Zoe pondered her options. She wanted to see what was in that report. Davis probably felt—and rightfully so—that if she had time to think about his proposition, she’d reject it. Hence the carrot and stick. But in truth, even without the bait, he was right about her needing help. Franklin had been mentoring her but had died before his work was complete. She still had to take the rest of the training course required by the state. Franklin—and now she—employed other deputies but none of them had as much training as she. Franklin’s death had left the Monongahela County Coroner’s Office in the lurch.
As for the stress, she’d already been yearning to return to the long hours on duty but equally long hours off duty that she’d had with EMS.
Zoe reached across the desk. “Deal.”
Beaming, Davis clasped her hand. “You’re smarter than I thought.”
At least she’d still be the boss in this office and could fire his ass. “Now tell me what you found.”
He slid the report toward her and removed his hand from it. “Ordinarily, tox screens only test for certain, routine substances. I went above and beyond and discovered arsenic in the hair sample.”
She lifted her gaze from the report to look at him. “Arsenic?”
“Elizabeth Landis was poisoned.”
“She died of a gunshot wound to the head.”
“Ultimately, yes. But she was also being poisoned.”
Zoe lowered into her chair.
“Arsenic is slow acting. Readily available at any farm supply store or greenhouse. It could easily have been added to a saltshaker or sugar bowl, allowing Mrs. Landis to unwittingly poison herself little by little.”
Zoe thought about what Wayne had said yesterday while in Abby’s hospital room. He’d been bothered by the idea of one killer using two different methods of homicide—Elizabeth having been shot and the others poisoned. But if the killer had poisoned her as well…
Zoe looked up at Davis. “You said arsenic is slow acting. How slow?”
“It can be very slow.”
“What if someone was trying to kill Elizabeth by poisoning her and got tired of waiting?”
Just like Loretta had gotten tired of waiting for Franklin to die of natural causes.
Pete had almost ignored the call from Zoe and was glad he didn’t. He stuck his head back into the interview room. “Detective? Could you step out here for a moment?”
Once Baronick joined him in the hall, Pete showed him his notebook. The detective read about the arsenic and raised his eyes to Pete’s. “What the hell?”
“That’s my reaction too.”
Baronick read the note a second time. “Someone was poisoning Elizabeth Landis,” he said. “And then someone else shot her before she succumbed to the arsenic? Two different killers?”
“Or the same one. The poison wasn’t working fast enough so he—or she—changed methods.”
“If at first you don’t succeed…” Baronick didn’t complete the cliché and didn’t need to. He returned the notebook. “Our killer started with a poison. Arsenic. Didn’t have the desired effect and switched to a firearm to finish the job. Years later, more people need to be killed so they revert to their preferred manner of murder. Poison. Only they’ve learned from past mistakes and switch to a substance that gives faster and deadlier results.”
Pete couldn’t fault the logic, but the puzzle pieces still weren’t falling into place. “We’re still missing something.”
“Let’s find out what that is.” Baronick opened the door and led the way back into the interview room.
Pete reclaimed his chair and flipped to a new page in his notebook. “Let’s move on from Gina Wagner for now.”
“Thank you.” Downey’s voice oozed sarcasm.
Pete met Loretta’s dark eyes. “Let’s discuss your late husband.”
“What about him?” Downey asked. Once again, Pete imagined Loretta as a ventriloquist, working the attorney’s mouth.
“You’ve lived out of the area for a number of years,” Pete said. “When did you return?”
Downey leaned over and whispered into Loretta’s ear. The widow responded by whispering back. Downey nodded.
“Three weeks ago,” Loretta said.
“What brought you back?”
“My husband was ill and needed me.”
“How long had it been since you’d last seen or talked to him?”
“I moved away about eight years ago. He called to tell me about his health last month.” Loretta lifted her chin. “I came as soon as I could.”
Pete suspected Marshall’s health wasn’t all they’d discussed. “Why?”
“I already told you. He needed me to care for him.”
“In what way did you provide care?”
Downey rapped the table with her pen. “Stop wasting our time, Chief Adams. Do you really want to discuss the intricacies of caring for a sick man?”
“No, because I don’t believe Mrs. Marshall provided any assistance to her husband.” Pete stared hard at Loretta and noticed a subtle shift in her dark eyes. “I think her husband told her he’d written her out of his will, and she returned to convince him to reconsider. When he didn’t, she decided to locate and destroy the new will to ensure she’d inherit his entire estate when he died.”
“I don’t hear any question there,” Downey said. She glanced at her client. “Don’t say a word.”
Loretta’s eyes hardened and remained locked on Pete. “There was no revised will. I’m Frank’s sole beneficiary.”
“How can you be so sure?”
“Because I’ve looked for it.” She must’ve realized what she’d said and immediately clamped her mouth shut.
“Not another word,” Downey said. “This interview is over.”
Pete ignored the attorney. “You didn’t look in the right place.”
Downey closed her briefcase and stood. “We’re done here.” She looked down at Loretta. “Let’s go.”
But Loretta didn’t budge. And didn’t look away from Pete.
“Mr. Marshall’s secretary found it. And, as I’m sure you know, you no longer stand to inherit one cent.”
“Enough,” Downey said, placing both hands on the table and leaning toward Pete.
He kept his gaze on the widow. The news had rocked her. Taking advantage of her vulnerability, he shifted forward in his chair. “That’s right, Loretta. You killed your husband for nothing.”
Thirty-Two
Zoe stood at the grimy window in her office, taking in the view of the city through the rivulets of cold rain. The pigeon was back, looking
