Page 44 of Deathtoll

“Betty’s. I was looking out, and she passed behind her kitchen window.”

“Don’t bunch up your muscles like that.” Kate dug her fingers in harder.

Murph barely felt it. His full focus was on Emma. He kept his tone casual as he asked, “When did you see the ghost?”

She washed her hands in the sink. “The night after she died.”

“What time?”

“Sevenish?”

“How do you know it was Betty?”

“She’s the only one who died over there recently?” Emma looked at Kate. “I assume.”

“Probably light reflecting off the windshield of a passing car,” Kate told her sister.

Who immediately responded with “Killjoy,” in the same droll tone.

As much as Murph was enjoying the massage and hated the thought of Kate’s fingers leaving his body, he turned around to look at her. “Is there any chance someone might have been inside Betty’s house?”

Kate dropped her hands. “Linda has the backup key, and she no longer drives. If she wanted to come over, she would have called me to pick her up.”

“Is there a way for someone to get in without a key?”

“No. We make sure the house is locked up tight every time we leave.”

Murph held her gaze. “You didn’t see anything?”

“I don’t believe in ghosts.”

“It could have been…”

“A leprechaun?”

Under different circumstances, her quick snark would have made him laugh. “The killer returning to the scene of the crime.”

Kate stepped back and folded her arms, her blue eyes flashing. “Betty fell. She tripped.”

Murph stood up from the chair. “Or was pushed.”

Her face turned ashen. “Did the coroner say she was?”

Murph said nothing.

“Murph!”

“She might have been.”

“Who would do that?” Grief welled in her eyes. “Why?”

“Good question. Can you think of anyone with a reason?”

“No way.”

He turned to Emma, who stood staring at them. “What time did you leave here Monday morning to go into Philly?”

“As soon as I got home from dropping Kate off at work. I put away the groceries, but that’s it. I was definitely on the road by nine.”