On the drive to the Sheriffs office Dan was thinking about what he'd learned from the computer files. This was not a woman that he understood, nor was he sure he would have liked her. There was something cold , something that appeared to be missing from her emotional make-up. She was beautiful to look at by all accounts, but there was a darkness that she kept hidden from all but the men she contacted through the single sites. She thrived on the attention of a man, yet had little desire to do more than enjoy his body. With close friends and her son Jamie, she was a warm and loving woman, that warmth seemed to get lost in the almost animal passion she exhibited in the bedroom. That is, if the e-mails and instant messages told the true story. She appears to have kept a record of every contact, including some sort of rating system. He thought it was a performance rating, Larry didn't think so. Larry thought it was related to size. Did size really matter? Apparently to some, but Dan wasn't entirely convinced. What bothered him was the calculated method she used to attract these men. She made little effort to find out who they were as people, what their likes and dislikes were. She presented herself in a very unflattering light as far as Dan was concerned. Boldly stating that she was interested in "the experience" not the person. Why would anyone be interested in that kind of thing? He knew it takes all kinds to make the world go round, but for his part he was past the stage of uncaring sex. He needed a brain behind the eyes. Someone to talk to. He remembered the days when all he wanted was something else, and would pretty much tell the young lady what she wanted to hear to get it. Still, after awhile it gets old. What you need from people changes, only apparently Annie's needs didn't change. She still seemed to need just the meeting of the body, not the mind. In one of the e-mails she had included a description of exactly what she would do to the man it was intended for. Dan couldn't remember exactly how it went but the jist of it was designed to build anticipation.

"I will make you want release in a way that you have never wanted before. You will beg to feel my mouth on your most precious part." Dan thought she had a pretty high opinion of herself there. Dan smiled to himself as he thought about her saying that she would lightly touch with her tongue all the parts of Mr. X's body from jaw to waist and then from toes to thighs. There was a part of him that responded to that. He was after all human and a man. He needed to understand Annie. He needed to get inside her head and follow the trail to the identity of her killer, if she was dead. He felt she was. He was sorry about that for her son, Jamie's sake. He seemed like such a nice boy. Growing too quickly into manhood because of the death of his mother. Based on what his investigation into the people surrounding Annie turned up, it could be said that Alan had a motive. He did appear, like Annie to be wealthy but had suffered some business set backs recently. He was still solvent and had enough for his needs, but access to Annies money would probably be appreciated at this point in his life. The money was in trust, with a monthly allowance for Jamies needs. Anything over that had to have the approval of the lawyer, Archibald Wolfe, and strict guidelines were laid out as to how much leeway he was allowed. Still the monthly allowance paid would be more than enough to meet the needs of Jamie and anyone he lived with. This line of thought he would explore later on. The first order of business was to ascertain whether the Sheriff's Jane Doe was actually Annie Belmont.

Dan pulled into the parking lot at the Sheriffs office, and took the first available space. It was reserved for someone, but he put the cars ID and red light up so that they would know he was there on official business. Once inside he stopped at the desk, "Afternoon Deputy, I'm Det. Dan Hallam of the Bay View Homicide Division, and I have an appointment with Sheriff Samson" he said. "I'm Deputy Patrick, welcome, Sheriff told me to keep an eye out for you, right this way, Sir." he escorted Dan down the hall to the door marked with Sheriff Samson's name. They both could see through the glass that he was on the phone. He looked up and saw the 2 of them standing there and motioned for them to come on in. Hanging up the phone, he looked at Dan and said, "Sorry, this may have been a wasted trip for you. I was just on the line with the County Coroner and he said that the dental work doesn't match. This may not be your victim after all. Still, since you're here it wouldn't hurt to go down to the morgue and have a look see. I was hoping we could get her identified and that she would be your victim. You understand that if she isn't I still have an unidentified Jane Doe on my hands." Dan wasn't too happy with this bit of information, he had been hoping that this was the body of Annie Belmont, and that it would yield more evidence. Evidence he badly needed to find his killer.

