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“Hard to believe,” he went on, “it ritten by a man”

“I’ll let you know” She flipped a few pages, then added “My fiancé gave it to me”

Phillip Campbell felt the short, thin hairs on his arms stand up

His heart began to throb He ran a treoatee

“Oh — when’s the big day?”

Chapter 39

RALEIGH DROVE back to town in our car I hung around and caught a ride with Claire I needed to tell her as going on with me Claire and I have been best friends for years We talk at least once every day I knehy I was having trouble telling her about my illness — I didn’t want to hurt her Or to burden her with my problems I loved her so much

As the ME’s van bumped down the mountain road, I asked if she had been able to pick up anything at the murder scene

“There was definitely sexual activity going on before they were killed,” she replied confidently “I could see labial distension around the vagina Secretions on her thighs

“This is guesswork — I only had a few minutes — but I think the husband was shot first, Lindsay The one clean wound to the head suggests he was dispatched without resistance Head on Woun

ds on Rebecca indicate soh the shoulder blades, the neck From a distance, I would estimate, of no more than three to five feet If the semen gests that she was on top That would et in fairly close, unobserved, while they were at it Come up at them from behind her Since you said they didn’t use their own car that night, they were obviously on their way somewhere I think it’s consistent with your theory that they were in some kind of vehicle when this took place The killer in the front seat So why not a limousine?”

“That’s all?” I shook my head and smiled at Claire

“Like I said, I only had a fewout, all I did was connect the dots”

We drove on a bit I was still fuht words

Claire asked, “So how’s the new partner?”