ERICA SPENDS THE NEXT SEVERAL hours working on tonight’s show, but she’s haunted by the murder of Joan Marcus and the disappearance of that torn corner of a photograph. She supposes it could have simply been overlooked in the initial response to the crime, maybe stepped on and kicked aside—it was so small—but if that’s the case, it’s sloppy police work. If that’s not the case, what happened to it? And the police have made no progress with identifying the car Erica saw speeding out of the parking lot. And who was Joan Marcus? What did she so desperately want to tell Erica? And, of course, who slit her throat?
Erica calls Detective Hoaglund. “Any progress?”
“Not much. The parking lot surveillance camera was shot out. Her car was in the lot, so she drove herself to the hotel. Her killer or killers were following her. They waited outside in the shadows while she called you on the house phone, then they walked into the hotel and either forced or lured her into the bathroom and killed her.”
“And nobody in the lobby saw anyone?”
“No. As you know, it was pretty deserted at the time.”
“No fingerprints?”
“None.”
“No one saw Marcus earlier in the day?”
“We’re still looking. There’s a lot of country out here, and Marcus lived in an isolated house. You can go weeks without seeing another person.”
“And the search of her house?”
“A lot of vodka bottles, a lot of pills. No evidence.”
“Listen, I’d like to fly out there this weekend and poke around.”
There’s a pause and then, “We’re in the middle of a police investigation here. Your presence might be disruptive.”
“No cameras. Nothing. Just me.” There’s another pause. “Listen, Detective, Joan Marcus wanted to see me, to talk to me, she had something to tell me. I was the last person to speak with her. I’m coming out there.”
“I can’t spare anyone to escort you around. We’re dealing with a murder here. And I certainly can’t guarantee your safety.”