Carly pulled the envelope from her bag. “I found this in his desk. It’s your case, which he never discussed with me. Since his notes aren’t dated, I didn’t know if everything had been resolved.”
“I asked him to be discreet. I’m guessing that’s why he never said anything to you.”
A woman in her mid-thirties hurried into the room. “Hi, Mom. I got here as soon as I could.” The woman turned her attention toward Carly and the warmth drained from her eyes.
“This is my daughter, Erin Murphy,” said Mrs. Murphy.
This wasn’t the first time Carly had encountered a potentially hostile situation, so she offered a friendly smile and one of her business cards. “I’m Carly Stone with Stone Investigations.”
Erin snatched the card. “What are you trying to sell my mother?”
“It’s okay, dear,” said Mrs. Murphy. “I hired Ms. Stone’s grandfather to help me.”
Erin’s lips were slashed in a thin line. “Help you do what?”
“Fear has kept me quiet for decades, but I’m ready to talk,” said Mrs. Murphy. “Ms. Stone, can you give me a few minutes with my daughter, please? Help yourself to coffee or tea in the cafeteria. It’s right across the hall.”
“Can I bring you both something?”
“A black coffee would be lovely,” said Mrs. Murphy. “Use the plastic lids. The coffee is very hot.”
Carly entered the quiet cafeteria, poured two coffees and waited. Ten minutes later, Erin entered the break room and sat beside Carly. “I’m sorry. I had no idea.”
“Totally okay.”
“A lot of people have tried to take advantage of her. I’ve become overly protective.” Tears filled Erin’s eyes. “I feel like I’ve been hit by a bus.”
Carly offered her a napkin. “It’s a lot to take in. I would offer to come back—”
Erin squared her shoulders. “My mom is lucid and she would like some answers. Let’s talk this out.”
The two women returned to the library.
“Mrs. Murphy, you were my grandfather’s client,” Carly began. “How would you like to handle this going forward?”
“I’ll hire you,” Erin said. “We need to get to the bottom of this.”
Mrs. Murphy nodded in agreement.
Carly showed both women her grandfather’s notes, along with the newspaper clipping about the death of Rose Aurora.
“I gave him that.” Mrs. Murphy read over Pierce’s notes. “He got the main points. In February, he told me he was getting close, but I never heard from him again.”
“I’m sorry to ask you to repeat what you told him, but this is all I have.” Carly pulled out her small notebook.
“My sister, Rose, was twenty-three when she died,” Mrs. Murphy began. “She’d been strangled in a motel room, but her infant daughter, Erin, had been spared, thank the good Lord. No one heard or saw anything. There were no suspects. The police never even brought anyone in for questioning. I was seven years older than Rose, already married with two young sons. My husband and I raised Erin as our own.”
Carly jotted notes. “I see.”
“Several months after my sister died, we moved to Northern Virginia. My husband and I never told anyone the truth about Erin for fear the killer would come after her or our boys.”
“Where was Rose murdered?” Carly asked.
“Richmond.”
“What can you tell me about the men in Rose’s life?” Carly asked. “Anyone special?”
A smile flitted across her face. “My sister was very pretty and always got a lot of attention.” Her smile fell away. “But she was attracted to the wrong kind of men.”
