Free Dance of Death by Dale Hudson Page A

or her true feelings.
    That someone, Hendrick knew from the very beginning, was Detective Terry Altman.

CHAPTER 9
    Detective Altman left the hospital, then drove back to the crime scene to meet with Lieutenant Frontz and Captain Hendrick. This was the first murder on the beach they had ever worked.
    â€œGood to see you back, Altman.” Frontz chuckled when he saw Terry walking toward him. “The chief’s got some news for you.”
    Thinking there had been some new development in the case, Altman felt his hope rise. He quickened his pace and headed toward Hendrick, who was still talking with Sergeant King. Maybe he would say they had found the killer and they could all go home and get some sleep. But that was not to be.
    â€œAt this point and time,” Hendrick stated, “it’s crucial that we put our best foot forward and assign who we think is the best person for the job of lead detective. Unfortunately, we’ve got to play the hand we’ve been dealt. We have one living witness—the widow—and she’s the only person we have to tell us what happened. Now, that’s scary.”
    â€œYes, sir, I agree,” King added.
    â€œIt looks like her story might be all we’ve got, so we’ve got to get her to show us the hand she’s playing. I’m telling you, solving this case is going to depend solely on the person we choose to get information from that lady sitting in our office. And it’s going to take someone like Altman to get the truth out of her.”
    King nodded.
    When Hendrick informed Altman he had been appointed the lead detective on this case, he responded jokingly, “Oh, crap, that’s all I need.”
    For the next thirty minutes, Altman briefed Hendrick and Frontz and shared what he had learned at the hospital, especially that of Dr. Duffy’s candid opinion. They, in turn, provided him additional information they had garnered from the crime scene. By now, the crime scene evidence team had completed their search, and the three detectives were able to walk through and examine the bloodied area. They studied the scene and discussed the found evidence and the “how’s and why’s” this murder could have occurred.
    â€œWe found two spent nine-millimeter cartridges,” Hendrick told Altman. “There was one on top of the sand to begin with. Then we found another one when we brought in Officer Mayer, who skimmed the sand with a metal detector. He is the expert at finding things buried beneath the ground. I don’t think anything else was there or he would have found it.”
    Altman pictured in his mind’s eye the shapes and casts of a 9mm cartridge—silver casing and copper jacketed with hollow expansion points. A chill suddenly passed over his body. These were synonymous with the two bullets the killer had fired directly into Brent’s head that shattered his brain.
    â€œAnother four live cartridges were found,” Hendrick continued. “All of these I believe came from the same nine-millimeter gun. Three were found on top of the sand by Grazioso when he processed the crime scene. The fourth one had been hidden under the sand and was found by Mayer and his metal detector.”
    Corporal Grazioso walked over to the group, holding an evidence bag.
    â€œGood so far, Graz,” Altman chimed in. “What else you got for us?”
    â€œWe found a beach towel, a button, some loose change and a pack of Marlboro Light cigarettes near the bloodstain on the beach,” Grazioso reported.
    â€œAll these probably belonged to the victim,” Altman speculated.
    Grazioso dug down deeper in his bag and pulled out a Swiss Army knife. “One silver knife,” he said as he held it out in front of Altman for examination. “It was closed when we found it, so I doubt it was used at the crime scene.”
    Altman watched the knife as Grazioso turned it over in his gloved hands. He wondered if