| General Fiction posted August 30, 2010 | Chapters: |
2 3 -4- 5... 
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Dax is Accused of Murder
A chapter in the book Redemption
Murder
by bhogg
| Background Dax Connor truly was at the wrong place at the right time. He walked in on an attempted rape. Dax was able to subdue the two assailants. Returning with the deputy, the two were found to be dead, both with gunshots to the head. |
Stanley Tate was a good police officer. Not a great one by any means, just good, dependable and thorough. Where Jimmy’s uniform was always pressed, with spit shine polished shoes, Stan looked more like Archie Bunker. Even though he was fifteen years older, he and Jimmy were the same rank. It did not bother Stanley at all to take orders from Jimmy. In fact, he preferred it. Sometimes there is a great comfort in being told what to do. When asked to head out to the old railroad tending station, he called two County EMT’s he felt comfortable with and headed out.
When Stan and the two EMT’s walked into the structure, they saw two bodies lying on the ground. He kneeled to get a better look. Feeling for a pulse, he found the skin still warm to the touch, but they were definitely dead. Both had taken a single small caliber bullet hole to the back of the head. Oddly enough, there was very little blood. Looking at the two EMT’s, he said, “Alright, guys, just back out. Try not to walk on any ground you haven’t already stepped on and don’t touch anything. This is now a crime scene.’
As the three stepped out, Jimmy drove up in his car with Dax and Lael. Walking over, Stan motioned for Jimmy to lower his window. “Hey, Jimmy, Those two guys are tied up like you said, but they’re not just beat up. They’ve been shot in the head and are very dead.”
Jimmy looked up in obvious surprise. “What all did you do?”
“Not much, Jimmy, just the obvious stuff, confirmed they were dead and then backed out as carefully as we could.”
"Thanks Stanley, you did well. Go ahead and call Doc Bennet and you may as well call the Sheriff too. Dax and Lael, I 'm going to get out and get some stuff, but until I say otherwise, please stay in the car." Jimmy walked around and opened the trunk, pulling out a large case. He walked back to the front of the car, switched on his small flood light and laid the case on the hood.
"O.K., Dax, come on out to the front of the car." Dax got out and came around front. Sensing what Jimmy wanted, Dax held his two hands out, first palms up and then palms down. Jimmy took a look at Dax. "Looks like you know what I'm doing."
Dax nodded before replying, "Yeah, pretty sure."
"Before we get started, I have to ask, have you washed your hands since leaving the site?"
"No, Lael and I both left here and came directly to your station. I didn't pay total attention to the time, but it has been less than 45 minutes ago, so I would guess 4:30 to 4:45."
"Alright Dax, now if you will place your hands, palms down on the hood." Dax did, and Jimmy opened a container and pulled out a stopper with a sticky top. He pressed the sticky top against Dax's hand. The stopper had three segments. Each segment was pressed in a different area. Jimmy performed this procedure on both right and left hands. He then sealed and labeled each container.
"We're done for now, so if you will, just sit back in the car. Lael, you need to come out and we are going to repeat the same procedure." She did so and got back into the car.
Looking at Dax with a quizzical look, she asked, "What was that all about?"
Dax looked at her before replying. "Your friend Jimmy is a little beyond Barney Fife. Firing a gun is a little like opening a champagne bottle. Most of the explosion goes forward, but a little bit of bubbly always comes backwards. What he first did was to visually exam our hands for gunpowder. He then opened up that little kit which is called a gunshot residue kit. The sticky, sterile surface will lift off any traces of gunpowder. The visual exam itself will usually indicate if a gun has been fired. If you've fired a gun within 6 hours, the GSR kit will test positive."
Jimmy gave the kits to Stanley and asked that he personally send them overnight to the crime lab in Atlanta. "Tell them I sent them. I've got some buddies there. They'll turn the results around quickly."
Jimmy opened Dax's door and asked, "How about coming over to the shed with me. We can't enter until the Doc gets here, but I would like a second pair of eyes to look over this. So you were an accountant, hunh?"
Dax chuckled as he replied, "Sure, debits on the left, credits on the right. Jimmy, I was in the Secret Service, which before falling under Homeland Security, was part of the Department of Treasury."
"Unh huh; I don't suppose you were in ASPS?"
"Yes, I was, but I'm a bit surprised that you've heard of it. As a subgroup, not many people know of it."
