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slammed, I wondered if, maybe since we were late, our salesgirl might have stepped out for a smoke. Then I remembered the state law that people can’t smoke within fifteen feet of an entrance. That’s when I went around the Dumpster and found her on the ground.”
    â€œWhat happened when you found her?”
    â€œMom and Felicity saw her at the same time. My sister turned a little green. Thankfully my mom whipped out her cell phone and dialed 911.”
    â€œDid you touch anything?”
    â€œYeah, well, I saw the knife and the blood, but I didn’t know for sure she was dead. I bent down and checked for a pulse.”
    â€œDid you find one?”
    â€œNo.” I shook my head and rubbed my arms to ward off the chill that wouldn’t leave. “But she was warm. I knew that if she was warm, she might still be breathing. I tookout my compact mirror and put it under her nose and mouth. But there wasn’t any condensation at all.”
    â€œYou assumed she was dead.”
    â€œYes.” I paced the length of the pink and white front room. “We stayed with the body until the first police officer arrived. I think he introduced himself as Officer Parrack. He also checked for her pulse, but there wasn’t any.”
    â€œDid you start CPR?”
    â€œOh,” I covered my mouth with my hand. “Should I have? Do you think I could have saved her?” Fear and guilt crept through me. “There was so much blood. I didn’t think about CPR.”
    â€œThere wasn’t anything you could have done.” A tall, thin man in a black coat marked Med Tech strode out of the hall and into our conversation. He had a black leather bag in his right hand. I assumed it was his CSU kit. “We won’t know for sure until the autopsy, but it looks like the knife cut straight through her heart. She bled out.” He sent me a sincere look. “Nothing can save a person when they lose that much blood.”
    â€œOh, dear.” I sat down hard. The room spun a little.
    â€œI meant to comfort you, not upset you.” The man in the med tech coat was beside me in a flash. “Put your head between your knees and breathe in and out.”
    I did as I was told and things stopped spinning so much. “I know you were trying to help,” I muttered to my knees. “But the idea that all that blood could have come from my sister or my mom if we’d gotten here a few minutes earlier is a little hard to take.”
    â€œHere.” Detective Murphy squatted down beside me and handed me a glass of water. “Sip this.”
    I sat up slowly and sipped the cool water. “So there’s really nothing I could have done?”
    â€œNot a thing,” the man said. His gray eyes were solemn. “Now if you don’t mind, I need to swab your hands.”
    â€œWhy?” I glanced at my palms. “You can’t be looking for gunshot residue. The murder weapon was a knife.”
    â€œIt’s standard procedure,” he said, and opened the kit on the floor next to him. I watched in fascination as he pulled out a tall paper-covered swab, cracked it open, and took my hand in his. “I’m going to hold your hand for just a second.”
    â€œHer boyfriend might not like the sight of you down on your knees holding her hand.” Detective Murphy winked at me.
    â€œI’m Blaine Wilson, by the way,” He introduced himself as he carefully ran the swab over my palms and between my fingers. “CSU.”
    â€œPepper Pomeroy,” I said. He took a second swab out of his kit, then gently took the glass of water from me and carefully placed it on a coaster on the white-painted occasional table beside me. He took my hand and turned it palm up and mirrored the swiping he did on my right hand.
    â€œYou found the body?” he asked without looking at me.
    â€œYes.”
    â€œI’m sorry for that. She died very quickly. Like I said,