Personal Justice (7 page)

“We’ll do all we can and let you know,” Jake said, as he and Annie stepped outside.

They got in the car, and as they drove away, Annie said, “I’m still not so sure about this case. Hank’s quite capable.”

Jake looked at her and shrugged. “I’m willing to stick at it unless something else pops up.”

Annie nodded. “Let me go over my notes and I’ll let 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 arrest warrant. All he needed to do was find Norton.

He leaned back, trying to decide what his next move was. He was waiting to see if King uncovered anything, hoping Norton or his car would be found, and praying for a solid lead.

His ringing cell phone brought him out of his thoughts. It was Jake.

“Afternoon, Hank,” Jake said when the detective answered the phone.

Hank tilted his chair back and rested his foot on an open desk drawer. “Congratulations to both of you for the sting you set up. I hear they brought in a lot of guys. Wish I could’ve been there.”

Jake chuckled. “Maybe next time, Hank. You can’t be everywhere at once.”

“Diego is pretty happy. I understand Cranston’s is over the moon about it. King is the only one who didn’t have anything good to say. No surprise there.”

“What about the low-level guys? The boosters?” Jake asked.

Hank laughed. “I’m pretty sure we’ll find somebody who’ll talk and we’ll nab some of them. The rest’ll be out of business anyway, with no place to sell the stuff.”

“Another bunch will spring up,” Jake said. “I don’t think there’ll ever be an end to organized shoplifting.”

“Afraid you’re right.”

Jake cleared his throat. “Hank, do you know somebody by the name of Maria Shaft?”

Hank sat forward. “I sure do. Where’d you get that name?”

“She called us. I assumed this would be your case. She wants us to find her husband’s killer.”

“She’s in a mighty hurry, isn’t she? I only told her about her husband’s murder this morning.”

“She heard the suspect, Michael Norton, ran,” Jake said. “She wants us to track him down before he disappears.”

“She’s already called me twice since this morning,” Hank said. “She doesn’t understand these things can take some time. I filled her in on what we know so far, but there’s not much to go on. Right now we’re trying to find Norton. Been talking to most everyone he knows. So far, no luck.”

“We don’t want to step on your toes, Hank. We didn’t tell Maria Shaft we’d take the case for sure. We said we’d look into it.”

“It doesn’t matter to me. You guys are welcome to everything I have. You know how I feel about that.”

“Appreciate it, Hank.”

“I’ll get together a package and get it to you. Right now, I’m running out of leads, so I might have time to drop by there later today.”

“Look forward to it,” Jake said, and they hung up.

Hank still needed to make a visit to Michael Norton’s workplace. According to the information they obtained, Norton was employed as a production line worker at Sterling Auto Parts. It was doubtful he would have talked to his coworkers about his plans, but in an effort to leave no stone unturned, Hank decided to drop by there now.

He picked up his briefcase, dropped the reports inside, and pushed back his chair.

According to his latest call with Mrs. Shaft, her brother-in-law was there with her today. He would pay Rocky Shaft a visit on the way back, wrapping up his entire list of leads and possible suspects.

Chapter 13

Tuesday, 12:43 p.m.

LISA KRUNK was a legend in her own mind. With eyes and ears everywhere, there wasn’t much in this dumpy little town that passed her by. Her many years as a television journalist, and her dogged determination, ensured that.

The evening before, when she got wind of the murder of Werner Shaft, she leaped into action. If she hadn’t been chasing some dead-end story on the other side of the city, she would’ve made it to the crime scene before the body was taken away.

As it was, her trusty cameraman, Don, got a few shots of cops hanging around, the flashy yellow tape everywhere, and the ambulance pulling away with its load. She was able to corner a couple of cops who knew next to nothing about what happened. The whole thing was a big disappointment.

Via her sources, she pieced together most of the facts of what had gone on, and now, those same sources confirmed the police had a suspect. His name was Michael Norton. A few minutes of research netted her the relationship between Shaft and Norton.

She also obtained the name of the victim’s wife, Mrs. Maria Shaft. And that’s where she had to start her story.

Don pulled the Channel 7 Action News van to the curb in front of the Shaft residence. Lisa hopped from the passenger side door while Don grabbed the camera equipment from the back and hurried to catch up.

“Don, roll the camera now. We don’t want to miss anything.”

Don dropped the camera on his shoulder, and in a moment, the red light glowed. He aimed it toward the house and hurried up the walkway behind Lisa.

