Simon Says Die

case?”
    Casey shook his head. “Hamilton’s stubborn. He wants to handle it himself. Honestly, he’s got some crack detectives over there. They might solve it without our help anyway. Hopefully soon, before more bodies pile up. There’ve been three murders now.”
    Pierce shook his head. “What about Madison? Can you think of an angle that would give us jurisdiction to look into her husband’s death? If Damon’s alive, someone else died in his place. We might be able to convince NYPD to invite us in to investigate.”
    â€œMaybe, but exhumation is expensive. Without credible evidence, I don’t see NYPD paying for it. I sure can’t justify it in my budget. I suppose we could ask Mrs. McKinley if she’d be willing to cover the cost, sounds like she could afford it. But what would be the point? It’d be nearly impossible to confirm the vic’s identity. The fire most likely destroyed any viable DNA. Does Damon have any blood relatives, so we would have a DNA profile to compare against?”
    Pierce shook his head. “Damon was adopted.”
    â€œDental records?”
    â€œMadison said her husband refused to go to the dentist because he’d had some kind of bad experience as a kid.”
    â€œThis is all beginning to sound rather convenient.”
    â€œMy thoughts exactly. Body burned beyond recognition, no DNA, no dental records. I’m inclined to understand why Madison believes he could still be alive.”
    Casey steepled his hands over his chest. “How long were they married?”
    â€œA little over a year.”
    â€œThey should have still been in their honeymoon phase, and yet she thinks he’s trying to kill her. What kind of marriage did they have?”
    Good question, one that had gnawed at Pierce since yesterday morning. “I haven’t had much of a chance to ask her all those details yet. It was a struggle getting her to answer just a few questions on the drive over.”
    â€œWhy is she so reluctant to involve law enforcement?”
    â€œI’m not sure if she’s reluctant to involve law enforcement, or if she’s just frustrated over the police’s handling of her nine-one-one calls, and reluctant to involve me .”
    Casey pursed his lips. “What did Damon have to gain by faking his death?”
    â€œI think the only person who might be able to answer that is Madison.”
    Casey punched the clear key, erasing the contents of his screen. “The police didn’t find any evidence to back up her reports that someone was stalking her. The only verifiable facts are that she chased a man and he shot at her. Playing devil’s advocate, I can think of several explanations, and none of them involve her former husband faking his death and coming after her.”
    Pierce let out a long breath. “I agree. The most obvious explanation is that the man she chased was casing the house to rob her. When he couldn’t shake her, he shot at her so he could get away. I can ask Hamilton if there have been any burglaries in the area, but I think he would have mentioned that when I spoke to him earlier.”
    â€œFledgling burglar? Casing his first house? It could explain why she saw him watching her house so many times. He was nervous, not sure what to do. Where does she live?”
    â€œEast Gaston Street. One of those historic mansions, worth a cool million, easy. Might be closer to two.”
    â€œA burglar’s dream.”
    â€œI don’t want to dismiss this without a thorough investigation,” Pierce said. “I want to make sure she’s not in danger. If your theory is right, then no one is after her. The burglar will move on to an easier target. He won’t want someone to spot him in the same neighborhood after all the attention caused by the shooting. But if your theory is wrong, anything is possible.”
    Casey nodded and glanced past Pierce, as if making sure the door was closed, before looking up at him.
    â€œAny chance you’ll let this go, leave it to the locals?”
    â€œNone. Metro PD doesn’t have the resources to put someone on guard duty over Madison, or to dig into this and figure out what’s really going on.”
    â€œWhat do you think is going on?”
    He thought for a moment. The facts pointed to this as a one-time event, most likely the burglary scenario. But Madison was too nervous. She was hiding something. She was