Her Frozen Cry (Detective Amanda Steele)

“True. But with Eve, the drug likely wouldn’t have been put in her sleeping aid. It’s first thing in the morning.”

Amanda scanned the room, her eyes landing on Eve’s coffee cup. She pointed in its direction. “That.”

“We’ll get it tested. But who could have wanted both women dead?”

“Someone connected or related to the sale of New Belle, as we thought before.”

“Time to speak with the other bidders.”

Rideout breezed into the office with Liam trailing him. “I heard this one dropped at your feet.”

Amanda didn’t find him nearly as funny as he must have thought he was, factoring in his grin. “How it worked out,” she responded drily.

“I was actually about to call you when I got your call to come here. I figured I’d give you the update in person. Alicia Gordon’s toxicology was waiting for me when I came in this morning. She had a lethal amount of pentobarbital in her system.”

Hearing about it now after it had been a strong—and working—theory was anticlimactic. But they had the concrete proof Malone wanted.

“Do you know if she was poisoned with a single large dose or over time?” Amanda asked.

“That’s not anything I can tell with any certainty.” Rideout looked around the room. “Where’s the body?”

“Behind the desk.” Amanda pointed, though it wasn’t necessary. She added, “She looked exhausted from the moment we walked in here.”

“Which was when?”

“Around nine AM, give or take a few minutes. She was breathing heavily, looked like she had a headache.”

“Seemed like she was dazed and dizzy too,” Trent added.

“Not looking good for her, then.”

Amanda bit the urge to say, Obviously not; she’s dead.

“I’ll take a look, see what I can determine. Only thing we can effectively knock off is TOD.” Rideout paused there and made deliberate eye contact with Amanda.

“But it does sound like pentobarbital caused this today?” she said.

“From what you’re describing, yes, but I’m not leaping to that conclusion without taking the proper measures. If this woman was drugged with pentobarbital, I would wager she ingested some not long before you two arrived.” Rideout looked toward the doorway. “No CSIs yet?”

“Probably just a few minutes behind you,” Amanda said.

“I’ll get started once they’ve finished taking their photographs, etcetera. Might as well go get myself a cup of coffee.”

Coffee…Amanda’s eyes settled on Eve’s cup.

Rideout and Liam left, and in their place, Sergeant Malone and CSIs Donnelly and Blair filtered into the room. Brief mumbled greetings, and the investigators got to work. Amanda told them to test the cup and remaining coffee for pentobarbital.

Malone stepped in front of Amanda and Trent. “What’s going on? And why were you here? I need answers.”

“Which we’re trying to get, and which we will get,” she added under his intensifying eye contact.

“As soon as the police chief catches wind of this…” Malone puffed out his chest and tugged down on his suit jacket. “Tell me where you are with the investigation.”

She brought him up to speed on why they were at Eve Kelley’s office, leaving out the part about getting into Alicia’s phone history. She played Eve up as a murder suspect, building off the one threat Alicia had received. “Rideout just confirmed that Alicia Gordon had a lethal amount of pentobarbital in her system. It was likely what caused the heart failure.”

“Definitely murder, then? No possibility of suicide?”

“None. Which I tell you with confidence.” As far as Amanda was concerned Eve’s death removed any doubt.

“Okay. Guess I can authorize you going for a subpoena for her phone and computer records then. And it would seem that Eve’s likely off the hook for Alicia’s murder. What about your old friend, Tony Bishop? Where is he in all this?”

Amanda had been hoping Malone wouldn’t ask. Trent stepped back, though subtly. She caught it, but Malone didn’t seem to. Amanda said, “He might be able to get his hands on pentobarbital.”

“You can connect him to it? And I’m just hearing about this now?”

“It’s a stretch and only in a roundabout way. Means hasn’t been established.” She filled him in that Tony’s daughter and son-in-law owned a vet clinic.

Malone pursed his lips, his patience hitting its limit. “Sounds like it’s established to me. The drug is conceivably within Mr. Bishop’s reach.”

“Yes, but right within the daughter’s hand. She is one of our next stops.” And she wasn’t lying. Even before Eve Kelley had dropped dead, stopping by the vet clinic and speaking with Bethany was on their list of things to do.

“You think the daughter killed these women?”

“Not necessarily, but we can see if she knows of any way Tony—Mr. Bishop—could have gotten any of the drug,” Amanda said.

“And hope she doesn’t lie to protect her father. Tell me, though, why would Tony Bishop want Eve Kelley dead?”

She wished that Malone hadn’t asked.

“Detective Steele?” Malone prompted.