Free Precipice by J. Robert Kinney

pause. “A young museum director, discovered yesterday morning.”
    “Yesterday? Why did it take us so long to be notified?”
    “I’m not sure. Police ineptitude, maybe. Sloan mentioned some unusual evidence. He didn’t clarify over the phone.” The elevator opened right as they reached it, letting a handful of people spill into the garage. Their discussion paused to let the passersby get out of earshot.
    The elevator doors closed, isolating the two once again, and Shannon rounded on Dominic. “Well, what did he say then?”
    “Just what I told you. He wanted to fill in the rest in person. Said he had something we needed to see. Wouldn’t say what it was, but it sounded important.” The elevator dinged and the doors slid open.
    “Randal! Faye! Get in here right now!” The elevator doors hadn’t even begun to close before the boss’s booming voice rumbled through the office. Both cringed as they hurried down the hallway and into his office. “What took you two so long?”
    “Sorry boss, got here as soon as we…” Dominic mumbled.
    “Sit down.” Sloan interrupted, that one vein in his forehead throbbing and bulging to epic proportions. His words were sharp and his movements quick and jerky as he stomped around the room. He chewed on his cigar with a fury that would turn a man-eating lion into a scared kitten. He strode back to his desk and grabbed a small envelope. “I received this in my mail today.”
    “What is it?” Dominic stepped forward, hand extended. Sloan ignored it.
    “Actually, it wasn’t in the mail. It was hand delivered. And those pinheads out there who masquerade as being competent didn’t see a damn thing.” His growl rose louder and louder. Dominic and Shannon didn’t dare turn around, but the entire office behind them fell still and quiet. Not a soul wanted to be the one to move and draw Sloan’s fury.
    Throwing the envelope onto the desktop again, he tramped over to the door and slammed it with a loud bang, causing everyone to jump. He paced back to his desk and plunked down in the chair. He put his head in his hands and stared down at the envelope lying in front of him. The two agents took seats across from him. A full minute passed before Dominic gathered the courage to break the silence.
    “Boss?”
    SLAM! Sloan’s fists pounded the desktop, causing papers to scatter. He took a deep breath.
    “Tell us what happened.” Shannon’s face wrinkled in confusion.
    “What happened?! I’ll tell you what happened. You see that envelope?” They both nodded. “Inside was a newspaper article about a local murder and a photograph of the victim.” He slid both across the desk and turned them so Dominic and Shannon could see. “Well, technically just the victim’s hand…there also appears to be a shattered dolphin figurine in the photo, though I don’t know what that means. On the back is some sort of cryptic poem.”
    “And you’re sure it’s the same group?” Dominic reached for the photo to get a better look.
    “I’d bet on it. I did some looking while waiting for you. I got the local police case file emailed over from the precinct. Turns out we have a connection. Care to guess which museum this man here, Braxton, owns?”
    “The same one?” Shannon responded. “On 5 th ? With the janitor?”
    He nodded. “You think that’s a coincidence?”
    Dominic responded softly, his brain firing out of instinct. “There are no coincidences with murder.” His father’s saying. How many times had he heard that before?
    “Exactly right, Randal.”
    “We need to get that photo and envelope examined for latent prints…”
    “I already had one of Cliff’s guys take a look,” he grunted. “He dusted the whole thing with black powder, but couldn’t find a single print to process and scan through AFIS. There did lift a hair that may belong to our guy, but unless our man is a convicted felon, running the DNA through CODIS isn’t going to be much help. Whoever did this was