Hour Game

"Well, if the person had shot the potassium chloride directly into the tubing instead of into the TPN bag, the same fatal result would have occurred, but it would have been undetectable. You have to understand that the TPN solution already has potassium chloride in it, and thus so did Battle's system. I was able to determine that someone had placed additional potassium chloride into the bag only by comparing the levels present there to a normal TPN bag mixture. There was over triple the standard amount, easily enough to kill him."

"So you're saying if the potassium chloride had gone into the tubing directly and not the bag, you never would have noticed it?"

"Yes. The residue in the tubing would be insufficient to raise suspicion. In fact, it would have only been suspicious if there hadn't been residue of potassium chloride. And as I said, Battle already had potassium chloride in his body. It's naturally absorbed, which is why an autopsy alone wouldn't have resulted in an overdose confirmation."

"So it was like the person had some medical knowledge but wasn't an expert?" said King.

"Or else," said Michelle, "he wanted it to be discovered that Battle had been murdered. As if the watch and the feather weren't enough."

"It almost wasn't enough," King reminded her. "The feather had fallen to the floor, and the watch was covered under the IV lines and hospital tags."

"That doesn't make sense, though," said Sylvia. "I mean, isn't the first rule in murdering someone to try and make it like the perfect murder? And if so, how more perfect can you get than by making it look like no murder was even committed?"

Michelle and King both shook their heads, unable to come up with a theory that would account for the killer's behavior.

Sylvia sighed. "Not that it matters, but Battle showed evidence of arteriosclerosis. There was also some unusual wrinkling on the surface of the aorta. He also had a small tumor on his right lung, perhaps the beginnings of lung cancer. Not surprising for a smoker of his age."

"What about Diane Hinson's cause of death?" asked King. He quickly added, "Although it seemed pretty obvious."

"She died from massive internal bleeding from the multiple stab wounds. They severed her aorta and punctured her heart chamber and left lung. It would have been over in minutes for her too." She added, "Though not nearly as painless as Battle 's death."

"Was she raped or sexually assaulted?" asked King.

"No evidence of that at autopsy, but lab results are still pending. I heard about the Florence Nightinghell connection, by the way. I'll guess we'll get a letter to that effect."

"The Hinson letter indicated we'd see him soon, and we did," said Michelle. "At least he's a man of his word."

King added, "First an exotic dancer, then high school kids, then a lawyer and now Bobby Battle."

"It's as though the killer is taking a greater risk with each one," commented Sylvia.

"To go from an exotic dancer he might have picked up in a bar and then shot and left in the woods to poisoning an immensely rich businessman lying in a coma in a hospital bed doesn't make a whole lot of sense," said King. "Not to sound callous, but how's the guy picking his victims: one-night stands or the social register?"

"Like I said before, this guy's operating outside the box," said Sylvia, rubbing at her bloodshot eyes.

King looked at her closely. "You look like hell," he said with a disarming smile. "You should be in bed."

"Thanks for noticing. I'll try to get to that any week now."

"Where's Kyle?" asked Michelle. "Can't he pick up the slack?"

"He's not a pathologist; he can't do the posts. And to answer your question, he called in sick. I wish that had been an option for me. I was hugging the toilet most of last night, and I have a full load of patients waiting. Thank God for antibiotics."

"What do you make of the killer's choosing to emulate Mary Martin Speck?" asked Michelle.

"Meaning a woman instead of a man?" Michelle nodded. "Well, I'm not sure what to make of it," Sylvia said. "A woman could have killed Battle. It obviously takes no physical strength to shoot a solution from a syringe into an IV bag. However, I'd stake my reputation on the murders of Rhonda Tyler and Diane Hinson being committed by a man. A woman couldn't have carried Tyler all that distance through the woods, and the knife wounds on Hinson were very deep. It was either a man or a woman so strong I'd hate to run into her in a dark alley."

"So," Michelle began slowly, "it's possible we have two killers here, a man and a woman."

"Not necessarily," argued King. "The only evidence to that effect is the reference Bailey made to Speck and the bird's feather. Until we get the letter, we won't know if the killer was mimicking Speck at all. The feather may symbolize something else, something unique to the killer."

"That's true," conceded Michelle. Sylvia nodded in agreement.

King looked at the two women. "Want to hear a really off-the-wall suggestion?"

"I'll bite," said Michelle quickly.