At the deli across the street from the station, Det. Dan Hallam spent a few minutes shooting the breeze with the cashier. She was a youngster, daughter of the owner who was a good friend of his. She always called him Uncle Dan, and usually kept him amused while waiting for his order. Today, he had a lot on his mind, and wasn't paying attention until she asked if he'd heard about the body found in the irrigation ditch. "Body, what body?" he asked."Didn't you hear the news this morning Uncle Dan? I heard it on the radio on my way in to work. They found a body of an unidentified female approximately 35 to 40 last night in a drainage ditch. It was just outside the city
limits and some guy on his way home, stopped to take a leak and saw a foot in the ditch below him. Sheriffs department thought the body had been there just a couple of days but they can't be sure." Dan thought he had contacted the Sheriffs department weeks ago and asked to be notified if they found any Jane Does. He was going to have to check this out. He'd been working this case for close to 3 weeks now and the only thing he'd had to go on until Larry accessed the computer files was the interviews. Now he had the files to look at and the Sheriffs Department to contact. "Here's your order Uncle Dan. That'll be $3.95 please." He reached into his pocket and
pulled out a fiver and handing it to her he smiled, "Keep the change, sweetheart."

Back at the station he stopped at his office, called Larry in Forensics to let him know he'd be later than he thought. Explained about the Sheriffs Jane Doe and said he wanted to check on that and then he'd be down. As he glanced through the messages on his desk, he noted that the Sheriff had all ready called. The Sheriff was in a
meeting until after 3 and would Dan give him a call after that. He had a Jane Doe that fit the description of the missing Annie Belmont. Thought Dan would be interested. "He thought right" Dan said to himself, "but I guess that will have to wait." He was out the door and half way down the hall when he remembered his lunch. Left it on
his desk, turned to go back and saw Jamie Belmont step through the door of the precinct. There was another man with him, appeared to be his Godfather Alan, but with the sunlight behind him he couldn't be sure. "I'd better take care of this" he thought. "They probably heard the same radio news report." He got to the desk at about the
same time as Jamie did, "Seargeant, I know these people I'll handle it. Welcome Jamie, what can I do for you?" he asked. "Is it true? Have you found my Mom? The radio said you did." "Hang on young man," Dan said. "I know there was an unidentified female found, but I don't know yet if it's your Mother. I won't know until later this
afternoon when I talk to the Sheriff. Even then I won't be able to say for certain until we can get a positive identification on this poor woman." Jamie thought a minute and asked "Will I have to identify her?" At this point Alan spoke up and said "No Jamie, I think it has to be an adult." he looked at Detective Hallam and silently shook his head from side to side. Dan realized that Alan wanted to spare Jamie the grief and said, "Yes it does have to
be an adult, sorry Jamie." He looked at Alan and asked if he would be willing to identify the body if it became necessary. Alan agreed and Dan filled them both in on what was going on while he walked them to the door."I'll call you if I need you," he said to Alan as they shook hands. After they left, he ran back to his office, grabbed his
lunch and went down to the forensics lab.

Larry was so engrossed reading the computer screen that he never heard Dan come in. Didn't know he was there until he pulled the chair next to him at the desk out to sit down. "This Annie was quite a piece of work" Larry said. "I've been busy reading while waiting for you. She appears to have been using the computer to meet men.
Makes it real clear she's not looking for a long term relationship, and definitely has experience in this kind of thing.This is more than I had hoped for and yet less at the same time because it's all anonymous. All we have here is a lot of sexy innuendo that takes place with other singles who have screen names. As far as I can see, it's going to take a lot of convincing to get these sites to give up the names and addresses of these people. May even take a court order, I can't say , it'll depend on how cooperative the sites are going to be" Dan was not in the least happy to hear that. The DA would have to do some fast talking with a judge once he could get the evidence to him. He wasn't going to be able to do that until he could see what it was. He started reading.

sexybabe35: How old?
mrbig13: 30
sexybabe35: Like older women do ya lol
mrbig13: Like all women, love all women, they love me.
sexybabe35: OOOOO U sound hot!!!
mrbig13: can u handle hot?
sexybabe35: I can handle anything, I got the goods, know what I mean?
mrbig13: mmmm sounds nice, do u dance?
sexybabe35: I do the tangle tango and the horizontal bop,. Will that do?
mrbig13: Top or bottom?
sexybabe35: Top when I can, bottom when I can't lol
mrbig13; I got a big booboo, Kiss it for me?
sexybabe35: Sure, how big?
mrbig13: Big enough
sexybabe35: Take my temperature?
mrbig13: orally or anally? can do both
sexybabe35: either way big boy. Running a fever, need to know how hot. lol
mrbig13: sounds like u like taking a trip around the world.
sexybabe35: And how. Never met a Doctor with a thermometer that I didn't like. All colors all countries lol
mrbig13: Sounds like u been around
sexybabe35: Bother u?
mrbig13: Nope, like experience no cherries for me
sexybabe35: sounds like u in luck right now. Think I gotta meet u
mrbig13: u name the place I'll be there.

