'Apparently they have no more information than they had on the first one,' she said.
'Doctor, I appreciate the call,' McCaskey said.
Maria lay down beside her husband. He kissed his wife, then cradled her while he checked his cell phone for messages. There were no missed calls. He rang his office phone and found no messages there, either.
That was going to make his next step an extremely difficult one.
The death of the businessman, Robert Lawless, was the lead story on the news. They listened to an interview with Lawless's aide and watched a video shot from the security camera of the woman emerging on the mezzanine. She was careful to hide her face from the camera.
'What does your gut tell you about all this?' McCaskey asked his wife.
'She's a professional.'
'Yeah. This is not some angry escort turning against men.'
'But what individual would have access to hypodermic needles and drugs?' she asked.
'Potassium chloride is readily available from chemical supply firms, and syringes are easy to come by.'
'Did you learn anything from the party guests?' she asked.
'Unless we're dealing with a cover-up, all of the women had alibis,'
McCaskey said.
The phone rang as they were talking. McCaskey muted the TV and checked the Caller ID. It was Paul Hood.
'I assume you've heard,' Hood said.
'Yes,' McCaskey replied.
Maria took the remote and punched up the sound. McCaskey put a finger in his ear so he could hear.
'Not to be cold about it, but how does this impact us?' Hood asked.
'I was just thinking about that, and it looks like a lose-lose-lose situation,' McCaskey said. 'The Metro Police have not called to ask for our input. If we force it on them, we're going to come off as aggressive. If we don't, we'll appear weak. If we investigate independently, we'll seem isolated and high-handed.'
'What if we officially bow out?' Hood asked.
'Bailing is our best option,' McCaskey said. 'Scotland Yard will squawk, but it's unlikely anyone will hear. The trick is what spin do we put on it?'
Maria poked his side. 'You can't leave.'
McCaskey frowned.
'You stand a better chance of finding her than the police,' Maria went on.
'Hold on, Paul,' McCaskey said. He turned to his wife. 'Why do you think we can find her?'
'She is not a killer. She is an assassin.'
'Why would an assassin go after a successful but relatively unimportant businessman like Lawless?'
'Exactly,' she said.
'I don't follow.'
'Unlike the death of William Wilson, this murder was an afterthought,'
Maria said. 'Someone wanted Wilson out of the way, so they hired a very skilled individual who made it look as
