The Cat Who Solved A Murder

The scene although familiar, wasn't pretty. A young woman in her late 20's was found dead in her three bedroom colonial style home. Several police officers were on the scene as well as the forensic investigators. The medical examiner was busy assessing the injuries. "Death by Asphyxiation," he mumbled out loud to his assistant. "Notice the petechial hemorrhages, the tiny purple or red spots caused by bleeding under the skin, around the eyes, the face, and the neck. It seemed the killer had worn gloves as there were no fingernail marks." Several police officers were on the scene as well as the forensic investigators.

Chaney Blackwell, a lovely woman, 5'6, a bit on the plump side, shoulder length dark hair, and robin's egg blue eyes, was one of the forensic investigators who worked crime scenes along with her husband, John Blackwell, who was a homicide police officer.

A short, middle-aged, bald man with a goatee was busy loading another roll of film into his camera. He took many pictures at different angles of the victim as well as the couch she laid on, the carpet, and the adjacent kitchen. There didn't seem to be any forced entry, so it appeared the suspect must be someone the victim knew.

Chaney was busy carefully gathering any traces of possible evidence, large or small. She took a lint pickup roller which had a covering of sticky tape to collect the top layer of debris from the victim's clothing as well as the surrounding carpet area. Tiny strands of fibers and hairs were stored and labeled as part of the investigation in hopes of helping to solve the crime.

Chapter 2

Later that evening after dinner, Chaney made a pot of fresh coffee, and carried a cup into the den, where her husband worked over his laptop.

"Thanks Hon." John smiled as he took the steaming beverage from her. "I was going over a list of the people I need to speak to tomorrow who knew the victim."

"Yes, Tanya Richards, wasn't that her name?" She asked as she pulled a chair beside her husband and he glanced at his notes.

"Yes, you have a wonderful memory," he said as he leaned over and kissed her softly on the lips.

"Thank you, it seems I've been blessed twice, a warm, loving husband, and a good memory." She giggled.

She heard a soft purr and saw their white Persian, 'Fluffy' rubbing against her leg. "Fluffy," she squealed as she lovingly scooped up the white fur ball, and cradled it in her arms and the white cat with one blue eye and one green eye sounded in contentment.

She thought a moment. "John, did you see any animals in Tanya's home?"

Her husband shook his head. "I didn't see any, but that doesn't mean it wasn't scared to death, and hiding under a bed somewhere."

"True, but some kind of evidence like litter or pet food would have been found." She lightly patted Fluffy's head, and then turned to leave.

"Check with the neighbors and friends you question tomorrow." She kissed him again and left the room.

Chapter 3

The next day was a busy one. John and his partner, Gary were busy getting statements from neighbors and friends of the victim, while Chaney worked with the forensic team in the lab analyzing all the evidence.

Later that evening, they compared notes. "There were definite traces of grey and white short cat hairs on the victim's clothing. Maybe she had a cat but it died or she gave it away?" She suggested.

"She never had any," he said glancing at his notepad. "Her neighbor, Glenda Tanner insisted the woman never had pets; she said Tanya was allergic to cats."

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"Rainbow Classics: Volume One"