The Dying Room Read Free Page A

killer’s animosity has been building over an extended period of time.”
    “Until he decided it was time to act,” Jess agreed. “Let’s begin with these cases. See if the killer was trying to tell us something.”
    While Lori photographed the scene for their case board, Jess moved around the rest of the room. None of the books appeared disturbed. The desk was uncluttered, the drawers organized and neat. No computer, not even an iPad. After a bit more poking around, she went in search of Harper. She found him in the corridor headed her way. “You find anything?”
    He shook his head. “The rest of the house is undisturbed. Not one thing appears out of place. Our perp was careful.”
    “Did the housekeeper notice anything missing?” Jess suspected the answer would be no. She was reasonably sure this was not about financial gain.
    “Hayes finished taking her statement.” Harper hitched his head toward the other end of the corridor. “He walked through the house with her, but she didn’t spot anything missing or disturbed.”
    “Good. Did you find any indications of forced entry? A window maybe?” If the judge had welcomed his killer into his home, then the suspect pool could be narrowed somewhat. Then again, this was the south, most people invited folks into their homes whether they knew them or not.
    “I checked all the windows and the doors,” Harper said as they moved toward the opposite end of the corridor. “I didn’t find any indication of forced entry. The judge’s car is in the garage. There’s jewelry in the master bedroom. A hundred bucks and several credit cards in his wallet on the bedside table. The keys to his Cadillac are on the hall table. His gun cabinet is unlocked and stocked with weapons and ammo.”
    “Apparently, our killer wasn’t interested in easy cash,” Jess noted. Harper’s findings confirmed her conclusions that robbery was not the killer’s primary motive.
    “If he was he sure left plenty behind,” Harper agreed.
    “I’d like to speak with the housekeeper now.”
    As if he’d read her mind, Lieutenant Clint Hayes exited the kitchen and headed their way. “We’re ready for you, Chief.”
    Harper hitched a thumb toward the front of the house. “I’ll catch up with Cook and see how the neighbor interviews are going.”
    ‘Thank you, Sergeant.” Jess shifted her attention to Hayes. As always he was dressed as if he were headed to a GQ cover shoot. Harper and Cook still teased him from time to time about having stock in Armani and Ralph Lauren. “What do we have, Lieutenant?”
    “Valerie Neely, sixty-seven.” Hayes led the way to the kitchen. “She’s worked for the judge for twenty years.”
    “Hopefully, she knows some of his enemies.” When a man ended up dead and it wasn’t about money or a woman, he most certainly had at least one enemy.
    Valerie Neely was a short, stocky woman. She dressed for function and wore her gray streaked hair in a serviceable bun. Five minutes into the interview, Jess decided she’d missed her calling as a drill sergeant.
    “So you made dinner for the judge on Friday?”
    Valerie nodded. “Fish with rice and broccoli.”
    Jess tapped her notepad with her pencil. “Why don’t you make your shopping list on Fridays, Valerie? You work long hours all week, why take part of your Sunday evening to come by.”
    She shrugged stooped shoulders. “The judge likes me to check on Sundays. I like my job so I do things the way he wants. I knew something was wrong as soon as I opened the door. It was unlocked and the security system was off.”
    Jess could understand her reasoning about the job, though keeping her boss happy had never been Jess’s strong suit. The housekeeper’s statement helped determine the timeline they were working with here. As late as seven on Friday evening the judge had been fine. Whatever happened, it took place during the thirty-six or so hours that followed. Accurate timelines were essential to solving any