Delusions With Murder: A Rilynne Evans Mystery Read Online Free PDF Page B

door.
    “I think we got everything,” she said as she stood back up.  “We should check the security cameras on our way out, though.  There are cameras at the door, in the elevator, the stairs, and the roof.”
    The security officer wasn’t any help when they reached the lobby.  “The cameras all went out three days ago,” he said.  “I’ve called to get them repaired, but it will probably be at least a week before they can get in to look at them.” 
    “Of course they are,” Rilynne mumbled, kneading the back of her neck.  “We are going to need the footage from the last month.  He might have been casing the place.”
    *     *     *
    Derek Hartley really did seem to keep everything.  He had receipts for every purchase he made, even if it was just stopping to buy a gallon of milk.  It took the better part of the day for them to sort through all of his papers and make a list of everywhere he had visited the three years he had been in the city.
    He was a creature of habit.  Every Sunday evening he shopped at the same store for all of his groceries, with the exception of the occasional corner store trip for just an item or two.  He always ate lunch on campus during the week, and only ordered from three places for takeout food.  He also only frequented one bar on the nights he went out, which was the same one he had been last seen leaving.  Other than a police report he had filed for a breaking and entering six months before, he had lived a peaceful and structured life.
    “This should definitely give us somewhere to start,” proclaimed Detective Wilcome.  “Now we need to check the other victims’ bank records against this list, and see if they have any places in common.  How are we coming with the surveillance tapes from the building?”
    Tucked in the corner was Detective Brenda Butcher.  She was really the only person in the office who had not warmed up to Rilynne.  She was also the only other female in the detective unit, which probably played a big role in that.  Her thick black hair, which ran past her waist, was always pulled up in a tight bun.  She was not a large woman, though she carried a few extra pounds. That seemed to affect her self-esteem greatly.  If Rilynne had to guess, she would say she was a slightly heavy woman who saw herself as a very heavy one.  Because of this, she would feed off of anything nice that was said about her, almost to an excessive degree.  This led most of the male detectives to want to steer clear of her as much as possible, so as not to risk causing her to develop an ill-placed infatuation.  From flashes Rilynne had seen, she also enjoyed making little costumes for her numerous cats, and parading them around in her house.  Despite all that, though, she was actually a very good detective.
    “I’ve isolated all of the faces going in and out of the building in the last month,” she answered without taking her eyes off the screen.  “I’m checking the stairs now to see who visited the fourth floor, then I will do the elevator.  I’m also going to check the roof to see if anyone could have come in from the top of another building.”
    “Let me know when you have the list for me.  Jerkins,” he called across the room, “do you have a list of all the tenants in the building?”
    “I have the list from the landlord, and I’m pulling up driver’s license pictures right now to match with the faces on the surveillance video.  I’m about half way through.”  Like Brenda Butcher, Detective Jerkins did not remove his eyes from what he was doing.  “Give me another hour and I’ll be finished.”
    “Great. LaShad, Skinner, I want you to take these photos and start putting a name to the faces we are seeing on the videos. Johnson,” he turned to the older black man walking into the room. “Did the crime scene investigators turn up anything at the scene?”
    “There were no prints in the apartment other than the victim’s and his