April 27, 2021

Crime Scene Investigator Cori Reed is a certified geek who thinks he’s finally found the one. He’s been dating Geneva Sanchez for almost a year but is sensing some distance in the relationship. Not sure why, Cori gives Geneva her space.

After Cori is called to investigate a homicide crime scene, he soon realizes that Geneva could become a suspect. He’s determined to find evidence to prove her innocence, but Geneva is keeping secrets.

Cori knows that science doesn’t lie, but when the evidence continues to point towards Geneva, can Cori make the right decision despite what his heart says?

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Tuesday, February 13, 6:31 a.m.

Cori Reed lay in bed watching the sun ascend in the sky between the blinds of his bedroom. There was a slight chill in the air reminding him the city of Charlotte remained deep in the winter season. He recalled last night’s weather forecast predicting below freezing temperatures for the Carolinas. This thought made him burrow further down under the covers closing his eyes. He’d barely slept which wasn’t unusual for him. Through his sleepy haze, he heard the hum of the apartment’s heating system kick in. It was too late for sleep now.

But he wasn’t ready to face the day.

Not after last night’s conversation.

I think we need a break.

He’d replayed his girlfriend, Geneva Sanchez’s words over and over in his head. They’d been dating for over nine months. Since the first of the year they’d both been pretty busy, but that was the nature of their jobs. Being a crime scene investigator, Cori worked all kinds of hours, both day and night, weekday or weekend.

Geneva worked as a corporate lawyer at some fancy firm downtown. It was really crazy how their paths crossed. This time last year, when Geneva’s fellow coworker and roommate didn’t show up for an important briefing, she headed back to their shared apartment only to discover her dead. Cori had been called to collect evidence from the apartment due to the suspicious nature of the death. Later, toxicology reports confirmed the death was due to an opioid overdose. A devastated Geneva moved out of that apartment, but also developed a friendship with Cori. At the time, Cori had no idea they would spend the majority of last year getting to know each other and officially start dating.

Cori had invited Geneva to his parent’s home for Thanksgiving and he hung out with her family during Christmas. And then there was New Year’s Eve. They’d kissed when the clock struck twelve marveling at how perfect their lives were together.

So, what did he do wrong? What was he missing?

They’d spent last Friday night together watching a movie. All seemed fine, like any other Friday. They talked on Saturday while Geneva was with her mom and sisters. Somewhere between Sunday and Monday night, Geneva had some kind of epiphany.

Or maybe she’d been pretending all this time. Cori refused to entertain that possibility.

The phone beside him on the bed pinged, saving him from further torment. He checked the screen and saw his boss had texted him. It was never a good sign when Sergeant Stanley Olson sent a message. Cori quickly read Olson’s cryptic text.

Evidence at this crime scene needs to be processed asap. Be thorough. Lou will be there as soon as he finishes in court.

Cori read the address, unsure if he should be offended or alarmed. He was always careful and detailed about gathering evidence. He also had a great working relationship with Lou Reynolds, the Medical Examiner. Between Geneva distancing herself and his boss micromanaging, Cori felt his mood shift more and more in a downward spiral. He closed his eyes and took a deep breath.

Cast all your anxiety on Him because He cares for you.

In all his worrying last night, he went inward like he always did, beating himself up. He didn’t know what was going on with Geneva and there wasn’t anything he could do about it right now.

He had a job to do. And he would leave what he had no control over with the Lord.

Cori hopped in the shower, and then dressed in his usual attire, a long sleeve dark gray polo shirt and black pants. He learned years ago to keep an extra pair of clothing in his office and car, but it helped to dress with dark colors. Before heading out he grabbed a granola bar from the kitchen and hoped he could grab some coffee somewhere on his way.

Cori covered his low cut hair with a black beanie and examined himself in the hallway mirror. It occurred to him he looked like he was about to burglarize a place. Normally that would have struck him as funny.

His sense of humor was off today too.

