Hallow Springs

Ten

I opened the door and met a flash of a camera before anything else. One of the deputies was taking photos of the crime scene. The living room was small and dressed in classic décor. A fresh coat of gray covered the walls, giving it a modern catalog swankiness. Walnut hardwoods lined the floor underneath a green Parisian rug. An aroma of brewing coffee wafted into the living room from the attached kitchen.

I could tell it was Jeremy's house immediately. The house had more books than Blu-rays and just a pinch of alternative flare mixed in with its overall sophistication. His mild OCD was on full display on one side of the room, where everything was perfectly placed in its designated spot. The other side of the room was violently marked by the struggle.

I pulled a pair of latex gloves over my hands and scanned the living room, leading into the kitchen, taking mental snapshots of the scene. A chair and side table were overturned, a lamp laid on the ground with it's shattered lightbulb sprawled on the floor before it. A clock with a shattered face had fallen from the table – it read 9:17 just as the Sheriff had mentioned. As this was the baseline for our investigation, I needed to verify it.

I flipped the clock over and opened the back compartment. I pulled two AA batteries from it and threw it to the deputy on the scene. He fumbled the catch not because he was off guard by the objects flying toward him, but because everything about this deputy said he was clumsy.

"Aaron?" I started to make out the face muddled by the chubbiness in his cheeks.

"At your service..." he bowed awkwardly. Aaron Grimes was a large, bumbly fellow who never grew out of his country boy appearance. He was never the brightest light bulb in the pack but he had a big heart and a bigger smile. He was on the wrestling team – two years below me. He didn't go to college and you could tell he only barely passed the police exam. He had been bullied his whole life for being overweight but he had risen above it. He had the warmest presence and an awkward, chubby smile that only a genuinely happy person could have.

"Good to see you... you look..." I searched for the words. He had gained more weight and was bedraggled as ever. The front tail of his police uniform had fallen out of his pants under his paunch gut. The truth was he looked like crap, but that was par for the course for Aaron Grimes. "You look..." he perked up like a black lab hoping to have his head patted. "You look like one of Hallow Springs finest...."

By his arched eyebrows and induced excitement, he took it as a compliment. He then lowered his head to what was in his hand – the two double AA's I had thrown him. "I want you to check those batteries and make sure they work." He stared at his hands confused.

"How?" His stupidity was somehow endearing.

"Put it in something and see if they work!" Peters interjected, never missing a chance to bully him.

I gave Peters a look that said, Come on, we're older than that. He shrugged, frustrated with what he had to deal with on a daily basis.

"You running prints?" I asked Peters, keeping him on task.

"Yes we are—"

The TV cut on behind me, causing me to jump out of my shoes. I swiveled and saw Grimes with a remote control in his hand.

"They work!" he inflated his chest, proud that he had added something to the investigation.

The TV was now blasting ESPN at full volume. Grimes tried to turn down the volume but flubbed the remote in his hand, dropping it to the floor and then kicking it away from him as he stepped to pick it up. It slid to Peters who shot him a glance, picked it up and muted the television with it.