“Dayne?”
Jerking, she slammed the door on her self-doubt. “Maybe she didn’t get the door shut all the way as she left to go somewhere.”
“The garage has access inside the house. Why would she leave by the front door if she drove off?”
“I don’t know,” Lila barked. This wasn’t getting them anywhere. “Her door is open, and it doesn’t look like anyone is home.”
Meyer stared at her like she’d turned into some kind of dragon or a harpy.
Get a grip.
“We knock and call out,” she said.
He nodded and headed up the steps. Lila swallowed hard and followed him. Positioning herself on the left side of the door, she let Meyer knock.
“Hello? Mrs. McKinnley, it’s the sheriff’s department,” Lila called out in a firm voice. Intestinal fortitude ruled the day.
Silence. Lila met Meyer’s gaze, then nodded down at his still-holstered gun. After drawing his weapon, he pushed on the white-painted door. It swung back on quiet hinges. Stepping forward, Lila entered the open doorway.
“Mrs. McKinnley, it’s Deputy Dayne. I’m coming inside.” Her announcement echoed against the tiled entryway.
Meyer slipped in behind her, taking position at her left shoulder. Her years of experience and the long-ingrained training were taking over her mental shortcomings.
“Check the ground floor first,” she told him. “Meet up in the kitchen.”
They stepped forward. Lila did a quick check down the hall before Meyer headed to the bedrooms. All the doors were open. She swung right, entering the living room. Crossing the room to a walled-off area, she checked the dining room. The table was primly set with place mats, and all the chairs in their place under the table. No signs that Neva McKinnley had disturbed anything or eaten at her table this morning. Lila looked back over her shoulder, glimpsing Meyer moving from one room to the next. Stepping into another tiled area, she discovered the garage access and followed her sidearm into a combined laundry/mudroom.
An empty clothes basket sat on the dryer. Lila pressed her hand on the metal top—cold. She popped the door and peeked inside, clothes lay in a tangled pile inside. Closing the dryer door, she checked the garage door. Locked. Unlocking it, she eased into the darkened interior. She found the switch to her left and flipped it.
A newer Buick sedan sat in the middle of the one-car garage. Neva was home. But where? Lila scanned the facility, noting a back door she’d missed on her initial assessment. She should kick herself for not spotting it. Such a rookie mistake.
The garage appeared untouched, no sign anyone had been in here for a while. Turning back to the mudroom, Lila shut and locked the door, then made her way to the kitchen through the dining room. As before, everything had a place and was in its place. No coffee made, no breakfast cooked, no dishes in the dish drainer. Meyer announced his entry into the room.
“Anything?” she asked.
“The bed doesn’t look like anyone slept in it.”
Lila’s whole body hurt. “Basement.”
Had the poor woman tripped and fallen down the steps?
Meyer seemed to read her thoughts and rushed to the door, flinging it open. Lila, hot on his heels, blinked as the stairway lights flared to life.
“Oh my God,” Meyer croaked before running down the carpeted steps.
Over his head, Lila saw the sight. Closing her eyes, she bowed her head.
Neva McKinnley’s body lay twisted and broken at the bottom of the steps, a darkened spot haloing her gray hair.
Chapter Twenty-One
Elizabeth stood sentry at the top of the basement steps as the medical examiner did a field examination.
“She’s in full rigor.” Olivia stood. “This happened sometime last night.”
“Accident or intentional?”
The doc shook her head. “That’s not an answer I can give you yet.”
“Sheriff.”
Elizabeth turned to Lundquist, whom she had to drag out of bed so he could dust the house for prints. “Did you find anything, Deputy?”
The strained lines on his face gave a hard mule kick to Elizabeth’s chest.
“Other than the places Deputy Dayne and Meyer indicated they touched, I’m not finding any prints.”
“In this entire house?”
“I’ve been thorough with the path from the front door to the kitchen, doorknobs, handles, windows, appliances, kitchen facet, light switches, everything.” Lundquist sighed. “Sheriff, someone wiped every surface down. I know Mrs. McKinnley was fastidious about cleaning, but this is above and beyond even her.”
