Lately she had been delving into the world of crime scene investigation, studying one of the many books on law enforcement that filled the bulging bookcase beside the fireplace.

Before she could finish the first page, her cell phone rang. She tucked the bookmark back in, put the book in her lap, and looked at the caller ID. It was an unknown number.

She answered the phone. It was Tammy Norton returning her earlier call.

“I want to drop by your house if possible,” Annie said. “I’d like to talk to you regarding Rocky Shaft.”

Tammy hesitated. “How about right now? I don’t have to be at work until this afternoon.”

Annie told her she’d be there shortly and hung up. She had some pointed questions to ask, and was sure Tammy knew more about Rocky Shaft’s involvement than she let on. Perhaps Tammy feared for her safety, but now that Shaft was arrested and almost certain to be convicted, her worries should be over.

She got her handbag and car keys from the kitchen, propped a note for Jake against the coffee pot, and hurried out to her car.

A few minutes later, she pulled to the curb in front of the Norton house and got out. She wondered who was responsible for taking care of the upkeep of this rundown property. It looked like it needed a thorough makeover.

Tammy’s Ford Probe wasn’t parked in its usual spot in the driveway. Annie assumed it was in the single-car garage attached to one side of the house.

She went up the pathway to the front porch and rang the bell. In a moment, Tammy opened the door, a pleasant smile on her face, and invited her in.

Annie stepped inside, followed the woman, and took a seat on the couch, laying her handbag beside her. She watched as Tammy sat in the armchair, leaning forward slightly, her hands in her lap.

Annie spoke. “How’re you making out? I know this has been hard on you.”

Tammy sighed. “Very hard, but I think I’ll be okay.” Her eyes roved around the room. “This place seems so empty without him, though.”

“I know exactly what you mean,” Annie said. “If you need anything you can always call me. Even just to talk.”

“Thank you,” Tammy said. “I might take you up on that. Things do get rather lonely sometimes. Especially lately.” She sighed deeply and lowered her head. “I only wish things could’ve been different.”

Annie looked at the young widow and felt compassion. It was always hard to find the right words at a time like this.

Dispensing with more small talk, Annie said, “I don’t know if you’ve heard. Rocky Shaft was arrested last night.”

Tammy caught her breath. “I hadn’t heard.” She narrowed her eyes. “He killed my husband. I know that. Is that what he was arrested for?”

Annie nodded. “They found some evidence. Enough to charge him with first degree murder.”

“That’s a relief,” Tammy said. “I don’t know why it took them so long, but I’ll be glad when it’s all over. It’s been a nightmare, that’s for sure.”

Annie smiled and looked at her handbag. Her cell phone was ringing. She smiled weakly at Tammy. “I should take this,” she said. She removed her cell from her bag and looked at the caller ID.

It was Geekly. In order for him to call back so soon he must have some good news for her.

“Hi, Jeremiah,” Annie said. “I’ve been expecting your call.”

“Greetings, Annie,” he said. “It’s good to talk to you again. How’s Jake?”

“Jake’s doing good.” She looked at Tammy. “I’m with someone right now so I don’t have a lot of time to talk. I’ll make sure to call you later.” She paused. “Give me a quick rundown of what you found.”

“Will do,” Geekly said. “I had a chance to go over the stuff you sent me this morning and I have some interesting data to share.”

“I assumed that.”

“It’s a good thing you labeled all the files,” Geekly said. “It helped me keep everything straight.”

Annie held up a finger toward Tammy and whispered, “I’ll only be a minute.” She spoke into the phone. “What did you find?”

“I think the most important thing is the recording of the phone call from Michael Norton to you.”

“Yes.”

“I know you only wanted me to analyze it for background sounds, but I noticed something peculiar.”

“Spill it out, Geekly,” Annie said.

“I did hear a background sound. It seemed to be a dog barking.”

“A dog? I didn’t hear a dog on the recording, and I played the call back several times,” Annie said.

“It was faint and it took me some time to isolate it. But it didn’t sound right. It sounded to me like a voice changer was being used. A voice changer can alter the pitch and timbre of the user’s voice to either make them sound like someone else or to disguise their voice and perform changes in real-time. So I adjusted the tone, pitch, and timbre of the recording using special software until the bark sounded normal.”

“And?”

“And I ended up with a totally different voice.”

Annie gasped.

“I got curious, so I compared acoustic patterns and speaking style using a series of verification processes and pattern matching algorithms and found a conclusive match on one of the other recordings in the folder you sent me.”

“Yes?”

“The voice on the recording matched the file named, Tammy Norton.”

Annie swallowed hard, finding it difficult to breathe. “Thanks, Geekly. That’s all I need for now.” She paused and thought quickly. “Let Jake know the news.” She hung up the phone slowly. Her heart pounded against her ribs, her throat was dry, and her hands trembled.

The truth was hitting her, and hitting her hard. If the phone call wasn’t from Michael Norton, but rather from Tammy, then everything on the call was a lie. Everything was staged for her benefit. There could only be one reason for the deception—to throw suspicion onto Rocky Shaft.

And away from Tammy Norton.

That meant Tammy was aware of the robbery and might even have been part of it.

And that meant Tammy Norton might’ve killed either her own husband, or Werner Shaft—or both. It was the only thing that fit.

She was sure now. Tammy Norton killed Werner Shaft, framed her own husband for the murder, then killed him and framed Rocky Shaft. It was foolproof except for one thing. Tammy didn’t know Lincoln Investigations recorded all phone calls in and out of the office landline.

Tammy eyed her curiously. “Is everything all right?”

“Yes. Everything is fine,” Annie said, faking a smile.

“You don’t look so good.”

“May I use your washroom?” Annie asked. She had to get away and call 9-1-1. She couldn’t do it in front of Tammy. The telltale tone of the emergency phone number would be recognized by anyone.

Tammy motioned toward the hallway. “Down there. Second door on your left.”

Annie tucked her cell phone into her handbag, picked up the bag, and stood. “Thank you. I’ll be right back.”

She hurried in the direction Tammy indicated, opening the second door. She stopped short and frowned. It was a bedroom. Had Tammy suggested she use a washroom in the master bedroom? She took a step inside and stopped. Surely she heard wrong. There must be another washroom.

She stepped back into the hallway, spun around, and stared open-mouthed into the muzzle of a pistol pointed toward her head, Tammy Norton’s leering face directly behind.

Chapter 45

Friday, 9:29 a.m.

ANNIE GLARED into Tammy Norton’s eyes—eyes as cold as the steel gripped in the killer’s hand. The woman handled the gun expertly; it was obvious she’d done this before. She was a killer, and would have no hesitation to kill again.

“You know, don’t you?” Tammy said, her voice unemotional and lifeless.

“Know what?”

Tammy sneered. “Don’t pretend to be stupid. I heard the phone call and I know what you talked about. It’s unfortunate for you that you got involved in all this.”