THE ST. PAUL CONSPIRACY (McRyan Mystery Series - Excerpt)

Chapter 4: "Claire's dead."

Chapter Four

"Claire's dead."

Mac and Lich got back in the Explorer and drove to Daniels's place. Mac was jacked. It was not often he got a case like this. Lich, catching the mood of the moment, put it right, "This type of case—bring it home, and you're set, Mac. Screw it up, and you might get night watch down in the jail."

As they pulled onto Grand and were a few blocks away from Daniels's place, Lich chirped, "Media's in heaven. They'll have a field day with us today."

Mac couldn't argue with him, it was going to be rough, especially for the chief and Sylvia Miller.

"What's the plan, boss?" Lich said with just a touch of wry sarcasm.

Mac caught the tone. "You gonna be okay following my lead on this?"

Lich chuckled. "There'll be no problem, Mac. I haven't exactly been busting my hump lately, but I'm with you on this. No fucking around."

"Thanks."

"So, what's on our agenda?"

"Check out the condo. Then we'll head down to Channel 6 and talk with her colleagues. Her mother's been notified. We'll have to talk with her as well, although word is they weren't close."

As they approached Daniels's condo, the media horde became evident, with television trucks and microphones everywhere, people running back and forth. To avoid it, Mac dumped the Explorer in an open spot along Grand, half a block away. He and Lich got out and made their way towards the condo, casually winding through the news vans, and ducking under the crime scene tape.

Mac saw a uniform cop and said, "Go get me Clark and Green," and to Lich, "Let's take a closer look around the condo."

As Mac entered the bedroom, forensics was getting ready to transport the body. Morgan had nothing additional to give them; they would have to wait for the autopsy. On his first time through, Mac had gotten the feeling that very little was amiss, but he wanted to look around and get a feel for Daniels.

The bedroom was really two rooms. There was the area where her bed, dresser, and closet were located. Claire must have slept on the right side normally, as there was a phone and an alarm clock on that side of the bed. The drawer on the right nightstand was filled with the usual stuff one might expect, including a notepad and pen to take messages. The drawer on the left side held a brass tin that contained condoms, which was interesting, for, if nothing else, she was prepared.

He took a look at her closet, a deep walk-in. Claire had been a clotheshorse, which was not surprising for a television reporter. There were a couple of boxes with personal effects, some family pictures, and a high school yearbook from Bristol, Ohio. Mac took out the yearbook and thumbed through it. Bristol was a small town as Claire's graduating class looked to be about fifty students. He found Claire, with a last name of Miller, so she must have been married at some point or changed her name. Her graduation picture certainly indicated that she must have been the object of many a Bristol boys' dreams.

Mac left the closet, and went to the other side of the bedroom through a wide archway into what was a large sitting room. When she was home, Claire obviously had spent most of her time here. The room was tastefully furnished with a plaid love seat and chair combination. There was a large entertainment center and collection of DVDs and CDs. Claire was a Meg Ryan fan, owning copies of Sleepless in Seattle, When Harry Met Sally, You've Got Mail, and even Kate and Leopold. There was also a run of movies that had some of the hotter scenes around. She owned Sliver, Body Heat, 9½ Weeks, Basic Instinct, and a few Andrew Stevens and Shannon Tweed B movies, flicks one would typically find in a frat house. There were even two porno flicks, which he found mildly amusing, something he would have expected to find in a couple of his buddies' places, but not here.