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Had she done it herself?

There was the sheet that had been tossed over her-it almost looked as if the murderer had been forced to hurry Where Tanya had been laid out to appear perfectly beautiful, it seeirl had been quickly dumped

"Lieutenant!"

One of Dryer’s top hed and nodded He ca to coot a civilian in here This is it-ti me, Pete," he said

Pete inhaled "You were so ada the Beckett museum But…hell, where there’s a psycho… I’m afraid that it’s not just you, David, who needs to worry about their displays Noe know that Any rabs, so it seeot a murderer, and the streets are about to become wall-to-wall people Heaven help us"

"People "

"Hell, no Okay,like theto stop anyone froet soust "Why can’t we have a few hts?"

"What about security caave him a dry look "Ah, come on, David This is your home-we’re not the daone They’re dusting all over for prints, but…"

One of the techs finished for hiloves See for"

"Footprints?" David asked

The ht even have worn so with a he," he added, and looked away, busying himself with his work He was a tech-the detectives were supposed to be doing the thinking

David thanked Pete again

He took shots as he left, shots of the entry, shots of ground Shots of the locks, which seemed to have been undisturbed He did so carefully, and still, he was surprised that none of the officers seemed to notice or stop him; maybe they were all in a bit of shock

David left then, afraid that he’d be shown out soon Just outside, he saw Liah They were two young girls and an elderly couple He nodded to his cousin, who realized why he was leaving Lia News stations were setting up, and several reporters were already on air

As he walked out, he thought about Katie He called her quickly to tell her about what had happened

"I already saw the news," she said

Katie stared at the television

The dead woman was Stella Martin She had worked at a strip club on Duval, and most of the locals on the street who didn’t know her well still knew her The club owner denied that any of his girls engaged in any illicit activity Stella had been a good girl

But the next person the reporter talked to was a pretty young girl from the Czech Republic She worked in the bikini shop downstairs and next door

"Stella…well, it is sad, so sad But Stella…left with men often She-she could not coer said She propositionedin here A stripper is one thing…well, it is illegal here to charge for sex"

A stripper

A minute later, Lieutenant Pete Dryer was introduced by an anchor "Lieutenant! Isn’t this a copy of one of the last unsolved murders to take place in Key West?" the reporter asked

"A copy, just that," Pete said

"How do you know? The previous killer was never arrested, or known," the reporter said

"There are differences" A barrage of questions started co his way and he lifted his hand "Naturally, we don’t want to give out details We need to keep so and solve it We have a lot ative techniques now, and we’ll find out the truth this time, I swear"

"But isn’t it true that the last murder involved the Beckett family-and isn’t it true that David Beckett has just returned home?" a reporter asked

Pete was silent a second Just a second too long

"No further comment," he said

"Hey, what about Beckett? Supposedly, all those years ago, he had an airtight alibi, didn’t he?" soh Grandpa!"

Liam must have been nearby She heard an explosive sound, and the caled for a moment before it settled on Liaht alibi, and he’ll have one now Watch it, unless you want to find yourself in court!" Liarily