Dead Man's Hand (16 page)

Dale returned to his knees
and pointed the light
at the carpet.
“
Now do you see?
”

“
Why don
’
t you just tell me?
”

“
See
the indentations i
n the rug
?
Someone
moved this chair
recently
. I didn
’
t touch it
and
Grant
’
s been dead for almost twenty-four hours. That means that since his death, someone other than Grant has been in here. We know that a Winston Coburn III did come up here this morning, but since Grant was already dead and not
here, Coburn must have
left.
”

He paused for a moment.
“
We also know that the caller said the name Coburn was an alias used by Calvin Watters. We
’
ll
find out easy
by calling the Atlantic City PD whether there is such a casino owner. If not, that leaves Watters as a potential suspect at least for potential theft
and
maybe for murder. Did
he
move the chair, or did someone else sneak in here after he left? We
’
ve got a lot of checking to do.
”

Dale asked
the question that
had bugged him.
“
If Coburn is an alias for Calvin Watters, why would he come to Grant
’
s office after the man had been killed?
”

“
With Grant dead, Watters could freely search the office for whatever he was looking for,
”
Jimmy responded.

But Dale had already formed his own opinion.
“
Maybe he didn
’
t know the man was dead
.
What do you make of the key?
”

“
It
’
s for a safe deposit box at Sun West Bank.
”

“
Tina
’
s bank? Do you think your wife can get us in?
”

Jimmy shrugged.
“
What about the safe?
”

He
followed Jimmy
’
s finger. He had missed the false wall behind the desk chair
where a safe had been
hidden.
“
We
’
ll have to come back for that with Mark and have him open it.
”

He
was quiet and still for a long while.

“
What are you thinking, partner?
”

“
We know
a person was
in the office
and tried to find
something. But we
’
re not sure if they found it. We just need to find out
how many visitors there were
and
if one of them was looking for something besides the meeting with Grant, which may or may not have been rea
l, depending on whether there i
s a Winston Coburn III.
”

Jimmy replied,
“
That
’
s a bit complex.
”

“
Well
,
you better hold on to something, because it
’
s just beginning.
”

Dale sat at his desk reviewing Grant
’
s bio while the database searched for a match to any of the fingerprints lifted from Grant
’
s private office.

Grant owned and operated the second largest and most profitable casino in Las Vegas, was sixty-three years old
and
married to his second wife. He had no criminal record and a clean bill of health. The man was a millionaire many times over
and
his wallet had been full of hundred
-
dollar bills
, which means this wasn
’
t a petty theft gone bad
. Grant didn
’
t owe
anyone money and had no real rival
except for Ace Sanders. Sanders and Linda were currently the only suspects. Other than Dale
’
s suspicions and the tread marks, they had no leads.

He
could see a clear motive for Linda, but none for Sanders. Sure, the rumored affair with Grant
’
s wife, but Sanders didn
’
t seem to gain anything by killing Grant. Shawn Grant was ready to step up and run
t
he Greek. And the word was that he was as tough and uncompromising as his father.

He
rubbed his eyes and shut the file.

Jimmy
wav
ed
a piece of paper in the air.
“
We
’
ve got him!
”
he said wi
th a grin
.

Dale
pursed his
lips.
“
What do we have?
”

“
We found three definite sets of prints. Of course Grant
’
s, but the system also identified Calvin Watters. Watters
’
prints were on the doorknobs, the telephone in Grant
’
s office and the emergency exit alarm. We were able to match them because Watters was arrested a couple of times, more than three years ago, before he became Don
ald
Pitt
’
s number one collector. That seems to confirm what the caller said about Watters using an alias to get into the building. Also, I called the ACPD.
”

“
You
’
ve been busy.
”

“
They have no record of any Winston Coburn
III, II, or I
and
certainly not as the owner of any casinos there.
”
Jimmy tossed two papers on Dale
’
s desk.

