bathrobe—with
buttonholes on either end. The pattern was big flowers, peony types, mostly
pink, but with smaller purple flowers—like hyacinths or
something small but puffy like that. And there was also some yellow and—”
“How was the tieback secured to the wall?” Detective Cunningham
asked, interrupting a description Sadie thought could be very important. But he
was the detective. He walked into the room, leaving her in the doorway. With a
pen, he pulled back the left curtain pane. The gold hook that she had helped
Anne install was no longer there. Instead two nail holes stared back at them
like eyes.
“A small gold hook,” Sadie said softly, staring at the holes.
“Do you know . . . how Anne died?” she asked, not wanting to jump to
conclusions.
Detective Cunningham looked at her for a moment before he
answered. “That’s not available to the public and needs to be confirmed by the
coroner.”
Sadie nodded her understanding, but couldn’t help picturing
Anne being strangled with the tieback. She forced the image out of her mind
before she lost control of her emotions.
“Is there anything else that doesn’t look right?” Detective
Cunningham asked.
Sadie looked around the floor, wondering if the hook had rolled
under the couch but the room looked in order—perfect order in
fact. Sadie’s eyes narrowed and she took a longer scan of the room.
“What?” Detective Cunningham asked, and she looked up at him,
not realizing he was watching her.
“It’s just that everything is so clean.”
“How do you mean?”
“Well, Anne’s a working single mother—that
means certain tasks are prioritized. Anne worked hard to keep the upstairs
tidy, but when she came down here, it was to do laundry. She’d turn on the TV
and let Trevor play while she worked, then she went back upstairs. This room is
usually covered with toys. You know, out of sight, out of mind.” As she spoke,
her eyes scanned the clean floors, not a toy in sight, and the laundry basket
in the corner that served as Trevor’s toy box was near overflowing. There was a
basket of clothes on top of the washer, and some miscellaneous bundles of
fabric on the dryer. Other than that, the room was pristine.
“Huh,” Detective Cunningham grunted. He looked past her
shoulder and Sadie turned, surprised to see Officer Malloy behind her. She
hadn’t heard him and he seemed intent on ignoring her completely. “Have the
crime scene techs check all the toys in this room for prints,” Cunningham said.
“Tell them to be very thorough here.”
Malloy nodded and headed back upstairs.
“Let’s continue the walk-through,” Detective
Cunningham said. “Tell me if anything else looks out of place.”
The downstairs bathroom was a mess—just as it
always was. The storage room was only roughly organized. Anne had shown up with
nothing and hadn’t accrued much in the nine months of living here. Back
upstairs everything looked as Sadie would expect, somewhat orderly but not as
detailed and clean as the family room downstairs. They reached Anne’s bedroom
and Detective Cunningham turned to her. “You said she kept a filing cabinet in
here?”
Sadie nodded as she stared at the bed pushed against the
wall—no filing cabinet in sight.
“It was one of those two-drawer cabinets. It was
between the bed and the wall so she could use it like a nightstand. The bed
wasn’t against the wall like that.” She scanned the carpet and could just make
out the indentations from the wheels of the bed frame a couple feet closer to
them. She released her hands long enough to point to the floor. “That’s where
the bed used to be.”
Detective Cunningham stepped into the room and surveyed the
area she’d pointed to. The indentation was faint—it would be
hard to see if someone didn’t know it was there.
He walked around the bed, looking at the one-inch gap
between the bed and the wall. “Malloy,” he called out. As if by magic Malloy
was suddenly in the
buttonholes on either end. The pattern was big flowers, peony types, mostly
pink, but with smaller purple flowers—like hyacinths or
something small but puffy like that. And there was also some yellow and—”
“How was the tieback secured to the wall?” Detective Cunningham
asked, interrupting a description Sadie thought could be very important. But he
was the detective. He walked into the room, leaving her in the doorway. With a
pen, he pulled back the left curtain pane. The gold hook that she had helped
Anne install was no longer there. Instead two nail holes stared back at them
like eyes.
“A small gold hook,” Sadie said softly, staring at the holes.
“Do you know . . . how Anne died?” she asked, not wanting to jump to
conclusions.
Detective Cunningham looked at her for a moment before he
answered. “That’s not available to the public and needs to be confirmed by the
coroner.”
Sadie nodded her understanding, but couldn’t help picturing
Anne being strangled with the tieback. She forced the image out of her mind
before she lost control of her emotions.
“Is there anything else that doesn’t look right?” Detective
Cunningham asked.
Sadie looked around the floor, wondering if the hook had rolled
under the couch but the room looked in order—perfect order in
fact. Sadie’s eyes narrowed and she took a longer scan of the room.
“What?” Detective Cunningham asked, and she looked up at him,
not realizing he was watching her.
“It’s just that everything is so clean.”
“How do you mean?”
“Well, Anne’s a working single mother—that
means certain tasks are prioritized. Anne worked hard to keep the upstairs
tidy, but when she came down here, it was to do laundry. She’d turn on the TV
and let Trevor play while she worked, then she went back upstairs. This room is
usually covered with toys. You know, out of sight, out of mind.” As she spoke,
her eyes scanned the clean floors, not a toy in sight, and the laundry basket
in the corner that served as Trevor’s toy box was near overflowing. There was a
basket of clothes on top of the washer, and some miscellaneous bundles of
fabric on the dryer. Other than that, the room was pristine.
“Huh,” Detective Cunningham grunted. He looked past her
shoulder and Sadie turned, surprised to see Officer Malloy behind her. She
hadn’t heard him and he seemed intent on ignoring her completely. “Have the
crime scene techs check all the toys in this room for prints,” Cunningham said.
“Tell them to be very thorough here.”
Malloy nodded and headed back upstairs.
“Let’s continue the walk-through,” Detective
Cunningham said. “Tell me if anything else looks out of place.”
The downstairs bathroom was a mess—just as it
always was. The storage room was only roughly organized. Anne had shown up with
nothing and hadn’t accrued much in the nine months of living here. Back
upstairs everything looked as Sadie would expect, somewhat orderly but not as
detailed and clean as the family room downstairs. They reached Anne’s bedroom
and Detective Cunningham turned to her. “You said she kept a filing cabinet in
here?”
Sadie nodded as she stared at the bed pushed against the
wall—no filing cabinet in sight.
“It was one of those two-drawer cabinets. It was
between the bed and the wall so she could use it like a nightstand. The bed
wasn’t against the wall like that.” She scanned the carpet and could just make
out the indentations from the wheels of the bed frame a couple feet closer to
them. She released her hands long enough to point to the floor. “That’s where
the bed used to be.”
Detective Cunningham stepped into the room and surveyed the
area she’d pointed to. The indentation was faint—it would be
hard to see if someone didn’t know it was there.
He walked around the bed, looking at the one-inch gap
between the bed and the wall. “Malloy,” he called out. As if by magic Malloy
was suddenly in the
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