A Dallas Suite

Chapter Four

This job has many perks, but the good comes included with a lot of parts that I hate. Notifying family members of deaths never gets easier. Without a doubt this was my least favorite part of the job. When someone receives such awful news, raw emotion is generally what takes over. For a majority of people, the most natural way to release that initial shock is to take out your anger and confusion on the person who brought you the news. People often blamed the officer, which makes their job even harder and can definitely take a toll on them. It's hard enough to see the things we do; getting screamed at and blamed by a grieving mother or spouse made it almost too much sometimes. I've never lost sleep over a corpse, but I've had a hard time falling asleep after being attacked by a grieving mother.

I grabbed two uniformed officers from the barrage of cops who were holding back the media in front of the hotel. It usually helps seeing officers in normal uniforms first. I felt bad, they hadn't been a part of the investigation at all and now they were being forced to jump into the worst part of it. But it helps solidify the news for people when they can look at a uniform. As a detective I typically wore dress shoes, dress pants and an ironed button up shirt. Besides the gun and badge on my belt, there was nothing to identify me as a police officer.

Pulling up to the house, it wasn't as impressive as I imagined. It was old construction and seemed very vintage. The statues built into the wrap-around front porch and custom brick pattern showed that it was high end, but still very quaint for someone as wealthy and well known as Diggs. This was probably the first house him and his wife bought when he started making good money. Besides, I'm sure they had a vacation home or two tucked away in some remote area of the country.

I rang the doorbell and was greeted by an older woman who I could instantly tell prided herself on her appearance. She was wearing a silk robe that probably cost more than my entire wardrobe. Her hair was recently dyed and pulled back into a long ponytail. It looked like she had never gone a week without a manicure and she had a full face of makeup. Diggs was in his 60s and she looked to be about the same age, but money and surgery can make you look far better than your age should allow. If she was 60, she was the healthiest and most vibrant looking 60 I had ever seen .

"Mrs. Diggs? I'm Detective Seeks and these are two of my partners. May we come in and speak with you?" I could see the worry in her face instantly.

"Oh come in, son. What's he done now?" Her Southern drawl almost sounded fake it was so pronounced.

"Mrs. Diggs there no easy way to say this, but your husband was found dead this morning."

I never know what kind of reaction to expect when I break the news, so I always make it a point to stand a few feet back. Mrs. Diggs just slowly lowered herself onto the plush sectional that was in the middle of the living room. She put one of her hands on her chest and stared at me with a blank expression. I broke eye contact and looked down to give her time to process the news without me staring at her.

"How did he die? He was healthy, we just had his annual check up last month," I could tell she was more talking to herself than me.

"He was found murdered, Mrs. Diggs. In the suite y'all have up at the Ritz."

"In the suite? Do you mean like a hotel suite?" She looked confused and anger appeared to be building on her face. This was turning into a more complicated conversation than I initially expected.

"Yes ma'am. He was found in a four bedroom suite that he's apparently had in his name for a couple of years now. Were you not aware of the hotel?"

"No, I was obviously not aware that my husband had a massive hotel room in his name that he felt the need to keep hidden away from his wife of 34 years. What do you mean he was found murdered? Like he was shot? Who killed him?"

"I was hoping you could help me with that, ma'am. Detectives are still processing the scene right now. I can't give too many details yet, but he was stabbed multiple times. As far as we know now, that was the cause of death and we don't have any information on a suspect at this time," I answered in my kindest voice. I threw in a little extra drawl into my accent too, so she would feel more comfortable. I also knew he was killed by having his throat slit, but being stabbed sounded a little less gruesome. And the stabbings sure didn't help him live, so it wasn't a complete lie.

"Someone murdered my husband and you don't know who it was? I don't know what information you think I'd have. If I knew someone wanted to kill my husband then I would have notified the police!"

"Mrs. Diggs, I understand you're upset. This is a lot to take in and not the news I want to bring anyone. If you don't want to talk right now, we'll get out of here and let you grieve. But any information you think may be useful could really help us find out who did this."

She sat up on the couch and locked eyes with me again. I didn't look down this time. I know she was processing a lot and upset, but I didn't have time to waste here allowing her to take her emotions out on me. If she didn't want to answer any questions, then I was going to leave and start researching Diggs' life on my own.

"I'm sorry, Detective. I am upset but it isn't your fault. I really can't think of anything right now that could be helpful. I mean I didn't even know he had the room."

"That's alright ma'am, I understand. Did he take a lot of trips or stay out a lot of nights? Did he maybe tell you he had an apartment closer to his office?"

"I mean, I assumed he had somewhere he went during all of his business trips in the city. He hates working from home, so he would spend days at his office when working on a case. This sounds sad, but I didn't know much about his work life. I made sure everything here was good for him when he came home, but he didn't involve me in his cases or work. I don't even know any of his employees anymore, they've all changed so much in the past few years. I just gave up asking about his work."

I could see quickly this wasn't going to go anywhere. I appreciated her trying to help, but it was obvious she didn't have any information that would really benefit me. "Mrs. Diggs I appreciate you helping and telling me what you do know. You've been very helpful. If you think of anything I may need to know in the future, please give me a call day or night. I'll be sure to keep you updated as the case moves along. Before I leave, is there anyone you would like me to call or anything that I can do for you?"

"No thank you, Detective. I'll call my daughter and have her meet me here."

I handed her a business card and let myself out of the house without saying anything further. I apologized to the officers I had forced to come with me and sent them on their way. They were good sports. You get seasoned quickly working in Dallas, they are used to being put in difficult situations.