“Francine’s sister was also found dead,” Gwen remarked, nudging Val. “Tell Jack about that.”

Val explained what she knew about Samantha Ritcher. “She had high drug levels of the pain medicine Percocet in her system, but was injected with something and died from anaphylaxis.”

“Do you think someone purposely killed her?” Gwen asked.

“If you wanted to kill her, ‘why kill her this way?’ is the more important question,” said Jack, “Especially if she was impaired because of a drug like Percocet. It makes no sense. Push her down a flight of stairs or hit her on the head with a heavy object. This is far easier than to inject her with something she’s allergic to. Who would have even known what Samantha’s allergies were?”

“Maybe her ex-husband? He’s getting even with her for putting him away?” Val suggested. The newspaper had the story of Samantha and her ex-husband all over the front page. “He could have made a deal from prison and hired someone to do it for him.”

“Again, by injecting her with something she’s allergic to? A hired killer would have been an executioner. This person would have done it in the easiest way possible.” Jack smiled at Val. “She would have been shot in the back of the head.”

She felt her face grow hot as she remembered the victim from this afternoon.

He continued to smile and his eyes never left hers, until he winked and said, “No, to inject Samantha with a drug means something entirely different, if she’s connected.”

They continued their conversation and as Val watched Jack describe his suspicions, she grew more excited about the case.

The dishes were mostly empty when Jack announced, “I’d like for the two of you to meet Thomas. We’re going to re-examine the evidence found in Julia’s bedroom, that’s if Detective Gavin allows it. If you’re free the day after tomorrow, you should join us.”

22

Julia’s bedroom had an unsettling feeling to it. When Val first entered, she relived the shocking reality of being in a place where such horror occurred to her friend. She tried hard not to think about how much terror and pain Julia must have suffered. Instead, she focused on why she herself was here. It helped. She needed to find the bastard who was responsible for this.

Gavin agreed to let Thomas and Jack examine the crime scene. All of the evidence had been collected and photographed, so technically, this scene was cleared. But still, he and Warren stood close by, watching everything. Val sensed that this was more out of want than need. If anything was found that hinted at Colin being innocent, Gavin was going to be here for it.