Dan asked Larry to keep reading the files, it was near to 3pm and he had to call the Sheriffs Department to see if he could get a handle on their Jane Doe. He got up to leave and glanced at the date displayed on the computer screen. "Is that the date this converstion took place?" he asked. "Yep, September 5, 2005" said Larry." Kind of
close to the date she disappeared, wonder if he's the perp." Yeah thought Dan. Maybe.

On he way back from the lab. Dan passed the squad room and giving a quick glance through the door, spied Sally Armstrong at her desk. He made the decision to stop and talk with her. He wanted to know if she'd picked up anything from the interviews she did. Sometimes her personal observations were priceless. She couldn't put them in the interview, not proper procedure, but she had an intuition that always amazed him. She was good at her job, and good at figuring out the people. Many times her instincts had proved to be right on the money, and helped him immeasurably when he couldn't get a handle on a case. It didn't hurt that she was easy on the eyes, either.

"Sally, got a minute?." he asked, "Need to see what you think about the Annie Belmont interviews." She looked up and gave him a grin, "Sure Dan, anything for my favorite Detective." He hoped that she had done more than just Jamie, but he didn't know, so he asked her how many of them she did. "All of them." she responded. "Any take on this Brenda? Seems like if she is as close as the son thinks, she might have a lot more to add." Sally thought for a minute, "I don't know for sure but I have a feeling that she has more information than she's telling me. I can't quite put my finger on it, just a feeling. She answers, but something in her makes me think she's got more to say. Tough nut to crack, gives exactly what you want to know, no more, no less, but still there's this lingering feeling." He remembered that feeling, just a gut reaction that happens when you hear something that feels out of place. "Did she tell the truth, do you think? he asked. "Yes she did, but I don't think it's the whole truth, not by a long shot." "Thanks Sally, I guess I'll head back and read the rest of the interviews." Sally reached out and touched his arm, "Dan, I don't think this ones coming back." he nodded his agreement and got up to leave.

Back in his office, with a fresh cup of mud in his hand, he pulled out his chair and sat down to read. He was pleased with himself for stopping to talk with Sally. It was good to know that he had to be alert for this one.

"Good Afternoon, I'm Sgt. Sally Armstrong of the Bayview Police Department. Thank you so much for your prompt response to my request for an interview."

"Pleased to meet you Sargeant, I'm Brenda Landry, and I came as quickly as I did because Annie was my best friend and I will do everything I can to try to help you find her."

S.A. "Sit down won't you, can I get you anything to drink?

B.L. "No thank you, I'm fine."

S.A. "As you all ready know we are investigating the dissappearance of Annie Belmont. I need to get some background on her. I need to know who she may have been seeing, if anyone, what she did with them. Who her other friends may have been. Who was close to her. Do you mind if I call you Brenda?"

B.L. "No of course not, Brenda is fine with me. I don't know everything there is to know about Annie, I don't think anyone does, but Annie herself. We've been friends since we were about 7 or 8. I'm just so grateful that the police are taking this seriously, she wouldn't have left Jamie like this. Something is seriously wrong. Jamie was her pride and joy, and she would have been there, or at least called him by now. It's been two days and she just wouldn't do this unless she had no choice, or was dead. I do hope she's not dead, but in my heart, I suspect she is.":

S.A. " I can't say that at this point, right now whe's a missing person, and we are trying to get any information that will aid us in trying to find her. Jamie says she didn't have any real men friends, except his Godfather Alan.
do you know anything different?"

B.L. " Well, Annie went out on a lot of dates, but I don't believe these men were what you called close to her. Look, she did a lot of one night stands. That's all Jamie's father ever was. Some guy she picked out because she liked his looks and thought they would make an attractive baby. I know this makes her sound...well...
promiscuous, but you had to know Annie, she had her reasons."

S.A. "I see, did you understand why she did this kind of thing, and how often did this take place?"

B.L. "She never told me this, but I had the feeling that her father was molesting her. He treated her as if she was his wife instead of his daughter when they were together. She didn't seem to be herself around him either, sort of withdrawn and Yes Daddy, No Daddy. Didn't talk much unless he spoke first, and then she'd answer yes or no. Still, when he wasn't around she'd talk a mile a minute. I always asked why she seemed so uncomfortble around him, but she would never tell me, just said I wouldn't want to know."

