Walt hesitated as he, too, stared at the monitor, trying to make sense of it.

Dr. Lockard turned from the screen and looked at Walt. “If I were involved with this case, more than simply performing the postmortem exam on the victim, the chemicals found in the crime scene blood, as well as the ammonia in the urine, would raise some serious red flags.”

“Red flags for what?”

“That the urine was badly preserved before being placed in the toilet, and that the blood had been harvested from a tampon and planted at the scene.”

CHAPTER 53 - Manhattan, NY Monday, July 5, 2021

CHAPTER 53

Manhattan, NY Monday, July 5, 2021

IT WAS APPROACHING 6:00 P.M. WHEN AVERY RODE THE ELEVATOR UP TO Natalie Ratcliff’s apartment and was again met by the author when the doors opened.

“Avery, good to see you again.”

“Hi,” Avery said. “I didn’t think you’d finish so fast.”

“I’ve been done for a day or two. Come on inside.”

Avery followed Natalie into the apartment. She had called Natalie after breakfast to ask if she had finished writing the chronology of her relationship with Victoria Ford.

“I wasn’t even sure you’d be in town. The city was eerily empty this past weekend,” Avery said.

“I know. I actually came back to the city from our Lake Norman house for that exact reason. I’m behind on a deadline and there are too many distractions there. The empty city was a godsend. It kept me focused on my manuscript all weekend because there was nothing else going on.”

“I hope my request didn’t put you more behind.”

“Not at all. I enjoyed putting it together. It was like taking a stroll down memory lane recounting my friendship with Victoria.”

Natalie walked through the French doors of her office. Avery again saw Natalie’s books arranged on the built-in shelves. Natalie came back out of the office and handed Avery a folder.

“That’s a point-by-point overview of my relationship with Victoria, ever since we first met as college freshmen. I hope it answers all your questions and provides some insight into who she was and what a dear friend she always was to me.”

Avery took the folder and opened it. Inside were several typed pages.

“Thank you for doing this. It will certainly go a long way to showing my audience who Victoria was. Together with everything Emma has provided, I should be able to paint a complete picture of her. In the fall, are you willing to give a full interview? My team would be with me then and we’d be recording and producing it for American Events.”

Natalie nodded. “For sure.”

“Excellent. I don’t want to take too much of your time,” Avery said. “So thank you again.”

“Of course.”