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neck and right shoulder blade. No stab wounds or gunshot wounds. Possibly, she died from strangulation, but no signs of broken vessels around the whites of her eyes.” Tod gently pushed up the victim's eyelids with his fingers protected by disposable gloves.
    "Maybe she was poisoned?” Phelps added.
    Tod gave a look that said maybe . He carefully leaned closer to the body, noting a brown-colored substance around the inside of her lips. “The dirt could have gathered there from her tumble down the ravine, or the culprit, to her death. We'll know soon enough,” Tod said just as the coroner arrived.
    "Detective Kafrey, we've got someone from the local newspaper up here. What do you want me to tell them?” the patrol officer asked.
    "Tell them nothing. We don't know what we're dealing with yet, and no one is to make any statements at this time. Spread the word, will ya?” Tod shook his head in disgust. The media never seemed to arrive so quickly when there was good news.
    He knew as soon as people in town found out about the body discovered on Memorial Day, a wave of panic and upset would swamp their little police department.
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Chapter 3
    Victoria was overwhelmed at the information contained in the latest updated file. About a month ago, she had gotten her hands on an original copy of the report of her father's murder. At first, she tried to disconnect herself, act as though she were going over the case of a stranger but there was no use. The emotions were too strong. A tear escaped her eye, and she closed the file abruptly, placing it back into her briefcase, questioning herself for the umpteenth time about her decision to pursue her own investigation.
    Having obtained copies of various reports, both recent and not so recent cases her father had been involved in, continued to lead to dead ends.
    Interesting enough, those cases were easier to read, but the particulars about each victim were hard to get through. She noted certain cases connected to gang activity in an area a few towns over, in Creek Valley. Victoria had heard from her family the area had been investigated. There were no leads or any evidence to make Tod or the other detectives believe her father's death was gang related.
    Taking a deep breath, she closed the large manila folder, stopped looking at the reports, for now, knowing she had her own office work to do. Yet, the tiny details and small discoveries she made while researching, made her question a connection between her current work and her father's murder.
    She tried to prepare for next month's issue of Search and Seizure and her article on police and political corruption. A topic her boss and editor had insisted she investigate. It's also, what got her motivated to try and solve her father's murder. Victoria couldn't help but doubt her gut feeling. The small town they lived in could not fabricate such corruption and masked fraudulence.
    The ringing phone on her desk interrupted her thoughts.
    "Hello, Victoria Mardullo."
    "Hey, Tory, it's me. Did I catch you at a bad time?” Celina, her best friend's voice instantly cheered her up.
    "No, not at all. What's going on? How was Cathy's parents’ house?” she asked cautiously.
    "Oh, please, you know her father doesn't like me one bit. All he did was pick, pick, pick."
    "Oh no, please tell me you didn't wind up getting into an argument with him?” Victoria cringed knowing most of the time that was exactly what Celina did. Her best friend was gay and had been involved with a woman, Cathy, for the past two years. Unfortunately, Cathy's parents were not so understanding about their daughter's sexual preference. Victoria had to admit even she was shocked to find out her best friend since first grade, was gay.
    Victoria recalled her brother, Peter's, disappointment and shock. Celina was gorgeous. She had long red hair, green eyes, was thin and shapely. She owned a little boutique in Boulder Point and was very successful.
    "I didn't