text: Edward Clark is on his way home to his loving wife and three kids. Fresh roses fall from the passenger seat to the car floor as he comes to a screeching halt at the stop light. His phone ringing is the cause of the minor distraction. Hastily answering the phone, he says “Hey honey.” with a calming tone. He has been submerged in work recently and has not had much time with his wife. Edward is a detective for the Seattle police department and he just closed a murder case earlier this afternoon. He cannot wait to share the good news with his wife. “Honey? I’m not your Huckleberry Clark. We just got a call on a murder-suicide. 14425 Coachella Rd. I’ll see you there.” The Sergeant’s voice blew through Edwards phone. He must have mis-read the Caller-ID. Edward gathers his thoughts as he presses on the gas peddle just as the light turns green. Rain begins to fall down onto his windshield. “Murder-suicide? Can’t the CSI unit handle this easily, what am I needed for?” Edward presses the speaker option on his phone and begins to search for the address in his maps. “Well we think it’s a murder suicide, there’s a note, dead bodies, and a gun in the suspects hand registered to him. However, the neighbors are giving out a different story, so we want you to take a look around.” Edward turns his car around to follow the route provided on the GPS of his phone. He glances down at the clock on his cars dash and sees that its 7:03PM. He imagines Nancy at home most likely finishing up dinner, and trying to round up the kids. “Alright, but I’ve got dinner with my wife tonight.” Edward states. “You’ll be in and out, I promise.” The line disconnects and Edward is left alone in the silence of his car. He sends his wife a text saying that he will be home late for dinner. His car comes to another screeching halt as he glances up from his phone and sees that the traffic light has turned red. The car rounds the corner off the main street when the light turns green. Deep within the suburbs, the windshield blades clear the glass of the heavy Seattle rain. He pierces his eyes for the house address when suddenly a sea of red and blue lights reflect of the water droplets on his windshield. Once the car is parked in front at the back of the long line of police cars, he sees a message from his wife. She doesn’t seem too upset with him. He promised he would be home for dinner, but she understands that his career is demanding. She always told him that his dedication is what she admires in him the most. The detective exits his car and heads straight for the yellow police tape. A cop standing on the other side of the tape waves a hand toward Edward. “I’m the detective.” Edward states as he exposes his badge to the rainfall. “Of course sir, right this way.” The police man lifts up the tape for the detective. Neighbors can be seen from the windows of their home looking toward the crime scene. The house appears very normal. No signs of forced entry. The yard is well kept, aside from the hedges that brush up agains Edward as he approaches the front door. Stopping at the welcome home mat he brushes his shoes off. He remembers when Nancy first bought the welcome home mat for their home. They had just gotten married and Edward was granted his promotion to detective. In celebration, he purchased a house for he and Nancy, before the kids came into the picture. He remembers his wife smiling at him as she set the mat down in front of their new home. Edward enters the dark home that is absent of all light. The flash of a camera goes of to his right lighting up the living room wall. He remembers how his wife wanted to paint a wall in their living room red. He hated the idea of that accent color, but he loved the idea of a happy wife more. How he wishes to be walking into his light filled home right now toward that red wall where he would hang his keys up on the wall. Carefully stepping over the family picture frames that have fallen from the wall, he steps into the kitchen. He sees a knife missing from the wooden set piece that rests on the counter top. He takes note how it is moved more from the back of the kitchen wall. Nancy would always get on him for not keeping the knife set flush with the back of the kitchen wall. Edward looks to the forensic agent dusting the counter top for fingerprints. “Did we find that missing knife?” He questions. “It’s in the wife’s hand. Looks like she used it in self defense.” The forensic agent gets back to analyzing the counter top as Detective clark turns around to see the fridge. Terribly drawn photos are attached to the cold metallic surface of the fridge and he remembers the artwork his daughter Jasmine will make him everyday in Art class. He has a folder at home back in his office. On the hardest days of work he will open that folder to remind himself that there is still good in the world. Exiting the kitchen and heading down the hall way he witnesses the array of family photos that cover the walls. He sees frame up against the wall that is cracked and remembers the tears on his wife’s face that formed when a picture she had broke during the move. The frame was given to her by her mom that had just recently passed away before they moved homes. Nancy always had a thing for being overly sentimental. His foot lands down on the wooden stair case causing a loud crack. Grasping the hand rail to his left he begins to walk up the stair case, hearing a creak with each step. As he reaches the top of the stair case another flash from a camera goes off and lights up the wooden floor. Glancing down he sees the wood stained and remembers when his daughter spilled a bowl of tomato soup on the floor of their white carpet. His daughter was so apologetic and ashamed that Edward couldn’t even pretend to be mad at her. Mistakes happen, and he always wants his daughter to be laughing, not crying. He remembers wiping her tears away and bringing a smile back to her once frowning face as Nancy focused on cleaning the mess. A metallic smell filled his nostrils as he walked into the master bedroom of the home. The sheets on the bed were in a disarray. He walks into the bathroom and sees the mirror stained. Nancy would always have to clean up the stain left on the bathroom mirror from his toothpaste. He would always shake his tooth brush violently causing the toothpaste to splash up onto the mirror. It would leave the biggest white stains right by the sink. She would always roll her eyes as she wiped the mirror clean. The forensic agent sampled the mirror with a cotton swab and placed it inside of a sterile bag. Edward walks out of the once glamorous bathroom and back into the bedroom. The metallic smell still lingers in the room. He brushes past a few more forensic agents as he exits the room and heads down the hall way to the last door on the left. Edwards hands tremble as he pushes open the door that reads “Baby John’s Room”. The scent of baby powder overwhelms his senses. He thinks back to building the nursery in his home when he found out that Nancy was pregnant for the first time. She had such a vibrant glow to her skin. He remembers the difficulty that came with setting up the crib. He never was a handy man. Detective Clark is alone in the baby’s room as he steps over toys that were left out on the floor. A thought comes to the front of his memory of how he would always walk in and kiss his daughter on the forehead no matter how late he came home. Sometimes it would wake her up and send her in a fit of crying, but Nancy never seemed to mind. Edward walks closer to the crib as a metallic smell begins to over power the baby powder. He glances down at the crib and tears pour from his eyes. His cellphone sends shockwaves through his legs as it begins to vibrate. Assuring that it is his wife calling his quickly answers the phone, concealing any sign of terror in his voice. She speaks to him in a tone that brings warmth to his heart. He smiles as he turns away from the desolate crib, focusing only on his wife’s voice. “I’m headed home right now honey. I love you.” Edward hangs up the phone and walks out of lifeless home. He doesn’t say a word to any of the forensic agents. He passes by them on the front yard as he steps out into the rain that has started to slow down from earlier. He doesn’t wish to interview any of the neighbors or call the sergeant. Edward just drives toward his home where he can hug his wife, kiss his kids on the forehead, and be a loving father. At least for the next twelve hours, until he has to grab his badge and gun, leaving his family behind as he investigates another case.