At her side, it seemed Dan read her mind. “Katie, it’s very likely the murders are all connected. And if so, the way this woman died is horrific, yes, but there’s a good possibility she was instrumental in the brutal murders of at least nine other people. It’s horrible, but she chose her path. None of this is your fault in any way.”

She nodded. “I know that. It’s just...”

“Horrible, yes. But helpful, maybe, for the lives of others. You saw this Jennie in New Orleans. I imagine it means Dr. Neil Browne is in town somewhere, as well. And because of you, we have a sketch of him.”

Again, Katie nodded.

“He could have changed so much in twelve years.”

“Right. But we have a dozen or more computer enhancements of the man to work with. He’s going to appear somewhere. And you don’t know what happened. He may have tired of his accomplice. This might have nothing to do with you.”

She nodded again.

She was feeling...tired. And a little numb. But far too anxious to even contemplate sleep.

They’d gotten the carriage and Sarah back to the stables before coming to the morgue. There wouldn’t be an autopsy until the morning, but due to the circumstances, the police wanted a solid identification on the woman as quickly as possible.

Monty had been at the stables, and Dan had explained the situation to him. He’d naturally wanted to help, but Katie had needed to tend to Sarah. It was busy work, and she loved the mule. And it was good to have the boys scurrying around her while she brushed Sarah down and saw to her food.

Matt was still out, serving the night crowd with tours. Lorna had brought her carriage in, accompanied by Benny.

The two of them were now at Benny’s house, working on his Satchmo apparel for the following day.

It was just past nine o’clock. There wasn’t much to do until morning.

“They’ve done blood work and fingerprints, taken dental impressions. We’ll see what we can get,” Axel said, joining Dan and Katie at the window. He looked at Katie and maybe realized how restless she was. “It’s tough. But sometimes, no way out of it, it’s a waiting game.”

She gave Axel a weak smile. “Anything from Angela?” Dan asked him.

“She’s working through the night. When she has something, she’ll get it to us. Have you two eaten?” he asked.

Katie looked from the corpse to him.

“I had a late lunch,” Dan said. He looked at Katie. “How are you doing?”

“I, uh...well, I can sit with you, wherever you’d like to go,” she said.

“Seems rude, huh? Going from the morgue to dinner?” Axel asked her.

“I mean, I know this is what you deal with all the time—”

“Not quite this,” Dan said.