Chapter 12

"My God," said Francis as they walked out of the red cottage. "For a woman who has a voice like velvet, she sure can hold a temper."

Mark nodded.

"I bet your hunches have changed," he said.

It was Francis's turn to nod.

"Well, I now think that Mr. Rhinert could have killed his wife and Mrs. Burke could have killed her husband."

"How so?"

"Mrs. Burke found out that her husband was cheating on her and stabbed him with the steak knife and Mrs. Rhinert ran away before she could get to her. But before this incident, Mr. Rhinert had been following his wife to the cottage wached her go in and waited in the bushes. Then when Mrs. Rhinert ran out, he shot her knowing that she had cheated on him."

"What about the fact that no one heard a shot fired?"

"I had already figured that out at the beginning of this case. He used a silencer. And we actually don't know about the shot. It's a possibility most of Orchard Park sleeps soundly and the Mabels were too far away to hear the gunshot."

"No screams were heard."

"He covered her mouth to block them out."

"You think that blood stained shirt belongs to Lucifer?" asked Mark.

They were now standing on the dirt road behind the cottage waiting to hear back from the coroner.

"Could be."

"You know though, that if Mr. Rhinert did kill his wife or his involved in this murder, you might as well kiss that badge goodbye."

"It will be tough, but I think we can succeed in locking that man up."

"It might take months or years."

"I don't know about you Mark, but I’m not giving up."

"Neither am I and besides, we have really no proof against him"

"Maybe he murdered Mr. Burke."

"Maybe."

Francis took out a cigarette from his right suit jacket pocket and lit it.

"I'm sorry Mark," said Francis, as he held the rolled up tobacco in his two fingers, "but smoking helps me think."

Then Francis put the cigarette in his mouth and sucked long and hard before blowing out a big grey cloud of smoke into the air.

Mark dismissed Francis's smoking habit.

"All we need now," said Francis, as he let out a smaller cloud of smoke, "is something that will crack this case."

Mark nodded and hoped that the steak knife was that piece of information.