The Silver Anniversary Murder by Lee Harris Page A

it, but I assured her that since this case was out of his jurisdiction, he would not interfere. And he would be helpful if there was information we were not privy to as private citizens.
    Ariana and Eddie seemed charmed by each other. I heard laughter from the family room as I set the table. Jack came home, having been forewarned by me. He shook hands with Ariana and expressed his condolences. She said a soft “Thank you” and brushed away welling tears.
    When Eddie was tucked away, we sat in the family room with coffee and a fruit pie I had picked up at the bakery after our swim. My Jewish friend Melanie told me that Jews offer sweets to the bereaved to ease their sorrow. That has stuck with me, sounding like a reasonable response to the anguish of loss.
    “Jack,” I said after we had chatted for a while, “Ariana and her parents lived in a number of locations around the country. And she was born in Portland, Oregon. We have some family names but no addresses. Is there a way we can find the phone numbers of these people on the Internet?”
    “Boy,” he said, “get them a computer and suddenly they’re experts in tracking down missing people.”
    Ariana smiled. “Did you just get a computer?”
    “At the end of last year,” I said. “It had never occurred to me but Jack thought we should have one, especially since Eddie is starting to read and everyone he knows has one.”
    Jack said, “I’ll check with a guy at work tomorrow— he’s more computer literate than I am—and see how to proceed. It’s a good idea. If you have your parents’ names, you might find people with the same last name in Portland or nearby.”
    “And I remember people who lived near us in a couple of places. If they’re still alive, we can talk to them.”
    “Sounds like a good way to start,” Jack said. “But you should certainly talk to the lawyer who has the original of your parents’ will. They may have added or subtracted something recently without letting you know. Chris solved a case not long ago where that happened. And the lawyer may have information in his notes or may recollect something that could be helpful. For all we know, your parents may have told him who was looking for them.”
    Ariana leaned forward. “I hadn’t thought of that. And he wouldn’t be able to tell anyone if they were his clients.”
    “Right.”
    Her eyes were bright. “I really have to talk to him. The sooner I get that will, the better I’ll feel.”
    I asked her if her copy of the will was in a safe place.
    “In a safe-deposit box in a bank. No one besides me has access to it.”
    “That’s good.”
    “I have some information on the second autopsy,” Jack said. “Joe Fox called after you did.”
    “Second autopsy?” Ariana seemed surprised.
    “They couldn’t determine the cause of your mother’s death in the first one so they got a hotshot ME to come out from the city. His name’s Byron Durham and we’ve been known to refer to him as Lord Byron.”
    I laughed. “He must be something.”
    “He is.” Jack turned to Ariana. “If you don’t want to hear about this, I’ll keep quiet.”
    “I have to hear. I have to know everything.”
    “It looks as though your mother was chloroformed.”
    “How do they know that?” I asked.
    “Chloroform leaves chemical burns in the nose, mouth, and windpipe and some traces in the lungs if enough tissue is there. It’s not easy to detect, which is probably why it was missed by the first ME, who, I’m told, is new to the job. The analysis by Dr. Durham says the chloroform was administered with a pad, sponge, or rag, and he sees the burns inside the nose and mouth.”
    “Chloroform,” Ariana said thoughtfully. “Someone could have held a rag over her face, standing behind her maybe, with his arms around her.”
    “That’s one way it could be done. Nice and clean. No blood, no bullet, no stab wounds. And when you’re ten miles away from the crime scene, you drop the rag in