34
T he following day, Detective Martin received an email from the medical examiner with Maggie’s autopsy results. Eagerly, he opened the attachment and scanned the report for key details. The first significant finding was that Maggie was not pregnant. The cause of death was confirmed as asphyxia, resulting from ligature strangulation with a rope.
He quickly picked up the phone and called the medical examiner’s office. When the phone was answered, he glanced at the medical examiner’s name on the report and said, “May I please speak to Ronald Downing.”
“One moment, please,” the woman said.
A minute later, a man’s voice came through the phone, “Ronald Downing, speaking.”
“Yes, this is Detective Martin calling about the autopsy report I received for Maggie Culliver.”
“Yes, what can I do for you detective.”
“Your report states that Maggie died from ligature strangulation by a rope. Are you certain? Could another item have been used for strangulation?”
“I’m sure. There were rope burns on her neck.”
Detective Martin’s first thought was that the scarf was planted to frame Emily.
“Okay, that’s all I needed to know.”
After hanging up the phone, Detective Martin stood up and said to Detective Johnson, sitting across from him, “I’m going to see if Maggie’s neighbor can identify Lily.”
Anna answered the door with a small toddler on her hip.
“I’m sorry to bother you, but I was wondering if I could have a minute of your time,” Detective Martin asked.
“Of course,” Anna replied, opening the door wider. “Please, come in.”
“Thank you,” said Detective Martin as he stepped inside the apartment. He followed Anna into the living room, where she said, “Would you like to have a seat?”
“That’s okay.” He reached into his pocket and pulled out his phone. “I’d like to show you a couple of pictures of two women. Could you tell me if either is the woman you saw running out of Maggie’s apartment?”
“Sure.”
Detective Martin pulled up Emily’s photo first and turned the phone to Anna, who immediately shook her head, “No, that’s not her.”
Detective Martin turned the phone back towards himself, brought up a picture of Lily, and then tilted the phone towards Anna. “What about her?” he asked.
Anna took the phone from him and brought it closer to her face. “Yes, that’s her.”
“Are you sure?”
“Positive. Did you catch her?”
“We’ve got the suspect in custody, but unfortunately, she is deceased.”
“Was she responsible for Maggie’s death?”
“It appears so.”
“Then good. She can’t hurt anyone else.”
The young child on Anna’s hip began to cry, and Detective Martin said, “I can see you have your hands full. I’m going to go now.” He headed toward the door. “Thank you for identifying the suspect. It was very helpful to the case.”
“Glad I could help,” Anna said before closing the door to her apartment.
When Detective Martin returned to the police station, he walked past Detective Johnson’s desk. Johnson looked up, saw Martin, and said, “Hey, look at this.”
Martin approached Johnson and glanced over his shoulder. Staring at the computer screen, he asked, “What do you got there?”
“I ran a background check on Lily Rossi. It shows a long history of mental illness. She has been in and out of psychiatric hospitals since she was seventeen, has been arrested multiple times for domestic abuse, and has had several restraining orders filed against her. According to her court-appointed psychiatrist, she was a ticking time bomb.
“That’s not surprising,” Martin said and took his seat.
“How did you make out with our witness?”
“Good, she positively identified Lily. The medical examiner confirmed that Maggie was strangled with a rope. It looks like Emily’s scarf was planted.”
“Any word on Roman?” Johnson asked.
“I haven’t heard anything. I was thinking of heading to the hospital now for an update.”
“Okay, let me know what you find out.”
“Will do.”
Detective Martin found Emily in the surgical waiting room, her shoulders hunched and her eyes rimmed with dark circles.
“Any word?” he asked gently.
She shook her head, her gaze flicking to the clock on the wall. “Not yet,” she murmured. “He should be out of surgery any time now.”
Martin took the seat beside her, “And the baby?” he asked, his tone softening.
A faint, weary smile appeared on her lips. “It’s a boy,” she announced, “weighing five pounds, seven ounces. He’ll need to spend some time in the NICU because he was born prematurely, but the doctor assured us he’ll be just fine.”
“That’s good,” he replied, a hint of relief.
Emily nodded.
“Maggie’s neighbor positively identified Lily as the woman she saw running out of Maggie’s apartment. It appears your scarf was planted. We’re going to be dropping the charges against you.”
Emily let out a sigh and then started to cry. “Thank God.”
Detective Martin wrapped a comforting arm around her shoulder, “It’s over.”
At that moment, a surgeon walked into the waiting room. Recognizing him as a Roman surgeon, Emily sprang to her feet and hurried over to him, her eyes scanning his face for any hint of the news he was about to deliver. Detective Martin followed behind.
The surgeon removed his surgical cap and said, “He’s out of surgery. It went well. He did lose a significant amount of blood, so we had to administer a transfusion. Assuming there are no complications, I expect him to make a full recovery.”
Emily’s shoulders relaxed as she let out a long breath, her eyes glistening with relief. “Thank you,” she murmured. “When can I see him?”
“He’s just starting to wake up,” the surgeon replied, a reassuring smile crossing his face. “He’ll need to stay in the recovery room for about an hour or so. Why don’t you take a break and get a coffee or something to eat? I’ll find you when he’s in his room and can have visitors.”
“Okay, thank you, doctor.”
The doctor smiled warmly and said, “You’re welcome,” before leaving.
“Come on, I’ll buy you a cup of coffee,” Detective Martin said, leading Emily out of the waiting room.