Dr. Lindsey McNamara, the District’s chief medical examiner, arrived with her team a short time later. With her long red hair up in a ponytail, Lindsey looked much younger than her thirty-seven years. “Sorry, I was out at the farm with Terry when I got the call.” The family of her fiancé, Terry O’Connor, lived in Leesburg, Virginia. “I got here as fast as I could.”
“No worries. We were on the way back from Baltimore when we got the call.”
“How is he?”
“He seems really good.”
They walked into the garage together.
“Did he say when he might get released?”
“In the next week or so and then back to work part-time at first.”
“I’m glad for him and all of you that he’ll be back soon.”
“We are too.” Since Lindsey was alone, Sam filled her in on Gonzo’s plan to plead to misdemeanor drug charges. “If you ask me, it’s total bullshit.”
“I agree with you.” After putting on gloves, Lindsey squatted for a closer look at the bloody wound to Ginny’s neck. Lindsey moved the woman’s hair. “Looks like death by sharp object, but not tidy enough to be a knife. I’ll know more when I get her cleaned up.”
“I’m going to need a time of death as soon as possible. We’ve got motive up the wazoo here. Apparently, she was running a scam that bilked people out of millions.”
“I read about that in the Star this morning! Terry and I were talking about it. How do you scam your own family and friends?”
“We were saying the same thing on the way to Baltimore. I guess we need to inform the prosecutor on the fraud case that his case just became mine.” She’d get someone on her team to take care of that detail.
“Probably so.” Lindsey took some photos and then signaled to one of her assistants to bring in the gurney for transport to the morgue. “I’ll get on this right away and have a report to you by morning.”
“Thanks, Doc.”
Sam caught up with Freddie and Jeannie in the street. “Anything?”
“Of course no one has seen a thing,” Freddie said, “but they’d all heard about Ginny being charged with fraud.”
“Hmm, well, I guess that’d be big news around here.”
“We’ve still got one house.” He pointed to the last house in the cul-de-sac.
“Let’s do it,” Sam said.
They knocked on the first door, and an older man with thick white hair and glasses answered, seemingly taken aback to see three cops on his doorstep. “What can I do for you?”
“We’re investigating the murder of Virginia McLeod,” Sam said.
“She was murdered? Well, I suppose that’s not surprising in light of what she did.”
“Did you invest with her?” Sam asked.
“I did not. She came after all of us, though.” He waved his hand to encompass the neighborhood. “I don’t know of anyone who actually went in with her around here. If they did, they didn’t tell anyone.”
“Why weren’t you interested?”
“Her proposal didn’t pass my smell test.”
“How so?”
“Long on big ideas, short on details.”
“Did you know of anyone who might’ve been angry enough to kill her?”
“Based on what I read in today’s paper, that’s a very long list.”
And Sam could hardly wait to talk to all of them. Ugh. “Did you see anyone around the McLeods’ home today?”
“I just got home after being out for most of the day. So no, I didn’t.”
“Do you have one of those doorbell-cam thingies?” His front door was the only one that had an unobstructed view of the McLeods’ house.
“No, I don’t.”
Because that would’ve been too easy. Sam handed him her business card. “If you think of anything relevant, give me a call.”
He glanced at the information on the card. “You’re the VP’s wife, right?”
Sam hated when people stated the obvious. “I am.”
“I hope he doesn’t run for president.”
She didn’t want to ask. She honestly didn’t. “Why’s that?”
“I don’t think he’s got the experience required to be president.”
“I’ll pass that on to him.”
The man gave her a curious look. “Is he going to run?”
“I’ll ask him and get back to you on that.” To her team, she said, “Let’s go.”
“It’s no wonder you hate people,” Jeannie said when they were across the street, far enough away that the man wouldn’t be able to hear them if he was still in the doorway.
“Eh, whatever. Does he honestly think I care? That Nick would care?”
Freddie shrugged. “Who knows? People are weird.”
“I tell you that every day.” Sam noted that Lindsey’s team had left with Ginny McLeod’s body and Crime Scene was on the job.