Page 39 of She Didn't See It Coming
“Maybe. Lack of sexual assault doesn’t mean it isn’t. A crime of passion isn’t necessarily about sex, it can be about rage.”
Jayne nods. “Thanks, Ginny.” She looks at Kilgour. “We’d better get to the Forensics lab.”
As she’s leaving, Jayne turns back and suggests spontaneously, “You wouldn’t want to meet me some night for a drink, would you, Ginny?”
The pathologist is clearly surprised at the invitation. But she smiles and nods. “Sure, anytime. My kids have all flown the nest. I’ve got time.”
•••
Paige wants to scream.The grief and tension in the condo are so heavy it’s unbearable. But she’s Bryden’s best friend, and Sam asked her to come, and she has nowhere else to be right now. She can’t think of a good excuse to leave. She is uncomfortable, being here with the family at such a terrible time, in such circumstances. When she knows something they don’t.
She thinks about that weird conclave in the kitchen a short while ago, when she overheard Lizzie and her mother. She’d suspected they’dcrept out to talk, so she’d pretended she wanted some more coffee after all. And now she knows they suspect Sam. At least Donna does—she’s not sure about Lizzie.
Sam hasn’t showered since Bryden went missing, that’s obvious. He’s usually so well groomed. Right now, he looks unkempt and distraught—pretty much how you’d expect him to look, given the circumstances. She knows she doesn’t look too great herself.
She must step in and help where she can. She must help Sam with Clara. She is Clara’s godmother after all. She wonders how Lizzie will feel about that. Lizzie has always been a little jealous of Clara’s affection for Paige; she might want to take over. Lizzie has a tendency to do that. And it looks like Sam is letting her. But it’s early days yet; he may find his feet.
She can’t put off talking privately to Sam any longer; she must tell him what she told the detectives. She gives him a glance, rises, and says, “I’m going to check on Clara.” The little girl has been watching TV in the den.
“I’ll come with you,” Sam offers and stands up stiffly as well.
Paige heads anxiously toward the den, feels Sam following her. Clara is cuddled in the corner of the sofa, sucking her thumb, watching cartoons. Paige sits down beside her and puts an arm around her affectionately. The little girl curls into her. But they can’t talk in front of Clara.
And now, finding herself almost alone with Sam for the first time since Bryden went missing, Clara burrowing into her, she doesn’t know how to be.
“We need to talk,” Sam says, his voice low.
She gives him a sharp look. “Not here. We can go down the hall,” she says quietly. She pulls Clara away to face her. “Are you okay, sweetie?” Clara nods at her gravely. “Are you okay to watch television for a bit longer? And then maybe I can take you out to the park?” Claranods again. “Good girl.” Paige kisses the top of her head, then gets up and goes quietly into the hall, Sam close behind her. She walks farther away from the living room, close to the bathroom around the corner, where they won’t be seen or heard. She turns around to face him. He’s right in front of her, his face close to hers.
He doesn’t kiss her. She doesn’t know what she was expecting.
He asks, his voice low and tense, “What did you say to the detectives?”
She’s taken aback; he’s looking at her as if he doesn’t trust her, as if he’s afraid that she said something she shouldn’t to the detectives. She would never do that. She will protect him, of course she will.
“Nothing,” she lies. She amends her answer. “I didn’t tell them about us. I wouldn’t do that. I know how that would look.” She adds, “And I don’t want my name in the newspapers either.”
He looks relieved.
She keeps an eye over his shoulder, to watch for anyone coming down the hall. She looks at him uneasily and says, “But there’s something you should know.”
25
Jayne and Kilgour look down at the suitcase they’d last seen in the storage locker. They’re in the lab, and Jonathan Fell, the head of the Forensic Investigation Unit, is staring at it with them. The suitcase is a burgundy, hard-sided Samsonite. It’s completely plain, except for a small, partially scraped-off sticker on one side, though there’s still a bit of red and yellow remaining.
Fell says, “Of course the husband’s fingerprints are all over it, as it’s his suitcase. The wife’s prints are there too. And a whole host of others, as you might expect, considering how much luggage is handled. It’s going to take time to process them all. We might get some to check against a suspect, if we’re lucky. But I wouldn’t hold your breath; the killer probably wore gloves.”
Jayne nods.
Fell continues, “We haven’t found anything else on or in the suitcase, or anything useful from the storage locker area—lots of prints toprocess and eliminate, but again, I’m guessing the killer wore gloves. We weren’t able to recover any usable footprints from the cement floor either. The apartment—same thing. Lots of fingerprints—we’re processing them and then we’ll have to compare them to the victim, husband, the family, and friends—and eliminate anyone who could legitimately have been in the apartment and see if there’s anyone left. Same with hair and fibers.” He adds, “It was an exceptionally clean murder.” He pauses and says, “Almost as if the body and the suitcase were carefully vacuumed. We’re checking the contents of the vacuum cleaner bag, of course.”
“Ginny says she was probably smothered with a plastic bag.”
He nods. “There was no obvious plastic bag left on the scene. There was a drawer of used plastic bags in the kitchen, and we’re going through those looking for any signs of mucous or skin cells—in case the killer used the bag and then stuffed it back in the kitchen drawer, but I think whoever did this was too smart for that. Probably took it with them. That, and the clothes.”
Jayne can’t help but be disappointed.
“The suitcase is on wheels, which makes it relatively easy to transport, but it would have taken someone of considerable strength to overcome her and lift a dead body and fold her into that suitcase. It’s harder than it looks.” He adds, “It could have been either a man or a woman, as long as they were strong enough. My guess is a man, though. Dumping her like that? So dismissive.”