S.A. "I see, you said she went on a lot of dates, did you know any of the men she dated?"

B.L. "I used to when we were younger. She didn't date while she was pregnant with Jamie, and for the year after he was born. We used to go bar hopping and she usually could connect with someone and they'd make a date for a dinner or a movie, something like that. She never just picked up guys in bars and went home with them, she always just made a date for another time. Alan has been taking Jamie every other week since he was a year old, and the only time she went out was when he was with Alan. She usually had the crew over once a month for a dinner party on a Saturday night, but never included any of her dates. The parties stayed the same, but about two years ago, she started meeting guys on the internet. She kept the ones she would actually consider seeing to other cities in this state. Some of them were in Pennsylvania and a couple were in Ohio. She'd fly out on Friday, as soon as Alan left with Jamie. Meet the guy and if it was promising, stay through Saturday and come back on Sunday. That used to bother me a little, but she said she always met these guys in a manner that she could decide for herself if she wanted to actually make contact."

S.A, "Did it happen often that she would go and not meet the man in question?"

B.L. "Oh yeah, some of these guys are pretty bad. Older than they say they are, or they lie about themselves so much I wonder how they have the nerve to actually show for the date. She told me about this Gary one time. I don't remember where he was from, but it turns out that he was this real nerd. Short, fat, and greasy she called him. Said he sweat like a pig the whole time she was watching him.That weekend she came back on Saturday and she and I went out on Saturday. That must have been 6 months ago. Some of the guys that she stood up would get very angry and send her nasty e-mails and such, but she'd just close that account and open another one with a different address. I know her screen name is sexybabe35, but I never knew any of her addresses. I only have her Yahoo account and that is the one she used for friends."

S.A. "Did she seem worried about any of these encounters?"

B.L. "Not that I knew of. She always figured that she took enough steps to protect herself. You can do these kind of things when you have her kind of money. I wouldn't even try. Just my luck, I'd meet up with an axe murderer.

S.A. "What do you think she gained by all this? What was she looking for?"

B.L. "Sex. She didn't want a thing from these guys except sex. She would have guys falling all over her, trying to hold on. Me, I can't get them to go out with me more than one or two times. I'm still looking for Mr. Right, and I can't find him. She was only looking for Mr. Right Now. I always used to think that she was afraid they were after her money. Now I just don't know."

S.A. "Is there anything you can tell us about the men she met, besides the Gary incident?"

B.L. "No, she never told anything about the dates she made, just about the ones she didn't make contact with. I do think she kept records. I know she used to keep a diary, but with the computer, I'm not sure. Oh, look at the time, are we done here? I have to go to work, and I didn't think this would take this long. I will have to call and tell them if I'm going to be here much longer."

S.A. "No, I think this will do for now. I will call if we have any more questions. You don't mind do you?"

B.L. "Oh no, you have my number, call anytime. I do so wish you'd find her."

S.A. "We'll do the best we can."

Dan put down the file just as the phone started to ring. "Hey Dan, this is Larry down in Forensics. It was easier to get into her files than I thought "5 had quite a lot of stuff going on." He said. "On my way Larry, it's lunch time soon, need anything? I take it I'm going to be there awhile" "Yes you are Dan, yes you are."

Detective Dan Hallam, Bay View Homicide Division, sat reading the missing persons file of one Annie Belmont. When the file first landed on his desk, he didn't think it belonged. She was a missing person, what did that have to do with Homicide? There wasn't much in the file. Pictures of the scene, interviews of friends and her son. Forensics report on the analysis of the blood spray pattern and smears, and a fingerprint report that was odd to say the least. With the exception of the fingerprints on the door belonging to her son, there was not one single fingerprint anywhere in that room. Every visible surface wiped clean, totally devoid of any type of foreign matter except the blood and cat hairs belonging to the deceased's cat. She's not coming back, not this one. He had hopes that after he read the report that she could safely stay a missing person. So much for wishes. Dan laid the report on his desk, he needed a cup of coffee, this was turning into a file that he needed to do more than skim through and he needed to stretch his legs.

When he returned to his desk, Dan opened the folder again and took out the interviews. He looked to see who did the work. Sgt, Sally Armstrong had done the work on the son. He decided to start with that one. She was thorough, always the best at these kind of interviews. If there was anything to be gotten, Sally would get it.

SA: "Jamie, we need to find your Mom, and we need help with that. I need you to tell me everything you know, no matter how trivial and unimportant you think it is, I need to hear it. I need you to be honest in your answers to my questions, even if they hurt or make you angry. Just remember we are trying to find your Mom. That's the most important thing, and we won't be able to do it if you don't tell me everything I need to know. Do you understand?"

