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“Do multiple sets, including one from directly above. From as high a point as you can.”
“I got a ladder in my van outside.”
“Go get it.”
Decker came around to the back of the desk and looked over the shoulder of the dead man. He eyed the weapon, the twine, and the position of the body. It all fit together, he had to admit.
“See anything of interest?” asked Jamison.
“Yeah, a dead guy with no head and it’s too early for Halloween.”
Decker looked down at the twine, then squatted and studied the desk. He leaned in for a better look.
He straightened and looked at the doorway as Leakey came in carrying a ten-foot ladder. Decker held it for him while Leakey climbed up it and took the pictures.
“Measure the twine, too,” said Decker.
“The twine?” said the tech.
“Yeah, the twine. I want to knowexactlyhow long it is.”
Jamison said, “Decker, what’s going on? What are you thinking?”
“I’m not sure. Yet.”
When the tech was done with the photos and the measurements, Decker crossed the room and sat in the same chair he had used when they had come to visit Dawson that first time. Jamison came to stand next to him.
“Looks pretty straightforward, I guess,” she said.
“Yeah, except it’s always the straightforward ones that end up going sideways on you. And I still don’t see how this gets us to the ticking time bomb.”
“I’ve been telling you that for a while now,” Jamison pointed out.
When Decker didn’t respond she added, “Well, at least we don’t have to ferret out the cause and manner of death on this one.”
“Don’t we?” replied Decker, staring resolutely at the dead man.
“CAROLINE, WHY DID YOU GOout to your dad’s house?” asked Jamison.
It was the following day, and she and Decker were in the woman’s hospital room where the woman was lying in the bed, groggy and pale.
Liz Southern sat silently in a chair across from her, gazing at her friend sympathetically.
Caroline gazed up at Jamison and Decker, who hovered over her.
“W-what?”
“Why were you at your dad’s house?”
Caroline closed her eyes and fell asleep.
Southern said, “Let’s step outside. She needs her rest. I think she was more concussed than they originally thought.”
Out in the hall Decker looked at Southern. “Hugh Dawson told us you and Caroline had become good friends, sort of like sisters?”
Southern smiled. “I would be quite the older sister, but yes, we have become friends.” Her features turned somber. “When I heard about what happened I couldn’t believe it. The nurse told me they gave her some meds to help her rest. She didn’t sleep all that much last night, apparently. They said she’s probably in shock after what happened to Hugh.”
“Did you talk to her?” asked Decker.
