Page 7 of The Perfect Revenge
Susannah shot Jessie a scowl that indicated how she felt about the sergeant.At least she hadn’t done it to the guy’s face, which wouldn’t have been unusual for her.
"To be honest," Sergeant Carson said, not looking back as they walked down a long hallway with pieces of art covering almost every inch of the walls, "I'm not even sure this is a homicide.But the husband insisted on turning over every rock, and he's a big deal.Pulled some strings down at headquarters, which is why you were brought in instead of our fine local detectives."
He wasn't making much of an effort to hide his disdain for how this all went down.Jessie understood his frustration, but didn't appreciate him taking it out on them.Apparently, neither did Susannah.
"Are you going to be able to move past that, Sergeant?"she asked sharply."Because if you're not, maybe we should have a different liaison.We didn't pick this case.We were assigned to it, and we'd love to work with someone who's going to bring a collaborative attitude.Is that not you?"
Carson appeared stunned at her directness.Jessie stifled a grin.Susannah wasn't known for her tact.Her "bull in a China shop" mentality made her a dogged detective but tended to rub some people the wrong way.Jessie used to be one of them.The fact that Susannah looked more like a swimsuit model than a cop and dressed to accentuate that made her persona even more jarring.
“The victim is Veronica Sterling,” he said, pointedly not responding to her challenge.“Thirty-three years old.The producer husband is Gray Sterling.He made theDetonatoraction films and also did the movie that was nominated for all the Oscars last year.They have a 4-year-old daughter, Emma.The husband says he found Veronica lying on the floor in the kitchen when he came downstairs this morning.The daughter was still asleep in bed.They are both up in his bedroom right now with an officer.”
“Any obvious signs of foul play?”Jessie asked.
"None that I saw," Carson answered."The medical examiner is in there now, so that could change, but there was no indication of a struggle.No missing kitchen knives or mallets.No notable wounds on the body anyway."
“Notable wounds?”Jessie pressed.
“There’s a bump on the side of her head, we think from when she fell over, but that’s all.”
They reached the kitchen, and Jessie poked her head in.The room was crowded.The victim wasn't visible from where she stood, but two additional LAPD officers loitered at the edge of the room.There were three crime scene unit people as well, along with the medical examiner, who was wearing a white coat, and an assistant.
Jessie immediately recognized the person in the coat.It was deputy medical examiner Meg Cronin.They had worked together before.A middle-aged woman wearing protective plastic covers over her clothes, she mostly handled cases in West L.A.
“Dr.Cronin,” she said.
The woman looked up.It took a moment for the recognition to set in.
“Jessie Hunt,” she replied after a moment.“I didn’t know HSS was handling this.”
“Special request.This is Detective Susannah Valentine.”
“Nice to meet you.”
“Likewise,” Susannah said.“Is there even a homicide to investigate?”
“I wasn’t sure of that myself until very recently.I thought it might be a cardiac event.But I just discovered something that changed my mind.May I show you?”
They both nodded, and she motioned for them to come around the large island in the middle of the kitchen.Once they did, Jessie saw the victim for the first time.Veronica Sterling was slumped on the floor where she’d fallen on her side.She was wearing tights and an oversized t-shirt that Jessie suspected she’d intended to wear to bed.The woman had medium length brown hair.Her brown eyes were frozen open in what looked to be confusion.
Jessie took note of the glass of white wine on the breakfast bar.It looked like it hadn’t been touched.She wondered if Veronica had come down for a nightcap before heading to bed.And this was the result.
She felt a tightness in her gut, followed by something else.It was like a hot coal comprised of anger and empathy was emanating from the pit of her stomach.She tried to set it aside so she could focus on the scene.
“Look here,” Cronin said, indicating that they should kneel next to her.She was pointing at a small discoloration on the back of Sterling’s neck, about an inch below her right ear.
“What do we think that is?”Susannah asked.
“You can tell better with the magnifying glass,” Cronin said, holding it over the spot.
Jessie saw what looked like a small puncture wound.
“Is that from a needle?”she asked.
"That's my initial thought," Cronin said."We'll need to do the bloodwork, obviously.But I wouldn't be stunned if someone injected her with something."
"What makes you so sure?"Carson asked.He was hunched over, too, studying the wound.
“I’m not sure, but the bump on her head and way the body collapsed suggests that she made no effort to break her fall.Even if she’d suffered a heart attack, we’d usually see some sign of self-preservation.This looks like she just dropped.”
