“That's obsessive," Jane commented.

Shelley bridled. "No, it's not. I do that. Haven't you ever reached into a file and thought you pulled everything out, but left behind a small paper that fell out of the bunch?”

Jane didn't dare comment on Shelley's remark. Shelley herself was pretty obsessive. Instead, she asked Mel, "How do you know she was attacked? Maybe she just tripped and fell."

“Signs of a struggle," Mel said shortly. "Short and violent, as if the attacker was as surprised as she was."

“How did he — or she — get in the house?" Shelley asked.

“The back door was unlocked. Just like both of yours probably are.”

Jane and Shelley exchanged guilty glances.

“You said the attacker was probably surprised," Jane said. "How do you know that?"

“I don't know for sure. I'm speculating. Her sister and the sister's husband are staying with her and left the house this morning to go into Chicago. The sister looks a lot like Ms. Jackson. If someone were watching for the house to be empty, he might have thought it was Ms. Jackson leaving with a man."

“Was it just a burglary then?"

“Maybe it was intended to be, but there was no sign of anything missing from the rest of the house and she has a nice collection of expensive, hockable little things in open cabinets. The desk in the basement was messed up, papers strewn every which way, but that might have been a result of a struggle."

“Maybe the burglar got too scared to start his work," Shelley said.

“But who would go to the basement before scooping up the good stuff on the ground floor?" Jane asked.