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The three men stood there, of no use at all, uncomfortable but stoic, until she was ready
Callie and Officer Kreider half-carried her mother to the four-door white Crown Victoria, the last car in line Detective Raven helped the away a box of Kleenex, an e left ear
He got in next to her, crowding her over, and closed the door "Bobby, we’re ready"
"Was that close or what?" Detective Bobby LeBeau said "Here are the vultures now Nancy’s going to follow in her car, and Ray will bring yours in, Ben"
Bobby pulled out onto the snow-covered road as the first of the ht house
Ben smacked him on the shoulder "Go, Bobby"
Callie said quietly to Detective Raven, "How did the killer , much less up to the third-floor library?"
He frowned at her and grabbed the chicken stick above the passenger hen the car started sliding on the slick road "Before we get to that, do you know, personally, what Justice Califano was doing at the library last night, Ms Markham?" To her surprise, he pulled his PDA from his pocket and waited, the small stylus poised
"I have no idea I told you he liked to spend time there, to be alone, I suppose, study briefs, review opinions, whatever If he went for a specific reason last night, I don’t knohat it was May I ask why it didn’t occur to any of you to call me?"
"Your mother didn’t know your hotel in New York We didn’t try your place because your ht I answered your question, noer et to my stepfather?"
She felt herCallie hoped that Detective Raven--what kind of na to tell the out the backto see if any of theHe turned back and said, "All we know so far is that we have one guard, Henry Biggs, who’s in the hospital unconscious because someone whacked him on the head when he went out for a s When Officer Biggs regains consciousness, and the doctors aren’t saying yet if he’ll uards didn’t pay h like Henry Biggs in size So that h
"The FBI forensic teams are superb You can bet they will come up with some evidence It’s rare that a murderer leaves a pristine crime scene"
"The man who killed my stepfather must have followed hi around the Supreuards’ routines Someone had to have seen him, noticed hi The cameras would show hi the security tapes to see if the killer shows us any features we can use to identify hi several times, probably in one of the tours Maybe we’ll see hi through the windshield at the soft snow "So that leaves us right noith no obvious uard in the hospital with a cracked skull, still unconscious so we can’t talk to him What does he look like?"
"The Supreh the chest, a white guy, around fifty So our guy can’t be that far off in appearance I assuht, Ms Markham?"
"Why yes I did And isn’t this just lovely I’ ain, Callie wanted to s to look out the car , "I can accept that he’s dead, intellectually" But there was nothing intellectual about how devastated her mother was She supposed that it would hit her soon, but for now, she had to protect herup from Callie’s shoulder, "Callie wasn’t supposed to be ho a surprise birthday party for her"
"Thank you, Mrs Califano How old are you toht, Detective Raven How old are you on your next birthday?"