Veteran DC detective Hatcher is assigned the case with two new assistants.  Hatcher is a racist dinosaur who has problems trying to do his time until he can retire. He feels he doesn't get the respect he deserves, and when his two assistants are reassigned to a new case—the kidnapping of the daughter of a presidential advisor—he is certain his career is in jeopardy. There are also rumors that the police have been shaking down the local merchants and perhaps even the murdered prostitute.

Murder Inside the Beltway may be the last of the "Capital Crimes." Margaret Truman died January 2008.  She had the pulse and the details of life inside the Beltway and in DC.  She gave insights into the politics and the intrigues of the Capital.  The plot discloses the ins and outs of DC politics and corruption, including those on the take and what goes on behind the scenes—not just in the halls of Congress, but also at the restaurant tables.

We will miss Truman's firsthand knowledge of life in the Capital.