you know what I think.”
Chapter 12
Tuesday, 12:18 p.m.
HANK HAD DROPPED into Richmond Distributing and talked to everyone there who knew, or worked with, Werner Shaft. The story he pieced together was that Shaft came into work on Monday, clocked out as usual at 7:00 p.m., and hadn’t been heard from since.
Most of them had displayed shock when they learned of his murder. It seemed Shaft was well liked, a reasonably good warehouse manager, and nobody could think of anything unusual or suspicious happening that day, or any other day, involving him.
Werner’s brother, Rocky, was at work that day as well, and the story was much the same—business as usual. He was there until 7:00 pm on Monday, and Tuesday morning he clocked in but left shortly thereafter, presumably when Maria called him regarding the murder of his brother. Hank hadn’t interviewed Rocky—that would be forthcoming.
King had obtained the list of Michael Norton’s family and friends from Norton’s wife, Tammy, and he would be doing a series of interviews. He’d likely be gone most of the day. Hank didn’t hold out much hope for results at that end. It seemed unlikely Norton would kill somebody, then hide out at one of the most obvious places.
When Hank got back to the precinct, he was pleased to see the ME’s report regarding the murder of Werner Shaft waiting on his desk. He picked up the folder and underneath it were the forensic and ballistic reports. Jameson had kept his word and processed the evidence in record time.
He leafed through the ME’s report, slipped the summary page from the stack of papers, and browsed it. Her findings on Werner Shaft weren’t a surprise. The observations Hank made at the crime scene proved to be correct.
Report of Findings on the Death of Werner Shaft
Cause of death: gunshot wound to the head.
Manner of death: homicide.
Blood alcohol: negative.
Blood drug screens: negative.
Urine drug screens: negative.
My examination of the body of Werner Shaft revealed a gunshot wound to the head, with the entrance wound on the forehead, and the exit wound on the rear of the head. The trajectory of the bullet that went through Werner Shaft’s head was front to back, fired from a distance of eighteen to twenty-four inches.
Werner Shaft also received a gunshot wound to the back, entering approximately one inch from the center. The trajectory of the bullet was through the spinal cord, lodging in the heart. The lack of gunshot residue indicates the shot came from a distance.”
Werner Shaft also received a non-fatal gunshot wound to the left shoulder, two inches down from the top surface of the shoulder, entering the deltoid muscle from the rear at approximately a forty-five degree angle. The bullet exited the front of the body. The lack of gunshot residue, along with the angle of penetration, indicates the shot came from a distance.”
In my opinion, Werner Shaft died of a gunshot wound to the head. Manner of death is homicide.
The ballistic report was much more interesting and enlightening.
Two shell casings were found in the laneway beside Master Footwear, one more at the rear. Both came from Shaft’s weapon. In the alleyway between the two buildings, two more casings were found, one at the entranceway to the alley, one close by the body. Both were from an unknown weapon.
Except for the bullet found in Shaft’s heart, and the one that embedded itself in the ground under his head, the rest of them had not been found, having missed their target.
That all fit in perfectly with the statement of the witness.
The forensic report stated the empty cartridge box found in Norton’s basement had his fingerprints on it. That wasn’t surprising. It was Norton’s house.
What made Hank sit forward was the discovery of a partial fingerprint on the casing found beside the body. That fingerprint was identified as belonging to Michael Norton.
Now he had enough for an
Chapter 12
Tuesday, 12:18 p.m.
HANK HAD DROPPED into Richmond Distributing and talked to everyone there who knew, or worked with, Werner Shaft. The story he pieced together was that Shaft came into work on Monday, clocked out as usual at 7:00 p.m., and hadn’t been heard from since.
Most of them had displayed shock when they learned of his murder. It seemed Shaft was well liked, a reasonably good warehouse manager, and nobody could think of anything unusual or suspicious happening that day, or any other day, involving him.
Werner’s brother, Rocky, was at work that day as well, and the story was much the same—business as usual. He was there until 7:00 pm on Monday, and Tuesday morning he clocked in but left shortly thereafter, presumably when Maria called him regarding the murder of his brother. Hank hadn’t interviewed Rocky—that would be forthcoming.
King had obtained the list of Michael Norton’s family and friends from Norton’s wife, Tammy, and he would be doing a series of interviews. He’d likely be gone most of the day. Hank didn’t hold out much hope for results at that end. It seemed unlikely Norton would kill somebody, then hide out at one of the most obvious places.
When Hank got back to the precinct, he was pleased to see the ME’s report regarding the murder of Werner Shaft waiting on his desk. He picked up the folder and underneath it were the forensic and ballistic reports. Jameson had kept his word and processed the evidence in record time.
He leafed through the ME’s report, slipped the summary page from the stack of papers, and browsed it. Her findings on Werner Shaft weren’t a surprise. The observations Hank made at the crime scene proved to be correct.
Report of Findings on the Death of Werner Shaft
Cause of death: gunshot wound to the head.
Manner of death: homicide.
Blood alcohol: negative.
Blood drug screens: negative.
Urine drug screens: negative.
My examination of the body of Werner Shaft revealed a gunshot wound to the head, with the entrance wound on the forehead, and the exit wound on the rear of the head. The trajectory of the bullet that went through Werner Shaft’s head was front to back, fired from a distance of eighteen to twenty-four inches.
Werner Shaft also received a gunshot wound to the back, entering approximately one inch from the center. The trajectory of the bullet was through the spinal cord, lodging in the heart. The lack of gunshot residue indicates the shot came from a distance.”
Werner Shaft also received a non-fatal gunshot wound to the left shoulder, two inches down from the top surface of the shoulder, entering the deltoid muscle from the rear at approximately a forty-five degree angle. The bullet exited the front of the body. The lack of gunshot residue, along with the angle of penetration, indicates the shot came from a distance.”
In my opinion, Werner Shaft died of a gunshot wound to the head. Manner of death is homicide.
The ballistic report was much more interesting and enlightening.
Two shell casings were found in the laneway beside Master Footwear, one more at the rear. Both came from Shaft’s weapon. In the alleyway between the two buildings, two more casings were found, one at the entranceway to the alley, one close by the body. Both were from an unknown weapon.
Except for the bullet found in Shaft’s heart, and the one that embedded itself in the ground under his head, the rest of them had not been found, having missed their target.
That all fit in perfectly with the statement of the witness.
The forensic report stated the empty cartridge box found in Norton’s basement had his fingerprints on it. That wasn’t surprising. It was Norton’s house.
What made Hank sit forward was the discovery of a partial fingerprint on the casing found beside the body. That fingerprint was identified as belonging to Michael Norton.
Now he had enough for an
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