“IT’S HER.”
“Uh-huh,” Veena said, staring off into the distance.
Janie Hall blinked. “Did you hear me, V.? It’s her. Roz Cline. I just got confirmation from my cop friend. They found her body on the sidewalk. I pretended I didn’t know her to get information from Steph, but it’s looking like—”
“I already knew it was Roz.”
“—she either jumped or was…wait, how did you know it was Roz?”
Veena wasn’t looking at Janie. She was focused on the alley next to the building. Janie followed her gaze and saw burly guys in suits stepping out of the side entrance. She recognized most of them from her police-beat days. They were homicide.
Veena said, “I knew because of him.”
Among the murder cops: Mickey Bernstein. He seemed to be running the show, instructing his colleagues on the next moves.
“This freakin’ guy is everywhere,” Janie murmured.
“And he shouldn’t be anywhere near this.”
“Why’s that?”
“Because he’s currently my number one suspect in the murder of Archie Hughes. And who was our most promising lead? The woman who was just shoved from her balcony.”
“We don’t know for sure that’s what happened, V.”
“She sounded like she was in love, not suicidal. Either way, Bernstein is the last person who should be investigating Roz Cline’s murder, because he’s probably the one who did it.”
“Come on, V. I know he’s a scumbag, but that’s a huge line to cross.”
The two of them took in the bustling crime scene together. Janie tried to absorb the details like a newspaper reporter. That meant looking for the telling details—the small things that would bring this scene to life for a reader later. The body language of the police (upset, blasé, confused). The behavior of the lookie-loos gathered on the sidewalk (rowdy, sad, suspicious).
And, of course, anything striking about the murder victim herself—anything to bring her to life for a few more seconds. Janie was no longer a reporter, but she still found the technique useful, especially when Veena asked for her take. And her boss always asked.
Veena Lion, however, took in crime scenes in a different way. Instead of using her eyes and ears like recording devices, she analyzed the scene like it was a life-size board game. Who were the key players? What did this recent move mean strategically? Who had been in the best position to make that move?
And sometimes, Veena just stepped right onto the game board and started playing along.