Paul’s D’Marco
Leiland Dale
Published by Silver Publishing at Smashwords
Copyright 2010 Leiland Dale
Smashwords Edition, License Notes
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DEDICATION
I would like to thank two very special close friends that have helped me during the writing of this book. Without you it wouldn’t have been possible! Thank you for your support, encouragement and guidance.
~PROLOGUE~
For the last seven years, my every day routine has included working for the Sequim Police Department. Work, home, eat and sleep. Now it’s affecting my marriage. Shelby and I have been spending less and less time together and when we are together we constantly argue over everything. According to her, my problem is that I don’t make enough money. Well, the biggest problem is, she’s a bitch with an outrageous spending habit.
Walking into the precinct with the newspaper under my arm and coffee in hand, it’s the start of another day in my normal routine. I put my coffee and paper down and notice my name plate proudly on display, Officer Matt D’Marco. I sit at my desk while my fellow officers walk by and say their good mornings.
Leaning back in my chair, I can’t help but think about last night.
As usual, I’m alone at home. Shelby’s been out all night without even calling to let me know she won’t be home. She didn’t even bother making dinner. I remember her mentioning something about Shaun sleeping over at a friend’s house.
I’m sitting on the couch watching TV when the front door opens and Shelby walks into the living room. She picks up the remote and turns off the TV before I can say a word.
She stands there, staring at me then snaps, “we need to talk”. Now I’m pissed because of her tone. She walks around the coffee table and sits on the chair opposite me. Looks me straight in the eyes and says, “I’ve filed for a divorce.”
“What?” I’m shocked. Sure, things haven’t been great lately but a divorce is the last thing I expected.
“Matt, I haven’t been happy in our marriage for a very long time. You’re constantly working, we don’t get to spend time together and most of the times, Shaun is already asleep in bed by the time you get home. I’ve had to ask my parents for money just so we can have food in the house. You know I’ve asked you several times to get another job that will pay better and give you more time to spend with your son.” She’s pissed and annoyed.
My anger begins to boil. Now I’m fucking pissed.
“Well if you would spend less money on things you don’t need then we might have more money for food!” I could feel my temper rising by the minute. “And I spend a lot more time with my son than I do with you seeing that you’re always off doing God knows what! You know I love my job. I’ve told you that over and over again. I’ve taken more time off so we can spend more time together. I’ve even applied for a promotion that will give me more time with my family. Obviously, none of it means anything to you! I’ve worked my ass off to support you for years!”
“Oh well, I thought I’d at least tell you. Shaun and I will be staying with my parents in Port Angeles until I can find a place for us to stay.”
“Well, at least that’s a fucking relief. At least if I get this promotion I’ll still be able to see my son.” Getting up from the couch and walking out of the living room, I slammed the bedroom door behind me.
“D’Marco!”
I get up from my desk, walk into the captain’s office and sit in one of the leather chairs. The captain sits behind his desk and hands me a white envelope. Great, now what?
“Congratulations son.” The captain looks at me with a huge smile on his face.
Taking the envelope from him, I immediately notice it’s labeled as internal correspondence. I rip open the envelope and unfold the letter. I got it. I got the promotion. I know I should be ecstatic about being promoted but after reliving last night’s conversation, I just don’t get the thrill. I look over at the captain and summon up my best attempt at a smile. Or at least something close to it.
“Thank you, sir.” This is something I have always wanted. I should be jumping for joy but my marriage has fallen apart, Shelby and Shaun are moving out today and there’s nothing I can do about it.
We both get up from our chairs. The captain walks around his desk and slaps me on the back. “The Port Angeles Police Department is expecting you a week after next. Good luck and again, congratulations.” The captain shakes my hand.
Walking out of the office and back to my desk, fellow officers approach me and congratulate me on my promotion. Everything is going to change now. New job, empty house, and now a divorce. So much for the fucking routine.
~CHAPTER 1~
I’ve been working at the Port Angeles PD for the past two weeks and still feel like an outsider. Weird looks, cold shoulders, even one guy looking at me like I’m yesterday’s trash. What a difference from the Sequim PD.
“Petersen…D’Marco,” Captain Steve Bougard calls from his office door. The captain, in his late thirties, is a force to be reckoned with. He just doesn’t take shit from anyone. Gotta respect that.
As we walk into the captain’s office, he motions for us to each take a seat.
“D’Marco, I have a case for you. I’m assigning Petersen here to assist you.” The captain looks as us with apprehension. “We just got a call from the superintendent over at Lexington Heights. He was showing some prospective tenants an empty apartment when he came across a body covered in blood. Police officers are on the scene already.” The captain hands us the case file with a note attached to the front. “The description of the body matches that of a kid who was reported missing over a week ago. All the information you’ll need about the Missing Report is in that file. The note on the front is the address to the crime scene.” The captain gives us one of his intense looks. “Let’s catch this perp quick. And, by the way, I want you to play this case close to the chest. Keep it quiet. Ok?”
