Cut and Run (Lucy Kincaid #16) - Allison Brennan Page 0,105

and she sat. “It’s all on the computer. I could pull the physical files, but it would take longer.”

“This is fine.”

Ash logged in and pulled up the Mills files. “What are you looking for?”

“I don’t know. I read the autopsy report, but I don’t have details that weren’t made public. I want to visualize the scene. Based on the autopsy, she was killed at close range, stabbed twice, pushed into the pool.”

“Yep.” He enlarged the autopsy report, read it along with her. “Tox screen negative—no drugs or alcohol. She was a very healthy woman.”

“May I?” she asked, and motioned to the keyboard and mouse.

“It’s all yours. I need to check on an experiment, if you’re done before I get back just log out.”

“Thanks, Ash. I really appreciate this.”

Ash left, and she scrolled through the crime scene photos. The scene itself appeared almost serene. Nothing out of place. She had been stabbed only a few feet from the pool, either fell or was pushed in. Because the killer was so close and only removed the knife twice, there wasn’t a lot of blood spatter, only a few large bloodstains on the sandstone, which had absorbed the drops before the police arrived.

Lucy brought up the police report. Some of it she already knew, like that Victoria had been found the following morning at eight by the pool maintenance guy. She’d died between ten and eleven Friday night. The investigation showed that she had disarmed the alarm at nine twenty that evening and entered through the front door. It had never been reset, but the front door was locked. No sign of forced entry, but the rear sliding glass door was unlocked—and Victoria’s fingerprints had been found on it.

Further investigation showed that she had brought over a plate of finger sandwiches, orange juice, and champagne that she’d picked up earlier in the evening—they were for an open house that was supposed to run from eleven to two Saturday. According to the police investigation, they learned that Victoria didn’t list many houses and when she did they were high-end, million-dollar properties and usually for friends. This house was listed for $1.6 million in Alamo Heights, not far from Lucy and Sean in Olmos Park. The open house had been advertised, but everything else about the murder itself suggested that Victoria knew her killer.

Lucy scrolled through the rest of the report. Her purse and wallet had been recovered in the kitchen, nothing missing. Why had she gone outside? To check on something? Did she see something? Did she just want some fresh air? The yard was beautiful, with lots of flowers and trees and a black-bottom pool with a waterfall. Maybe she wanted to walk the grounds, think about what to tell prospective buyers, or maybe she was talking to someone. Maybe someone came with her.

Victoria’s car had been dusted for prints, and there were no new prints, though both Mitch Corta’s and Stanley Grant’s prints had been found in the vehicle. Not a surprise. No prints in the house other than the owners’, a long-time housekeeper’s, and Victoria’s—which lent credence to the idea that Victoria had let her killer into the house.

A supplemental report from the owners said nothing was missing—no jewelry, art, knives, et cetera. That meant the killer brought the knife with him. For the purpose of killing Victoria, or was it a knife that he always carried? Lucy didn’t assume it was for murder—she knew many people who routinely carried a knife, mostly cops or former military as well as her husband. But a knife was a far more intimate weapon than a gun.

And much quieter.

She looked for surveillance reports. In a neighborhood like the one where Victoria was murdered, many of the residents likely had security cameras. The owners had no cameras, just the alarm system. There was no such security report. Why? Wouldn’t they canvass the neighborhood? Check cameras?

She flipped through the other pages. Two officers talked to neighbors. No one heard or saw anything. One couple who were walking their dog at eleven fifteen that night said that they saw Victoria’s car in the driveway but no other vehicle. The killer either was gone or had parked in a different location and walked over.

That seemed unlikely. A stranger walking in that ritzy neighborhood might be noticed.

Unless they looked like they belonged there.

Jennifer Reed had interviewed Mitch Corta first. In her notes, he was upset and distracted. He confirmed that she was going to the house to set up