Nowhere near faint of heart, but more swept up in the tragedy, Ballister observed, "There's blood spatter all over the sheets, the floor, and the walls."

Well versed in gunshots, Dutton noticed the position a bullet entered through the window in front of the deceased's bed. He commented, "Look at this, Mark. The radial lines are even and the glass fracture is clean. A precise kill. Whoever fired the shot stood."

He removed a pad and black ink pen from his jacket pocket. The writing instrument's pressurized ink cartridge guaranteed no matter what angle he wrote from he would never have a pen that did not write.
Just another one of Dutton's well organized details.

Dutton scribbled a quick note, then drew a sketch of the room. Turning to Ballister, he stated, "There's more evidence we need to collect like the Size Eleven Laredo boot print the boys in blue located in the azalea bed."

"Fragile flowers," Ballister commented then asked, "You got a walking picture of the perpetrator?" Dutton's attention to facts never ceased to amaze the young rookie.

The raw data Dutton discovered at the crime scene led him to reply with clear logic, "White male with a reddish skin tint. Sandy hair pulled back tight behind his head and secured with a purple ribbon. No spectacles over his steel-grey eyes. From the trajectory angle of the bullet about six feet two."

"Karl Adler at his finest. That's why the body's mutilated. I knew better than to ask. You think the victim might have been his accomplice?" Ballister wondered.

"Then, why did you wonder?" Dutton responded. Before waiting for Ballister's explanation he elaborated his prognosis, "A classic example of eliminating the excess baggage before it tumbles down on you."

Ballister removed a glossy that hung precariously on a rusty nail in the wall. He read the caption fastened to the bottom of the picture and stated, "Paul Wingate. Why does that name sound familiar?" He thought a moment. Then, the answer came to him. "Paul Wingate. Of course, the small fish in the big meth pond busted last year in the Danworth Projects."

Contemplating how the events must have played out in the room Dutton responded, "MO fits him spot on. Left the scene intact just the way Adler does all his hits. His loud and clear trademark."

Always observant, Ballister looked at four pieces of notebook paper that laid on a small nightstand by the bed's headboard. He picked up and handed the top sheet to Dutton then said, "My but Wingate planned on being a busy boy."

Dutton examined the paper and asked, "Carelessness. But, now we have a probable lead on Adler's To Exterminate list. Did you notice who's name was on the top?"

"Detective John Dutton," Ballister replied, "I saw that."

"All that list does is prove Wingate was nothing more than a rank amateur. Almost don't blame Adler for exterminating him," Dutton responded. He laughed at the concerned expression on Ballister's face and quipped, "Hell, Mark, if I worried about all the sleazebags and two-bit slimeballs over the last twenty years who vowed to murder me, I wouldn't be here now bringing another one down. Comes with the territory. Just another reason for me to nail Adler's vile carcass to the wall. And, I will."

Almost two hours had elapsed in the forensics the room offered. Dutton became intrigued by the disturbing paper Ballister had handed him. The list, now neatly folded, was stuffed in his shirt pocket. Every minute detail about the Adler case intensified.

(TO BE CONTINUED:)