Victoria’s car had been dusted for prints, and there were no new prints, though both Mitch Corta’s and Stanley Grant’s prints had been found in the vehicle. Not a surprise. No prints in the house other than the owners’, a long-time housekeeper’s, and Victoria’s—which lent credence to the idea that Victoria had let her killer into the house.

A supplemental report from the owners said nothing was missing—no jewelry, art, knives, et cetera. That meant the killer brought the knife with him. For the purpose of killing Victoria, or was it a knife that he always carried? Lucy didn’t assume it was for murder—she knew many people who routinely carried a knife, mostly cops or former military as well as her husband. But a knife was a far more intimate weapon than a gun.

And much quieter.

She looked for surveillance reports. In a neighborhood like the one where Victoria was murdered, many of the residents likely had security cameras. The owners had no cameras, just the alarm system. There was no such security report. Why? Wouldn’t they canvass the neighborhood? Check cameras?

She flipped through the other pages. Two officers talked to neighbors. No one heard or saw anything. One couple who were walking their dog at eleven fifteen that night said that they saw Victoria’s car in the driveway but no other vehicle. The killer either was gone or had parked in a different location and walked over.

That seemed unlikely. A stranger walking in that ritzy neighborhood might be noticed.

Unless they looked like they belonged there.

Jennifer Reed had interviewed Mitch Corta first. In her notes, he was upset and distracted. He confirmed that she was going to the house to set up for the open house the next day. He had an alibi—he was in Bandera appraising a massive ranch. The owner of the property verified that he arrived at four that Friday afternoon and stayed for dinner, leaving around ten thirty.

Impossible to get all the way to Alamo Heights by eleven unless he was practically flying. It was nearly sixty miles, and some roads you couldn’t go sixty, let alone a hundred.

She’d also interviewed Stanley Grant. He’d had dinner with his sister that night, left at nine, and gone home. No real alibi, but he had a security system on his house. It would have been easy enough to check—which no one did. Still, many systems could be bypassed or cheated. He could reprogram it to show he was in when he was out and vice versa. But in her initial notes, Reed didn’t think Grant was guilty.

She’d interviewed Victoria’s family, including her brother, Simon, and only one comment from him was interesting:

“Victoria believed someone was following her. She didn’t know who, and she was more angry than scared. Because that was her.”