Page 23 of Her Final Hours

He looked back at the body.

“Which reminds me,” Ozzy said. “Again, I’m not going to give you a firm yes until we hear from the doc on this but take a look,” he said, crouching and pulling back the striped shirt from the deceased. “These wounds and these wounds are consistent but don’t match the ones here. These lower ones to the abdomen aren’t as deep as the others and have traces of glass. The others don’t. I’m no brain scientist—”

“Clearly,” McKenzie said.

Ozzy glared at him. “But from what I can tell based on bruising and the general appearance, these wounds occurred before the chest wounds and throat slashing. I think they were made by—”

“Two weapons,” Noah finished the sentence. “At two different times.”

“Uh-huh. That’s what I’m leaning toward.”

Noah rose. “Good work, Oz. Well, let’s run his prints through CODIS, check dental records, get his mugshot out there, canvass the neighborhood to see if anyone caught anything on cameras, have Addie run a full autopsy, cross-check his blood with whatwas swabbed from the girl, and see what we can dig up on this guy.”

As they returned, Alicia pulled Noah aside while the other two walked on.

“Hey, um, I heard about Lena. I’m sorry. That’s got to be hard. I thought you would have invited me to the funeral.”

“Her father wanted to keep it private.”

She nodded. “And the kids, how are they coping?”

“As expected, not well.”

The moment was awkward, as it would be with anyone who had lost a loved one. There was nothing you could say. Sometimes it was just a matter of being present, showing concern. “If you ever need any help. I’d be willing.”

“I appreciate that.”

She took a deep breath. “By the way, the insurance company gave me the cash-out option. But I heard you moved into that fancy property. How did you manage to pull that off?”

“I guess you could say my father has connections,” he replied, reflecting on his discussion with Natalie Ashford.

“Well, I guess you won’t want the land then.”

“I might.”

“Things not working out?”

“Let’s say I think we would be better living elsewhere.”

“Even if it means being neighbors with Ed?” she said with a smile.

“I hate to say it, but yeah.”

She shifted from one foot to the next. “Do you have the funds to build?”

The corner of his lip curled up. “I would need to shift some funds around, but….”

“Noah.”

She knew him a little too well. “All right. No. Not immediately. But I can come up with the money. It’s just going to beslow,” he said, thinking about where his retirement nest egg had gone. He’d have to get a bank loan.

Alicia smiled back. “Well, look. Here’s what I can do. I’ll let you use the land if you pay me back, with interest of course.”

“Sounds fair,” he replied.

“I believe you are good for that. You’ll need to come up with the funds to build a home, but it sounds like your father has the connections. He can swing you a loan, or the bank can pay for one of those prefab homes. I hear you can get one of those up in roughly four to eight months. Alternatively, I’m sure your aunt can put you up briefly at her place. In fact, I’m surprised she’s still holding on to the place.”

“Memories are hard to let go.”