Detective Fred Morrisey and his partner, Detective Ron Hayden, looked down at the body outline drawn out on the floor. Morrisey then looked at the uniformed officer who had arrived first at the scene. “You interviewed the family members, right?”

“Yes sir,” the officer said. “Jim and Margaret Nichols. The deceased was their 30-year-old son, Jeff, and they were both asleep when the crime occurred. The ME estimated that death was between 11:00 last night and 1:00 this morning. The deceased’s father found his son’s body on the floor of their recreation room. It was around 6:30 this morning when he came down to fix himself some coffee and breakfast.”

“And neither he nor his wife heard anything last night?” Detective Hayden asked the officer.

“No,” he said. “They were both asleep and didn’t hear a thing. And there’s no sign of a break-in. The parents are in the living room now waiting for you to interview them.”

“Thanks,” Morrisey said to the officer and the two detectives made their way into the living room to talk with the victim’s parents.

“I’m Detective Fred Morrisey and this,” Morrisey said, gesturing to his partner, “is Detective Ron Hayden. We are very sorry for your loss.”

“Some loss,” the father said. “He was a 30-year-old man-child, a video gamer who spent all day and all night sitting in front of the TV playing his stupid video games. He was a freeloader taking advantage of his mother and me.”

“Jim, please,” the mother said. She looked at me with tears in her eyes. “Jeff was a good boy. Who would do such a thing to him?”

Morrisey asked if anything was missing from the recreation room where the body was found. “Yes, the gaming controller, the PlayStation, his laptop, and a book of what he called ‘cheats’ are missing.”

“And the trophy, dear,” Margaret said. “He won that trophy at a video gaming convention of some sort. Oh my, how proud he was of that trophy.”

“Did he have any enemies that you are aware of?” Hayden asked.

“You should ask those people who sponsor that video gaming competition,” James said. “They are a cutthroat bunch of hooligans if you ask me. Jeff has a bunch of flyers and brochures up in his room. I bet one of those good-for-nothing gamers did this.” Morrisey gave Hayden a look and Hayden headed up to the victim’s bedroom.

“Was anything else taken?” Morrisey asked the parents.

“I checked,” James said. “Our passports are still here in a drawer in the desk in the corner, but Margaret noticed that an umbrella was missing from the umbrella holder next to the front door.”

“I did see a snowflake or two falling before we went to bed last night, but now it’s raining out,” Margaret said. Maybe the killer took it to keep dry after he killed our darling boy.”

Hayden came into the living room carrying half a dozen. Flyers about local gaming conventions. “Thank you, Mr. and Mrs. Nichols,” Morrisey said. “You’ve been very helpful and it’s my job, along with Detective Hayden, to put together the puzzle pieces that will help us apprehend the person or persons who committed this crime.”

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Written for the Mindlovemisery’s Menagerie Saturday Mix Lucky Dip, where the story cubes are puzzle pieces, trophy, gaming controller, umbrella, book, passports, snowflake, and body outline.