“Check the other rooms and the bathroom, go through the cellar entrance and go over the basement rooms. If someone truly did come through this house and erased their presence, it’ll show.”
With a nod, Lundquist followed orders.
“If he’s right,” Olivia said from the bottom of the staircase, “I might have to consider ruling this a homicide.”
“Might?”
“It still could have been accidental and someone doesn’t want you to think badly of them for not reporting it.”
“Olivia, I want to believe she tripped and fell. Or had a heart attack. I really do. But the last three days are making me think otherwise. Find evidence to prove it one way or another. Just don’t say homicide until you know for sure.”
With grim features, the ME returned to her examination. Elizabeth’s attention was drawn to the two deputies hovering in the middle of the living room.
Dayne’s right hand rested on Meyer’s shoulder. The younger deputy was hunched over, distress and shock wreaking havoc on his youthful face. Neva McKinnley had been a favorite teacher to a lot of people in this community, and Brent Meyer was no exception.
Dayne frowned at Elizabeth and turned back to her partner for the day. She said something to him. Meyer nodded and found a seat on the sofa.
Deputy Dayne sidled up to Elizabeth’s side. “This has certainly not turned out the way I wanted.”
“Run through with me again what you did when you got here.”
Dayne flinched and her hands ceased their motion. She shoved them into her coat pockets. Her struggle to regain her confidence in this job would continue to plague her until she either gave it up or found a way to defeat it. Elizabeth gave her credit for making a solid effort to do the latter.
“The door was left open?” Elizabeth prompted.
“Swinging in the wind. After I got Meyer calmed down and away from the body, I double-checked all other entry points. They were all locked except the front.”
Elizabeth frowned. “Did you see any notations anywhere that would suggest she had planned visitors?”
“I hadn’t gotten to that stage.”
“I think she keeps an appointment-like calendar in the kitchen.” Elizabeth turned to head that direction.
But she heard raised voices outside and made a one-eighty for the door, Dayne following.
“Jason, it’s not a good idea,” Rafe said as he grabbed Mayor McKinnley by the coat and blocked his movement.
“Rafe, let go of me. I need to see my mom.” He swatted at Rafe’s hold on him.
Elizabeth hurried down the steps, gritting her teeth against the cold sting of flurries that resumed their relentless battering.
Jason caught sight of her. “Sheriff! Tell him to release me.”
Laying a hand on Rafe’s bulging arm, she gave him a nod. He relaxed his hold but shifted in step with Jason as the other man tried one more time to get around him.
Elizabeth snagged the Three Points mayor’s arm and gently rerouted him toward the garage. “Mayor McKinnley, I’d like you to walk with me a bit first.” She looked to the road and the line of vehicles that had gathered in the short time since she’d arrived.
This incident was going to make headlines on tonight’s evening news reports.
Jason kept looking over their shoulders, his body tight and coiled, ready to bolt the moment she gave him
a chance. Elizabeth refused to allow him to see his mother in her current state. The memories he had of her alive and vibrant were what he needed. Not of her untimely death.
“Mayor McKinnley.” She brought him to halt on the far side of the driveway, next to one of Neva’s prized flowerbeds. “I don’t need to tell you what you most likely have surmised from our presence here at your mother’s home.”
He looked at her, face pale, moisture pooling in his eyes. “She’s dead.” The attempt at being matter-of-fact crumbled on the word dead.
“Unfortunately, yes.”
A tortured moan ripped past his lips. Then he manned up, stiffening his body and lifting his chin.
“Jason,” Elizabeth said with a softer touch. “I don’t want you to see her like that.”
“She’s my mother, Sheriff.”
“And we’re taking extra special care with her.” She took his hand and clasped it between both of hers. “Is it all right if I ask you a few questions?”
“Sure. Whatever.”
“Let me introduce you to our newest investigator.” She beckoned for Dayne to join them.
He blinked at her. “Investigator?”