Sighing, he spun away from the mirror and grabbed his leather bomber coat. Once inside his black Toyota 4Runner, he checked the clock and noticed it had been twenty minutes since he received the text from his boss. He was leaving the house in record time. Despite the lack of sleep and girlfriend issues, at least something was going in the right direction. He hoped the day would continue that way.

Cori made a pit stop at the CMPD Crime Scene Search Unit. He exchanged his warm coat for a CSI jacket and headed off towards the garage to secure a vehicle. He peered at the address several times, finally realizing he recognized the location. His brother Jax grew up near the area. Thirty minutes later, he’d entered an area that was home to some of the more elite Charlotte-Mecklenburg county residents.

Whoa!

That’s what popped into Cori’s mind as he drove the CSI van through the open wrought-iron gates. The enormity of the house looming ahead seemed to grow in size as he guided the large vehicle down the long driveway. He’d collected and analyzed evidence from all kinds of residential homes, but this was his first mansion. Okay, maybe it wasn’t considered a mansion, but he had no doubts the owner of the home was wealthy beyond what he could have imagined.

He wasn’t sure why but he had a sinking feeling that he would regret being called to this home.

I haven’t even seen the crime scene yet.

Cori parked behind a CMPD patrol car. The cold air jolted him into action, and he pulled the beanie down so his ears were covered. He wished he hadn’t left his leather bomber at the office, the CSI jacket wasn’t nearly as warm. He grabbed a bag with essentials, and even though he’d already checked the battery in the DSLR camera before they left the forensic office, he checked it again.

He hoped he didn’t have to cover this whole house for evidence. If so, he would need backup. Cori could see an area had been sealed off around the front of the home. He crouched down to enter under the crime scene tape. An officer stood outside the front door. Cori knew most of the officers, but this one wasn’t familiar to him. Though Cori wore a black jacket with CSI emblazoned on the front, he held up the lanyard from around his neck to display his badge. The officer nodded, and Cori noticed the man appeared a bit pale.

“You okay, man? Is it really bad inside?”

The officer’s face appeared stricken. “Uh, more like who it is.”

Cori cocked his head. “You recognize the vic?”

“You might too.” The officer answered.

Cori couldn’t imagine who he could possibly know that lived in a place like this. As he walked further into the house, he headed in the direction of voices. He found himself in a large great room with floor to ceiling windows that faced a stunning backyard with a shimmering pool and a large patio. The pool and the furniture surrounding it appeared covered. He imagined in warmer months the view was even more stunning.

Cori zoned out the view so he could focus on what lay ahead. He wanted to be sharp the first time he saw the scene and the victim. He’d purposely started this technique a few years ago. Sergeant Olson wanted his investigators to always start with the big picture and work their way down to the details.

Cori located the voices coming from what appeared to be a dining room. He had a large family but even the Reed clan would have plenty of room to stretch out at the long table.

His eyes landed on an officer sporting a salt and pepper buzz cut, his wide girth either a sign of old age or too many donuts, possibly both. The officer stood with a pen and pad in hand, gazing intently at the woman seated at the table. The woman appeared to be in her late forties or early fifties, her gray hair was pulled away from her face into a bun. She wore the typical white apron wrapped around a black dress indicating her role in the house.

Cori approached the officer and examined his badge. “Officer Trask, who called this in?”

Trask stretched his arm towards the woman. “Mrs. Perez here called it in. She works here as the housekeeper.”

Up close, Cori noticed Mrs. Perez sat with her hands clasped together in her lap. Her body was positioned on the edge of the chair like she wanted to take off and run. He imagined finding a body was definitely not on the list of her regular tasks.

Office Trask pointed towards their left. “The body is in the office over on the left.”

“Thanks.”

At the office entrance, Cori was struck by the grand bookcases on each side of the room. He caught himself before he let out a whistle. Scanning the room, it appeared as if the room was a combination office and library. A massive oak desk took up space in front of picture windows that stretched across the entire wall. Cori peered out and realized the office windows faced the front of the house. He could see the parked CSI vehicle.

He also could see where the victim laid.

