Page 88 of Forever Dead
“When the house is empty.”
Harold nodded. “Yeah. Booking calendar’s public. You can see which dates are available. Doesn’t get you a key or the lock box code, though.”
Connor filed that away. “We’ll need Peter’s contact details and the cleaner’s.”
“You got them.”
“Good. Sit here as long as you need.”
Harold caught his sleeve before he turned away. “Sheriff.”
Connor stopped.
“Whoever did that to her knew what they were doing.”
Connor considered the farmhouse for a moment. “Why do you say that?”
Harold released him. “Because they wanted somebody to find her. Hanging there like a piece of meat.”
Connor headed for the house. Inside, Matt Price had laid a protected route from the entry toward the rear corridor. Connor pulled on gloves and shoe covers before following it.
Nothing in the front rooms appeared disturbed. The place had the clean order of a rental property between guests. Cushions were aligned on the couch. No drawers hung open. No overturned furniture suggested a struggle had started there.
The laundry room was different. Matt stood just outside the doorway photographing the jamb and floor. Dr. Blethan was inside beside the body.
Matt had finished the initial photographs before the woman was lowered from the rafter, but the rope remained in place for documentation. Her body lay on a clean sheet near the wall. She wore a pale nurse’s uniform stained heavily across the abdomen and lower torso.
Connor stopped at the doorway. “How old?”
Blethan looked up. “Estimate, mid to late thirties.”
“Cause of death yet?”
“I said you could come in, not interrogate me from the hall, sheriff.”
Connor stepped carefully into the room, not in the mood for Blethan’s prickly personality.
Blethan pointed toward the abdomen without touching it. “One obvious deep stab wound. I’ll check for others during the examination. There was significant bleeding.”
“So, she bled out?”
“No.”
Connor frowned.
Blethan indicated the neck. “Ligature marks are consistent with hanging while she was alive. Preliminary view, she was stabbed first and hung afterward. The abdominal injury was serious, but the hanging killed her.” Connor studied the ceiling rafter.
“Was she conscious when they put the rope on?”
“Very likely.”
Matt lowered his camera. “No weapon found yet.”
“Any sign she fought?”
Blethan said, “Some bruising on the forearms. Small abrasions on one wrist. I’m not telling you what they mean until I’ve examined them.”
Connor looked around the cramped room. Washer. Dryer. Shelving. Cleaning supplies. No obvious reason for anyone to choose this room except the exposed rafter overhead.
