“Right. Look, the guys have been business rivals for years, that’s no secret. But that’s all it was: business. And why now? After they closed this big deal?”
“That’s the sixty-four-thousand-dollar question,” said Decker.
“Well, I’ve got to do the paperwork on this back at the station,” said Kelly.
“And we’ll go back out to the crime scene,” replied Decker.
A moment later Liz Southern walked in looking breathless and distressed. She had on pale blue slacks, a dark brown blouse, and flat shoes. Her hair was tied up in a bun.
“Is Hugh really dead?”
“I’m afraid so.”
“But how?”
“Looks like suicide,” replied Kelly. “He left a note.”
Southern looked gobsmacked. “Why would Hugh kill himself?”
“We have to figure that out.”
“Why are you here?” asked Decker. “And how did you know about Hugh?”
Kelly said, “I called her and told her what had happened.”
“Where is Caroline?” said Southern. “Is she going to be all right?”
Kelly said, “She’s in room two-oh-three. She’s going to be fine,” he added when Southern looked concerned.
“Can I go and sit with her? I can’t imagine what she must be going through.”
“I see no reason why you can’t. She probably needs someone with her. In fact, that’s why I called you.”
“Thanks.” She hurried off.
After Kelly left, Jamison said, “Caroline is going to need more than a friend to see her through this. Seeing your father with his head missing? She’s going to need therapy.”
“And lots of it,” noted Decker.
* * *
They left the hospital and drove back out to Dawson’s house. Two cops were there on duty. One of the patrolmen told Decker and Jamison that a forensic tech was inside.
They put on booties and gloves and entered the house.
Dawson had not been moved. The tech was still taking pictures.
“Messy,” said the young man, who had identified himself as Ryan Leakey.
“Shotgun blasts to the head usually are,” commented Jamison drily.
Decker walked around the perimeter of the room, taking it all in.
“Reynolds has already been by,” said Jamison, looking at her phone. “He just texted me a prelim on the time of death. Based on body temp, he died about an hour before we got here.”
Decker nodded. “That’s important. It’s a tight enough time frame to eliminate people from the suspect list.” He moved closer to the corpse and examined the end of the string dangling in front of the dead man. “You got pics of the desk yet?” he asked Leakey.
“Just one set.”