Page 24 of Beach Bodies


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“Here you go,” he said, handing it to his assistant to photograph and measure and then hand over to a member of the crime scene investigation team.

“Looks like nine-millimeter.”

“Let me know what ballistics says,” Will replied. “The damage it did on its path through this brain is considerable.”

At three o’clock, the post was finished. Will’s expertise minimized any further disfigurement of the victim, so when Lily’s parents asked to see her body, it would be clean, with hair combed, and only the bullet hole between her eyes visible.

Will and Laura left for home, the unreality of the evening beginning to settle in.

“Does Lisa have a gun?” Will asked, buckling his seat belt.

Laura snapped her head around, trying to determine if he was just being a wiseass or was serious.

“Oh, God, Will, I don’t know. I don’t see Lisa shooting anyone, no matter how motivated she might be. Do you?”

“Lisa’s very sweet, honey, but anyone is capable of murder if they are duly provoked.”

“What would be her motivation?” Laura asked.

“Unrequited love,” Will answered. “It’s a common motive.”

“Lisa is madly in love with Ryan. I would bet my life on it. She would do anything for him.”

“Commit murder?” Will asked.

Shivering, Laura glanced at Will, shaking her head. “I’m not saying anything about seeing Lisa with Lily. It was just the one time.”

“We saw her on the beach another time, and she ran to the beach access road when she saw us, remember?”

“I remember. I don’t care. That’s one piece of information I’m not sharing. I’m thinking of Dan, too. I wonder if he knows what’s going on. I mean that Lily was missing.”

“I imagine the police will question him.” They’d arrived on Sea View. “What a way to start the week,” Will said. “I wasn’t even on call.”

“Ha! My being at the autopsy will work to my advantage if the parents hire me. How unprofessional is it to approach a grieving family?”

“You can approach them to offer your condolences. And offer them a card, if you want. Be careful, though. You don’t have anything to give them yet, and what you have, you want to conceal.”

He pulled into the garage, and they sat there for a while after the door closed. They put their heads back, closing their eyes and holding hands.

“It’s getting late,” Laura said, yawning.

“No, it’s already late,” Will replied, chuckling. “Do I go to bed and get three hours max and wake up feeling like crap, or stay up all night and be a zombie tomorrow?”

“Let’s get some sleep,” she said, slapping his leg. “Come on.”

They got out of the car and went into the dark cottage. The moon-driven sea at high tide rushed toward them. They could have been the only two people on Earth. Standing in the living room, staring at the beach with the black ocean beyond, they took each other’s hands.

“I’ve got to shower,” Will said, grinning down at Laura.

“I’ll get in with you. We can rinse the carnage off our bodies in a ritual.”

“I like that idea,” Will replied. “And don’t forget, it’s baby night. Are you telling me I’m not going to get any sleep?”

“I promise it won’t take long,” she said, threading her arms around his body.

“Take as long as you want.”

Chapter 4

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