evening."
Of course, the killer could have broken in any time after Ed had left for work and waited, May knew.
The woman shook her head. "Unfortunately not. I'm rather deaf, and I seldom hear anything. I knew Ed slightly and used to greet him, but I never really got to know him beyond that."
"Do you live alone?"
"I do live with my husband, but he worked a full day yesterday. He's an orderly at the hospital. I do baking and was in my kitchen the entire day preparing orders. It's on the other side of the house."
Discouraged but resolute, May probed further. "Did you see any strange cars outside? Anything unusual?"
But the woman shook her head. "That's the problem with this neighborhood. It's so safe, I think we've all grown too trusting. From now on, I'm going to be more observant. But sadly, it's too late for Ed."
Feeling frustrated that nobody had apparently seen this killer, May thanked her and turned away.
But then, she saw Owen.
He'd just gotten out of the car, where he'd been doing his research, and he was waving excitedly at her. That must mean he'd uncovered something. Where neighbors had failed, research might help them make progress.
Eagerly, May rushed toward him to find out what it was.
CHAPTER SEVEN
May felt a pulse of excitement as she ran to Owen. He had been doing research on old cases, and it seemed like he had found something.
“Did anything come up?” she asked.
"I cross-referenced the use of a crowbar, and then also the use of the pepper spray, with older cases. Just to see if this killer might be a repeat criminal. And you'll be surprised by what I found." From the look in his eyes, May knew he’d found something.
"What?"
"There's a similar case from two years ago. A man called Dave Tyne was killed."
"Similar how?" She was taken aback at the thought of this killer having been active for longer than they'd assumed. "What happened in the case?" she asked.
Owen explained. "Two years ago, there was a break-in at a house just outside of Southbrook. The intruder pepper sprayed and stabbed the older brother of the homeowner. He was Dave Tyne, and he was found dead in the garage."
"Were there any leads?" May asked.
Owen checked back, glancing at the details on his laptop, which was open on the car seat.
"The culprit was never caught. Eventually, local police decided it must have been a random prowler who turned violent, and the case went cold."
May shook her head. This felt like too much of a coincidence.
"And the method of entry was similar as well. It looks like the same person could have been responsible for both crimes." Owen looked again at his screen.
"We need to look into this further. We need to see if there's any connection between the victims or any other link that ties them together."
"I guess we need to speak to the family of the original victim then," Owen agreed.
