Brainstorming an Idea

https://clkottke.wordpress.com/2021/09/10/brainstorming-todays-flash-fiction-pro...

Prompt: You are a seasoned detective in a small village. You show up at a crime scene where there is a deceased body. The victim was shot in the back of the head during the night while they were asleep.

Who is the detective? Is he/she married, widowed, divorced, engaged? Has he/she got any secrets? What are their flaw(s)? Alcoholism? Gambling? Depression? Does he/she have a perfectionistic personality or are they the opposite; sloppy, and careless? Maybe the detective has PTSD. What caused it? Stress? Unforgiveness, or maybe they are a workaholic. Could the detective possibly have an embarrassment they are trying to live down? What could that embarrassment be? Is it something he/she did early in their career that they can’t put behind them?

Who is the victim? Is he/she possibly a drug dealer? A gambler who is in debt? Is he/she in the middle of a contentious divorce where his/her future ex wants them out of the way so that he/she can get everything? Do they have a custody battle over the children? Does one have something over on the other that they don’t want revealed?

The victim was shot while asleep. Who is the victim? Who found him/her? Who are they to the victim? There are no signs of forced entry. It snowed heavily the night before, so there are no footprints outside the house. It appears whoever shot the victim knew them. They had planned this. There are all kinds of fingerprints since the victim’s house was up for sale and the realtor has been showing it to prospective buyers. The victim wasn’t supposed to be living in the house, so why was he/she there? What is in the closets, refrigerator, drawers, wallet/purse?

Who are the neighbors? How many neighbors are there? Did anyone see or hear anything? Were there any unusual visitors at the house recently? Who are the victim’s acquaintances, relatives, coworkers, employees, clients? Did the victim know about his/her spouse’s affair? If so, how did they find out about it? Where does the ex live? Where was the future ex at during the time frame of the murder? Is the victim’s car on the premises? If not, where is it? Where does he/she work? Why were they not reported missing since they have been deceased for about three days now. Was it a holiday weekend or maybe they were taking a few days off work?

There are so many other things I could think of to add but this is a start. Anyone want to elaborate on what I have or maybe share their brainstorm session for this or one of the other prompts? I would love to see yours.