Who Killed Faith?

The uniforms were at the construction disposal site in Sun Rise Village. Police Line Do Not Cross was cordoning off the area that would be investigated. Because there were only a few people milling around, engaging in private conversations as they waited to see what would happen next, it made no sense for the patrols to disperse the folks who were assembled. They weren’t getting in the way and if no confrontation was needed, why stir things up. The detectives parked close by and walked to the cordoned off area. They were met by familiar faces and told at once that forensics had been called and an ambulance was on the way. “Did you two encounter a traffic jam? I thought you’d have been here several minutes ago.” Patrolman Tucker actually was questioning their delayed arrival. Not usually the sharpest knife in the drawer, this time he was right on the mark. “We had a traffic situation on the way. We got through it as fast as possible,” said Silas believing that less was more by way of explanation and still within confines of the truth. “Just make sure we aren’t disturbed. If forensics gets here before we’re finished, we’ll see them and let them know when they can move in,” said Alexis more formal in tone than her partner. “Did anyone say anything yet?” Silas asked another one of the uniforms. “That guy over there, the one with the dog, was the first one here. We asked him to wait till you got here so you’d get his story firsthand, know what I mean?” “Sure do. There are four of you here. Would you bring him over so I can talk to him while Silas looks at the body? “ “Sure thing, Detective.” With that the patrol officer went to get the man with the dog. When Alexis saw how eager the dog was to get at what must be a body, she met its owner half way toward her. “Hello, sir. I’m Detective Alex Stratton. Appreciate your waiting for us. Can you tell me who you are and how you came to find this?” she asked nodding her head in the direction of her partner who was using his smart phone to take pictures. “You’re the ones who caught Hope Porter’s killer. I’m Ainsley Green. I’ve got that big custom over there. I work from home and was walking my dog and getting my morning exercise.” Green would have pointed to his large home had not the feisty poodle been pulling away from him toward the wrapped bundle. The dog’s keen sense of smell made it want to get at the source. There weren’t many houses so the big custom was easy to spot. Alexis acknowledged knowing which house he was trying to indicate. “Anyway we got close enough to suspect that something wasn’t right. It didn’t look like the usual construction debris.” “What makes you say that?” “The way it’s wrapped. It’s like something’s being concealed. And the size and shape doesn’t match with what I’d expect here and with what I’ve seen before as we’ve walked past. “I guess I was concentrating too much on what it might be as I got closer, maybe something I could use. Anyway, while I was looking, my dog nipped at some of the plastic wrap and soon I saw what appeared to be a socked foot. I pulled him back and went to the sales office to report what I’d seen. That was the only thing I could think of. I guess I could have called 911 immediately. I just wasn’t thinking clearly. But then I wasn’t sure if it was actually a foot, a human foot. But it did have a sock on, so I guess it’s a real body.” “We’ll soon know for sure what’s there.” Alexis was thinking that if he’d lost the least amount of control of his poodle, the probable crime scene would have been much more disturbed. The dog was pulling for all he was worth to get to where Silas was. Alexis asked, “Do you walk this route every day?” “Every other day actually. We go from the right of our house one day and from the left, toward this construction debris area, the next day. I’m in construction myself and sometimes I see things that are of interest to me, know what I mean.” Alexis knew this wasn’t a question. It did, however, mark Mr. Green as a local. Without appearing to probe, Alexis wanted to keep Green talking long enough to see if he was a reliable witness or perhaps even the perpetrator if this proved to be a body. From what he had already reported, it seemed as though it would be. Alexis was saying a small prayer that it wasn’t the missing teen. On the other hand, any life lost would leave a hole in someone else’s life. They talked a little longer and Alexis got Green’s cell phone number and exact address. That he was self-employed and worked from home she had already learned. He added that he had a small staff that worked for him and that he headed his own small company. She got all the particulars and said that they or another team would be in touch for a formal statement. “I’ll do whatever you need. This is not something that should go unresolved if it is a body. I’ll gladly help in any way,” Green repeated as if unable or unwilling to bring this conversation to an end. Was this his fifteen minutes of fame? Alexis wondered. Or would this turn out to be a precursor to more? Was prison time in Green’s future? Or could this be the early stages of shock?