A Case Study in Murder

An Excerpt from Chapter's Three & Four:

The four of them glanced furtively at each other. Lydia could feel the anticipation oozing around the room. Each of the groups looked as if they had been given a mystery present and the wait was more than they could stand.
          Glancing across the room, Lydia found that there was one participant who looked to be mentally elsewhere, and that was the daughter of the lady from the lobby the day before. Apparently she had not changed her mind about being there, and was simply biding her time in order to appease her mother.
          “Included in the packet for your convenience is a notepad and a number of pens since we were expecting just a few more people. Also inside the packet you will find some of the more important documentation paper clipped together, as well as an additional listing of the documentation already accumulated in regards to that particular case study but not included. Please write down on your pad of paper anything that your group thinks might help to further, or even knock down this brick wall. Anything will do: a piece of evidence, primary or secondary, contacting a repository, visiting on site someplace…anything,” Thomas Shelton implored. “Remember for the three of us, we have been working with these brick walls so long we can no longer see the forest for the trees. Please do not be afraid to write down any idea, no matter how odd, or strange you might think it to be.”
          As Thomas Shelton finished giving the instructions, Jill Kane walked back to the head table where she took out a timer and turned it on. “You have fifty minutes from this moment. Good luck to all of you,” she announced as she sat back down in her chair.
          “And let those creative juices flow…please!” Marian Fields added enthusiastically.
          The gates were open, and the horses were off and running.


Lydia grabbed at the envelope first, with Muriel’s hand a close second. Realizing what she had done, Lydia dropped it back down onto the table and pushed it back to the center. Mentally she chided herself for not waiting. Julia and Faye had just as much right to open the envelope as the two of them did.
          “Open it!” Muriel cried out as she shoved it back toward Lydia.
          “No you…”Lydia shoved it back.
          “Darn it, just open it…” Muriel implored.
          “I don’t care who does it, just someone do it!” Faye snapped in exasperation.
          Julia dropped back into her seat and began laughing at their discomfiture.
         “Fine!” Lydia barked snatching the envelope back. She flipped the envelope around, unclasped the flap, and then peered into the package. The other three leaned forward expectantly, almost like something magical was going to pop forth from the envelope.
          “Which one…” Julia asked breathlessly.
          “Yes!” Lydia said as she pumped her fist in the air. “We got Rosa!”