Perilous Read Free

you guys find anything else?” I asked.
    “We have a small smear in the blood pool on the floor there.” Rick pointed.
    “Shoe?”
    “I don’t think so. It looks more like something brushed through it.”
    “Not from any of us?” I asked.
    Rich shook his head. “Perpetrator, probably. We have some photos of it. I’ll try to see what I can make of it back at the office. Aside from that, the pillow over her face suggests remorse. I’m guessing whoever did it knew her. I already took prints from the back door that showed forced entry. I’m going to print the entire kitchen after this. If we can get good sets of the homeowner’s prints, we’ll have something to work off of.”
    “Is Ed on his way?” I asked.
    “Yeah, we figured it would be a bit before we were finished and he could take her.”
    “All right. Thanks, Rick. We’ll leave you to it.”
    I left the bedroom, and Hank followed.
    “What do you think, Hank?”
    “Husband out of town and his wife gets murdered like that? Either the husband himself or a boyfriend. Someone who knew her. Nothing looked like it had been rummaged through. Purse on the dresser in plain sight—definitely not a robbery.”
    I started down the steps back to the first floor. “Let’s talk to the neighbor. We’ll figure out a way to get in contact with her husband and let him know what happened here, if he doesn’t already.”
    We walked out the front of the house. Rickson and Lowen were speaking with the neighbor on his front patio.
    “Go introduce yourself to the neighbor,” I said. “Have him run through it for you. Get some contact information for the husband. I’m going to talk with Lowen and Rickson, see what they picked up from the guy.”
    We walked down the sidewalk. Hank made for the officers and the neighbor at the front door. I waited, and the two officers walked back toward me.
    “Is the guy’s story staying the same?” I asked.
    Rickson nodded. “We went through his whereabouts over the last two days—work, kids’ sports, and at home with the family here. The guy has no priors. Everything, whereabouts-wise, is written on the statement if you want to make sure it all clears.”
    “Thanks. Did you get a hold of the husband?”
    Rickson let out a breath. “Yeah, I told him we found his wife deceased. Homicide. I didn’t elaborate.”
    “His reaction?” I asked.
    “It seemed normal for the most part: disbelief, followed by a breakdown. The guy said he would get on the first flight back.”
    “What was his name?”
    “Charles Riaola”
    “Okay. I’ll have Waterman at the airport get me his flight information. Do we know where he was at on business?”
    “Atlanta.”
    I wrote it down in my notepad. “Where’s the statement from the neighbor?”
    “Sergeant Rawlings has it. I handed it off to him when he walked up. I think he’s running through it with the neighbor one more time.”
    “All right.”
    Hank walked back toward us. He handed the sheet back to Rickson. “The guy seems on the up and up. I got a mobile number for the husband.”
    “Did the neighbor hear anything funny going on over here last night or the day before?” I asked.
    “Nope. He said everything was normal. He also didn’t see anyone coming or going from the property,” Hank said.
    “Yeah, well, someone did.”
    The coroner’s van rounded the corner, and Ed backed the van into the driveway and hopped out.
    “Thanks, guys. Can you make sure there’s a copy of the neighbor’s statement on my desk when you get back?”
    “No problem, Lieutenant,” Lowen said.
    Hank and I headed for Ed standing in the driveway.
    “Kane, Rawlings,” Ed said.
    “Hey, Ed. How are you doing?” I asked.
    He shrugged his thin shoulders. “Same old same. Did you guys get a look inside yet?”
    We nodded.
    “Woman filled with knives,” Hank said.
    “Are Rick and Pax still working on her?” Ed asked.
    “The last we checked, they were. Are you going to be able to start the autopsy