NaNo 2011 Entry: Late Night Prognosis
So, definitely missed a few days. I think I'll just go back and make them up later. Anyway, dunno how much I like this one and the ending is pretty bad, but whatever.
Day 8: Late Night Prognosis
Summary: Nights when they brought in the strange homicides were always ones that required lots of coffee.
Lances were designed to be used by a mounted warrior. They're heavy pole weapons and aren't generally seen outside of movies or the odd museum. So when the body was brought in with the cause of death listed as “puncture wound to the lung. Weapon: ash lance with a steel spearhead”, I knew I was going to need a lot of coffee.
They used to tell us in the academy that police work was 60% legwork, 10% genius, and 30% coffee. Since I started working as a desk clerk for the homicide division, I've started correcting that in my head to 90% coffee, 5% knowing when to keep your mouth shut, and 5% paper cuts from shoving files away too quickly. Nights when they brought in the weird ones were nights I felt vindicated in that belief.
Anyway, the lance. The angle of the wound implied that it was held perpendicular the the victim's midriff. The victim was 5'3”, so if it's assumed that the killer hoisted the lance under his arm, he'd have to be 1-2 inches taller than the victim. I jotted the guess down and looked at what else had been compiled on the culprit. No fingerprints, of course, we're rarely that lucky. But surely access to the weapon had to narrow it down some. There were no reported thefts from any museums in the area and no movie productions using weapons of the sort we cared about. Maybe it was from a Renaissance Festival or a Society for Creative Anachronism event?
Preliminary Analysis
5'4” - 5'5”
Association/access to historical society
Half an hour's work and I had so much to show for it. I groaned, pushing back from my chair to get more coffee. Tonight was going to drag on for far too long.
Day 8: Late Night Prognosis
Summary: Nights when they brought in the strange homicides were always ones that required lots of coffee.
Lances were designed to be used by a mounted warrior. They're heavy pole weapons and aren't generally seen outside of movies or the odd museum. So when the body was brought in with the cause of death listed as “puncture wound to the lung. Weapon: ash lance with a steel spearhead”, I knew I was going to need a lot of coffee.
They used to tell us in the academy that police work was 60% legwork, 10% genius, and 30% coffee. Since I started working as a desk clerk for the homicide division, I've started correcting that in my head to 90% coffee, 5% knowing when to keep your mouth shut, and 5% paper cuts from shoving files away too quickly. Nights when they brought in the weird ones were nights I felt vindicated in that belief.
Anyway, the lance. The angle of the wound implied that it was held perpendicular the the victim's midriff. The victim was 5'3”, so if it's assumed that the killer hoisted the lance under his arm, he'd have to be 1-2 inches taller than the victim. I jotted the guess down and looked at what else had been compiled on the culprit. No fingerprints, of course, we're rarely that lucky. But surely access to the weapon had to narrow it down some. There were no reported thefts from any museums in the area and no movie productions using weapons of the sort we cared about. Maybe it was from a Renaissance Festival or a Society for Creative Anachronism event?
Preliminary Analysis
5'4” - 5'5”
Association/access to historical society
Half an hour's work and I had so much to show for it. I groaned, pushing back from my chair to get more coffee. Tonight was going to drag on for far too long.