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had just been shot. He turned back to Sloan, then asked, “You want to fill me in on what happened?”
    â€œYeah, the girl’s name is Renee Poole. She and her husband, Brent, had been taking a stroll on the beach when they were robbed by this guy dressed in black clothes. He robbed them, then shot Brent in the head. Although the medics said they expected the worst, he was alive when they left in the ambulance.”
    The Myrtle Beach Patrol Unit (MBPU) had begun securing the perimeter. They were closely guarding the crime scene and logging every person coming and going into the area. Corporal Gary Kalkwarf, the second-shift supervisor of the beach patrol, placed a call to the Horry County Police Department (HCPD), requesting the use of their tracking dogs. If the shooter was still in the area and hiding somewhere in the dunes or around the beach on Eighty-second Avenue, the police might have a chance with the help of the dogs at finding him. Kalkwarf was afraid the ocean breeze blowing the salt water across the beach would make it very difficult for the tracking hounds to pick up the perpetrator’s scent. In fact, the chances were zero to none the dogs would be able to follow the trail, yet Kalkwarf told them he was still willing to give it a try. The Myrtle Beach crime scene investigation team had also arrived and were waiting on the dogs to finish tracking the trail before they began their work.
    When Altman looked around and saw all the officers on scene, he quickly deduced it wasn’t necessary for all of them to be there. He suggested Jim Joyce take Renee back to the police department and obtain her statement. It would be to her benefit to get her away from the crime scene, and the quiet and still atmosphere at headquarters would help calm her and give her an opportunity to think. Perhaps then, she could provide additional information about the suspect.
    Len Sloan agreed to remain at the crime scene, help manage the operation, and call the on-duty detective supervisor if needed. Altman thought it was best if he went to the hospital to check on the victim. From what he had been told, it was doubtful if he’d be able to get a statement from Brent Poole at the hospital. Nevertheless, he could get some information from the emergency responders and ask the doctors to shed some light on the situation.
    As additional police officers arrived, they were immediately placed one hundred yards both north and south of the position in an attempt to expand the protection of the crime scene. Officers were also positioned around the surrounding area of the residences along the beach leading up to access and beyond, in case the killer was still lurking in the area.
    As anyone who’s connected to police work knows, the first forty-eight to seventy-two hours are the most critical in solving a homicide. It has been proven in two-thirds of the homicide cases that are solved, the police have been able to apprehend the suspect within twenty-four hours. Needless to say, there is a window of opportunity to solve a case within forty-eight hours and the chances of it ever being solved fall dramatically after that time period.
    Because those first forty-eight hours were so critical in solving Brent Poole’s murder, a staggering amount of work had to be completed. Murders in Myrtle Beach are very uncommon; as a result, everyone in the police department had been called out to work his/her magic. While crime scene technicians conducted the initial examination of the crime scene and collected physical evidence, additional officers and detectives were busy securing the crime scene and locating witnesses to interview.
    A good crime technician is worth his/her weight in gold. Just by closely examining a crime scene, an adept technician can readily obtain a tremendous amount of information, often pinpointing exactly what took place and in what order, as well as why the crime took place and who is responsible. That is, if the