her so much.”
The double doors to the exam room swung open and KC eased into the autopsy room like a man facing a rattler. He’d shaken off his jacket but his near bald head glistened with rain. “Five days to go. I was saying last night to Brenda that if I never saw the inside of this place again, it would be too soon. No offense, Dr. Heller.”
She smiled. “None taken.”
He took extra time to tug on gloves before approaching. He stopped several feet from the body and studied the victim’s face. Sadness deepened the craggy lines etched around his eyes. “I won’t miss this.”
Deke shook his head. “I’ll give you two weeks before you are back hanging around the station. Brenda’s nice enough but not working is gonna drive you insane.”
KC shook his head. “No damn way. I put in my time, and I’m retiring before the job kills me.”
He stopped short of saying Buddy’s name but they both knew the force had taken its toll on Buddy’s heart. Eyewitness accounts had said Buddy had risen from his favorite booth at the diner after a hearty breakfast of bacon and eggs, winced, and dropped. He’d been dead before he’d hit the floor. “Before you take off, tell me what you learned. Witnesses have information?”
From his pocket, KC dug out a battered small notebook exactly like thousands of others he’d carried for years. He flipped through the pages until he’d reached the middle section. “I talked to a group of men who passed the victim about three o’clock in the morning. They said she grinned at them as she dug her cell from her purse. One of the boys whistled. She smiled but kept walking.”
“No one was following her?”
“They didn’t see anyone.”
“What’s their story?”
“Students at Vanderbilt on their way to a party. They said the party was a dud, which was why they left early and passed the crime scene at four a.m. I went to the party house and banged on the door. A not-too-happy kid answered. He verified that the boys had been at the party. The four had played video games, drank a beer, hoping girls would show and when the girls didn’t materialize the witnesses left.”
“Anyone else?”
KC flipped a page in the book. “A woman who lives a block over reported hearing a car backfire about the time of the murder. And we did find the victim’s cell phone. Back of the case was knocked off and I’m thinking she had it in her hand when she was attacked. Dropped, hit the sidewalk and back popped open. Forensics bagged it and will search for data.”
Frustration burrowed under Deke’s skin. “No one saw anything?”
KC shook his head. “I knocked on twenty doors this morning. Woke up a lot of people and messed with several morning routines. No one saw the murder.”
He shoved out a breath. “Did the uniforms find the murder weapon?”
“It would be long and thin judging by the injuries. Like a pipe or a tire iron,” Dr. Heller said.
KC again shook his head. “No sign of a weapon and the uniforms have been beating the bushes.”
A search of the victim’s purse at the crime scene had produced a napkin with a number scrawled on it. The logo on the napkin had read RUDY’S, which he knew was a honky-tonk on Broadway. The place was a local institution where the best of the aspiring singer-songwriters played hoping to get noticed by a record producer. His baby sister Georgia had been trying to get a spot on the evening lineup but so far, no luck. Georgia, unlike her three older brothers, could carry a tune but like her brothers had joined the force. She worked forensics.
If Dixie had been singing at Rudy’s then she’d had some talent.
“I’ll swing by Rudy’s this morning,” Deke said. “He might remember a customer who’d shown interest in the victim.”
KC stepped back from the table. “I can do that if you like. Rudy’s is my watering hole.”
His partner favored the tried and true police techniques. He’d gladly knock on doors before doing a
The double doors to the exam room swung open and KC eased into the autopsy room like a man facing a rattler. He’d shaken off his jacket but his near bald head glistened with rain. “Five days to go. I was saying last night to Brenda that if I never saw the inside of this place again, it would be too soon. No offense, Dr. Heller.”
She smiled. “None taken.”
He took extra time to tug on gloves before approaching. He stopped several feet from the body and studied the victim’s face. Sadness deepened the craggy lines etched around his eyes. “I won’t miss this.”
Deke shook his head. “I’ll give you two weeks before you are back hanging around the station. Brenda’s nice enough but not working is gonna drive you insane.”
KC shook his head. “No damn way. I put in my time, and I’m retiring before the job kills me.”
He stopped short of saying Buddy’s name but they both knew the force had taken its toll on Buddy’s heart. Eyewitness accounts had said Buddy had risen from his favorite booth at the diner after a hearty breakfast of bacon and eggs, winced, and dropped. He’d been dead before he’d hit the floor. “Before you take off, tell me what you learned. Witnesses have information?”
From his pocket, KC dug out a battered small notebook exactly like thousands of others he’d carried for years. He flipped through the pages until he’d reached the middle section. “I talked to a group of men who passed the victim about three o’clock in the morning. They said she grinned at them as she dug her cell from her purse. One of the boys whistled. She smiled but kept walking.”
“No one was following her?”
“They didn’t see anyone.”
“What’s their story?”
“Students at Vanderbilt on their way to a party. They said the party was a dud, which was why they left early and passed the crime scene at four a.m. I went to the party house and banged on the door. A not-too-happy kid answered. He verified that the boys had been at the party. The four had played video games, drank a beer, hoping girls would show and when the girls didn’t materialize the witnesses left.”
“Anyone else?”
KC flipped a page in the book. “A woman who lives a block over reported hearing a car backfire about the time of the murder. And we did find the victim’s cell phone. Back of the case was knocked off and I’m thinking she had it in her hand when she was attacked. Dropped, hit the sidewalk and back popped open. Forensics bagged it and will search for data.”
Frustration burrowed under Deke’s skin. “No one saw anything?”
KC shook his head. “I knocked on twenty doors this morning. Woke up a lot of people and messed with several morning routines. No one saw the murder.”
He shoved out a breath. “Did the uniforms find the murder weapon?”
“It would be long and thin judging by the injuries. Like a pipe or a tire iron,” Dr. Heller said.
KC again shook his head. “No sign of a weapon and the uniforms have been beating the bushes.”
A search of the victim’s purse at the crime scene had produced a napkin with a number scrawled on it. The logo on the napkin had read RUDY’S, which he knew was a honky-tonk on Broadway. The place was a local institution where the best of the aspiring singer-songwriters played hoping to get noticed by a record producer. His baby sister Georgia had been trying to get a spot on the evening lineup but so far, no luck. Georgia, unlike her three older brothers, could carry a tune but like her brothers had joined the force. She worked forensics.
If Dixie had been singing at Rudy’s then she’d had some talent.
“I’ll swing by Rudy’s this morning,” Deke said. “He might remember a customer who’d shown interest in the victim.”
KC stepped back from the table. “I can do that if you like. Rudy’s is my watering hole.”
His partner favored the tried and true police techniques. He’d gladly knock on doors before doing a
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