She rang the bell and stood back. There was no answer. She glanced toward the driveway. A dark-green Mazda was parked in front of the garage. Someone must be home.

She rang the bell again. Finally, the door opened a crack and a woman stuck her nose out.

“Maria Shaft?” Lisa asked.

The woman nodded. “Yes?”

“I’m Lisa Krunk from Channel 7 Action News. Could I ask you a few questions regarding the murder of your husband?”

The woman frowned, and then the frown disappeared as her lips curled into a weak smile. “Yes,” she said, and opened the door, motioning for them to enter.

Lisa stepped inside the foyer, Don close behind, and they followed her into the front room.

Maria sat, Don stood, and Lisa moved in.

“Mrs. Shaft,” Lisa said, the microphone on and poised. “I’m sorry to hear about the murder of your husband.” She continued with her pretense of sympathy. “Our thoughts and prayers are with you at this time and I’m sure my viewers will express the same concern.”

The words almost made her gag, and she spewed them out, realizing it was the best way to get on the interviewee’s good side before moving in for the kill—so to speak.

Maria Shaft smiled weakly. “Thank you.”

Lisa pulled a footstool in close, sat down, and leaned in. “Tell me about your husband, Mrs. Shaft,” she said, pushing the microphone at the woman.

Maria glanced at the mike, closed her eyes, and took a deep breath. She opened her eyes again and spoke. “My husband was a good man and didn’t deserve this.” She looked at the camera trained on her face. “I want everyone to know that.”

Lisa spoke again, “Mrs. Shaft.” She paused. “May I call you Maria?”

Maria Shaft nodded.

Lisa continued, “Maria, what can you tell me about the relationship between your husband and the suspect, Michael Norton?”

Maria’s face darkened. “There’s no relationship and there hasn’t been for years.”

Time to move in with the heavy artillery. “Maria, I understand your husband and Norton were convicted of burglary several years ago. Would you not call that a relationship?”

Maria scowled. “That was a long time ago, in another lifetime. A lot has happened since then.”

Lisa nodded encouragingly and forced a sympathetic smile to cross her wide mouth. “After all this time, why do you think Michael Norton would kill your husband? Was it for revenge?”

Maria looked at the camera again, her eyes moistening. “I don’t know. The police are doing what they can, and I’ve retained a private investigation firm to help. If anyone out there knows anything, please let me know.”

Lisa stood, hugged the mike, and looked down her long, sharp nose at the camera. “I urge my viewers to contact me directly if they have any information as to the whereabouts of this man.” She paused. She would edit in a photo of Norton at this point.

She sat back down and faced Maria again. The woman was looking toward the door. Lisa followed her gaze to a man standing inside the doorway, a heavy frown on his face.

“What’s this all about?” he asked, looking at Lisa.

Lisa stood and approached him, thinking quickly, the eye of the camera following. “I’m doing a story on the sad murder of Werner Shaft and I wanted to give Maria a chance to air her thoughts.”

“Maria has been under enough strain lately,” he said, glancing at the woman in the chair who dabbed gently at her eyes with a tissue.

“It’s all right, Rocky,” Maria said. “If they can help track down Michael Norton, it’s a good thing.”

Rocky’s jaw clenched and he moved in closer to Maria, his eyes on Lisa. “We want that killer caught.” He cursed, faced the camera, and pummeled the suspect with his words. His language become more offensive as his anger increased.

Lisa didn’t mind. She could bleep out those words, viewers would fill in the blanks, and the effect would be the same. Maybe even better.

Rocky glared at the red light and leaned in, his face flushed. He clenched his fists. “If I get ahold of you, I’ll break your worthless neck. You killed my brother you son of—”

Maria interrupted him with a hand on his arm, her eyes pleading. “Rocky, calm down.”

Rocky took a deep breath and moved back a step. “Sorry. I’m upset, that’s all.”

Lisa smiled outwardly, smothering an inner jump for joy. “That’s okay,” she said in her calmest voice. “It’s understandable.” What she really wanted was more of the same. It was good stuff, and would keep her viewers glued to their screens.

Maria looked up at Rocky. “I know you wouldn’t kill the man. We’ll let the law take care of him.”

Rocky looked at Maria, his eyes flaring, and stormed from the room. The camera followed his retreat and then turned back to Maria.

The grieving widow gave a lopsided smile. “Please forgive Rocky. He’s stressed out.” She added quickly, “We both are.”

“It’s all right, Maria,” Lisa said. “Let’s hope, with the help of our viewers, we can bring your husband’s killer to justice.”