Carefully opening the door, Jimmy looked at Dax. "I'm not going to be a small town deputy forever. I've taken some advanced training at the FBI academy. One of my instructors mentioned the group. It actually is a bit ironic that we have to wait for the coroner. Much of my training involved crime scene investigation. Once he gets here, I'll be doing all the work. All he'll do is record."
Jimmy took a quick look at the two on the ground and confirmed to Dax. "These are the two I thought. They are bad news and have been in trouble in town a couple of times. It looked like we were going to be able to put them away for assault, but the charges were dropped at the last minute. From here, I would say that Stanley was right. There is a small entry wound to the back of their head. No exit wound suggests small caliber. The powder burns on their skin outside of the entry indicate pretty close range, probably three or four feet. Is that how you see it?"
Nodding, Dax confirmed, "That's exactly how I see it. Because of the pattern of gunpowder burns, I would guess that this was an automatic. If it were a revolver, the pattern would have been more wide spread."
At that moment, the sheriff's car slid to a stop outside of the shack. Dax looked over as Sheriff Bailey got out. It wasn't a time to smile, but he almost could. Bailey was a stereotype of a southern sheriff. He was dressed professionally, but was about forty pounds overweight. He had to move the seat of the car back to get his gut out.
"Officer Dent - Sylvia brought me up to speed on what was going on. I hope that civilian with you ain't Connor! He could be a damn suspect. What have you got?"
"Yes sir, this is Connor. We stopped at the door and illuminated the interior with the small floodlight. Mr. Connor has a background in law enforcement. I thought it might be helpful to have a second pair of trained eyes."
"Stanley, escort Mr. Connor back to the car right now." The Sheriff said this shrilly, almost spitting he was so mad.
"Now, Dent, tell me what you've got."
"I'll summarize as best I can. Those two goons, Jake and Donny work for Boudreaux. You might remember them from earlier in the year. They grabbed Lael as she came out of the newspaper office and hauled her out to the tending station. From what Lael says, they were going to rape her. Since they let her see their faces, she suspects they might have killed her as well. Luckily, Mr. Connor happened along at the right time and stopped them. He tied them up and came straight in to the station. They both indicated that the two might need medical attention, so we came out. When we got here, Stanley informed us that they had both been shot and killed. That's about it. We are waiting for the Doc to do a more thorough exam of the crime scene."
"What you are telling me is that old man sitting in the car took out Jake and Donny without a gun?"
"Yes sir, that's the way it looks."
Bailey walked back over to the car that held Dax and Lael. Looking at Stanley he loudly said, "I want you to read Connor his rights and cuff him. He's under arrest for murder."
When Stan and the two EMT’s walked into the structure, they saw two bodies lying on the ground. He kneeled to get a better look. Feeling for a pulse, he found the skin still warm to the touch, but they were definitely dead. Both had taken a single small caliber bullet hole to the back of the head. Oddly enough, there was very little blood. Looking at the two EMT’s, he said, “Alright, guys, just back out. Try not to walk on any ground you haven’t already stepped on and don’t touch anything. This is now a crime scene.’
As the three stepped out, Jimmy drove up in his car with Dax and Lael. Walking over, Stan motioned for Jimmy to lower his window. “Hey, Jimmy, Those two guys are tied up like you said, but they’re not just beat up. They’ve been shot in the head and are very dead.”
Jimmy looked up in obvious surprise. “What all did you do?”
“Not much, Jimmy, just the obvious stuff, confirmed they were dead and then backed out as carefully as we could.”
"Thanks Stanley, you did well. Go ahead and call Doc Bennet and you may as well call the Sheriff too. Dax and Lael, I 'm going to get out and get some stuff, but until I say otherwise, please stay in the car." Jimmy walked around and opened the trunk, pulling out a large case. He walked back to the front of the car, switched on his small flood light and laid the case on the hood.
"O.K., Dax, come on out to the front of the car." Dax got out and came around front. Sensing what Jimmy wanted, Dax held his two hands out, first palms up and then palms down. Jimmy took a look at Dax. "Looks like you know what I'm doing."
Dax nodded before replying, "Yeah, pretty sure."
"Before we get started, I have to ask, have you washed your hands since leaving the site?"
"No, Lael and I both left here and came directly to your station. I didn't pay total attention to the time, but it has been less than 45 minutes ago, so I would guess 4:30 to 4:45."
