“You said that you stayed for at least two hours. You had to have done something else. What you described doesn’t account for two hours.”

“Like I said, I wasn’t checking the clock.”

“Do you know anyone who would want to harm your wife?” Thomas asked.

Colin took his time, thinking for a minute. “She worked with some lunatics, but was mostly worried about her boss, Dr. Phillip Blythe. Julia was reviewing his cases and she found a lot of mistakes. She confronted him one time and he didn’t take it too well.”

“What kind of mistakes did she find?” Thomas asked. Gavin’s full attention was on the conversation.

“I don’t know. I left her right after that and didn’t talk to her anymore about it.”

Thomas Hayden walked out of the prison not completely convinced of Colin’s innocence but intrigued enough to want to investigate further. He hadn’t had a media-worthy case in a while, and if nothing else, this would certainly give him a challenge.

Jack questioned him on the way out of the jailhouse. “That’s very convenient, isn’t it? It’s a fairly easy explanation for how her blood got on him. Who can argue it? The only other witness is dead.”

“Yes, too convenient. We’ll have to look into that. I think we also need to get a copy of Dr. DeHaviland’s financial records and her autopsy files—the ones that detail her review of her boss’s work.”

“So, I’m assuming that we are going to take this case on?”

“Yes, Jack, I am. It’s quite fascinating.”

“Shouldn’t we go back in and let Colin know?”

“No, let him sweat for a while. It’ll be good for him.”

“Right, then. Where should we start?”

“We need to talk to the people who knew Julia. Her murder is the center of all of this. She’s tied to Colin, the accused. We need to start here. And that’s going to be with Dr. Phillip Blythe.”

18

Val read Dr. Stedman’s autopsy notes and Howie’s report from the investigation at the scene.

White male, age 25-35. Cause of death: Cerebral Hemorrhage. Manner of death: Accident. A broken bottle of Jack Daniels was found next to where he fell. And shortly thereafter, died. Blood Alcohol content was 0.22.

So, the idiot fell and hit his head on the pavement after downing a staggering amount of liquor. How could someone be so stupid and end their life like this?

She noticed the dead man had abrasions on his hands. It looked like he tried to stop his fall at least. What this person needed now was a name and this would be done through his dental records.