Lorenzo wondered if the crowd could see him breathe a sigh of relief when Clyde made his impromptu speech. Clyde had always struck him as a steady, reliable and courageous in his own way. Still, the detective in him noted that the killer was probably a town resident, and Clyde was a town resident. For now, everyone was a possible suspect.<br/><br/>"Thank you," he said briefly, and he gave a Clyde a grateful nod. He waited for the hubbub to completely die down before continuing. "As I said, we are investigating. We can't assume anything about who might be responsible for this." He didn't add that more than one person might be responsible for this. That was his second worst fear. His worst fear was this wouldn't be the last killing. But that was speculation too.<br/><br/>"State police will step up extra patrols around town," he continued. "Just in case. And two of their troopers will be assigned to the investigation indefinitely. We're going to set up a hotline for town residents to dial in. You can also come into the sheriff's office any day, at any time."<br/><br/>He took a breath. The reporter from Red Hills raised his hand. Without thinking, Lorenzo nodded at the man to ask his question.<br/><br/>"How long had the victim been dead?"  Lamar's head perked up at that. He wondered what he would find out here, and if he could confirm anything from his sources.<br/><br/>* * *<br/><br/>Sue Ann let Mary collapse against her for a few moments. She didn't say anything but made some soothing noises. Any words would just sound banal. After some time had passed she gently turned Mary about and led her further into the house.<br/><br/>"Maybe we could have some tea," she said quietly. She helped Mary to sit and then rooted around for some tea and a kettle. As she brought the water to boil, she asked, to bridge the silence: "Have you heard from Michale?"<br/><br/>Suddenly her cell phone began to ring. She made to turn it off but saw it was a private number and picked up. "Hello?" she said. No answer. "Hello?" she said again. She expected a telemarketer but there was still no answer. Sue Ann shook her head and turned back to Mary. "I thought maybe he might be coming by..."<br/><br/>The phone rang again. The same private number.