“Mr. Lamb, this isn’t necessary right now. Later, you can give her clothes to the funeral home, and they—”
“But her clothes were torn!” Tears were running down the man’s cheeks. “She wouldn’t want . . . she needs . . . please, the shirt has buttons—it will be easy to put it on her. I can do it myself, and then I’ll leave. Just let me in for one minute . . .” He crouched, about to pass under the tape. The officer with the logbook seemed poised to grab him, but O’Donnell stepped forward instead and put her hand on Mr. Lamb’s shoulder, as if helping him through, but also effectively stopping him from moving inside the house.
“Your daughter’s body isn’t here anymore. They took her to the morgue,” she said. “And they will perform an autopsy. After the autopsy, her body will be released to the funeral home, and you can give them the outfit to dress her.”
He gazed down at his bag helplessly as a tear dropped from his chin to the ground.
“Do you want me to take this to the morgue?” O’Donnell asked. “I can tell them.”
Tell them what? Tatum wondered, but he could see the relief in the man’s face. He’d heard what he’d wanted to hear, took comfort in the detective’s authority and businesslike manner.
“Yes, thank you,” he whispered.
“Mr. Lamb, do you think now you will be able to answer a few more questions?”
“Yes. I . . . I am sorry about before. I just couldn’t . . . couldn’t . . .”
“It’s quite all right, sir.” O’Donnell flipped a page in her notebook. “Can you please tell me—”
“Is that the other detective?” The man gestured at Tatum.
O’Donnell glanced back. “What other detective?”
“Shouldn’t there be two detectives? Don’t you investigate in pairs?”
“Yes, we do.” O’Donnell seemed momentarily taken aback.
There was some sort of issue there. O’Donnell’s partner obviously wasn’t around, and she didn’t want to tell the man that. Perhaps she wanted to avoid the way it would look—as if the police only sent one detective for Catherine Lamb’s death. He stepped forward. “I’m Tatum Gray. I’m working with Detective O’Donnell.”
Mr. Lamb nodded, distracted. Tatum met O’Donnell’s eyes as she frowned at him again—apparently all he could get from the detective were frowns.
She turned back to the broken man. “Can you tell me again what happened this morning?”
“I called Cathy . . . Catherine. She was sick yesterday. She’s been sick a lot lately, so I was worried. She didn’t answer her phone. I called several times, and she didn’t answer. So I came over. I thought maybe she needed help.”
“What time was that?”
“Time . . . I don’t know.”
“When did you call her first?”
“Around eight.”
“And how long until you decided to check up on her?”
“Half an hour, I think.”
“Right after your last phone call?”
“Yes . . . no. I called her twice on the way.”
“So you left around eight thirty, called twice more on your way. And what time did you arrive here?”
“It’s a fifteen-minute walk. It must have been around quarter to nine.”
O’Donnell nodded, writing it down in her notebook. “You knocked?”
“Several times, and she didn’t answer, so I tried the door. And it was unlocked.”
“Is it unusual for Catherine to leave her door unlocked?”
“Yes. She always locks her door.”
“Go on.”
“I came in. It was messy, and there was a blanket on the floor. With stains. And her . . . I could see her hand peeking out from under the blanket.”
“Mr. Lamb, are you sure the blanket was on her when you came inside?”
“Yes!” His voice rose, cracking. “It was on her. I pulled the blanket away, and she . . . she was cold, and her clothes were torn. Blood and bruises all over her body. I called her name, and I shook her. She was stiff.” The man’s eyes turned distant as he recounted the nightmarish moments. “I dialed nine-one-one.”
“And then what did you do?”
“They said they’re coming. And her clothes were torn. So I . . . I covered her again. And then I got out of the house. I had to get out of the house. I couldn’t stay there. I waited outside until the police arrived.”
“She had a necklace on when we got here. A silver necklace with a cross. Was it on her throat when you found her?”
“Yes. She almost always wore that necklace.”
She kept asking him about his actions, going through the details carefully, while Tatum listened.