“Got it, sir,” we both respond as we walk out of the office.
“Are we taking your car or mine?” Petersen asks.
“We can take yours. Next time it’s on me.” I give Petersen a friendly slap on the back and follow him out to his car.
Getting into the passenger seat and buckling up, I open the file and start perusing it. I take the photo of the kid out of the file and began memorizing the boy’s features. He has bright blue piercing eyes, short curly blonde hair and looks roughly about 9 or 10 years old.
“All the leads in this file came back empty.” I said looking over at Petersen. “The kid was playing in the park, the nanny turned her back for a couple of minutes and when she looked again, the kid was gone. There were no other witnesses. According to the nanny there were only one or two other people around.”
“Well, let’s hope we find something at the crime scene.” Petersen says as he pulls up to the apartment complex.
Entering the apartment, we see two police officers standing in the living room. I immediately recognize Tomás Salis and his partner Thompson, the weird guys. They don't work late or come in early, but always seem to be the first one on site and have all the details. How the hell do they do that?!
Salis comes over to give us the rundown. “Hey guys. Well, let’s see.” Looking down at his writing pad, “this apartment has been vacant for a while now. The superintendent brought a couple up to show them the apartment and when they entered the bedroom they found the body. We’ve checked the lock on the door but it doesn’t look like it’s been tampered with. The forensics team tried to get prints from the door handle but it looks like it’s been wiped clean.”
Salis leads us into the bedroom where the body is located. The young boy is lying on the carpet in a pool of blood. How can someone do this to a child?
“We found this though.” Salis holds up a knife in an evidence bag. “They checked it for prints too but….nothing. Clean as a whistle.”
I look down at the body and recall the photo from the file. He’s the same boy from the missing child photo. Taking care to not tamper with the crime scene, Petersen and I put on our gloves and move closer to the body to investigate. The boy’s throat is slit from side to side. We step away from the body and I look around the empty room. There doesn’t seem to be anything out of place. The only disturbance is the dead boy in the middle of the room. And his body looks as if it was placed in the center of the room after he died. No struggle, no disturbance, nothing that might leave a clue or lead.
I turn to Petersen and give him the “Missing Person” case file. “It’s the same boy.” I feel sick to my stomach knowing someone did this to a child. The coroner, Lacey Saunders, arrives with a gurney and zipper bag for the boy’s body.
“We’ll need to inform the parents.” Petersen says, moving to stand next to me.
Turning away from the body, I walk over to Salis. “Make sure we have any witness statements and the coroner’s report as soon as possible.” I look over at Petersen and signal him with a head motion to come with me. I need to get out of here before I get sick.
It’s as if Petersen and I are on the same wavelength. We both head out of the apartment complex and don’t say a word until we get to his car. Petersen looks at me and we both say, in tandem, “let’s inform the parents.” We smile at each other. Funny how we know what each other is thinking. Ironically, this is the first time since arriving on the new job where I don’t feel like an outsider.
~CHAPTER 2~
For the next couple of days, Petersen and I have been arriving to work early and leaving late following up on leads. Here we are, a week later and still, we have nothing.
As I’m going over the case file, my ringing phone interrupts me.
“D’Marco,” I answer.
“There’s been another murder,” the captain says.
Crap. Another one. I jot down the information he gives me, then hang up the phone. I start rubbing my eyes hoping to wake up from this nightmare. Petersen walks over and just stands there, staring at me. I can feel his eyes on me. I stop trying to rub my eyes out and look up at him. We just look at each other and he finally asks, “another one?”
“Yeah,” I reply, exhausted and the day has just begun. “Let’s go,” I say as I grab my coat and we make our way out of the station.
Arriving at the scene, everything is in total chaos. People cluster together everywhere and police officers are trying to keep spectators at bay. I’m tired and annoyed. The day’s already gotten worse and it’s not even 9am. As soon as we identify ourselves, the police officers point us towards the alley nearing the end of the street.
Reaching the end of the road, we can see the row of dirty dumpsters framing the alley between the warehouse buildings. Beer bottles, wrappers and general trash are scattered everywhere. It’s easy to imagine the late night hooker or drug dealer trying to make a score in the middle of the night down this passage. I can already feel my stomach rolling. This is the part of the job I hate the most, especially when kids are involved.
Working our way down the alley, I see police officers and the coroner standing at the far end. As we approach the crime scene, I can see the body is lying between two of the dumpsters. To the left of the body, I recognize the two police officers standing nearby.