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Amanda and Trent approached the gurney where Felicity Kelley’s dead and naked body lay. Seeing her like this—a pale blueish white beneath the unforgiving overhead lighting—was painful. Amanda resurrected Felicity’s voice to mind. To think her message was left just two days ago. It felt much longer than that.
Rideout set down the blade on a nearby table with other tools of his trade. That he was putting his work on pause told her he must have big news to share.
“You have something.” Not a question.
He lifted the face shield and draped a sheet over Felicity’s body. A respectful gesture. “That I do. Where do you want to start?”
“How about cause of death?” Trent asked.
“Felicity Kelley died due to blunt-force trauma to the back of her head.”
“Then the knife was just there for us to see and make assumptions,” Trent said. “Window dressing.”
Amanda nodded. “All about setting the scene. We believe the killer copied the murders from Kelley’s book, The Romeo Killer,” she added for Rideout’s benefit.
“We have some killer out there imitating a fictional serial killer? Not good, folks.” Rideout’s lips set in a thin, straight line. “Though, there are certainly unique elements to this case that would work well within the pages of a novel. As I was saying, it was a strike to her head that killed her.”
“You didn’t notice the injury on her head until you got her here?” Amanda asked, slightly surprised if that were the case.
“I didn’t move her around a lot at the scene, but you’ll recall that I would have expected more blood for the stab wound?”
“I do remember that. Well, it must have been the coffee table. We’ve just been running with things as if she’d injured herself from striking her head on it, not dying due to it. The CSIs discovered a blood trail from one end of the couch to the other…”
“I was informed about the blood, but I don’t remember seeing a coffee table,” Rideout said, puzzled.
“That’s because it wasn’t there by the time all of us showed up.” She met Trent’s gaze. “The killer did all he could to right the scene. He destroyed the table, burned it in her fireplace with all her papers… Or took it with him.”
“And we’re still left to decipher the killer’s motive in doing all that,” Trent said.
“More specifically, Navarro’s motive. Was it to set things up to make us think we’re after a serial killer? After all, if we’re busy exploring that, he’s in the clear.”
“You have a suspect?” Rideout asked.
“Yep, and he’s looking pretty good for it,” Trent replied.
“There are things stacked against him, to be sure,” Amanda added. “Though he did give us an alibi. We have yet to verify it.”
“Let’s hope you’ve got the guy, because I don’t want to see this on my table again.” Rideout’s voice was dry.
“Makes three of us,” Amanda said, speaking also on Trent’s behalf.
“I do have more to tell you, if you’re interested.”
“Of course.” Amanda smiled at the ME. “Please, go ahead.”
Rideout took a small bow. “There was epithelium under the victim’s fingernails.”
Good girl, Amanda thought, but she wouldn’t expect anything less from a crime fiction author.
“Possibly from an altercation that ended with her hitting her head on the coffee table,” Trent said.
“Sounds quite likely,” Rideout agreed.
“It’s clear Felicity’s killer had gone to her house with the intent to kill her. The playing card,” Amanda said. “What about the knife? Had it belonged to Felicity?”
Rideout shook his head. “It would seem the killer brought it with him. It was a chopping knife, likely part of a nice set but nothing special.”
This was just more proof of premeditation. “Were any prints pulled from the card or the knife?”
