Page 7 of Stay Awake
“I believe so. We’ll double-check with the cleaner,” said Halliday, poking her head into the en suite bathroom while Franklin examined the victim.
Splashed water on the floor suggested someone washed up in the preceding hours. A long strand of dark hair was balanced on the sink. The forensics team would collect it when they processed the scene.
“Any idea of how long ago he died?” Halliday opened the bathroom cupboard.
“The ceiling fan would have kept things cooler in here and slowed down decomposition. So I’d guess he’s been dead for between six and nine hours. I’ll do a more exact calculation later. Cause of death appears to be from a stab wound to the heart. That’s why there’s not much blood. His heart would have stopped midbeat.”
“Does anything about the vic strike you as strange?” Halliday asked cryptically.
“Other than the gaping hole in his chest?” he asked flippantly, before realizing Halliday was serious. “What’s troubling you, Detective?”
“Looks to me like he slept through his own murder.”
“You think he was drugged?”
“I’d say it’s a distinct possibility. There’s no bruises or scratches on his body. No sign of a struggle. The victim was at least six foot tall. He was in good physical shape. A man that strong would have fought like a demon.”
Halliday squatted next to the victim and examined his hands andnails with the flashlight of her phone. There were no obvious defense wounds.
“I don’t see abrasions or trauma to his nails or fists. I’m betting he never put up a fight.” She stood up and took a step back, bumping into what felt like a brick wall.
Chapter
Five
Wednesday 8:11A.M.
It wasn’t a brick wall. It was Detective Jack Lavelle. He was surveying the crime scene with the jaded gaze of a homicide cop who’d seen too many murders to count over his fifteen years on the job. He wore jeans and a brown leather bomber jacket. He, too, had been heading to the precinct to start his shift when the call came through.
Halliday gritted her teeth as she prepared to fight her corner. There was no way she was going to get bumped off this case just because the hotshot detective decided to mosey on over and steal her case.
“Detective Lavelle,” she said sweetly. “I guess you stopped by to see if I need a hand. I don’t.”
“I can see that, Detective,” he said, making no effort to move.
“Good. I presume you’re heading back to the precinct.”
“I can’t.”
“Why not?”
“The captain wants me to work with you on this case,” Lavelle responded. “As partners,” he added, when he saw Halliday’s eyes flash angrily.
“I thought you don’t work with partners.”
“I don’t,” he said, squatting on his haunches to take a closer look at the victim. “But I don’t always get what I want. Catch me up here. Any ID for the victim?”
“Nothing so far,” Halliday said after a frustrated pause. “No wallet that I could find. No cell phone. The body was found by the cleaner. We believe the victim rented the apartment on Airbnb or something similar,” she said. “The cleaner doesn’t usually clean on days when the apartment is rented out. Apparently, the owner forgot to cancel the cleaning service this morning.”
“Anything else?” he asked.
Halliday moved to the other side of the bed and shone the flashlight on the pillow next to the dead man. “My guess is that he wasn’t here alone,” she said, fixing the beam on an indent in the pillow. “Someone was lying in bed next to him. Most likely a woman.”
“Why a woman?”
Using the flashlight beam, she traced a single long hair on the pillow. The forensics team would bag it when they arrived.
A half-empty bottle of wine was on the table next to the bed. “There are no glasses. I’m guessing they drank straight from the bottle.”
