Page 173 of Taken Away

“But I do know this.”

He looked at each deputy in turn.

“Moose wasn’t in that bedroom when Mabel was attacked.”

Sara frowned.

“When we got there, he’d nearly torn the back door off trying to get inside.”

“Exactly,” Burke said. “At the time, we all assumed he knew something was wrong with Mabel and couldn’t reach her.”

He let that settle.

“Now we have to ask a different question.”

The room waited.

“What happened before that?”

Nobody answered.

Burke turned back toward the board.

“The chemical analysis from Dr. Cade came in this morning. The fibers recovered from Mabel’s airway match the cream-and-blue velvet throw pillow from her bedroom.”

The room fell silent again.

“The killer didn’t bring a weapon,” Burke said. “They used what was already in the room, staged the scene, and left.”

Sara shook her head.

“She fought.”

“She did.”

Burke nodded once.

“And somebody still held that pillow there until it was over.”

Luke glanced toward the board.

“So we’re looking for somebody who knew the property.”

“And somebody Mabel wouldn’t think twice about letting into her house.”

Luke frowned. “Sheriff... what if we’re looking at this backward?”

Burke looked up.

“What if nobody came in after Mabel got home?”

The room went still.

Luke shrugged.

“She spends all day at the winery. Bennett says people came and went around that property all the time. If somebody knew her routine...”

Sara finished the thought.