Ricci doesn’t look at Garcia, he just stares at the floor.
Cindy Cross enters the room and administers the mouth swabs that will confirm Mike Ricci is the Candy Man Killer. Detective Jackson has prepared written consents to search and has Ricci sign them. Ricci’s son is contacted by Commander Marshall and given the news. It will take Chris Ricci about an hour to get to the station.
Commander Marshall returns to the room. “Detective Garcia.”
“Yes sir,” says Garcia.
“Would you like the pleasure of placing our detective here under arrest for Eleven Counts of First Degree Murder?”
“Gladly sir.” As Garcia places Ricci in handcuffs, he states, “Mike, you are under arrest for First Degree Murder.”
Two officers are then assigned to sit in the interview room with Ricci until his son shows up.
Commander Marshall contacts the Chief of Police to let him know the Candy Man Killer is in custody. As expected, the Chief is pleased the case is finally solved, but clearly upset it is one of the department’s own. The Chief and Commander then begin preparations for the press conference to be held later that evening.
In the meantime, Garcia receives word from Jackson that detectives have found the items Ricci described in the metal cabinet in his garage. Included with those items are two, still in the package, brand new Cardet kitchen utility knives. He also believes they have found some bloodstain evidence on the driver’s floorboard of Ricci’s car.
The Police Chief’s live press conference takes place at 7:00 in the evening. Garcia, other detectives, and staff members gather in the detective training room to watch on TV. Employees are shocked and disappointed the killer ended up being a department member, but they are also pleased to finally have the murderer in jail.
After the press conference, Garcia completes some final paperwork, then heads home. He can hardly wait to get home to hug his wife and kids. It has been quite a stressful couple of days.
◆◆◆
Epilogue
On Wednesday morning, Garcia is putting together the case file that will take a couple of weeks to organize when Commander Marshall calls him into his office.
“Sit down Juan,” says the Commander as Garcia walks in. “That was some nice work you did.”
“Thank you, sir.”
“However, you did violate a direct order.”
“Technically sir, you said not to bring my suspicion up again and I didn’t. I waited until I had proof.”
“No, you knew what I meant. You will probably receive some type of award for solving this case, but I can’t let an ignored order go unpunished. As I promised, after your case file is completed, I’ve arranged to have you transferred to the south Chicago Traffic Unit.”
Garcia doesn’t know what to say and simply stares at Marshall with disbelief.
Marshall isn’t able to hold it in for long before he breaks out in laughter. “I had you going there for a moment!”
Garcia exhales, “yeah, you sure did,” and then begins laughing himself.
Smiling, Marshall says, “You know Juan, I think someday you might make a mighty fine detective.”
“Thank you sir,” says Garcia smiling.
Wendy’s Secret Admirer
Detective Don Walker is just finishing his first cup of coffee when his phone begins to ring. Kind of early for a phone call, he thinks. After all, not much happens in Rockville, Michigan, a small community of approximately 14,000, located about an hour north of Grand Rapids Michigan. Sometimes Walker can go most of the day without a single phone call. When he is on the phone, it is usually him making the calls.
“Detective Walker,” he answers. After a short pause, “You’ve got to be kidding me! Yeah, okay, I’ll grab Steve and head right over.”
“Hey Steve!” Walker yells. “We need to head over to Lincoln High School; they’ve just found the body of a young woman behind the school.”
“What?” Replies Steve Baker, the only other detective in the Rockville Police Department.
“Yeah, you heard me,” says Walker. “We have to get going, Sergeant Thomas is at the scene and needs us to respond asap. He says it looks like a homicide”
It is 7:55 am on Friday, November 13th, and a bit colder than normal for this time of year. Walker grabs his winter jacket and looks for the crime scene kit, finding it in the storage closet. Baker adjusts the 9mm Smith and Wesson handgun on the right side of his belt and grabs a 2-way handheld radio from the wall charger and attaches it to his belt on his left side. Both detectives quickly walk out of the police department to their vehicle, a white unmarked Ford Explorer. Walker drives while Baker uses the car radio to advise police dispatch they are en route to Lincoln High School.
Neither detective says much on the way, but they are both thinking the same thing. A homicide in Rockville? The last homicide in Rockville was eight years ago as the result of a domestic dispute between an estranged husband and his wife. Walker was on the force at the time, but was working patrol and had little to do with the investigation. The husband was eventually charged and convicted of 2nd Degree Murder. Baker came to the department just six years ago, but did have some limited experience with homicides during his time with the Grand Rapids Police Department. Baker had been with Grand Rapids PD for eleven years, advancing to the Detective Bureau for his last three years there. During that time, he assisted with several homicide investigations. He left Grand Rapids to enjoy the quieter small-town life with his wife and two children, a son and daughter.
The drive to the high school is only about 3 miles. Officer Andy Garrison meets the detectives out front and directs them to the backside of the school, where Sergeant Ed Thomas is waiting and protecting the crime scene.
Lincoln High School, home of the Lincoln Wildcats, is in
