those old, obnoxious cat clocks.” Kadin shifted his index finger like a single windshield wiper.
“Where do you think the perpetrator would get that?” Nathan asked.
Kadin shrugged, remaining silent.
Nathan continued. “What’s your relationship to the victim?”
“She’s a good friend of mine.”
“Dating?”
“I would like to, but no.”
“What brought you here tonight?”
“I’d had a rough day at work. I called her and asked if I could come over. When I got here, the door was standing open a few inches.”
“That surprised you?”
Kadin returned his gaze to Nathan after the two other men disappeared from view. “Lilly never leaves her door unlocked.”
“I noticed the three deadbolts.”
“She’s very security conscious.”
“You know why?”
“She’s never really spoken to me about it. I know she and her father are estranged, but I don’t know why. Her mother is dead.”
“Do you know how she died?”
“Cancer when Lilly was quite young. She doesn’t elaborate on the specifics,” Kadin replied, speaking each word with brisk division.
Nathan paused, thinking through his line of questioning. He discarded some of his more provocative questions in hopes he would get responses to the ones that remained.
“What did you do after you found the door open?”
“I tried calling out to her from the porch. When she didn’t respond, I called her on my cell phone.”
“Why didn’t you just come in if you thought she might be in trouble?”
“One time, I surprised Lilly and found myself flat on my back in the next second. Got the wind knocked out of me. My back hurt for weeks. You only do that once if you’re sane.”
“What happened after the call?”
“When she didn’t answer, I came in. I noticed the glass missing from this table.” Kadin tapped his foot on the metal edge. “I went to the kitchen and found the trash clean. I assumed she’d gone out to empty it.”
“But obviously not.”
“I came to wait on the couch. When I sat down, a pillow bounced off. There was a wet, bloody handprint on it. That’s when I started looking for her.”
“Did you find anything else odd?”
The man shook his head, looking away, fidgeting his feet against the floor.
“Where did you first look?”
“Here on this level.”
“Specifically?”
“She has a study down here and a guest suite. They were both empty.”
“What did you do next?”
“Ran up the stairs and found her.”
“Kadin, I need you to back up for me and be very specific. Even the smallest details can help solve these crimes. What exactly did you do when you got upstairs?”
Kadin smoothed his palms over the tops of his denim jeans. “I looked in the bathroom first.”
“Anything unusual there?”
“The bathtub was wet.”
“What next?”
“I came to her door, and it was closed. I tried calling out to her.” Nathan waited and Kadin struggled to keep his emotions submerged. “It took me a few moments to make myself open that door.”
“What did you see?”
“She was posed on her bed. She was covered in a white sheet up to her chest with her arms laid over top.”
“I need to know if you touched her.”
“I touched her wrist to check for a pulse.”
“Which one?”
Kadin paused, thinking. “The left.”
“What happened next?”
“Her face was all bruised up. I wanted to check her pupils but I could only get one eye open. After that, I called 911.”
“Did you use her phone?”
“My cell. After that, everything is blurry until that officer came into the room.”
“To your knowledge, did you touch anything in her bedroom?”
“No.”
“Did she talk to you?”
“She was unresponsive.”
“Do you need a break? Get some water?”
“I’m fine. Let’s get this over with. I’d like to get to the hospital and check on Lilly.”
Nathan collected his thoughts.
“Has Lilly ever mentioned her keys going missing?”
Kadin’s legs stopped twitching, his eyebrows arched. He
“Where do you think the perpetrator would get that?” Nathan asked.
Kadin shrugged, remaining silent.
Nathan continued. “What’s your relationship to the victim?”
“She’s a good friend of mine.”
“Dating?”
“I would like to, but no.”
“What brought you here tonight?”
“I’d had a rough day at work. I called her and asked if I could come over. When I got here, the door was standing open a few inches.”
“That surprised you?”
Kadin returned his gaze to Nathan after the two other men disappeared from view. “Lilly never leaves her door unlocked.”
“I noticed the three deadbolts.”
“She’s very security conscious.”
“You know why?”
“She’s never really spoken to me about it. I know she and her father are estranged, but I don’t know why. Her mother is dead.”
“Do you know how she died?”
“Cancer when Lilly was quite young. She doesn’t elaborate on the specifics,” Kadin replied, speaking each word with brisk division.
Nathan paused, thinking through his line of questioning. He discarded some of his more provocative questions in hopes he would get responses to the ones that remained.
“What did you do after you found the door open?”
“I tried calling out to her from the porch. When she didn’t respond, I called her on my cell phone.”
“Why didn’t you just come in if you thought she might be in trouble?”
“One time, I surprised Lilly and found myself flat on my back in the next second. Got the wind knocked out of me. My back hurt for weeks. You only do that once if you’re sane.”
“What happened after the call?”
“When she didn’t answer, I came in. I noticed the glass missing from this table.” Kadin tapped his foot on the metal edge. “I went to the kitchen and found the trash clean. I assumed she’d gone out to empty it.”
“But obviously not.”
“I came to wait on the couch. When I sat down, a pillow bounced off. There was a wet, bloody handprint on it. That’s when I started looking for her.”
“Did you find anything else odd?”
The man shook his head, looking away, fidgeting his feet against the floor.
“Where did you first look?”
“Here on this level.”
“Specifically?”
“She has a study down here and a guest suite. They were both empty.”
“What did you do next?”
“Ran up the stairs and found her.”
“Kadin, I need you to back up for me and be very specific. Even the smallest details can help solve these crimes. What exactly did you do when you got upstairs?”
Kadin smoothed his palms over the tops of his denim jeans. “I looked in the bathroom first.”
“Anything unusual there?”
“The bathtub was wet.”
“What next?”
“I came to her door, and it was closed. I tried calling out to her.” Nathan waited and Kadin struggled to keep his emotions submerged. “It took me a few moments to make myself open that door.”
“What did you see?”
“She was posed on her bed. She was covered in a white sheet up to her chest with her arms laid over top.”
“I need to know if you touched her.”
“I touched her wrist to check for a pulse.”
“Which one?”
Kadin paused, thinking. “The left.”
“What happened next?”
“Her face was all bruised up. I wanted to check her pupils but I could only get one eye open. After that, I called 911.”
“Did you use her phone?”
“My cell. After that, everything is blurry until that officer came into the room.”
“To your knowledge, did you touch anything in her bedroom?”
“No.”
“Did she talk to you?”
“She was unresponsive.”
“Do you need a break? Get some water?”
“I’m fine. Let’s get this over with. I’d like to get to the hospital and check on Lilly.”
Nathan collected his thoughts.
“Has Lilly ever mentioned her keys going missing?”
Kadin’s legs stopped twitching, his eyebrows arched. He
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