“How did he get in?” Matty asked.
“The back door.”
Matty’s face brightened. “Did you check for fingerprints?”
Hank grinned. “We checked. No prints.”
Matty frowned. “What about the neighbors? Maybe somebody saw him.”
“You might be right. We have officers checking up and down the street.” Hank paused and looked intently at Matty. “Do you have any more ideas?”
“Not right now.”
Hank looked at Annie. “I’ll make sure officers watch the house at all times until we catch him.”
“I hope it won’t be long,” Annie said.
“I suppose you have no new leads on the Shaft case?” Jake asked.
“Not yet. We’re still hoping to find Norton’s car. It has to be somewhere.”
Annie turned to Hank. “It skipped my mind with all this going on and I forgot to mention it. We went to see Tammy Norton. It turns out she and her husband don’t get along as well as she let on. We finally got her to admit …” She paused and glanced at Matty. “Her husband … doesn’t treat her too well.”
“Are you saying what I think you’re saying?”
Annie nodded. “We saw some … evidence on her face, and she admitted it.”
Matty slid off the couch and wandered toward the kitchen.
Annie watched him leave, and then leaned toward Hank and whispered. “She had a black eye and a bruise on her chin.”
Hank sat back and crossed his arms, the fingers of one hand tickling his chin. “So, he’s violent.”
“At least, toward her,” Jake said. “But she still covers up for him.”
Hank looked at the floor, shaking his head slowly. “This case is getting more confusing all the time. I’m trying to piece everything together into some plausible scenario, but nothing fits. And I can’t find anything that even remotely looks like a motive.”
“What about that 9-ball tournament that shows Shaft and Norton had a relationship?” Annie asked. “Anything on that yet?”
“I have plans to go to the pub where the tournament was held. Talk to the organizer and any other people either one of them might’ve come into contact with.”
“That should keep you busy for a while,” Jake said.
Hank shrugged and stood. “I’m a detective and that’s what detectives do. I have to take the boring jobs along with the rest.” He grinned. “Besides, I have King to help me.” He paused. “I haven’t heard back from him yet, so I assume he doesn’t have any earth-shattering news, but as soon as he returns, I’ll set him to work again.”
“And I plan on going over everything we know,” Annie said, as she stood and followed Hank to the door. “Maybe I’ll come up with a new approach.”
She had no idea what that approach would be, but there had to be an answer somewhere.
Chapter 18
Tuesday, 5:59 p.m.
JAKE SWITCHED on the television and stretched out on the couch, his back against the armrest. The story by Lisa Krunk was scheduled for 6:00, and though he was disgusted at the way she sensationalized every news report, it pertained to the case they were working on and he didn’t want to miss it.
Matty lay on the floor, a cushion under his head. He laid his comic book aside and watched the final commercial before the evening news began.
Annie came into the room and sat in her armchair, placing a cup of coffee on the stand beside the chair. She leaned forward slightly, her hands in her lap, and looked at the TV, waiting for the broadcast to begin.
The Channel 7 Action News logo flashed, teasers ran, music played as the anchor shuffled his papers, the camera zoomed in, and the newscast began.
“Our top story: The senseless murder of a Richmond Hill man yesterday has struck fear into citizens of this city. With the story, here’s Lisa Krunk.”
The scene showed a gurney, covered with a white sheet, being wheeled from an alleyway toward a waiting ambulance. Yellow tape could be seen in the foreground, flapping gently in the evening breeze.
The camera panned, showing a car parked awkwardly in the middle of the street, its door wide open, detectives and officers milling about everywhere, the entire area cordoned off. Lisa began her voiceover as the camera continued to display the crime scene.
“This city was shocked to hear of a murder late yesterday evening. Thirty-five year old Werner Shaft was gunned down, receiving several shots before finally succumbing to his wounds. The unknown assailant fled the scene leaving police baffled by the killing. There didn’t appear to be any witnesses to this tragedy.”
Lisa’s face appeared on television screens throughout the city, standing at the same scene, the area now cleared as if nothing had happened the day before. She continued.
“Today, everything’s back to normal at the place where this grisly crime took place, but the owners of these establishments are on their guard. Police declined to comment earlier, but I have been told that, as of today, they have evidence pointing directly to one suspect.”
A picture of a man appeared on the screen. Jake recognized the face from the photo in the police reports as Lisa continued.
“Thirty-three year old Michael Norton is wanted for the murder of Shaft. Norton is an ex-convict, sentenced several years ago for burglary, and subsequently spent time in federal custody.”
The TV showed Lisa knocking on the door of the Norton house. The door opened a crack and then closed abruptly. Lisa turned around, the camera zoomed in on her, and she shrugged.
“The Norton family refused to comment, but sources state the family claims no knowledge of the whereabouts of this dangerous man. The refusal of Norton’s wife to talk to me leads me to believe she’s covering for her husband, and though there’s no evidence against her, police are looking at Tammy Norton closely. She’s certainly a person of interest in this case.
“Sources state it’s only a matter of time before this dangerous man is apprehended, and he’s believed to be nearby, possibly still in the immediate area.
“A search of the Norton residence this morning resulted in no further information on the fugitive’s location, and his wife declined to state whether or not she knew of his plans and where he might be hiding.”
Jake dropped his feet off the couch, sat forward, and pointed to the television. “She’s making this stuff up,” he said. “How can she draw a conclusion like that because Tammy Norton doesn’t want to comment?”
“She’s just being Lisa,” Annie said.
“Sounds more like slander to me.”
The television screen flickered and the scene moved to the inside of a house. Jake recognized Maria Shaft, sitting in a chair, the camera trained on her worried face. The view pulled back revealing a man standing at her side. It was Rocky Shaft, his thick brows in a tight line.
Lisa continued.
“I spoke earlier with the family of the victim, Maria Shaft, and the victim’s brother, Rocky. Rocky had this to say:”
“We want that killer caught. If I get ahold of you, I’ll break your worthless neck.”
“Maria, what can you tell me about the relationship between your husband and the suspect, Michael Norton?”
“There’s no relationship and there hasn’t been for years. My husband was a good man and he didn’t deserve this.”