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“I’m sure the baby will be nice enough,” I told my friend.

Though to be absolutely honest, I wasn’t sure if Odelia would be thrilled to find a dog on her couch when she arrived home later today. As if four cats wasn’t enough to contend with, now she’d have to take care of another pet. Timing is everything in these matters, you see. When parents suddenly show up with a puppy, their kids most likely will be over the moon. When an aged grandparent foists a quirky-looking dog on her pregnant granddaughter, her response might not be as exuberant as she would have hoped.

And just when relations between the natives of the Kingsley home and this relative newcomer were starting to thaw a little, Odelia suddenly came storming in, clutching her phone and looking a little feverish.“Let’s go, you guys,” she said. “There’s been a murder!”

Chapter 6

We arrived at the apartment block in Chase’s car. Odelia preferred to be driven around everywhere these days, as she had a little trouble squeezing behind the wheel of her own aged pickup. And Chase actually preferred to be his pregnant wife’s chauffeur, driving at a snail’s pace and braking well in advance of any crossroads and generally being the most careful driver the world has ever seen, much to Odelia’s annoyance, actually. She likes to keep up a good pace, and to get from point A to point B in an expedient way.

“So what have we got?” asked Odelia as Chase helped her out of the car.

“Dotty Ludkin,” said Chase, “though she also went by the name Dotty Berg, apparently. Her dad called it in. He was meeting her first thing this morning, and when she didn’t open the door, he let himself in and found her.”

“He had a spare key?”

“Yeah, he did.”

We all glanced up at the building. It was tall and sported at least ten floors.“So where does she live, this Dotty Ludkin or Berg?” asked Odelia as she blew a strand of hair from her face.

“Top floor,” said Chase.

She gave him a pleading look.“Elevator?” And when he nodded, she smiled.

Dotty Berg, as apparently she liked to be known, was lying on a bed in the middle of a nicely appointed room. There were lots of fabrics: not only plenty of carpets spread out across her apartment but also wall tapestries, curtains of different length and color, and throw pillows everywhere you looked. All in all it lent the apartment, and especially the bedroom, a certain atmosphere that reminded me of… a house of ill repute somehow.

Abe Cornwall, the county coroner, stood bent over the dead woman, examining her closely. When we walked in, he straightened.

“So what have you got for us, Abe?” asked Chase.

“Dead girl, late twenties, strangled to death with a nylon stocking. Other stocking seems to have gone missing.”

“When did she die?”

“Some time last night, I’d say. Between midnight and two o’clock.”

“So cause of death was strangulation?”

“I’d say so. No other injuries as far as I can tell at first glance. Some bruising on her upper arms so she was probably pinned down on the bed while being strangled.”

“Fingernails?”

He shook his head, indicating her fingernails were intact and clean, so if she fought against her assailant, she hadn’t been able to claw at their face or clothes so there would be no trace evidence found there. “I’ll know more once I’ve taken a closer look,” he said.

And since Abe’s people were busy collecting evidence, we repaired to the hallway, where we encountered one of Chase’s plainclothes colleagues, Sarah Flunk. “Strangest thing, sir,” said Sarah. “We found no phone or laptop on the scene.”

“The killer probably took them,” said Chase, nodding.

“She was known under two different names?” asked Odelia.

“Yes, the name on the bell is Dotty Ludkin, her official name, but we spoke to the neighbors, and one of them once heard her use the name Dotty Berg, which seems to be an assumed name. Oh, and this same neighbor said she heard a big argument yesterday coming from the apartment. She lives right underneath here, and says she almost called the police.”

“We better have a chat with the neighbor,” said Chase. “Dotty’s dad found her?”

“Yes, we’ve got him downstairs in a car. He’s really shaken up.”

“Let’s talk to him first, and then the neighbor,” said Chase.

“Oh, and her dad said she works for a caterer, only we called the caterer and he says she didn’t work there anymore. Hadn’t worked there for the past ten months.”

“Better knock on some more doors,” said Chase. “In fact cover the entire street. Ask if they saw anyone leave the apartment last night. Abe puts time of death between midnight and two, so—”

“I’ll take care of it, sir,” said Sarah, who had done this kind of thing before many times.

“And if you need more people, just say the word and I’ll talk to the Chief.”