Cori reached inside his bag and pulled on shoe covers. There was no telling how many people had walked across the wood floor, but he certainly didn’t want to contaminate the scene any further. He snapped on

latex gloves and took a deep breath as he moved closer to the scene. He took a moment to soak it in.

A sharp coppery smell hit him first, but the smell of blood didn’t disturb him. Cori was thankful for having a strong stomach.

He walked over to where a young Caucasian male lay sprawled on his back near the desk.

What happened to you?

Recalling the officer’s words at the door, Cori then asked himself.

Who are you?

To his surprise, the man did look familiar. He gauged the vic to be in his late twenties, not too much older or younger than himself. His hair might have been a dark blond, but now appeared matted with blood that had traveled underneath his body. A day old five o’clock shadow outlined his jaw structure. His blue eyes were clouded and blank, looking up at the ceiling.

Cori pulled the camera from where it hung around his neck and snapped close-up shots, making note of the two bullet wounds in the chest area. The contents from the desk appeared to have spilled on the floor. Cori thought the victim may have reached for something on the desk as he fell to the floor. As he took photos of the papers on the floor, and even a ballpoint pen that lay near the victim, he wondered if something there was of importance.

He continued to snap photos of the room, taking wide shots of the windows and the exits. Cori was especially interested in the side door that led out to the yard. He gently tried the door handle. The door was locked, but it could have been used for a quick getaway.

“You think the killer left this way?” The voice caught Cori’s attention from where they had entered. He turned to see Detective Cameron “Cam” Noble in the doorway.

Cori grinned at the man who happened to be his best friend and soon-to-be brother-in-law in a few months. He’d always known Cam was in love with his twin sister, Toni. “You finally made it, Noble.” Since they started working together, both friends had picked up on the department culture of referring to each other by their last name.

Detective Noble slipped on a pair of gloves before entering the room. “Yeah, no rest for the weary today, Reed. So what are you thinking? I can practically see your mind spinning.”

Cori shrugged. “We’re still early in collecting evidence. Looking at his position, the person was probably standing over there where you are, which makes me think the shooter entered through the office door.”

Noble pointed to the door behind Cori. “You don’t think a shooter could have come through that door?”

“I’m not sure about them entering that way. But if I was the shooter, I would make a quick escape instead of walking back through the house.” Cori sighed, remembering it wasn’t good to draw conclusions too quickly. “If they did, then they tracked their DNA all through the house. We will probably have to consider that as a path to look for clues too, but my bet’s on that door.”

Noble nodded. “I’ve already requested a search warrant. We’re going to have to be pretty specific on any other rooms we think need to be included in the warrant.”

Cori turned back to the body. “Right now, I’m concentrating in this area. The vic appears to have two bullet holes in his chest. I’m not sure yet if the bullets passed through the victim or if they are still inside of him. When Lou arrives, we can officially transport the body. Of course the autopsy will tell us a lot more.”

Noble crossed his arms. “We’re going to need all the evidence we can gather. There’s no doubt this case is going to wreak havoc on our lives. Which is the last thing I need.” He grinned, “I’m in the midst of wedding planning with your sister.”

Cori joked, “Yeah, my sister is starting to be a bridezilla.”

Despite their attempt at a lighter subject, the feeling that Cori had as he drove up returned. He could have blamed his initial mood on his distress about Geneva’s unexpected decision to take a break. Now, with Cam spouting gloom and doom, he had to know. “Do you know this guy?”

Noble blew out a breath. “Yeah, you know him too. Everybody in North Carolina, in fact anybody who follows NCAA football, knows this guy.”

Cori frowned. “He played football. What team?”

“Duke. He was a quarterback about seven years ago. A knee injury kept him from the pros, and he returned to Charlotte to work in his daddy’s law firm, Hamilton & Associates. Are you starting to get a picture now?”

That’s why the guy looked familiar.

Cori’s eyes grew wide as he stared down at the victim on the floor. “Blaine Hamilton.”

“Yep, let’s hope the evidence you collected today gives us some serious leads. This is one of those cases that could cause both our heads to roll.”

That’s what Cori was afraid of.