Free Dead Man's Hand by Luke Murphy Page A

comparisons. Also, I ’ ll have Eddie craft some molds of the marks. ”
    Larry l eft .
    Dale roll ed Grant onto his back. He let his breath out when he saw the man ’ s face. G ray eyes stared blankly back at him, the thin face pale and gaunt. Even with slight bruising, the re was no mistaking Doug Grant .
    He glanced at Jimmy. “ Time of death established? ”
    “ Between ten o ’ clock and midnight last night. ”
    He studied the gaping slash in the victim ’ s throat. Smooth edges and sides , plus depth of cut, indicated a very sharp knife pulled hard and fast by a righty .
    Vicious.
    He lifted Grant ’ s hands and analyzed the wrinkled palms. “ No defensive hand wounds. Grant knew his killer or got jumped. Who the hell would jump him out here? ”
    He scanned the surrounding area, mentally cataloging everything in view.
    He looked up at Jimmy . “ Who called it in? ”
    “ Woman jogger. ”
    Jimmy nudged his head in the direction of an ebony-toned woman in her early twenties . She was cle arly shaken and sat on the tailgate of the ambulance while an EMT watched her . Wearing a tight body suit, she had the physique of a seasoned runner.
    “ Not bad, huh? ”
    Dale ignored his partner ’ s remark. “ Take him away, guys. ”
    He had served twelve years, but this was the most prominent murder case he ’ d been assigned to. He was used to killings in Vegas for drugs or money. This one seemed very personal.
    Jimmy studied him, scrunched his eyes and frowned. “ Didn ’ t you wear that suit yesterday? You slept in it, right? ”
    “ Fuck off. ”
    Jimmy chuckled. “ I told you that you were too old to have a kid. ”
    “ I ’ m forty-six. That ’ s not too old. ”
    “ It doesn ’ t seem like such a good idea now, does it? Trying to placate Betty. ”
    Dale didn ’ t respond. It had been two days since Betty ’ s announcement and he hadn ’ t told anyone, not even his partner, that his wife had left him.
    After in serting a fresh wad of Copenhagen snuff between his lip and gums, he moved out of the way as two uniformed men moved in w ith a gurney. The y secured the body on the stretcher and hauled it away.
    Dale walked around the crime scene, ignoring everyone in his path.
    Jimmy turned to a young, uniformed patrolman. “ Watch this. ”
    As if on cue, Dale said, “ The murder happened here. ”
    “ What makes you say that? ” Jimmy asked.
    He pulled out the pen that had been resting behind his ear, using it as a pointer. “ The clumps of blood and the spatter. ” He indicated the b l otches of red on the ground. “ There is no trace of blood anywhere else. No indication of a body being dragged. Grant walked out here on his own volition. ”
    “ He could have been carried? ”
    “ No chance. If he were carried, the extra weight would ’ ve forced the footprints f a rther into the gr ound . ” He slippe d the pen back behind his ear. “ We know where the footsteps ended. L et ’ s find out where they began. ”
    He picked up his cup and spit into it.
    Dale was glad he had a case like this to take his mind off his personal life . He thought of Betty. She had give n up on his round-th e-clock work routine.
    Right now, that ’ s all he had to keep him sane.
    With Doug Grant a victim, Dale would be conducting a homicide investigation bigger than any he ’ d experienced before . W ith the m ayor and the sergeant watching , he ’ d have to run it by the book.
    He was looking forward to the challenge but not the supervision. There would be pressure on the department and that meant his boss would be looking for quick answers. He ’ d have to prioritize this case over his other assignments.
    Dale had never met Grant persona lly, but as so many others had, he ’ d heard many stories about him and his father and son over the years.
    He turned to his partner. “ Let ’ s get to work. ”
     
    Calvin was sweating when he made it back to Pitt ’ s office. He mopped his face and neck with his T