"Alright Dax, now if you will place your hands, palms down on the hood." Dax did, and Jimmy opened a container and pulled out a stopper with a sticky top. He pressed the sticky top against Dax's hand. The stopper had three segments. Each segment was pressed in a different area. Jimmy performed this procedure on both right and left hands. He then sealed and labeled each container.
"We're done for now, so if you will, just sit back in the car. Lael, you need to come out and we are going to repeat the same procedure." She did so and got back into the car.
Looking at Dax with a quizzical look, she asked, "What was that all about?"
Dax looked at her before replying. "Your friend Jimmy is a little beyond Barney Fife. Firing a gun is a little like opening a champagne bottle. Most of the explosion goes forward, but a little bit of bubbly always comes backwards. What he first did was to visually exam our hands for gunpowder. He then opened up that little kit which is called a gunshot residue kit. The sticky, sterile surface will lift off any traces of gunpowder. The visual exam itself will usually indicate if a gun has been fired. If you've fired a gun within 6 hours, the GSR kit will test positive."
Jimmy gave the kits to Stanley and asked that he personally send them overnight to the crime lab in Atlanta. "Tell them I sent them. I've got some buddies there. They'll turn the results around quickly."
Jimmy opened Dax's door and asked, "How about coming over to the shed with me. We can't enter until the Doc gets here, but I would like a second pair of eyes to look over this. So you were an accountant, hunh?"
Dax chuckled as he replied, "Sure, debits on the left, credits on the right. Jimmy, I was in the Secret Service, which before falling under Homeland Security, was part of the Department of Treasury."
"Unh huh; I don't suppose you were in ASPS?"
"Yes, I was, but I'm a bit surprised that you've heard of it. As a subgroup, not many people know of it."
Carefully opening the door, Jimmy looked at Dax. "I'm not going to be a small town deputy forever. I've taken some advanced training at the FBI academy. One of my instructors mentioned the group. It actually is a bit ironic that we have to wait for the coroner. Much of my training involved crime scene investigation. Once he gets here, I'll be doing all the work. All he'll do is record."
Jimmy took a quick look at the two on the ground and confirmed to Dax. "These are the two I thought. They are bad news and have been in trouble in town a couple of times. It looked like we were going to be able to put them away for assault, but the charges were dropped at the last minute. From here, I would say that Stanley was right. There is a small entry wound to the back of their head. No exit wound suggests small caliber. The powder burns on their skin outside of the entry indicate pretty close range, probably three or four feet. Is that how you see it?"
Nodding, Dax confirmed, "That's exactly how I see it. Because of the pattern of gunpowder burns, I would guess that this was an automatic. If it were a revolver, the pattern would have been more wide spread."
At that moment, the sheriff's car slid to a stop outside of the shack. Dax looked over as Sheriff Bailey got out. It wasn't a time to smile, but he almost could. Bailey was a stereotype of a southern sheriff. He was dressed professionally, but was about forty pounds overweight. He had to move the seat of the car back to get his gut out.
"Officer Dent - Sylvia brought me up to speed on what was going on. I hope that civilian with you ain't Connor! He could be a damn suspect. What have you got?"
"Yes sir, this is Connor. We stopped at the door and illuminated the interior with the small floodlight. Mr. Connor has a background in law enforcement. I thought it might be helpful to have a second pair of trained eyes."
"Stanley, escort Mr. Connor back to the car right now." The Sheriff said this shrilly, almost spitting he was so mad.
"Now, Dent, tell me what you've got."
"I'll summarize as best I can. Those two goons, Jake and Donny work for Boudreaux. You might remember them from earlier in the year. They grabbed Lael as she came out of the newspaper office and hauled her out to the tending station. From what Lael says, they were going to rape her. Since they let her see their faces, she suspects they might have killed her as well. Luckily, Mr. Connor happened along at the right time and stopped them. He tied them up and came straight in to the station. They both indicated that the two might need medical attention, so we came out. When we got here, Stanley informed us that they had both been shot and killed. That's about it. We are waiting for the Doc to do a more thorough exam of the crime scene."
"What you are telling me is that old man sitting in the car took out Jake and Donny without a gun?"
"Yes sir, that's the way it looks."
Bailey walked back over to the car that held Dax and Lael. Looking at Stanley he loudly said, "I want you to read Connor his rights and cuff him. He's under arrest for murder."
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