Sniper

As she sifted through a tall stack of files, Sniper wondered what the hell she had gotten herself into. Newspaper clippings and photos covered the small table in her motel while she sat on the couch. “Damn it...”

Dr. James Kensworth was in his early forties when he died, and a total health nut. He was a doctor, for god’s sake. There was nothing found in his tox screen, nothing in his house was contaminated, and the guy had no enemies. When he was found a few days after disappearing in the middle of the night, the cops thought he may have gone out for a walk or gotten lost and had a heart attack while looking for his way home.

Now, the guy had dirt. Of course he did, everyone does if you look hard enough, but nothing that Sniper could find was worth killing over. Kensworth had a wife, no kids, and a golden retriever. He couldn't have been more vanilla. Sniper had talked to his wife and scoped out their home, as a P.I. of course, under the name Olive King. There was no sulfur, no hex bags, sigils, or evidence of a struggle anywhere.

Unfortunately, this Sniper left with very few possibilities. The foremost of such, being suicide. There are plenty of poisons that wouldn't show up on a tox screen, and it was starting to look like the only way to explain it. One doesn't have to show signs of depression, or prior suicidal tendencies to become tired of life. He could have easily snuck out of the house on his own. No pills were found at the park, but a doctor would know the exact amount needed to be fatal. James wouldn’t need to bring more than that.

So now, she needed to talk to professor Mills. This wasn’t going to be fun, but hey, at least they agreed to charge by the hour… Right..?

The next morning, Sniper walked onto campus, twisting her owl ring on her finger. She found his office all to soon, and the young woman was not exactly prepared to deliver the news.

She poked her head around his office door, drawing his attention away from the few nurses filling out paperwork and overall doing the grunge work that kept the hospital running. “Doctor Mills?”

The older man’s head tilted back to look at her, surprised to he her so soon. They had spoken less than 48 hours ago, he thought she would spend more time on the case. “Ms. King? What can I do for you? Have you found anything yet?”

“Actually, that's why I'm here. Can we talk somewhere more private?” She glanced around at the med students hovering outside, obviously confused by the random woman demanding their mentor’s attention.

Mills fixed his glasses and stood up, eager to hear what the P.I. had found. “Yes of course, follow me.” He lead her out of his office and down the hall, heading to the campus library. Opening a door to a private study room, Mills ushered her in, closing the door behind them.

“So what did you find? I was right, wasn't I?”

“Actually, no. Not exactly. I'm sorry, you may want to sit down.”

Mills looked confused. “What? Just tell me what you’ve found.”

Sniper sighed, once again twisting the ring on her finger, “Alright. You were right, it wasn’t a normal heart attack… But your friend wasn’t murdered, all evidence points to this being a suicide.”

His eyes widened, and began shaking his head. “No… no that's not possible, he was happy, there's no way he would have killed himself.” The doctor began pacing around the room, clearly agitated. “You're wrong. Someone killed him, I know it.”

Sniper sighed, “I'm sorry sir, but it looks like that may be the only possible cause of death. There don't have to be prior signs of depression for someone to commit suicide.” She dropped her book bag on the table and sat down, hoping Mills would do the same.

“... I don’t believe it… He loved his wife, he would never harm himself.” He continued, rubbing his wrists as he walked back and forth in front of the door.

Any other person might have missed it… but Sniper had been a hunter for years now, and scolded herself for not seeing it sooner…

*Click*

The professor had locked the door.