The Doll Maker by Richard Montanari Page B

of the Nicole Solomon crime scene. And while there had been many homicides committed by strangulation in the past five or so years – a dozen or so using a stocking as a ligature – none included the signature of a painted bench, or the presence of a handwritten note.
    She made a note to try again as more forensic data came in.

    At ten o’clock, as Jessica and Byrne crossed the lobby of the Roundhouse, Jessica noticed a woman speaking to the desk sergeant. The woman looked familiar, but at first Jessica wasn’t sure where she knew her from. Then it registered. It was Annie Stovicek, the woman who had been their sole witness at the Shawmont crime scene. Today, instead of her jogging outfit, she wore a dark suit and overcoat.
    When the woman saw Jessica and Byrne she looked up, offered a nervous smile. Jessica and Byrne stepped through the security checkpoint, into the outer lobby.
    ‘Mrs Stovicek. What brings you here?’ Byrne asked.
    ‘I was coming to see you, actually.’
    ‘What can we do for you?’
    ‘Well, after you left the other day, I took Miranda to her day care, then went to work. Needless to say, I didn’t get much done.’
    ‘That’s completely understandable.’
    ‘Later in the day I went to take a photo with my phone – we’re remodeling, and I take pictures of things like bathroom vanities and kitchen countertops I like and send them to my husband – and when I opened the folder that has my recent photos I saw a picture I’d forgotten I’d taken.’
    Jessica and Byrne just listened.
    Annie Stovicek continued. ‘You see, when we were down by the river, I took a picture.’
    ‘That morning?’
    ‘No. It was the night before. Late. I was with Ajax.’
    ‘Ajax?’
    ‘I’m sorry. Ajax is my dog. He’s a Sheltie.’
    ‘And you took a photograph of him?’
    ‘Yes,’ she said. ‘As I said, it was late. Maybe midnight. I couldn’t sleep.’
    ‘You have the photo with you?’
    ‘Yes.’ She took out her cell phone, tapped an icon. ‘I didn’t notice it at first, I guess because I wasn’t looking for it.’
    ‘Notice what?’
    She turned the phone to face the two detectives. The photo was a medium close-up of a young Sheltie. Behind the dog was parked a white, late model Honda Accord.
    ‘Can you enlarge this a little?’ Jessica asked.
    ‘Sure,’ Annie said. She pinched two fingers, spread them. The photo, which was of a high resolution, enlarged. In the moonlight, the car’s license plate was perfectly readable. It was an up-to-date Pennsylvania tag. Jessica wrote down the number.
    ‘Did you notice if anyone was in the car at the time?’ Byrne asked.
    ‘No,’ she said. ‘Sorry.’
    ‘That’s okay. And you didn’t see anyone near it?’
    ‘No. We were only down there a few seconds.’
    Jessica recalled walking the site the morning after the picture was taken. When she had gone down to the river there was no car parked there. She glanced again at the photograph on the phone. There did not appear to be anything on the ground near the driver’s side.
    Still, it was worth checking. ‘I’ll call it in,’ Byrne said. He headed across the main lobby, took out his phone.
    ‘Is there anything else you can remember about the car?’ Jessica asked. ‘Did you see it arrive? Did you see it leave?’
    Annie shook her head. ‘No. To be honest, I don’t really remember it even being there. I remember seeing it for the first time when I saw that picture.’
    ‘And you don’t recall seeing it before or since?’
    ‘No,’ she said. ‘Sorry.’
    ‘That’s okay,’ Jessica said. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Byrne crossing the lobby. She knew his stride. He had something. Jessica turned back to the woman. ‘Mrs Stovicek, I can’t tell you how much we appreciate this. Not everyone would be this civic-minded.’
    ‘Do you think that car – or the person who was in that car – had anything to do with …’
    ‘Probably not,’ Jessica replied. ‘But we have to rule