Free Dead Madonna by Victoria Houston

advising against an open casket.
    Marcy nodded, brushed away some tears, then struggled to speak. “So … we don’t have any leads yet on who …”
    “We may not for a while,” said Lew, her voice gentle.
    “Marcy,” said Osborne, getting up to join the two older women, “I don’t know if it helps to know this—but my preliminary exam indicated your daughter lost consciousness immediately.”
    Marcy inhaled deeply. “I hope so. But I will want to know … how … you know?”
    “Of course you will,” said Lew, patting her shoulder as they walked towards the doorway. “Oh, and Marcy, I’ll let you know when the team from the crime lab has finished with DeeDee’s car. They’re hoping to find trace evidence there that could give us a good lead. So I have no idea how soon they’ll be releasing it.”
    “That’s okay,” said Marcy, “I understand.”

C HAPTER 11
    A fter walking Marcy to her car and watching as she drove off, Lew turned to Osborne, “Poor woman. I know how she feels. You go home, you sit down, you look around, you feel absolutely cold inside and all you can think is: my child is dead. And if you’re like me—unkind—you think: Why my child? Why not the meth addict kid of that worthless piece of shit down the road?”
    “That’s unkind?” said Osborne. “Sounds like an honest reaction to me—maybe the only way to deal with life’s unfairness. I wouldn’t blame anyone for thinking that way.” He paused, expecting Lew to walk over to the police cruiser. But she stayed where she was, checking back through her notes. Anxious to get over to the offices where DeeDee had worked, he said, “Lew, ready to head out?”
    “In a minute, Doc. I asked Juliana to step outside—alone. Would you mind waiting with me? Marlene would have called if you had to rush over to the Chamber. Oh, and sorry about the fishing, I was looking forward to it.”
    They lingered on the sidewalk outside the girls’ house, the late afternoon sun hot on their shoulders. Osborne checked his watch. “Too warm for trout tonight anyhow, Lew. Don’t feel bad.”
    “I could use the break, Doc. Let’s see how it goes tomorrow. We’re never in the river before eight anyway. It’s just that tonight I have paperwork up the wazoo. And I have got to take time with the Loomis family.”
    “Nora’s son, Russell, was a patient of mine all through high school,” said Osborne. “Would he be offended if you had me talk to him after I meet with the Chamber staff?”
    “That’s a thought,” said Lew. “I’ll try to give him a call before I meet with the Moriartys. Marlene said he’s driving in from Eau Claire late today. If he doesn’t mind, that works for me. I’ll leave a message with Marlene—and, Doc, you have to get yourself a cell phone. This is ridiculous.”
    “Lewellyn, I cannot get cell service at the house. Even Mallory’s reception is spotty, and she has Sprint.”
    “Dr. Osborne, are we standing in front of your house?”
    “No.”
    “Well then.”
    “Okay, I’ll look into it but—” He was interrupted by the ringing of Lew’s cell phone. With a wink, she pulled it from its case.
    “It’s Ray,” she said, seeing the number in the digital display.
    Ray was already on the job, having gotten a call from Lew shortly after capping off Cody and Mason’s shore lunch with ice cream bars. Half an hour after that Lew was able to clear the one hazard she always faced when attempting to deputize the keenest eyes in the northwoods: a misdemeanor file that reflected a hankering for controlled substances and a dedication to fishing private water. It was the poaching that got the game wardens most upset. But Lew had her ways—not to mention an abiding affection for Ray that she did her best to hide.
    While still at the site where they had landed the Moriarty boat and pulled the victim onto the bank of the channel, she had asked Pete not to leave until she could reach the Wausau Crime Lab to request more