I placed the notebook in the evidence bag with the other items and continued my inspection.
The door to Patricia’s bedroom was closed.
I stood outside it for several seconds.
Then I opened it.
The room looked exactly as she had left it.
Her suitcase was gone, but her dressing table remained covered with perfume bottles, jewelry boxes, and makeup. A framed photograph of us from our wedding stood beside the mirror.
I picked it up.
Patricia was smiling at the camera, her hand resting on my arm.
I remembered how happy I had been that day.
How certain I had been that I was doing the right thing.
I put the photograph down.
Then I noticed something strange.
The large wooden wardrobe stood slightly away from the wall, leaving a narrow gap behind it. One of the floorboards near the wardrobe had a fresh scratch across its surface.
I crouched and examined it.
