Page 92 of Forever Dead

Connor followed her attention toward the rafter.

Selena continued, “With Eleanor, the killer brought her rocking chair into the dining room, broke it and put it over her after she was already dead. That felt like rage. Something from her own home destroyed and left across her body.”

She turned toward the laundry-room door.

“This is different. This took planning. Patricia had to be alive when she was put on that rope, and the body was positioned so whoever opened the door would physically feel it striking the other side.”

Matt glanced toward the door.

“Both scenes force the finder to interact with what the killer left behind,” Selena said. “But they don’t say the same thing. Eleanor’s scene feels angry. This one feels engineered. The discovery itself is part of what the killer designed.”

Connor felt the idea settle into place.

“Harold said the same thing in a different way. He thinks whoever did this wanted her found.”

“I think he’s right,” Selena said. “The staging isn’t decoration. Whatever this person is trying to say, the finder is supposed to receive it.”

Her phone vibrated, and she checked the screen.

“Tanya says Patricia Vanes is licensed as a registered nurse in Kentucky. She’s done agency shifts at the secure psychiatric facility Curtis Halle was discharged from.”

Connor turned toward her. “You’re sure?”

“Her name appears on staffing records attached to a state inspection report. It doesn’t prove they ever met, but Curtis was still at the facility during the period Patricia worked shifts there.”

Arnold said, “So Halle just became relevant to both victims.”

“Potentially,” Selena said. “We don’t turn potentially into definitely.”

Connor nodded. “Anything linking Patricia to Marsh?”

“Not yet.” Selena typed another message, then stopped.

“What?” Connor asked.

She did not answer immediately. Instead, she turned toward the front of the house.

“Eleanor’s farmhouse has been in her family for generations.”

Connor nodded. Selena continued, “And this place belonged to the Tully family.”

“Yeah.”

“They’re both old farmsteads.”

Arnold shifted closer. “There are a lot of old farmsteads in Harlan County.”

“True.” Selena studied the room again. Two old farmhouses were not a pattern by themselves. She knew that. But Eleanor’s scene had felt personal from the beginning, and if the properties connected, she might finally have a reason someone had chosen Miss Marsh.

“Locations can be victimology, too,” Selena said.

Blethan frowned. “Meaning?”

“Maybe we’re assuming the killer chose the women and then found somewhere to kill them. What if the places came first?”

Connor watched her take out her phone. A flicker of pride rose before he could stop it. This was the Selena he remembered working beside.

“Tanya again?”