Page 7 of Wintering with George

“Yeah.”

“How many shots did you fire, Captain?”

I had found over the years, especially with the police, that once they knew who you were, ran your record and found out you were still serving in the military, using your rank was second nature to them.

“Two into Carter, one into the Honda to break the window, one to break the glass door, two into Billings, two into Moore, and that is…it.”

“So eight total?”

“Yeah.”

“And you’ve got fifteen rounds in that, plus one in the chamber?”

“Correct.”

She nodded. “Okay. As soon as we clear the ballistics, we’ll get this back to you.”

“I have my conceal and carry license if you’d like to get a picture of it.”

“No. The detectives recorded the number. We’ll reach out to your boss at Sutter if we need any additional information.”

She and her assistant put the guns into evidence bags as the detectives and I watched.

“I used my Glock here because that’s what I normally carry in my civilian life as a bodyguard,” I explained to Davis. “But I have my SIG Sauer M17 that I carry into combat with me as well. It’s not government issue, it’s mine just like the Glock. I have a license for each.”

“Understood.” Davis affirmed.

“I didn’t fire the Sig, so you shouldn’t need to take it.”

“No, we don’t,” she agreed, putting my Glock into an evidence bag. “And we’ll tag this and get it back to you, as I said, as soon as it clears ballistics.”

“Perfect,” I said and got up, turning to the detectives, including Davis. “So, shall we take a stroll and I’ll take you through it?”

“That would be so great.”

“Wait,” Kurt called over to me. “Where are you going?”

“I just need to do the walk-through with everyone.”

Kurt looked at Tunney. “You’re not arresting him, are you?”

Tunney squinted at him. “Arresting him for what, Dr. Butler?”

“I don’t— I’ve never been through anything like this.”

He nodded. “No, sir. We’re just gathering information.”

Dennis stood up then, his eyes locked on me. “You’re not leaving, are you?”

“Oh no, I’ll be right back. I promise.”

He nodded quickly but didn’t sit back down.

I smiled at him and then walked the detectives down the hall and out the front door. They were surprised that Geri was trotting along beside us, but Kurt and I had noticed the dogs doing that lately. When we were both home, they would split up, one staying with each of us. Clearly, they felt both of us needed protecting. It was really very sweet.

Crossing the street with the three detectives, I pointed as I explained what I did, holding Deng’s phone that he had passed me, recording every word as Tunney and Deng took notes in their memo books and Davis, who had already walked the scene and taken photos, documented events on her tablet. I went through the order I did things, where I tossed the keys, why I didn’t go in through the front but the back instead, and then my entry into the house.

Once the recording of events was done, Davis thanked me and excused herself. Tunney and Deng had more general questions and so remained. It made sense. Davis just had to make sure that what I said happened could be corroborated by the forensic evidence. That was the end of her involvement. The detectives had to figure out the reason for the crime.