Personal Justice Read Online Free PDF Page A

Ma’am?”
    She nodded. “Yes.”
    Hank put the paper back in his briefcase. “There’s no mistake. It was him.”
    She stared at Hank, her breathing quick and erratic. Then in a hoarse voice, barely above a whisper, she asked, “What happened?”
    “He was murdered.”
    Her eyes opened wider. “Murdered?”
    “I’m afraid so, Ma’am. I’m sorry. I tried to reach you last night.”
    “I was babysitting,” she whispered. “For my sister. I wasn’t home until late.” She paused. “Do you know who … killed him?”
    “Not yet,” Hank said. “If you’re up to it, I need to ask you a few questions.”
    She nodded and reached to the stand near her chair for a tissue. The tears started, and she dabbed at her eyes, sobbing quietly.
    “Do you know of anyone who might’ve wanted to harm your husband?”
    She hesitated and glanced aside. Finally, she looked Hank in the eye and said, “Detective, my husband was involved with some bad characters in the past. As you probably know, he did some time in prison, but I … I didn’t know any of his former acquaintances. Perhaps someone he knew before …”
    That caught Hank by surprise. He hadn’t had the time to dig very deeply, still unaware of Werner Shaft’s record. That opened it up to a lot of possibilities, and it also might explain why Shaft carried a weapon.
    “We’ve just started the investigation, Mrs. Shaft, so we have no suspects yet. Anything you can tell us might help.”
    Maria Shaft sniffed and wiped at her nose. “I’ll help you with whatever you want to know, but I’m at a loss.”
    Hank pulled out his notepad and pen and cleared his throat. “Do you and your husband have any children?”
    “No, we never did.” She looked away wistfully. “Werner never wanted children and so …” Her voice trailed off, leaving Hank with the impression she unwillingly yielded to her husband’s wishes.
    Hank made a notation in his pad. “So, it’s just the two of you here?”
    Mrs. Shaft leaned forward. “My husband’s brother lives with us. Rocky. He occupies the basement apartment.”
    Hank made another note. “Do you know if he’s home right now?”
    She shook her head. “He works at the same place my husband works … worked. He’ll be there now.”
    “And where’s that?”
    “Werner was the warehouse manager at Richmond Distributing, and Rocky works in the shipping department.”
    Hank wrote down the name and put a question mark beside it. “Do they ride to work together?”
    “Sometimes. It depends on their shift. This morning Rocky took his own vehicle because my husband …”
    “What kind of vehicle does Rocky drive?”
    “It’s a red Ford pickup. I’m not sure what year it is.”
    Hank nodded and made a note to find out what vehicle or vehicles were registered in Rocky’s name. According to the witness, the killer drove a white, Honda Accord, and Hank wanted to find out if anyone close to Werner Shaft had a vehicle with that description registered in their name.
    Another part of this uncomfortable task was asking uncomfortable questions. “Mrs. Shaft, you said you were babysitting last night for your sister. I’ll need her name and address.”
    Mrs. Shaft didn’t blink, perhaps not realizing Hank’s intention was to check her alibi. “Her name’s Melinda Windsor. They live at 335 Polimer Street.” She paused. “Detective, you don’t think they had anything to do with this, do you?”
    “Not at all,” Hank said, jotting down the information. “I just need to fill in all the pieces.” He looked back up. “What time did you get home last night?”
    “It was after eleven.”
    “Did you drive there?”
    “Yes, I took my car.”
    Hank pointed over his shoulder. “The car in the driveway?”
    “Yes.”
    Hank made a final note, read through what he wrote, and tucked his notepad away. He removed a card from his briefcase, leaned over, and handed it to the grieving widow. “Call me if you think of anything that might