I arrived at the Coral Gables Country Club and Golf Course in Gastonia, North Carolina, as a freak ice storm was closing in—while my fellow 300 members of the New York Anthropological Forensic Association unpacked their bags— four hours before Dr. Leonard Murphy was brutally murdered.
I am not a practicing forensic professional, but I do have graduate degrees in Criminology, Criminal Law, and a doctorate in Forensic Anthropology. Over the years I have established some credence in the field because I have a mind that has an overpowering need to balance things. I cannot leave the hanging thread. Because of this modest success, I had been engaged by the conference Chair, Dr. Roland Crossen, to be the moderator for a panel of four PhDs. They would be discussing the art of not screwing up a crime scene.
The retainer was not that good, but all expenses were paid for the three days, including first-class air. The panel only lasted four hours on the second morning, and the rest of the time was my own. I reveled in the thought of some serious rest and relaxation with someone else picking up the tab.
I disembarked at the Charlotte/Douglas airport... |
Illustration Copyright © Gavin O'Keefe |
