Page 12

Angus hoped for a quiet week on Monday morning, and it started out that way. He spent the first half of the day catching up on paperwork. It wasn't until he'd gone out to lunch with Franks that things picked up. When his phone rang halfway through their meal, he sighed. "Why is it always while we're eating?"

Franks laughed but nodded to the phone. "Answer it. Maybe it's nothing important."

"Right." Angus knew better. He answered the phone as he eyed the pastrami burger he'd only eaten half of. "Detective Young." Angus listened for a moment, setting his napkin down and reaching for his wallet as he was informed about a possible murder across town. When he ended the call, he filled Franks in. "We have a possible murder. Woman called 911 to report her husband had shot himself and was dead, but operators also got two calls from neighbors of the same woman claiming they were hearing a couple fighting and it sounded heated. This was followed by three more calls reporting the sound of a single gunshot." He stood, tossing enough money on the table to cover the bill and a hefty tip. "Officers on scene confirm it looks like a suicide, but due to the reports from the neighbors they can't confirm the wife didn't shoot him to make it look like he took his own life."

Franks held the door open for Angus as they walked outside. "They call the medical examiner?"

"En route." Angus walked over to the car and waited for Franks to unlock it before sliding into the passenger seat. He quickly put the address in the GPS as Franks got in and started the car.

Ten minutes later they were pulling up in front of a house not too far from where Angus used to live. He knew the area well. He saw paramedics loading their gear back into the ambulance as one officer stood in front of the house. Angus climbed out and took a deep breath, ready to deal with an emotional wife. He just wasn't sure if she'd be angry or grieving.

"What do we have?" he asked one of the paramedics.

"Looks like a single gunshot wound to the side of the head. I can't confirm if it was murder or suicide. You'll need the M.E. to make that call. It's a mess. Body is in the backyard. The wife is inside with Officer Carter. She's different. Claims the guy shot himself but doesn't seem very upset about it." The paramedic shrugged. "Good luck figuring this one out."

Angus exchanged a glance with Franks, unsure what they were going to find inside the house. He took the lead and checked in with the officer at the door, put on booties and gloves, then headed into the house to find an older woman, looking to be in her mid-sixties, sitting at the kitchen table with Office Carter.

The officer stood as they walked in. "Detectives. This is Clair Wagner. Her husband Andrew is our victim out back in the yard. She claims he shot himself while cleaning his gun."

"I can prove it." Clair Wagner stared at Angus. "He just won't let me move from here."

The woman didn't look upset. She was more frustrated that the officer was keeping her in the kitchen. "Give us a moment and we'll speak with you, Mrs. Wagner." Angus followed Franks outside.

"I'll never get used to these." Franks sighed and turned away.

Angus agreed, but he took a moment to look at the scene. The man was slumped over a patio table. Blood and other body matter covered the surface. A gun lay on the ground beside the man's feet, and a gun cleaning kit sat open on the table with another similar box sitting on the chair beside him.

"She's going to claim he was cleaning his gun, and it misfired," Franks whispered.

"Probably, but with the calls about them fighting, I doubt that's what really is going on here. I agree with the paramedics that this does look like a typical suicide, but we can't be sure. Hopefully, the M.E. will find something to help us sort this out." Angus turned away. "Let's go talk to the wife. "

They walked back into the kitchen and Angus took out his notebook. "Mrs. Wagner, I'm Detective Young and this is Detective Franks. We're with homicide. Can you tell us what happened?"

She sighed. "I already told everyone. He walked outside to clean his gun and accidentally shot himself."

Franks shook his head. "We had several calls from your neighbors that they heard you fighting before the gunshot was heard."

"Yep, we were fighting something fierce. I have no doubt the neighbors heard us. He'd lost his mind. Thinking he could afford a big truck when we can barely pay our bills as it is. I put my foot down and told him no. He got all worked up about how much money I waste on yarn and other things. Can you believe that? I had to laugh. I spend a few hundred dollars a year to make blankets, and he calls me out because he wants to buy a truck that would cost us hundreds a month. You're damn right we fought."

"And he grabbed the gun during this fight?" Franks asked.

"He always goes to his guns when he's upset. But it's not like you think. He cleans them when he's angry. He took it into the backyard and sat down to clean it. I didn't shoot him. He shot himself, the stupid bastard." She shook her head. "Stupidest man that ever lived."

Angus raised a brow. "You don't seem that upset."

"Detective, we've been married for over forty years. We quit loving each other twenty years ago and stayed together out of habit. I'm sorry he's gone, but my life is going to be a hell of a lot easier without him around." She waved her hand. "Now don't go thinking my attitude proves I killed him. I can prove I didn't shoot him."

"And just how can you do that?" Franks asked.

Everything paused as Lance and Kyle walked in. Angus was shocked to see Lance there. He didn't do a lot of body pick ups unless Sam was busy with other things. He nodded to him and gestured to the backyard. "Wife is saying he shot himself. Any information you can give me to back that up would be nice."

"I'll see what I can do." Lance walked past them and out the sliding glass door to the backyard where the man's body lay.

"Doesn't matter what the M.E. says. I have proof that bastard shot himself." She got up. "In the living room." She walked out of the kitchen and into another room, making her way over to a desk with a computer on it. "We put cameras up in the yard after we had some stuff stolen earlier in the summer. It's motion censored, so if someone is out there, it's recording." She hit a few buttons and pulled up the app she used to store the video. "You'll see, the bastard walks out there and a few minutes later the gun goes off. Stupid idiot was using the barrel of the gun to scratch his head. At least that's what it looks like to me." She hit play.

