No Cheat, Death instead

No Cheat, Death instead
Diary of Alexander Chetwood

1935

Alex decided to go south for a change, normally he would have stuck to the north. He looked out at the sand and sighed. This case was going to kill him. Hell, the heat here would kill me fist. Why he thought coming to Florida was a smart idea he would never know. As he walked onto the beach, looking at the dead body that lay on the sand. It had been stabbed at least twenty times, if not more. They hadn't turned the body over yet, so he had to wait to see if it was the man he had been looking for. He wasn't sure how the man would have ended up like this. Bert was supposed to be the good guy that did everything for others. For him to end up here would put a wrinkle in the case.

"Chetwood, what are you doing here?" Detective Grant asked as he stood beside Alex

"My case might be linked to yours." Alex explained waiting for the body to be turned.

"Oh? Is this a pose man end up like this?" Detective Grant looked from the body to Alex.

"Well, I can tell you that two or maybe three people happened to be on this beach when the body came ashore. If he was in the water, which I don't think he was. His clothes are dry, only the pant legs are wet. Meaning he wasn't in the water before he died. Also, no blood on the sand, that many stab wounds you would see a pool of blood." Alex told him as he watched them turn the body over. "Shit."

Alex knew this wasn't going to go well with the man's wife. She thought he was cheating on her, come to find out he was gambling and got in debt to the wrong people. Trouble was, they didn't normally kill you for that. They would rough you up, maybe break a leg. Alex was sure that this man happened to see something he shouldn't have. They went through his pockets, finding a few cards, change and what looked like a key. The key was the thing that caught his attention. It wasn't a house key, they didn't make them that small. Nor was it a car key, again too small. It might be a safe deposit key. Alex would have to speak to the wife to find out if he had one.

"You can say that again, so who gets to tell the wife?" Detective Grant asked, looking from Alex to the body.

"I'm not a cop so it is up to you. I do suggest taking a female with you. She is high-strung." Alex waited to see what the cops would do with the scene.

As he thought, they didn't look through the sand to see if anything else was around the body. Alex would wait till they left to see if something was in the sand. Almost an hour later they had all left, Alex got to work looking through the sand. He found a card that was for a bookie, also found a comb that most likely fell out of someone's pocket when they killed the guy. Where the body was found, he found a piece of fabric. Looked like it was from the killer's shirt. Standing up, Alex looked toward the skyline, he needed to get home. Standing in the sun would not be a good thing right now. Taking the things he found home with him. He really should get the items to the cops, but Alex figured if they wanted them, they would have looked for them.

When he entered the house, he caught the scent of perfume on the air. Crystal must have stopped by to see him, but he had been busy. Maybe she had always left and he could get things done instead. The moment he walked into the living room, he saw her sitting reading a book. Alex sighed as he went to the counter that abutted the living room.

"What brings you by?" Alex didn't always start out with the nice stuff.

"The sun." She said with a laugh. "I wanted to check on you."

"I believe the sun part, the checking on me not so much." Alex turned toward her with a half smile. "It is good to see you, though."

"Oh, I can't just pop by?" Crystal asked, then laughed at the look on his face. "You are happy to see me?"

"Sure you can, but it isn't something you would normally do. I have known you long enough to know that you hate visiting people." Alex laughed when she glared at him. "Yes, I am happy to see you."

Nothing had changed between the two. They still had a love hate relationship. Over the years, Alex had found that he hated when she hung around for a long period of time. It always made him feel like she was smothering him. The funny thing was he had asked her to marry him, of course that hadn't happened. They always seemed to be alright for a short time, they always starting fighting if it was longer than that. In the long term, putting a ring on her finger might be the death of them both.

"I am glad to hear that." Crystal smiled over at him. "So, on a case?"

"I was until the guy turned up dead on the beach. Seems he was into something he shouldn't have been. Though I am not sure which it was. Gambling for sure, but that wouldn't have gotten him killed. Either he saw something he shouldn't have, or someone just really hated him." Alex explained as he took the items to his office.

"He was found dead?" Crystal asked, following him into the office.

"Stabbed at least twenty times that I saw. No blood at the scene however, and he wasn't wet. Well, except his feet and part of his leg. The murder didn't happen on the beach. If it had, there would have been much more blood. I also found a few items that the police didn't find. The shirt I would say is part of the killer's shirt. It was under the body, most likely in the guy's hand. The strange thing is that it should have stayed in his hand after death." Alex let his mind wander over what he had seen.

"What a waste." Crystal looked from the shirt to Alex. "Are you going to hand over the items to the police?"

"I might have to, but they really should have combed that part of the beach." Alex sighed as he put the items in brown bags on his desk. "So, what brings you here other than the sun."

"Truly I wanted to check up on you. I haven't seen you in a long time. I do get in my moods when I want to check on those I have turned." Crystal laughed at the look on Alex's face.

"Just don't say you think of me as a child of yours." Alex told her with a smile, that would be strange since they had been in bed together.