“We can always hope,” he agreed.
A knock on the door yanked their collective attention from the case. “You expecting company?” Vera hoped like hell it wasn’t more trouble. Luna or Eve would have called if there was any news from Jerome. But this was a fairly large county; homicides might not happen often, but there were other crimes that required the sheriff’s attention.
“I wasn’t, but it looks like it found me anyway.” Bent got up and walked to the door.
Vera picked up their glasses and took them to the kitchen sink while Bent handled his visitor.
“Dr. Collins, come in.”
Collins? Vera poked her head beyond the cased opening that separated the kitchen from the living room. When did the ME start making house calls without a dead body to examine? Vera lifted an eyebrow. Maybe because the body she wanted to examine was very much alive and belonged to Bent.
Collins stepped in, all smiles and looking surprisingly fresh for a woman who’d just spent the better part of the day with murder victims. “Sheriff, I hope I’m not disturbing you.”
“Jenny, how are you this evening?” Vera walked to the sofa and sat down.
“Vera, I’m glad you’re here.”
Vera would just bet she was.Not.
“Have a seat,” Bent suggested to the ME, looking for all the world like he might fake a call to get the hell out of there.
“Thank you.” Collins settled on the sofa with Vera, which ensured Bent had to take a chair. Oh, that was a slick move.
Vera waited. Bent did the same. Collins looked from Vera to Bent.
“You mentioned that you were glad I’m here.” Vera couldn’t tolerate the anticipation a moment longer.
Collins nodded. “Right.” She inhaled a deep breath as if she’d only then remembered why she’d come at all. “I had a look at Jackie Andrews’s body as you suggested.”
This she directed to Bent. Vera told herself he’d only done this because Geneva Fanning had put up such a fuss. He’d said as much. And Vera had mentioned being worried about how it would look that Luna hadn’t called for EMS before calling her. His decision made total sense.
Still, at this precise moment with Collins looking all secretive, Vera didn’t like it one little bit.
“And?” Bent prompted.
“I can’t say conclusively of course,” Collins admitted, “but based on your photographs and what I found in my examination, she may havehit the spindle and then the wall during her fall down the stairs. Her injuries appear consistent with that scenario.”
Vera’s breath stalled deep in her lungs. This was stacking up toward something she did not want to hear.
“Beyond the head trauma and cervical fractures,” Collins went on, “there was a fairly deep abrasion—a scratch—on her right forearm that moved from the elbow toward the wrist as if she’d been trying to pull away from someone’s grasp, or perhaps someone was holding on to her arm when she fell. There was a tibial fracture to the left leg. The type of fracture consistent with perhaps hitting something stationary that stops your momentum. I can say without doubt that hitting the wall was likely the cause of the head trauma. The awkward landing certainly created the cervical fractures.”
“What you’re concluding,” Vera spoke up, needing to confirm what the ME appeared to be taking the long way around to say, “is that in light of the injuries she sustained, this was no typical trip and fall.”
Collins nodded. “I’m quite confident this was no accidental fall. Not unless the woman was running toward the stairs and”—she shrugged—“leaped down them for reasons we can’t fathom. Bottom line, the momentum required is consistent with a hard shove. The scratch on her right arm almost certainly confirms she was not alone when she fell.”
And there it was. The worst possible news outside a straight-up confession from Luna.
But that simply could not be.
“What’s your estimation regarding time of death?” Bent showed no reaction to this news, which Vera greatly appreciated. The fewer folks who recognized this was unsettling, the better.
The truth was, the fewer folks in a small town who knew anything even remotely unpleasant about you, the better. No one could use against you what they didn’t know. Then again, some just made stuff up.
“Between ten and elevenish. Most likely closer to ten unless the house was set to a serious chill.” With that, Collins stood. “Well, I won’ttake up any more of your time. I felt sure you wanted to hear this in person and not by phone.”
Bent was on his feet next. “You’re right.” He thrust out his hand. “Thank you, Dr. Collins. I appreciate your quick work. I know you have your hands full at the moment.”
And she did. Vera stared at their clasped hands. The woman hadn’t let go of his hand yet.
