Page 16 of Operation: Sharp Angel

“Look to the left as we enter and walk all the way through,” Tessman said. “That way you won’t,” he began.

“I know,” she interrupted him. The police had told her the exact locations of each body in the house. She knew she sounded harsh. “And thank you,” she added with a softer tone.

“It’s okay,” Tessman said with a nod. “We’ve got you.”

She blew out a breath and then stepped around the blood in the middle of the walkway. She strode quickly into the kitchen, making sure her eyes focused on the wall to the left. Once she stood by the sliding glass door, gazing out at the backyard, did she breathe.

“The mess is below counter level,” Tessman said quietly. He stood beside her.

“Thank you,” she said, turning her head to view him. She appreciated that he understood.

“Was this room usually so immaculate?” Jackson asked. He stood in the middle of the family room.

“On a school night? Unlikely. It would be partially picked up, but it wouldn’t be this clean,” Becca said.

“Did your sister make sure the kids brushed their teeth before bed every night?”

Becca couldn’t understand why that would be important. “Yes, she was a stickler about their bedtime routine. Why?”

“No one brushed their teeth in the sinks after they were cleaned,” Jackson said. “Either that or my son is the onlyslob out there. He can’t brush his without leaving a trace of toothpaste and splattered water.” He flashed her a grin.

“So, what does that all mean?” Becca asked.

“I wish I knew,” Jackson said.

“To me, it means someone cleaned this place up after the kids were in bed,” Tessman said. “Did either your sister or brother-in-law clean when they were stressed or angry?”

“For that matter, was anyone OCD about messes?” Jackson added.

“No to both questions. Of the two of them, Nicole did most of the cleaning, but on a weeknight after the kids were in bed she’d be looking to have a glass of wine and wind down, not clean. It was a family joke that Nick didn’t even see the messes in the house or yard.”

“Did either secretly smoke cigarettes?” Tessman then asked.

“No,” Becca insisted. “It feels like you’re asking me questions about another family.”

“The office upstairs was just as tidy as the rest of the house,” Tessman said.

Becca shook her head. “No, the desktop was always littered with papers. Nick mostly used the office, and he was not a tidy person.” She thought for a moment. “Could the police have tidied up after they searched?”

“Unlikely,” both Tessman and Jackson said together.

“But we can double check that with Detective Davis,” Tessman added.

“When were you over last?” Jackson asked.

“The Sunday before they died. We had dinner, and I stayed long enough to help tuck the girls in bed.” A sudden wave of sadness hit her. She never would have guessed that night would have been the last time she saw them. Her eyes filled with tears. She took a moment to push the sadness down, to tuck it away. She didn’t want to cry. She’d rather be angry. Anger wasproductive. Sadness, she just wallowed in. She swept a few tears from her cheeks. “Sorry.”

“It’s completely understandable. Please don’t apologize,” Tessman said.

“You have the crime scene cleanup crew coming tomorrow, right?” Jackson asked.

“Yes, is that okay? You don’t need it in its current state longer, do you?”

“No. The police were all over this place. We knew it was unlikely we’d find anything they missed, but we wanted to see it for ourselves,” Jackson said. “Here, we’ll return your keys.” He handed her set of keys to the house back to her. He nodded towards the front of the house. “Let’s go upstairs.”

“I’ll go ahead of you and close the kids’ bedroom doors,” Tessman offered.

“Thank you,” Becca said, truly appreciative that she wouldn’t get even an accidental glance within either room.

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