Leon nodded. “The lack of defensive injuries to her hands supports your theory that she wasn’t conscious when she was stabbed.”
Flora reached into her pocket, fumbling slightly as she withdrew her cell phone. “I’ll call the police.”
“I don’t think that will be necessary.” Leon nodded toward the open door. Tiny was scrambling to his feet, his tail wagging in greeting as a dark-haired woman entered the house. She was accompanied by a tall man. “They’re already here.”
Chapter 2
“I don’t understand what’s going on.” Flora was genuinely confused as the two police officers entered the kitchen and viewed the scene. “We only just found the body.”
“I was leaving the office about fifteen minutes ago, when I got a call that there had been a murder at this location.” The woman had an air of authority and, instead of answering Flora’s question, she looked at Leon as she spoke. “Why are you here?”
“Firstly, I’m not the person you should be speaking to. Dr. Monroe is Joy Valeski’s physician and it was her decision to come here. I just happened to accompany her.” Flora took a moment to appreciate his professionalism. These people obviously knew each other well and it would have been easy for Leon to allow the police to sideline her. Instead, he was publicly acknowledging her status as the lead medic. “Secondly, maybe some introductions would be useful?”
The woman officer held out her hand to Flora. “Leon is right.” She sent a quick smile in his direction. “He usually is. I’m Chief Laurie Delaney of the Stillwater Police. And this is my colleague—”
“Dr. Monroe and I have already met,” Detective Joe Nolan said. When his boss raised her brows, he elaborated. “Her house was broken into last week and I attended the scene.”
Flora had been in Stillwater for less than a month, but she already knew of the formidable reputation of its police chief. Responsible for capturing a prolific serial killer who had made her one of his targets, Laurie was known for her no-nonsense approach. She was married to Cameron Delaney, the town’s former mayor. Cameron now headed up the Stillwater Chamber of Commerce and was one of the trustees of the new medical center where Flora worked.
Laurie’s eyes narrowed slightly as she glanced from Flora to the body on the floor and back again. “Your new venture seems to have gotten off to a bad start, Doctor.”
Aware of Leon’s eyes on her profile, Flora bit back the first answer that rose to her lips. My new venture is going just fine. It’s my luck that seems to be going to pieces. This wasn’t the time or place for an emotional response and she doubted Laurie’s words were intended as a criticism of her professional expertise.
“In answer to your question about why we’re here, I was concerned because Joy Valeski missed an appointment this afternoon,” she said. “Before you ask, no, I don’t visit every patient who doesn’t show up. But the circumstances of Joy’s appointment were unusual, and she’d been good to me since my arrival in town. I thought I’d stop by and see how she was.”
“Who made the call to your office?” Leon asked Laurie.
The police chief was frowning as she looked up from the body. “It was anonymous. And it was to my personal cell phone, not to the Stillwater PD.”
A shiver ran down Flora’s spine. It felt horribly coincidental that someone was calling Laurie around the same time she and Leon were heading to Joy’s house. “But you must know if it was a man or a woman? And surely you can trace the call?”
The frown line between Laurie’s brows deepened. “No. That was also strange. He, or she, used voice-changing software. It was like listening to an alien. And the number was withheld. There’s no way of knowing who it was.”
“The person who made that call went to a lot of trouble to make sure you didn’t find out their identity.” Leon’s words were almost an echo of Flora’s thoughts.
Laurie nodded as she got her cell phone out. “Which is why we need to get Dr. Lamb’s team here urgently to collect the body.”
While Laurie was making the call to the West County Coroner’s Office in Elmville, Flora looked down at the body, emotion coming at her in a rush. Three and a half years had passed since her husband, Danny, had been killed, but the same sadness hit her every time she came face-to-face with death. The emotional connection was part of her job, but she was reminded that this was a person. Joy had laughed and loved. She’d had hopes and dreams, too...
“It could take some time for Dr. Lamb to get here, but we can wait on the porch.”
Leon’s hand under her elbow brought Flora back to the present, his touch drawing her away from the memory of that awful night when she’d waited and waited for Danny to come home. Instead, his colleagues from the narcotics squad had turned up in the cold, gray dawn. Danny and his partner had been following up on a lead, pursuing a drug dealer. One bullet. That was all it had taken to end Flora’s hopes and dreams.
When they got outside, Flora drew in a welcome breath of fresh air. She took a seat on the porch steps and Tiny joined her. She took a moment to consider the situation. Sitting down, the dog was taller than her and his bulk took up most of the space, but there was something comforting about his presence. Almost as though he sensed her distress and was trying to ease it.
She reached up a hand to stroke his head, and he turned his whiskery face toward her, licking the inside of her wrist. None of the sloppy, exuberant kisses of earlier. Just that single,
