Page 19 of If She Stayed
"Already arranged.Crime scene techs should be here within the hour to collect everything."
The medical examiner arrived as Kate and DeMarco were finishing their initial examination of the living room.Dr.Patricia Williams was a veteran ME who had worked dozens of cases with Kate over the years, and her presence provided a level of professional comfort in what was becoming an increasingly complex investigation.
"Two bodies in three days, both connected to the same book club," Dr.Williams said as she knelt beside Jennifer's covered form."Is that about right?”
“That’s an accurate summary, yes,” Kate said.
“I'm assuming you suspect a serial killer."
"It's looking that way," Kate confirmed."Different methods, but too many connections to be coincidental."
Dr.Williams began her preliminary examination, carefully documenting Jennifer's position and visible condition before the body would be moved to the morgue.Kate watched the process with the detached professionalism that came from years of crime scene experience, but she couldn't shake the image of Jennifer's sorrowful face from the previous evening.
"No obvious signs of trauma," Dr.Williams reported."No bruising, no ligature marks, no defensive wounds.If this is homicide, we're probably looking at poisoning or some other method that doesn't leave obvious physical evidence."
"How long would you estimate she's been dead?"DeMarco asked.
"Based on lividity and rigor mortis, I'd say between ten and twelve hours.So somewhere between ten p.m.and midnight last night."
Kate calculated the timeline in her head.The book club meeting had ended around nine o'clock, with some members staying later for coffee and pie.Jennifer had left early, probably arriving home around 9:30 or so.If Dr.Williams' estimate was correct, Jennifer had died within a few hours of leaving the meeting.
"That's a very narrow window," Kate said."Someone either followed her home from the book club meeting, or they were waiting for her."
"The husband was home during that time period," DeMarco pointed out."He could confirm Jennifer's arrival time and her activities before she came downstairs for tea."
Kate nodded, though she was already developing a theory about how the killer had gained access to Jennifer's tea.Unlike Margaret's murder, which required the victim to open her door to someone she trusted, Jennifer's death could have been accomplished by someone who had access to her house earlier in the day.
"We need to interview the husband before his shock wears off," Kate said."He might remember details now that he'll forget later as the trauma sets in."
As the medical examiner's team prepared to remove Jennifer's body, Kate took one final look around the living room.The scene felt different from Margaret's library, less deliberate and more opportunistic.But the connection to literature was unmistakable, and once again the timing suggested someone who knew the book club members' schedules and habits.
Kate found herself thinking about the evening's dynamics at Eleanor's house, remembering the various tensions and resentments that had surfaced during their conversations.Someone in that room had known they would be killing Jennifer within hours of expressing sympathy for Margaret's death.The realization that they were dealing with a serial killer who was targeting book club members specifically sent a chill through Kate's professional composure.Two women were dead within three days, both killed in their homes while engaged in their shared passion for reading.
And if the killer was following some kind of pattern or timeline, there might be more victims planned before Kate and DeMarco could identify and stop them.
The question now was which of the book club members had the potential to bebotha suspect and a killer.
CHAPTER TWELVE
Kate stood in Jennifer's pristine kitchen, her phone balanced in one hand while she scrolled through the Goodreads summary ofGaudy Night.The silence in the house felt oppressive now that Jennifer's body had been removed and the initial chaos of the crime scene investigation had settled into methodical evidence collection.Through the window, she could see DeMarco coordinating with the local police officers who were canvassing the neighborhood for witnesses.
Kate’s brief study onGaudy Nightby Dorothy Sayers was, so far, quite eye-opening.The novel had been published in 1935, and Kate found herself reading the plot description with growing unease.The story centered around a series of poison pen letters and acts of vandalism at an Oxford women's college, culminating in an attempted murder by poison.But it was a specific detail in one of the user reviews that made Kate's pulse quicken: a mention of a scene where a character nearly dies from poisoned tea served in her own home.
Kate read the passage twice to make sure she’d understood it correctly.In Sayers' novel, the attempted murder involved doctoring someone's evening tea with a substance that would cause a slow, agonizing death.The victim was meant to be found hours later, having succumbed to what would initially appear to be natural causes.
The parallel to Jennifer's death was too precise to be coincidental.She continued searching for more detailed plot summaries and character analyses.She was particularly interested in the specific method of poisoning described in the novel, wondering if it matched whatever substance had been used to kill Jennifer.The fact that Jennifer had been reading this particular book when she died suggested their killer was not only familiar with classic mystery literature, but was specifically choosing novels that contained murder methods they could replicate.
Margaret's death had been staged to referenceMurder on the Orient Express, with the brass candlestick serving as both murder weapon and literary symbol.Now Jennifer had died while reading a book that featured poisoned tea.
Kate heard footsteps in the hallway and looked up to see DeMarco approaching with her phone in her hand.She looked somewhat drained by whatever task she’d been assisting with outside.DeMarco waved her phone slightly, indicating she’d just received a call.
"I’ve got Wagner on the line, with forensics," DeMarco said, her expression tense."They want to conference with us about their preliminary findings.Can we use the dining room?"
Kate followed DeMarco to the formal dining room, where they settled at the polished cherry table.DeMarco placed her phone in the center and activated the speaker function.
"This is Agent DeMarco.I have Agent Wise here with me.Go ahead with your report."
The voice that came through the speaker belonged to Bill Wagner, the lab's senior forensics analyst.Kate had worked with him on several previous cases and respected his thoroughness.
