What Is It?

What Is It?

“Something is wrong here.”

Detective Della Cross said as she stood in the center of the crime scene. The CSI who worked busily around her, looked up briefly.

“Sorry I’m late, partner. Whatta we got?” said a voice from the door. Della looked at Detective Denton Broadbent with exasperation.

“Protective shoe coverings and gloves before you take one more step,” she barked.

Nodding, Denton complied and stepped carefully into the apartment. CSI personnel hid grins behind busy work as he passed them.

“Look around this room, what do you see?” Della quizzed Denton.

“The usual chaos of a crime scene mostly,”

“Where’s the victim?”

He looked around.

“I don’t see one.”

“Exactly, so what does that tell you?”

“Must be elsewhere in the apartment.”

“Could be, go check it out! Draw your gun when you do, the perp could still be here.”

He did and moved gingerly forward on the alert.

Della shook her head behind his back, then followed him. She watched as he followed protocol while searching and was pleased to see it. He stopped after pulling the shower curtain open.

“There is no body that I can see.” he said to himself.

“You’re right again, Broadbent. So?”

“The perp removed the body?”

“That’s one idea. Any signs of that in the hall, elevator, building vestibule or other obvious places?”

Broadbent was back in fifteen minutes.

“No signs of blood, scrapes, footprints etc. I don’t know what to think....”

“How about you were so late to the scene the coroner has already been and took the body away?”

Broadbent turned red.

“Sorry boss lady,” the young man muttered.

“What’s the next step, rookie?”

“Door to door canvass in the building, starting with this floor?”

Cross nodded sternly and watched as he eased out the door.