Lila held out her hand. “Deputy Detective Lila Dayne. I’m sorry about your mother, Mayor.”
Dazed, the young mayor shook her hand. His gaze slid back to Elizabeth. “What did you want to ask me?”
“Jason, when was the last time you saw or spoke to your mother?” she asked.
His features scrunched. “Uh, I talked to her last night.”
“Do you know what time that was?”
“I don’t know. It was around supper time, I suppose. Six thirtyish.”
She gave his hand a gentle squeeze. “Did she mention that she was expecting any guests?”
“No. She never has anyone visit her at night.”
Lila remained silent, cocking her head as she listened. Elizabeth would have to ask her deputy’s thoughts once they were done talking with him.
“When was the last time you saw her?”
“Yesterday after her luncheon with some of her fellow retirees. She stopped to chat with Amy.”
“Did she seem out of sorts?”
He shook his head. “Just peeved that someone had been breaking into the Barrett place again.”
Elizabeth’s and Lila’s gazes met. Raising her eyebrows a notch, Lila returned her attention to the man.
Patting his hand, Elizabeth caught his eye. “One last question. Do you know if anyone has spoken a bad word against your mother?”
“No. Everyone loved her. Even the students who had given her the most grief didn’t have a bad thing to say about her.”
“I think that’s enough for now. Where’s Amy?”
“At work.”
Steering him around and pointing him in the direction of his dark blue Enclave, Elizabeth escorted him farther from the house. “Call your wife. Tell her to meet you at the hospital. Okay?”
Woodenly, he obeyed, pulling his phone from a pocket. When she had him far enough away from the house and a safe distance from the morbid onlookers, she waved Rafe over.
“Don’t leave his side until he’s in his car and driving away. And keep that bunch”—she pointed at the crowd—“away from him.”
Rafe touched his forehead.
Elizabeth started back to the house, ignoring the shouts for her attention. It was bad enough she had to blow off Pratt Meyer to be here—she would not hear the end of that from him—there wasn’t room in her patience to deal with a barrage of questions she had no answers for.
Lila met her at the base of the front steps. “He seems genuinely stunned by her death. But we can’t rule him out as a person of interest. Or his wife.”
“I can’t see either of them harming her, much less leaving her at the bottom of the steps to die.”
“Sheriff, that’s a mentality you need to get rid of when doing this job.”
Jolting, Elizabeth shook her head. “I disagree. I’m well aware of the need to always look closely at the family first. But Jason is an only child; he loved his mother. When his father died, he was a zombie for days. His mother dragged him out of it. And Jason’s wife has never been able to kill a gnat without crying her eyes out.”
“If they’re innocent, they’ll be ruled out. Let me do my job before you make any final decisions.”
Sighing, Elizabeth nodded. “Right. You’re right. Do your thing.”
Re-entering the house, she paused in the entryway. Meyer had remained in his position on the sofa and had graduated to watching those around him. Lundquist dusted for prints in the bathroom. Olivia discussed with her assistant the best way to get the stretcher in and out of the house without doing any further damage to the scene. Elizabeth checked her watch. She’d called in DCI for this, and their estimated arrival wasn’t for another hour.
“Sheriff.”
Dayne beckoned to join her in the kitchen—the one room that had entertained more guests than she could count. Would this house ever be the same?
Taking stock of the kitchen, she located the calendar she’d mentioned. Moving over to the corkboard hanging next to the refrigerator, Elizabeth checked the dates. Minus yesterday’s luncheon, the dates were empty until Christmas, when Neva expected to celebrate the holiday with her son. This would not be a cheerful season for Jason and Amy.
Lila stood next to the sink, brushing loose, black dust into a pile.
“This had to be an accident. Or a medical emergency,” Elizabeth said.
Lila shook her head. “I don’t like how this whole situation is set up. She lives out here alone, the nearest neighbor being an empty, run-down house. Her front door was left unlocked, and the screen door swinging. I know you don’t want to consider it, but we need to treat this as a homicide.”
