Page 5 of Say Nothing
"The only problem is that when police arrived, the security system was set, and there’s no record of it being turned off and back on last night after Donovan arrived home.The doorbell camera shows her vehicle arriving and her opening the door, and the change in modes coincides with her arrival home.Nothing after that.So, the killer somehow got in and out of the house without tripping the alarm system."
"Any open windows?"Sam asked.
"Nope," Samantha replied."And all of the windows have sensors.If a window had been opened after Samantha arrived home last night, it would have tripped the alarm."
"The killer could have entered the house at the same time as Samantha," Derek noted.
"Possibly," Samantha confirmed, "but he still had to get out again.We’re still checking for a possible exit point."
"So, this was someone who was familiar with the alarm system and likely knew where the cameras were," Alison said."Do we know who sold and installed the security system?"
"No, but we can find out," Samantha said.
"It would be easier to get the passcodes and disable the alarm when coming in and out, but the killer didn't do that.They knew their way around the security system enough not to need to do that," Alison said.
"Anything taken from the house?"Derek asked.
"Not that we’re aware of," Samantha replied."We did a quick sweep, and it didn't look like anything was taken or searched."
"So, they came to kill Donovan, and they wanted to get away before anyone noticed," Alison said."And they knew her system well enough to bypass it.She was targeted, which means this was a personal attack.We just need to find out who had the most reason to want her dead."
"The security system is advanced," the detective said."Whoever bypassed it knew what they were doing.No sign of forced entry.No sign that anyone was here in the first place except for the dead body."
"Let’s take a look at her," Derek said.
Samantha led them the last few feet into the living room, where the lifeless body of Margaret Donovan lay.The sight was a hard one to take in.
Donovan’s face was pale with a blueish hue, the lips and beneath the eyes more blue than anywhere else.Tiny red spots and purple discoloration pocked her face where blood vessels had burst as she’d struggled for air and the blood had pooled under the skin.She lay on the floor, eyes open and looking up at the ceiling, one leg bent slightly, her arms splayed from when she’d been lowered or dropped to the ground.There was no indication she’d been placed or arranged.
"That’s the bag," the detective said.She pointed to the bag, which was inside its own evidence bag, lying on the far end of the crime scene.It was a thick, clear plastic bag.A long bag that could be pulled over the head and then tightened at the neck.
Derek crouched down beside the body, donning a pair of latex gloves before lifting one of her hands.
"Broken nails," he noted.
"She struggled to get the bag off her head," Samantha said."Forensics scraped under the nails, but it looks like only plastic fibers."
Alison looked down at the body.The face was swollen, as was the tongue in her open mouth.Dried saliva glistened at the edges of her mouth.The neck below was bruised and red where the bag, and likely the killer’s hands, had gripped tightly.She had scratches on her neck, which had likely been self-inflicted from when she’d tried to remove the bag.
"It was slow," Detective Moore said as she circled Alison, Derek, and the deceased.The forensic team had finished with the body, and they were waiting to move her.Two officers stood in the living room, waiting for orders."The killer took their time, slowly draining the life from the victim."
"Then it was personal," Alison said.
"Anything else from the house?"Derek asked as he stood and removed the gloves.
"Not yet," the detective relayed.
Derek ran a hand through his hair.Alison looked at him.Derek inclined his head quickly to ask:What do you think?
"Calvin Reynolds makes sense, but why wait so long to send someone after her?"Alison asked.She looked around the living room.There hadn’t been much of a struggle, except that a side table had been knocked over.
"Maybe he didn’t have someone who could do it for him.Detective Moore said it herself—we don't know how they managed to bypass the security system.This is someone with exceptional technical skills.He might have been waiting for someone he could trust with those skills."
Alison nodded."Maybe."She studied the living room, not looking for anything in particular."Any other evidence?The intruder bypassed the alarms, but do we know where they entered?"
"We don't know that either," Detective Moore admitted.
Alison picked up a photo album from the shelf and flipped through it.