Jamie: Yes.

SA: "I want you to think carefully about your walk home from school yesterday. Did you see anything out of the ordinary? A car that might not have belonged? A delivery vehicle in front of someones home when you knew they were'nt there?"

Jamie: "Well, there was a white van driving too fast going toward Montrose, I didn't see where it came from though."

SA: "Good Jamie, is there anything you remember about it?"

Jamie: "I think it was a florist van, but the lettering was so faded I couldn't say for sure. It was kinda rusty, old looking and I didn't think anyone used that kind of thing for deliveries. Usually they have newer ones."

SA: "You are right there, they want people to remember them so they use newer clean looking vehicles for floral deliveries. Is there anything else? Anything different about the house?"

Jamie: "No, nothing.........She's dead isn't she, my Mom I mean?"

SA: "Jamie, we don't know that, right now she's a missing person and we're trying to get information to try to find her. If she's out there, we'll find her. Now, what did your Mom do while you were in school? Did she ever tell you about her day?"

Jamie: "Well sometimes she went shopping and had lunch with Alan, or her friend Brenda. She went to the Golds Gym 3 times a week for her aerobic class. Sometimes she went to the Spa for massage and beauty treatment. My Mom is a very pretty lady, she says it takes a lot of maintenance to keep your looks up. Mostly she stayed home on the computer."

SA: "What did she like to do on the computer?"

Jamie: "She talked to people, played games, the usual stuff."

SA: " What does the usual stuff mean? I just want to be sure we aren't missing anything."

Jamie: "Well, if we were going on vacation, she booked airlines and hotel rooms, she reserved tickets to shows and concerts, made dinner reservations at restaurants. She shopped online sometimes, usually at Ebay, she didn't trust some of the other places. She was signed up at a few of those single sites where you can meet men.
She said she wasn't interested in getting married, but she wanted someone to go out with when I spent weekends with my Godfather Alan."

SA: "Did she ever meet anyone?"

Jamie: "Not that I know of, she never said anything. She told me that since I was the man of the house she'd have to introduce me to anyone she was going to go out with. I think she was kidding."

SA: "I see. How often did you spend weekends with Alan?"

Jamie: "Every other weekend. Alan picks me up after school on Friday and we drive to Converse to visit his Mom. We usually come home Sunday night around 6, unless Monday is a holiday, then we stay until Monday afternoon."

SA: "You mentioned Brenda, did your Mom have any friends besides Brenda?"

Jamie: "Not close friends, she had a lot of friends, mostly we entertained them for dinner and parties on Saturday night. Brenda is the only one I know of that she might have told things to. You know about dates and stuff. My girlfriend Amy says that everybody has one friend to share girl stuff with. I guess Brenda would be my Moms."

Dan set the transcript down on the desk again. Picked up the interview list and there was an entry for a Brenda Landry. He also took a look to see what, physical evidence, if any had been taken from the residence. Halfway down the list there was an entry for the computer and 10 boxes of floppy discs. He noted that they were stored in the evidence room, and no report was in the file regarding any attempt to read her records. Just the blood analysis on the keyboard and monitor. He picked up the phone and called the Forensics Unit. After talking with the Department Head, Sam Tallman, he decided to go down to the evidence room to sign out the computer and the discs. He would deliver them himself with a request to read all files to see what, if anything would surface.
It wasn't much of a lead, but they didn't have any leads at all. Have to start someplace, and with the kid saying she spent all day on the computer and belonged to some singles sites, this was as good a place to start as any.
There'd better be something in those files or Dan wasn't going to be able to pull any chestnuts out of this fire. Not without a miracle, and the kid deserved to know what happened to his mother.

 

Annie was a single mother of one. The result of a decision she'd made 15 years prior... not a mistake... a well thought out decision. Both of her parents died in an automobile accident. She was the daughter of a very prosperous doctor, and her Mom owned an antique auction house. Well-to-do doesn't begin to cover it. She inherited, at the age of 21, more money than the rest of us would ever see in a lifetime. She ,liked her men, plural, not just one. She didn't ever want to settle down to just one man, life was too short to confine oneself in that manner. She didn't need one for security, she didn't have the patience to put up with their problems. Love 'em and Leave 'em, that was her motto. Still, she did want a child. So she had one, plain and simple.  There was the problem of "the Fathers" custodial rights, but that didn't last for long. She had the money, he was just the sperm donor, so to speak. She could provide everything that her son needed. Wasn't any use for him to have a Dad. She chose his Godfather wisely from one of the many gay men that she knew. That worked well. Jaime had his father figure, she wasn't tied down to one man.  Life was good.

