Page 72 of Carnal Wagers

“Our father’s third wife, Jessica O’Leary-Davis,” Brody continued, reading his notes. “Died almost three months after Fiona. Her tox screen detected extremely high levels of LK’s chosen toxins, demonstrating the killer’s inexperience. Ingestion levels were perfected after victim three to inhibit and weaken targets but not kill. Victims two and three ingested lethal levels of foxglove and hellebore, but Jessica was the only victim to pass away from the poisoning before the stabbing. The knife wound also showed numerous signs of hesitation, more so than the other earlier victims.”

“Well, shit. This might really be our connection. How’d the second wife, uh, Fiona, die?”

Brody clicked over a few documents. “Death certificate lists cardiomyopathy at nineteen, here in Boston at Massachusetts General Hospital.”

“Any signs of toxins?”

“Nothing listed. No stab wounds either.”

“Then she couldn’t have been an unidentified victim. Family situation?”

“Father’s dead. No siblings. Mother’s listed as being on marriage five, previously living in Ireland. I’d need to make a check to see if that’s still the case.”

“Leave it. I’ll handle it and look into her more.”

Brody didn’t even look up from his computer. We all knew that he would be investigating the information, no matter what Cranwell said.

“You saying you never did before?” I crossed my arms and stared the old Fed down.

“Look, O’Leary. My memory’s not what it used to be. You’ll get it when you’re my age. Twenty-nine years is a long time.”

“It’s your job.”

Sweat beaded his forehead. “All I know is back then, there were no connections to make. If wife two died of natural causes, there was no reason to link her death with wife three’s murder. I’ll look up my notes, but I don’t think there was anything to find.”

“Or you missed something.” I pried my knife open and flicked the cheek of the blade, never looking away from his sweaty face. “Brody, do you have the original case files?”

“Checking.”

I advanced on Cranwell.

“Careful, O’Leary. I’m still a Fed.”

The blade swirled under the artificial light as I rolled my thumb around.

“If your negligence is what drew this out, I promise no badge’ll save you.”

From my back pocket, I pulled out a small baggie with the couple of hairs I’d plucked from Alice’s head before leaving her in my bed. I tossed it at him.

“Test this for me.”

He fumbled to catch it. “Whose is it?”

“Someone who’s recently started clinging to me. I need to know that she’s not associated with all this.”

With LK’s blood and DNA on file, this wouldn’t be the first time my brothers and I made such a request.

He whistled. “A real cougar.”

“No.”

“Well then, I’d say it’s pretty unlikely. Profile puts the killer at forty-five to max seventy. Anything younger would be practically impossible.”

“When a woman forces herself into my life, and suddenly LK makes a change in pattern, I’m going to pay attention. Something’s up. Now run the damn thing.”

“Taxpayer money is not at your disposal, O’Leary.”

“But you are.” I gestured to Liam, who handled payments to our informants. Before we left, he’d slip an envelope of cash into the Fed’s suit pocket. “Don’t forget whose money you’re living off.”