“Good morning and welcome to those of you joining us today,” his deep voice boomed before he was interrupted by the crackle of a police radio. “Whoever that is out there, use your earpiece. Thanks. Now, to say our town is reeling and screaming for justice would be an understatement. We’re getting press calls from across the country. You all know what we have to do so let’s get to it. Some of us worked through the night handing things over to the RCMP. They are now the lead.” Atkin nodded to an officer on the stage, “And RCMP Sergeant Louella Sloan is in charge of the case. She’ll lead the primary team of RCMP people that will include several from our service headed by Sergeant Bill Jurek. The rest of you will support them.”

The creak of people shifting in their seats and whispered grumbling rippled across the room. Fully aware of old-school attitudes, Atkin sensed resistance to having a woman in command and arched an eyebrow.

“Let me be clear,” he said. “Everyone will follow the direction of Sergeant Sloan from D-Division. She has worked in Major Crimes for fifteen years on more homicides than anyone in this room. She also has one of the RCMP’s highest clearance rates.”

After some coughing and throat clearing among the group, people sat a little straighter. Satisfied his words had sunk in, Atkin continued.

“Sergeant Sloan will give us an update and outline next steps. And I’ll state the obvious—to protect the integrity of this investigation, nothing leaves this room. Go ahead, Sergeant.”

Sloan nodded to the chief, then took the podium. She was in her early forties. Her hair was tied in a ponytail. She wore a golf shirt, jeans and her old navy patrol jacket. She’d had two hours of sleep since arriving the previous night. She slid on a pair of dark-framed glasses.

“You all got the summary sheets this morning,” Sloan said, opening her notebook. “We’re building on the solid initial work done by the Eternity Police Service and much of it, such as processing of the scene, is ongoing as we speak. I’ll start with a timeline of what we believe transpired based on preliminary interviews with the last people to see the Tullocks here and in Saskatchewan.

“On Friday, the Tullocks had left home for a four-day visit with friends in Regina to return prior to Roy’s upcoming business trip in Edmonton. But their son, Neal, was ill and the family returned early after two days. The positioning of the luggage and the bodies indicate that the family’s early return had surprised whoever was in the house at the time, resulting in an attack or struggle, with the children fleeing to their rooms. There was no sign of forced entry.