Free Evidence of Murder by Samuel Roen

tanned working outdoors.
    “His brown hair was sun bleached, too. He had a light mustache and a beard. Getting back to his hair, it struck me as being windblown back onto the top of his head.” Brad paused and recalled, “He was wearing a green shirt similar in color to the shirts the two men walking along the path were wearing, but this one looked like it had been out in the sun too long—it was bleached; it didn’t have a collar.”
    “How big was this fellow?” Linnert asked.
    “I’d have to take a guess, but I think I’d be safe with one hundred eighty to two hundred pounds.” He scratched his head as if to confirm his estimates and added, “He could have been two hundred ten pounds maybe. I’m not too good at guessing weight.” He laughed apologetically. “They’d never hire me to guess weights at a carnival.”
    “You were with your group, your father and who else?”
    “David Lewis was driving and my father, Gary Wilson, was riding up front in the passenger seat. Dave Gust was sitting in the left rear passenger seat and I had the right rear passenger seat, the prime seat to see the guy. In my position I had a real opportunity to get a good look at him.”
    Brad looked at the detectives and said, “After the news about Carla’s body being found out there, it seemed logical to me that him coming out of that wooded section where Carla was found—and driving at such a crazy speed—might be something linked to her.
    “I couldn’t get that guy out of my thoughts. I just had to do something, especially after seeing that inaccurate composite on television. So I called Crime Line.”
    Brad told the detectives that he insisted to the Crime Line person that the drawing presented on TV gave the subject a Hispanic appearance. “And the man I saw at close hand sure as hell was not Hispanic. In fact, outside of his hair, he looked like an average-looking American guy who you would pass on the street.
    “His head was drawn too wide, the hair too dark, and when I saw him, he was not wearing any glasses.” He also noted that the man had both a mustache and a beard and he felt that his face was more elongated, with a higher forehead.
    “He made a hell of an impression on you,” John Linnert commented.
    “I’ll tell you this, that man’s face is engraved in my mind. I’ll never forget it.”
    When the new drawing was completed by Detective Steve Fusco, it was distributed to the newspapers and television stations.

CHAPTER 6
    On Friday, June 13, Detective Weir received a call from the offices of Dr. Stanley Asensio, a highly regarded forensic odontologist.
    Weir waved at his partner and asked, “How superstitious are you, John? Today is Friday the thirteenth.”
    “Not very. What’s up?”
    “They want us at Dr. Asensio’s office. He’s doing the comparison work on our body’s teeth with Carla Larson’s dental records. Maybe he can make an official ID.”
    “Let’s keep our fingers crossed.”
    During the drive to the dentist’s office, Weir projected, “I don’t think that we’re in for any surprises. From everything that we know, this ID is simply a formality.”
    In his private office Dr. Asensio welcomed the two detectives. “Thanks for coming so quickly. I know you’ve been anxious to hear my findings,” he greeted. “I have the identity of the body discovered at Disney World.”
    “That’s good news. What did you come up with?” Weir asked.
    “Let me show you.” The doctor pointed to a stand on which were displayed several X rays of the dental makeup of the dead subject. The doctor directed their attention to the positive similarities of the structures compared with Carla Larson’s dental records, then stated, “These dental records of Carla Larson positively match those of the deceased woman. She is definitely Carla Larson.”
    It was what the detectives expected. Neither said anything. Both were thinking of Jim Larson and they felt strong sympathy for him.
    Dr. Asensio