Page 49 of In Her Memory

“Did he usually keep his phone on the nightstand?” she asked Cindy.

“Always. He checked his emails before bed and first thing in the morning.”

Jenna found nothing mysterious about the cellphone. If Dr. Winslow’s diagnosis was correct, Boyd might have grabbed it to call for help when the pains began, only to accidentally drop it.

Jenna photographed the phone in place, marked the location, and bagged it for forensics to check out. Then her gaze traveled to the lamp on the side table

Under the lampshade, she saw that the light bulb was missing. The socket gaped empty.

“That’s odd,” she murmured.

“What is?” Harold asked, glancing up from where he sat on the edge of the bed.

“The bulb’s been removed from this lamp.” Jenna pointed, careful not to touch it.

Cindy frowned. “Maybe he took it out because it was too bright?”

“Maybe,” Jenna murmured. It was a small detail, probably meaningless, but her intuition whispered that it mattered. Might someone has wanted to make sure that Calloway couldn’t turn on that lamp? She thought of asking whether Calloway might have died of fright, but decided to wait. That question was better suited for Dr. Stark.

The sound of the door opening drew her attention. Jake stepped in, his sandy hair slightly mussed. His eyes met Jenna’s.

“The crowd’s calming down,” he said, keeping his voice low. “I’ve got Officers Baldry, Hutson, and Delgado keeping everyone in the common areas for now. Most of them are pretty shaken up. I called Dr. Stark, and she’s on her way with a team.”

“Good work,” Jenna said. Then her eyes fell again on Cindy Ruhl, who seemed to be slipping into a state of shock.

Turning to Dr. Winslow, she said quietly, “Harold, could you take Ms. Ruhl somewhere else? Officer Delgado can help you take care of her.”

Dr. Winslow gently helped Cindy to her feet and led her out of the room. Jake called Delgado to let her know about the doctor and his charge.

Jenna and Jake were now alone in the room with Boyd Calloway’s corpse.

“What are you thinking? “Jake asked, but before she could reply her own phone vibrated in her pocket.

She pulled it out, frowning at the unknown number on the screen. Under normal circumstances, she’d let it go to voicemail, but with a dead body in the room and a house full of suspects—or witnesses, she corrected herself—she couldn’t afford to miss anything.

“Sheriff Graves,” she answered.

“Sheriff, this is Chief Joel Harmon, Piltdown Police Department.”

The name caught her off guard. Piltdown was nearly three hundred miles away, in the northwest corner of the state, near the Iowa border. She’d never had any dealings with their department.

“Chief Harmon,” she said. “What can I do for you?”

There was a pause on the line, and when he spoke again, he sounded confused. “This is going to sound strange, Sheriff, but I need to confirm something. Do you have a sister named Piper?”

Jenna’s free hand shot out to brace herself against the wall as her knees threatened to buckle. “Yes,” she managed, the word barely audible. “Yes, I do.”

Another pause, longer this time. “Well, she’s here at the station looking the worse for wear, and she’s asking to speak with you. She says she’s your sister, and—” He stopped, and Jenna could hear muffled conversation in the background. When he came back, his voice had softened. “Sheriff, I’m putting her on the line.”

The world narrowed to the phone pressed against her ear. Then—

“Jenna? It’s me. It’s Piper.” The voice was thin, uncertain, but unmistakably her sister’s.

“Oh my God.” Jenna’s voice broke. “Piper? Is it really you?”

“I’m really Piper again,” her sister said, and Jenna could hear the tears in her voice. “I’m through being Emma. I’m ready to come home, Jenna. For good this time.”

Jenna sank into the nearest chair, her legs finally giving out. “Are you okay? What happened?”