“
Wh
at about
the other set?
”
Dale
asked.

“
The fingerprint we pulled off the poker chip belongs to
Ace
Sanders. His fingerprints were also in the office on the table next to the guest chair and the doorknob.
”

“
Sanders
’
fin
gerprints are on file?
”
He
was surprised.

“
His fingerprints were required for municipal records when he bought his first casino,
a small one called
the Midas, years ago.
”
Jimmy said

At last
there was a direct link between Sanders and Grant
.
I
f his fingerprints were fresh enough to be lifted, then he
’
d visited Grant not too long ago.

This opened the case up. In Dale
’
s mind, Sanders was now on the radar screen as an official suspect for Grant
’
s murder. That made three. Watters and Sanders now joined Linda Grant.

Jimmy
’
s voice rose in an excited pitch.
“
Who cares about Sanders? We have Watters. We have his fingerprints at Grant
’
s office and let
’
s face it, Calvin Watters is
as lethal as they come
.
”

“
Think about it, Jimmy. Watter
s
’
fingerprints in Gra
nt
’
s office are just too easy.
If he
’
s committed what
’
s currently the perfect murder, why would he be so sloppy about leaving his fingerprints in Grant
’
s office?
The real killer would have worn gloves.
”

“
Sanders didn
’
t.
”

“
No. But he had the justification of meeting with Grant as a rival casino owner.
”
He
was about to continue when an officer called from across the room.

“
Detectives, Grant
’
s car was just found parked at the
deserted strip mall off th
e 592. We searched and dusted the front, back and trunk
. The only prints pulled belonged to Grant and there wasn
’
t a trace of evidence inside or out.
”
The cop emphasized his last sentence as if he couldn
’
t believe it.

Dale could believe it though. With each passin
g second,
this murderer seemed more efficient.

“
The 592?
”
He
turned to
Jimmy.
“
That
’
s pretty far from where his body was found.
”
He
faced
the officer
again.
“
What about the tread marks at the murder site
?
Do they match the tires on Grant
’
s car?
”

“
Forensics thinks they
’
ll match
.
”

“
Let me know as soon as you get a final report.
”

The officer nodded and left.

“
What do you wanna do?
”
Jimmy asked.

“
Run Watters
’
social to get an address. How does he look in the arrest files?
”

“
About the same as when he was a football star, but that was almost four years ago.
Not
at all like the man
that
the security guards described to us
or what we saw on the video
.
”

“
He
’
s the only suspect we can move on now. So let
’
s act on the basis that the man who was arrested after he destroyed his football career is the same man who came to see Grant this morning. Get an address. I need to make a call.
”

When Jimmy left, Dale checked the team list and dialed an outside line.

“
Elliot,
”
the voice answered.

“
I
t
’
s Dale. What have you and Harper found out?
”

“
Not much, sir.
”
His voice sounded frustrated.
“
Grant had a number of acquaintances but no one very close. The few good friends he did have don
’
t know of any enemies, except for Sanders.
His
name keeps coming up. Grant was well liked and respected. The friends that we talked to all have solid alibis.
”

“
What happened when you called his at
torney?
”

“
W
e had a brief discussion with
him
. Grant had made an appointment to see hi
m
this morning, but the attorney wouldn
’
t say what the purpose of the meeting was.
”

“
Stop what you
’
re doing.
I need you to st
ake
out a possible suspect
.
”

As if on cue, Jimmy came into the office and dropped a paper on Dale
’
s desk.

He
read the address over the phone. He told the officers to proceed as if Watters was armed and to check in
on a regular basis
.

Dale hung up.
“
Let
’
s go.
”
He
jumped up and grabbed the coat from the back of his chair.
“
We
’
re going back to the office complex to check that safe. Call Mark and tell him we
’
ll pick him up on the way. And let
’
s keep Watters
’
name out of the papers. We don
’
t want to scare him off. He
’
s our only fresh lead.
”