Match Play Read Online Free Page A

Match Play
Book: Match Play Read Online Free
Author: D. Michael Poppe
Pages:
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Barrios usher in a woman in her late thirties. He points to the two men and says, “The detectives, ma’am.”
    “I’m Dr. Nancy Cochran, assistant coroner.”
    “I’m Detective Howard and this is my partner, Detective Sharp.”
    Stevens interrupts with, “I’ve got everything, but I’ll hang around in case you want anything else.”
    “Yes, please do,” urges the doctor. “I will want some shots after we move the body.”
    “All right, everybody, let’s collect the evidence,” Sharp commands.
    Nancy Cochran makes a visual assessment of the scene. She is tall, with auburn hair tied in a French braid, minimal makeup and a commanding presence. She’s wearing simple frameless glass that she pauses to clean. She pulls on her gloves and goes straight for the kitchen counter and the victim’s severed head. One of the technicians helps put it on a piece of plastic. More blood spills from the bowl and oozes over the edge of the counter. She thoroughly examines the skull and carefully scrutinizes the base of the neck where it had been removed from the body, while recording her observations with a microphone/headset.
    Howard continues to examine the kitchen and bags two wine glasses and a bottle of opened wine.
    Sharp is in the living area and picks up a piece of newspaper lying in the middle of the floor. He turns it over and recognizes the rankings for Sunday’s golf tournament, the final day of the RR Donelly LPGA Founder’s Cup. The piece has been neatly cut and marked over with a black pen. Most of the letters in the names of the players have been carefully blocked out. He studies it a moment then drops it in a bag and marks the bag for location and content. Next he finds a scorecard from Wild Fire Golf Club, the location of the LPGA Founder’s Cup. He almost regards it as unimportant until he realizes the score box for the sixth hole is marked in pencil with a circled 3, and in the box above that, 1 UP. He bags and labels it.
    Sharp joins Dr. Cochran as she records…“the left breast is found on the carpeted floor in the living room. It is expertly excised, areola up, nipple excised and absent. Tissue shows some discoloration but is otherwise normal.” She moves to the other breast, simultaneously nodding to Sharp and motioning to objects lying by the open French doors.
    Sharp finds a golf tee and a 3 iron golf club. He is examining the golf tee as Dr. Cochran places the second breast in a bag and hands it to a tech to mark and pack. “What do you have there?” she says.
    “It’s a golf tee, one of the types that advertisers use. It’s etched with ‘Your Kia Dealer, Carlsbad, CA.’ It was probably given away at the tournament.” He tosses it into an evidence bag.
    “What about the golf club?” asks Cochran.
    “It’s a 3 iron, probably belongs to the victim.”
    Cochran gives it a cursory glance. “Better take it too.” She moves to the torso and begins speaking into her microphone. After recording the location, she says, “The breast cavities are filled with what appears to be sugar; there is some tinting of the granules by the body fluids and blood.” She pauses and motions to Howard. “Detective, bag the trash, every bit of it. Do you see sugar or a sugar sack in the trash?”
    Howard opens the trash lid. “Yes,” as he holds it up for her to see.
    “Please bag the entire contents of the trashcan and any and all wastebaskets in the apartment. Then check to see if there is any sugar in the house. We want to know if the killer found it here or brought his own.” She turns back to the torso and continues recording. “The abdominal area is colored green in a contoured shape; lab analysis will identify the substance. The navel is pierced with a cylindrical wooden shaft approximately three sixteenths of an inch in diameter and six inches in height from the navel. A flag or pennant with the numeral 1 is on the upper part of the shaft.”
    A small amount of fluid seeps out of the opening as
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