Together Ernie and I made our way back to the Sheriff’s office and asked to see Crump. We were quickly led into the man’s office where, I must admit, we were graciously welcomed.
“I just got off the phone with Harry," said Crump, “and we understand each other. I’ll assign one of my junior deputies to escort you to the evidence room and back to the scene. Look all you want, but don’t take anything. Feel free to check back every now and then to see if we turn up anything else, but rest assured, I’ll keep you in the loop if we do.”
“What about Sgt. Bradshaw?” asked Ernie, mercifully letting me off the hook from having to inquire about the bastard. “He has a tendency, from what I’ve been told, to go off half-cocked. Is he going to be a problem?”
“Stan won’t be a problem, Mr. Twillfigger. Y’all just keep away from him and I’ll keep him away from you. We got a pretty good case here and there’s no need for anyone to louse it up with some rough stuff, agreed?”
I tried to fix Crump with a stony, manly stare, but he wasn’t having any of it. He’d seen me about piss in my pants after Bradshaw had his way with me, so there wasn’t any real way to recoup my dignity after such an episode. Crump just chuckled under breath and called in our escort/guard. He was a wet-nosed punk who had only been on the force some six months. He took Ernie and me to the evidence room where they stored the stuff they had taken from the Bowman house. There wasn’t much to go through.
A little bag with heroin was there, along with the blood splattered axe and a few odds and ends, including a color photograph of Susan standing in front of her house, smiling. She was wearing a white t-shirt—no bra, of course—and a black pair of slacks and sandals. She didn’t have quite as much makeup on as when I first saw her. It made her look older, but a bit softer. We asked that a copy of the photo be made for us, so we could use it in our investigation. The deputy wrote down the request.
Ernie and I went through the examiner’s report of the crime scene and corpse. Initial estimation of cause of death was obvious, blunt trauma to the forehead, with cranium being punctured by a sharp object, i.e., the axe that was found protruding from her head. Toxicology and autopsy reports were still outstanding. We told the deputy we wanted copies of the reports when they were ready. He made a note.
The forensic lab had already swept for prints back at the house and so far the only sets found had belonged to Sonny or the victim. We noted that fact, then told our deputy friend we wanted to see Susan Bowman’s car, if it was available. It was.
We went to the impounded car lot and searched her vehicle. Nothing.
Examination of the murder scene was next. We went to our car and followed the deputy to the Bowman house on the outskirts of town.