The coffee tasted terrible. Maybe if it had been freshly brewed, the taste would be a little more edible. Even the stalest donuts would be an improvement. Patterson continued to drink the distasteful stuff out of courtesy. He didn't know the next time he would get a chance to investigate side by side with police officers. At the moment though, the opportunity didn't seem so lucrative.
The scene sat as it had before, so many years ago, except this time the caution tape had been removed. Any obvious evidence had long been cleaned up as well. Patterson didn't see anything but dry pavement. Rubbing his face, and glancing at the murky coffee, he sighed. His companion, Officer Randall, stood next to another policeman, drinking the same coffee. They huddled close together, trying to block out the icy air and slight winds.
A bit impatient by this point, Patterson voiced the question he knew must've been on the others' minds. "What are we looking for again?"
Randall gave him an impatient look. "Evidence they didn't catch years ago."
Patterson took a sip of the coffee, trying not to make a face. "Run through the case for me one more time?" He had heard it several times, but each time he tuned it out. It seemed so typical, and it didn't seem like his thinking skills were necessary.
Sighing, Randall explained. "We received a 911 call the night of the fight. A lady driving by the scene witnessed a gang fight on the corner across from the furniture store. Dispatched officers arrived to find the lot empty save for a corpse. Medical examiners identified the body as Michael Roberts. We knew him as Bobby Butcher, a gang hit man, if you will."
Patterson narrowed his eyes, thinking out loud. "Only one man dead in a gang fight, and he was supposed to be the one pulling off a hit. It doesn't make sense." His eyes narrowed further, making it harder to see. "Didn't someone already confess?"
The others nodded.
He rubbed his forehead and sighed. "Then why are you trying to reopen the case?"
Randall swallowed, and answered quietly. "We think she's covering for someone else."
Patterson side. "Is there any witnesses we could ask?"
The officers glanced at each other knowingly, and one of them reluctantly admitted, "Well...there is one person."
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