Deadly Exposure. Cara Putman

      “I can’t tell for sure from the photo, but it looks like they were good friends. If he sold this house on the cheap, it makes me think they were more.”

      “I agree. We’ll question him about this. What else did you find?”

      “Only what I expect to see in a lady’s bathroom and bedroom. She lived alone. I didn’t see doubles of anything to suggest a frequent guest.”

      Caleb looked around the office while he considered their next step. “I’ve searched the files. Did anything clue you into who she went to the theater with last night? Maybe a letter with her ticket?”

      “Nada. She has a paperless bedroom. Not even a book on the bedside table.” Westmont nodded at the sagging bookshelves. “She kept ’em all here.”

      “Let’s search the living room and kitchen before we head back. Maybe we’ll find something—information about a car, or a calendar.”

      Caleb walked through the kitchen. It was as bare of personal details as the other rooms. A tiny table perched against a wall with two folding chairs tucked under it. The small window above the sink had no curtains. Opening the refrigerator door, he saw an impressive collection of condiments but little else. He didn’t know if a woman could live on ketchup and dressing alone, but she’d tried.

      Turning his back on the kitchen, he wandered into the living room. Who were you, Renee Thomas? And why is your house so empty of personality?

      Caleb watched Westmont remove each cushion from the couch to examine underneath them. “Find anything?”

      “Nope, just a few quarters.” Westmont flipped the final cushion in place.

      Caleb grabbed a couple boxes from the office doorway. “Let’s head back.”

      When he reached the station, he went straight to the conference room with the boxes.

      Had the chaplain’s office contacted Renee’s family yet? If so, the chief could release her name. If not, they’d wait. The worst experience of his life had occurred when he learned from an impersonal television that his father had died. He wanted to spare her family that.

      Caleb had commandeered the conference room for the investigation. Fortunately, Lincoln had little violent crime, so the extra space was his until the case cleared.

      “Jamison, you’d better get over here.”

      “What?” Caleb stuck his head above the dividers and searched for the voice.

      “Over here. I’m in the break room. You’ll want to see this.” Caleb recognized Officer Chapman’s voice.

      As Caleb walked into the break room, his eyes glanced at the television sitting in the corner. A banner marched across the bottom of its twenty-seven-inch screen. “Renee Thomas, identified as woman murdered at Lied Center. More at five.”

      He closed his eyes. Opened them to the same words. His jaw clenched. Who released her name? Dani?

      SEVEN

      Dani fumed at the appearance of a police car behind her as she raced to campus. She eased off the gas. A delay and ticket were the last things she needed. She’d wasted time driving to the Thomas home only to blow her opportunity.