She owned a modest house in a good neighborhood. Annie chose this place because of it's proximity to one of the best private schools in the nation. Jaime was within walking distance of the best education that money could buy. He was an excellent student, good grades, promising future. He would be able to enter any college of his choice. He was aiming for Harvard Law School. Bright boy, bright future. Having had all the advantages he knew what he wanted. He adored his Mom, she didn't give him everything he wanted, she gave him everything he needed. Oh, she could have afforded to give him his hearts desire, but she felt that he would learn the wrong things that way. She made him earn what he received. She wanted her son to take responsibility for himself when the time came. She was hard on him, but fair, and he never doubted that she loved him. He was probably the only person that she loved, other than herself. he knew that and being the kind of kid he was, he thought it rather sad. Still, it was his Mom, and she knew what was right for her, and she knew how to instill that quality in him. Life was good...that is...until the afternoon of September 21, 2005. That day, when Jaime came home from school, Annie was missing...and Jamie never saw her alive again.

Everything looked normal, the car was in the driveway, doors were unlocked. When Jamie entered he was greeted by the aroma of pot roast simmering in the crock pot. That meant Mom was spending the day on the computer. So, he and Tillie, his cat walked down the hall to the computer room, expecting to find her there. No Annie. The computer was running, screensaver in place. The radio was playing Mom's favorite station. She liked classical music, he knew enought to know he was listening to a piece by Vivaldi. He preferred Snoop Dogg and 50 Cent. Classical wasn't his choice. He noticed a fine spray of something red all over the computer screen. It did not look like Ketchup. On the keyboard there was a larger smear of the same substance, and another on the beige carpet. He grabbed Tillie before she could track up the carpet, backed out of the room and closed the door.
He knew that something bad had happened . As I said, he was a bright boy. He went to the phone, and after some hesitation dialled 911.

Operator: "911 What is your emergency?"

Jamie:  "I just got home from school and my Mom isn't here, and there is something that looks like blood on her computer and on the floor."

Operator: "Are you alone in the house?"

Jamie: "Yes."

Operator: "Could she be visiting a neighbor?"

Jamie: "No, she wasn't friendly with anyone close by and her car is in the driveway."

Operator: "Well, I'm sure there isn't anything wrong, but I will send you a police officer to check this out."

Jaime: "Thank you I will look for them."

Operator: "I want you to stay on the line with me until they come.  Also, please do not touch anything."

Jamie: "I already touched the door knob to the computer room, but I didn't touch anything else in there."

Operator: "That's OK, I'll make a note of it and inform the officer when he gets there. How old are you young man?

Jamie:  "I'm 15."

Operator: Will your Dad or another adult be home soon?"

Jamie: "Umm No, I live alone with my Mom."

Operator: "Where do you attend school?"

Jamie: "I go to Billings Academy"

Operator: "Do you like school?"

Jamie: "Yes, I want to be a lawyer. I think the police car is here, I heard the siren and it just stopped. Oh, someones at the door."

Operator:  "Good, I'll let you go to answer the door. Good bye, Jamie."

Jamie: "Good bye, and thank you."

Jamie runs to the door and lets the 2 police officers in. After questioning him, they ask him to lead them to the computer room to see for themselves what may have happened. They immediately know that the red spots are blood and on closer examination realize that there is just too much of it for it to be a simple injury. Someone was hit in the head while sitting at the computer. Someone fell forward onto the keyboard and then onto the floor. They radioed in to headquarters for a detective, secured the scene, taking Jamie and Tillie outside to wait in the squad car. One officer stayed outside with Jamie while one waited at the door to the computer room. Neither officer had any way of knowing for sure that Annie was dead. When they would find her decomposing body 2 weeks later, no one would have any idea why such a horrible crime happened. When the detectives, and the forensic team arrived, they went over the crime scene and the whole house looking for clues to what may have happened. When they were finished, hours later, they were no farther ahead than when they arrived. They knew nothing more than they did when they arrived. Someone had cleaned the house thoroughly that day, it was; as always, immaculate.  It yielded no clues, other than the blood stains in the computer room, as to what might have happened that day. No Annie, no clues. Maybe they should have checked the computer.