Jack shrugged and walked further down the hall. Rachel stayed in the bathroom a moment longer, trying to figure it out. She supposed the vitamins could be oldthat she had not taken any of them in a while. Then again, if shed just remarried and moved into a new home with another man, the vitamins seemed like something that would have been thrown away when she moved. The bottle had been about half empty, so she supposed trying for a kid might have been on the agenda with her new husband.

Rachel retraced her steps back through the house and walked back out onto the back porch. She saw Sergeant Owen in the yard, speaking to another officer that was typing something into his phone.

Sergeant Owen, did the husband mention anything about doctors appointments?

Owen looked up to her and shook his head sadly. Honestly, he didnt say much of anything. He went from absolute shock and sadness to a bitter sort of anger.

It made sense. Rachel had seen the exact same thing in the reactions of men that had lost their wives to murder. The initial heartbreak opened a door to angeran anger that was really, at its core, the sharpest kind of grief imaginable. If Owens description was correct, it made Rachel already feel that the husband wasnt a suspect, though theyd certainly have to talk to him at some point.

Jack stepped up behind her, looking down into the yard. Initial thoughts?

None yet, Rachel said. But I do feel that the murders being so similar and occurring so close together have to be linked somehow.

Want to go see what the coroner has to say?

Yes, and then maybe Lucindas husband. If hes as wrecked over this as Owen says he is, well be wasting our time going to him right now.

As they passed back through the back yard and gave their thanks to the police, Rachel handed Sergeant Owen a business card. When the husband is ready to talk, please give him my number.

Sergeant Owen nodded, pocketing the card. As Rachel walked away from the scene, she realized that the time theyd spent at the Masters residence was the longest stretch of time shed spent since yesterdays doctors visit not intensely focused on the diagnosis. The case was already proving to be the distraction she needed. Deep down, she knew it was not healthy (neither physically or mentally) to avoid it in such a way. But for right now, she felt normal; she didnt even feel that leering presence shed felt in the car on the way to Baltimore, her personified version of the tumor always following her.

What she inherently understood but refused to face as she and Jack got back into the car was that at the end of this caseno matter how it turned outshe would have a grim truth to face. And there was no amount of work or exciting cases that was going to change that.