Reinvestigation

Sometimes crimes go unsolved or "cold". Other times, like in Sole Survivor, a reinvestigation or a "follow-up" takes place. Here's a basic idea of the steps involved in a reinvestigation.

• Step One: review all case files and reports generated. This includes interviews, statements, and reports typed by by officers and examiners - i.e. autopsy, ballistic reports, etc.
• Step Two: review the crime scene photos, diagrams, maps, and, if possible, view the scene. Make note of possible witnesses or discrepancies. 
• Step Three: re-interview witnesses as needed or as available. Also re-interview suspects.
• Step Four: look at the evidence if possible. Determine what, if any, follow-up tests might be useful, especially with a cold case.
• Step Five: consider a reconstruction of the crime scene.
• Step Six: check databases for similar crimes or information on suspects.
• Step Seven: proceed as necessary - maybe arrest or have search warrants for suspects' homes.

Again, this varies depending on the crime, the circumstances, and the outcome of the case -- solved versus unsolved, etc. 

I've found that it helps to have crime scene sketches and "reports" of various incidents for the J. Carter & Associates series. They don't have to be pretty - just functional. I tend to put my locations in or around real locations. Sometimes the buildings are real (the library in Sole Survivor is located in Edgewater and has a road beside it and a small patch of trees) and others are placed where some buildings already exist - the house on the cliffside for example - or the Robertson mansion.

True Crime - Newspaper Mining

One of my favorite things in life is to read the crime report or as my local paper calls it the "Police Beat". Thankfully, with modern technology, I can read my little bits of crime online and jot down interesting stories. The main uptick lately is robbery.

Almost every story reported in the local paper is a robbery or attempted robbery. It can be a bank, a 7-11, or--believe it or not--a Taco Bell. There's muggings as well.

Why do real crimes matter?

They form a pattern. In those tiny snippets, you can learn about your area, what happens, and also, real crime. Like house fires. How many trucks come? How long does it take? What about the damage?

Now, house fires are interesting things. They are most common in the summertime (grills, old wiring, matches... you name it) and are often deadly. My neighborhood, which has a lot of older homes, suffered a rash of fires this year. One or two I actually witnessed. Another one, a few years back, I actually followed in the paper and went to the scene in person to view the damage.

While on the subject of house fires, I originally staged a car bombing to kill off a major character. After dismissing the implausible, I was left with creating a scenario that could feasibly be an accident--when it was actually murder.

One way to find newspaper articles is to Google search various topics such as "house fire" in a certain city or town or even state.

Here's a few examples using a city in my novels, Edgewater, MD. These are all articles from tv news stations. To actually find older newspaper articles in your area, visit your local library. Many have online subscriptions to newspaper archives or microfiche machines in main branches. But start your search online.

This the fire that occured around the time I was plotting "Sole Survivor". It also includes a video of the scene: http://www.wbaltv.com/news/23739451/detail.html

This is a different fire: http://www.wusa9.com/news/article/157241/373/One-Person-Reported-Dead-In-Edgewater-House-Fire

Go do some research. Read some newspapers (fun fact, in today's Washington Post, there was an article on a stolen horse near my old college which surprised me that it made a large paper) online or in print. Or watch the news. See what's happening in your community or in your novel's settings.

Borders Closing

Hopefully, by now, most of the US is aware that Borders is closing down. Thankfully, my side job provided me with some cash around the time of the sales. The price cuts in reference alone have helped me as a writer. But at the same time, it saddens me.

With a major book chain going down in flames, what hope do we, as writers, have of being published/continuing publishing? Will e-books be the future? Are we over the days of picking up a new book in a store, smelling that new book smell, and touching the crisp pages? Are books like VHS? Or CDs for most of the younger generation (don't even mention cassette tapes... most of them probably will scratch their heads and then google it on their smart phones) thanks to a little thing called an iPod.

As much as I will miss Borders, I'm taking the time to stock up on old favorites, new favorites, and reference books all around. If you haven't been yet, run, don't walk. It's rather picked over. But you might still stand a chance at grabbing a copy of the latest Writer's Market at 40-50% off.

From one writer to another, good luck. When you can, buy books. If you can't, support your local library. Yes--that includes paying fines. But think about it... 25 cents a day fine for a book that cost between $7.99 and $27? That's a pretty good bargain. Just don't forget to buy it if you can or recommend it to your friends (if it was your cup of tea).

For the thrifty shopper, or the one whose books are threatening to eat them and their pets, Amazon has a great used/selling application. Forget eBay--this is the way to sell traditional books. Also look for used bookstores. Wonder Books in Maryland makes my heart skip several beats. It's book haven. Taken in some old favorites and bring home some new ones. Read and learn.

Above all, read.

Bloody Inspiration - Behind the Scenes of "Sole Survivor"

I've always been interested in crime. Shows like CSI have popularized crime, making it glamorous, but I got started with a childhood fascination with Nancy Drew.

Fast-forward a good dozen years. I'm working on revisions for an original thriller, called Coldest Degree, which I based on the idea of a pregnant woman's murder. The plot was too messy and over-populated with random characters and plot threads.

During revisions, I decided to start over.

At the time I was taking a class on criminalistics at community college. My professor, an ex-State Police Officer, assigned an unusual project. As groups, we had to reinvestigate a closed case in the method a real police detective would. With a checklist in hand, each group picked a type of crime.

My group chose homicide. We ended up working on a carjacking from the mid-1990s. During the reinvestigation, I visited the county's CID or Criminal Investigation Divison and spoke with real homicide detectives. I read the reports, the interview transcripts, the autopsy file, and studied the crime scene photographs.

This project hit me with an idea--what better way to get a character involved in a crime than through a reinvestigation?

My main character, Katherine, went from a 17 year old who stumbled onto a dead body to a 19 year old college student who uncovered the truth about a solved crime. Her reinvestigation attracts the interest of the men behind a deadly fire and puts both her life and the life of the only witness to the original crime in danger.

Of course, the crime itself changed from a car bombing to a fire. The fire was also inspired by a true local case. Two people died when a house fire triggered the collapse of the upper levels. I went by the actual scene and read news reports on it.

One simple class helped me get back on track on the first novel of my series. Sole Survivor is the introduction of series characters Katherine, Jackson, Aidan, and Marc. Katherine went from an angry teen to a damaged young woman. Jackson's past was fleshed out. Aidan went from being invisible to a large part of the action along with his partner, Aidan.

More to come on the art of reinvestigation and creating crimes in the next one.