She shakes her head. "Other areas of the council manage past residents."
"One more question, completely off topic. How did Nicole's brother die?"
She blinks. "Nicole's brother?"
"I know he was taken by a cartel. I know he was tortured. Do we have any indication that captivity was involved?"
More confused looks.
"I know it sounds like a strange question," I say. "But there is a point to it. Is there anything in the council's report that would indicate whether his torture happened quickly or over a period of time?"
"I believe he was held and tortured for several days, which is why she faked a similar situation herself."
"That's all I need. Thank you."
As I head for the front door, Val stays in the living room. I'm reaching for the doorknob when she says, "I know you are disappointed in me, Casey."
She appears in the living room doorway.
"You expected more," she says. "Better. I can only tell you that I need time. I am considering everything you said."
"Okay."
"You may also be disappointed because I haven't apologized to Sheriff Dalton. Please remember, however, that I believed what the council told me, and therefore my response was appropriate."
"So you feel you don't owe him an apology. Sure. Nor does he owe you one for the way he insulted and belittled and patronized you in response. Oh, wait. He didn't."
"I--"
"You already had preconceptions about Eric. What the council said only endorsed them. But Eric didn't mistreat you in return. So you can tell yourself you did nothing wrong, but the fact you feel the need to defend your decision proves you know better. For the record, though, he doesn't want an apology. He just wants you to do your job."
She lets me leave after that. Not a word of denial. Not one of acknowledgment either. She just lets me leave.
*
Dalton and I are in the clinic with Roger's body. Mathias is there. Anders is not. Our deputy doesn't have the acting skills for this. I'm not sure our sheriff does either, but he's behind Mathias, sitting and observing, saying nothing.
I've asked Mathias for a second opinion on the cause of death. All he knows is that we have a theory.
"Collapsed lung, obviously," Mathias says. "You have exposed the lung, which makes your findings easy to determine."
"I'm not making a game of it, Mathias. You can see what we've found. I'd like you to confirm it as cause of death."
"Cause of death is clearly that lung, given the fact it is collapsed and there is bloody froth in his mouth." He flips open Roger's eyelids. "Bloodshot eyes suggest suffocation. The fact he did not fight means he was receiving too much morphine. Which could suggest..." He checks Roger's lung. "There is a puncture lining up with a stab wound. Someone exacerbated the injury. Used a lancet or other thin object to bypass the ribs and puncture the lung."
"How do you figure that?"
"The wound has been stitched, yet it is open slightly at this end. There was no injury to the lung yesterday. I was here. There is also tissue damage consistent with a blade being inserted and removed." He points it out. "It may appear the killer knew what he was doing, but he was really only making an educated guess. Anyone with basic knowledge of anatomy could do the same."
Mathias taps the morphine pump. "This has been tampered with."
"How can you tell?"
"I cannot. But we know he slept through suffocation. I watched you and William pore over your notes, discussing exactly how much morphine this man needed. I know enough about sedatives to have agreed with your dosage. Someone increased it. Does that concur with your findings?"
"It does."
"Which would suggest I did not kill this man."