Page 31 of Last Seen Alive

He moved through a few photos and zoomed in on the nightstand. “See that?”

“The lamp cord?”

“Yes.”

“What about it?”

“This might mean nothing, but look at how it’s bunched on the tabletop. Why? I tuck mine behind the table, so the top is clear.”

“Huh. I see what you mean.”

“But there could have been a struggle, and the lamp was responsible for the bruise on the vic’s head. Though, I suppose it could have been anything, even the butt of a gun.”

She looked closer at the photo and picked up on something else of interest. “Huh. Usually that lamp has a shade.”

“I wondered about that when I saw the lamp at the scene but dismissed it. Sometimes they get damaged.”

“As I said, it normally has one. Used to anyway. We’ll need to ask Logan to know for sure.”

“The killer took it then. But why?” Trent bunched up his face.

“One reason I can think of—maybe they feared leaving trace on it. Maybe Claire used it to defend herself. She wielded the lamp as a weapon…”

“We need to get that lamp tested for prints and DNA.”

“Agreed.”

“Take us to the evidence log. Maybe it was done already.”

Trent brought up the list and scrolled through. He shook his head a few minutes later. “Doesn’t look like that was done.”

“We’ll make sure it happens. Go back to her personal effects. I just know about the gun in her purse and the fact she didn’t have a phone.”

“That latter bit is more than I knew. Let’s see here… Designer jeans, a collared silk shirt, and black boots.”

“Boots. Where were they?”

“Next to the bed with the rest of her clothing and her purse.”

“Now that is strange. She went all the way to the bedroom before taking them off? Sounds more and more to me like the scene was staged. You said she had a purse. What was inside?”

“A wallet with fifty dollars in cash, no credit cards or bank card, a driver’s license belonging to Deb Smith, and a half-heart charm. In the open section, there were two tubes of lipstick, one of gloss, a nail file, a brass key, a hotel key card, and the gun you already knew about. A Glock 19.”

No credit cards fit with Claire living off the grid, but money was necessary, so where did Claire get hers? And how did fifty bucks fit with designer jeans? There was another anomaly. “You said a heart charm?”

“Yeah.”

“Seems an odd thing for a woman in her late thirties to be carting around. I’m guessing it must have sentimental value. What does it look like?”

Trent brought up a picture of the trinket. “It’s small, like a charm you’d put on a bracelet or necklace.”

Amanda used to have one similar to it in high school, but instead of a charm, it was a pin she put on the collar of her jean jacket. “You split it between friends. Each person gets half. Guessing there’s an inscription on it?”

Trent enlarged the photo, and there was engraving.BEST, in a scrolled font.

“The other half, wherever it is, I’ll bet that says ‘FRIEND.’”

“I doubt it’s in Logan’s possession. Not really a guy thing… splitting up a heart charm.”