“Deputy Dayne, right now there’s no solid evidence to prove it.”
The hardened stare made Elizabeth’s spine snap upright.
“At this given point, we don’t have the luxury of time for solid evidence. Doesn’t it cross you as suspicious that on the very night the news breaks about the girls’ deaths, the one woman who could potentially have been a witness dies?”
“Coincidence?”
Lila shook her head. “Before you and the others arrived, I took the liberty of checking her bathroom cabinet and bedroom for medications. Not a thing. Either this woman was fit and fighting, or whoever decided to end her life absconded with her prescriptions. I doubt she had a medical emergency to cause her to fall on those stairs.”
“We’ll ask Jason if he was aware of whether she was on any prescriptions.”
“No need.” Olivia joined them. “I was her doctor. She was taking thyroid medication. That was it.”
“Would you check and see if she still has a bottle?” Lila asked.
Reaching behind the investigator, Olivia opened the cabinet and pulled out the orange bottle. “She kept it right here, as she told me, so she would remember to take it every day.”
“But nothing else?” Elizabeth pressed.
“Ellie, other than missing her thyroid, she was healthy.”
Elizabeth avoided Lila’s pointed look. “That still doesn’t rule out a sudden condition like a heart attack.”
“As you pointed out, let’s not jump to the homicide conclusion yet,” Olivia said. “The autopsy will tell me more. Did you get Jason to agree to one?”
Elizabeth winced. “I didn’t ask him yet. I told him to go to the hospital.”
“That might be better. I’ll speak with him,” Olivia said.
“But if the sheriff convinces him that it could be a homicide, we won’t need his approval.”
Elizabeth gaped at Lila. “I will not presume anything just to circumvent a grieving man.”
Huffing, Lila rammed her hands under her arms.
Someone cleared their throat, and then Lundquist entered the kitchen. Meyer shuffled up behind his fellow deputy.
“Sheriff, this house was wiped cl
ean,” Lundquist said. “There are no prints on any surface. I found some on a few bathroom items, but I’m certain those will come back as Mrs. McKinnley.”
Elizabeth felt Lila’s eyes boring into her.
“What more do you need?” she asked.
Giving each person in that room a full-on stare, Elizabeth bowed to their wisdom. “We will treat this as a homicide until such time as an actual ruling can be determined. For now, that piece of information stays within this department and with the ME. Understood?”
They all gave her a solemn head nod.
“I’ll deal with the press.”
“You’re going to need to tell Fitzgerald about this and to keep his mouth shut,” Lundquist stated.
Elizabeth wrinkled her nose at this. “Is there any way he’ll listen to you?”
He shrugged. “Maybe. But we both know he’s more apt to listen to authority over a peer. Even if he doesn’t like you.”
“Let me talk with him,” Lila interjected.
“Deputy Dayne, you barely know the man, and he’s not too keen on you.”
One corner of the woman’s mouth kicked up. “Maybe it’s time I change that.”
“I’m not opposed to the idea. Do what you can, but wait until later today. He’s got night shift again, and I don’t want him working on minimal sleep.
“In the meantime, DCI is on the way to process the house. Lundquist, you stay here and work with them. Deputy Meyer, you and Deputy Fontaine are on guard. Dayne, you’re with me. Doc, do your thing. We’ll make sure you can get the van out of here.”
As her team dispersed to do her bidding, Elizabeth headed for the door. Dayne fell in step with her.
“What are we doing?”
“I’m facing the horde and giving them something to chew on that will get them off our backs here. And when I’ve sufficiently whet their voracious appetite, we’re going to the high school. We need to establish a timeline for Maya Wagner.”
Chapter Twenty-Two
Lila hovered behind the other deputies who stood with the sheriff as she addressed the press. Studying the small flock of inquisitive reporters, Lila noted with relief, no one appeared interested in her. All it took was one overzealous person to go digging where they shouldn’t to expose Lila, and she’d have to seriously consider moving. A task she wasn’t keen on doing again so soon.
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