Angus braced himself for what he was about to witness. He'd seen people shoot themselves in the head before and it was never pleasant to see. He took a deep breath as the video started recording as the man walked out onto the small patio. There was no sound, but he could see the man yelling back at the house. It was clear he was angry. In his hand was a revolver and what looked like a typical gun cleaning kit. Angus had two just like it to clean his own guns. The man sat down at the small table in back, opened the cleaning kit, then yelled something else back into the house. A minute later, the man did just as she said he did and lifted the gun to the side of his head and started moving it back and forth as if he was scratching an itch with it. Out of nowhere, the gun went off and the man slumped to the table.

"Holy shit." Franks took a step back.

Angus stared for a long moment, then reached over to replay the video. It didn't appear he'd even had his finger on the trigger at first, but then it almost looked as if his grip on the gun slipped and he tried to catch it, but as he did, his finger hit the trigger and that was that.

"Told ya. I didn't shoot the stupid fool. The idiot shot himself while scratching his head with the damn gun!" She stood with her hands on her hips.

Angus couldn't argue with what he'd just seen. He continued watching the video as the woman ran out into the backyard, looked down at his body, covered her mouth, and it appeared she started to cry. She paced back and forth for a moment, clearly upset before she rushed back inside.

"That's when I called for an ambulance, but I knew he was gone. I saw parts of his brain and other junk on the table. I told the operator that. She told me to remain inside and wait for the police to get here, so that's what I did." Mrs. Wagner shook her head. "Only my dumbass husband could manage this." She bit her lip. "I'm going to have to call my kids. They'll be upset over this."

"You can call them in a few." Angus motioned for her to go back into the kitchen. "We've got a few more questions. Let me just speak to the M.E. quickly." He let Franks lead her into the kitchen while he stepped into the backyard. "She's got a video of him shooting himself."

Lance raised a brow. "Seriously?"

Angus looked up and pointed to a camera placed on the corner of the house aimed to cover the patio area and an old storage shed. "Motion sensor. You're not going to believe this one. It appears he was cleaning his gun and casually used the barrel to scratch his head. The gun seems to slip and as he catches it, his finger hits the trigger."

Kyle's eyes went wide. "No way. Impossible."

"I'd think so too if I hadn't seen it." Angus shrugged. "Just telling you what I know."

Lance nodded to the body. "I haven't inspected the wound yet, but it's not in a normal position we usually see for a suicide. Most go for under the chin or at the temple. This one appears to be in the area behind the ear. That doesn't mean it's not a suicide, but it's not usual." He leaned in and looked at the site of the wound again. "Let me do the initial exam of the body, then I'll come in and look at that video."

"This is crazy." Kyle shook his head.

Angus had to agree, but this was why every case had to be investigated. He couldn't argue with a video. If it hadn't been for that, there would be a good chance they'd arrest the wife for murder. "Let me know what you think." He headed back inside.

"Do you currently have other guns in the home?" Franks was asking Mrs. Watson.

"Yes, but they're locked in a safe in our bedroom. I'm not sure what is all there. It was my husband's hobby, not mine. The one he was cleaning was one he kept in the nightstand. My son would know better what Andrew had. They go hunting together all the time."

"Did you fight like this often?" Franks asked.

"Not as badly as today got, but yeah, we disagreed a lot. I usually spend my days downstairs, and he sits up here. We didn't hate each other, but we'd get on each other's nerves if we spent too much time together. Like I said, it was just convenient after all these years to stay together. We'd go out with friends, even take vacations, but when we were home, he did his thing, and I did mine." She sighed. "Today, I just couldn't handle him wanting to spend sixty thousand or more on a truck we didn't need. I put my foot down and he didn't like that."

They asked her several more questions as the forensics unit showed, and after testing her hands for gunshot residue and finding none, Angus decided to call this an accident. Franks had agreed. They couldn't argue with the video evidence that the wife was lucky she had.

Angus stood with Lance, watching the video once more. "Does that match with what you found?"

Lance nodded. "It does. You can see his hand slip and finger go to the trigger when you slow it down. I'll look for any other evidence during autopsy, but unless I find some bruising or something else that contributed to his death, it's an unfortunate accident."

Angus sighed. "I can't imagine what he was thinking scratching his head with his gun."

Lance shrugged. "He probably wasn't. He was angry and obviously still yelling back into the house. Just one of those things. Only takes a second to happen and there's no going back." He touched Angus's shoulder. "I'll help Kyle get the body loaded. See you at home."

"Hope to be on time." Angus smiled as he emailed a copy of the video to his work email to include in the report he was going to have to write.

Franks walked over. "That's everything. She's got a company coming in later today to clean the area. Her kids are on their way now. Forensics will cover the area with a tarp, so the kids won't see it when they arrive."

"Good. Hopefully, she's smart enough not to show them that video. No one should have to watch that happen to their father." Angus shoved his notebook into his pocket.

"I mentioned that as well. She wants to keep a copy until she's sure we aren't going to try and charge her with his death, but then said she'll delete it." Franks sighed. "Never thought I'd see something like this."

"Guess we haven't seen it all." Angus followed Franks from the house, leaving officers with Mrs. Watson while forensics finished, and her children arrived. This case would stay with him for a while, especially when he pulled his own kit out to clean his guns.

Franks unlocked the car, and they rode back to the station in silence, both lost in their own thoughts after seeing what they had. While putting murders away made it worth coming in to work every day, there were parts of the job that made Angus question why he did it. Today was one of those days he could have done without.