Indefensible by Pamela Callow

coffee that had been sitting on a burner for far too long. Black, thick, bitter coffee.
    But the ulcer he’d developed over the winter made him pay—in spades—every time he gave in to his craving.
    He stuck the mug back in his cup holder, grabbed his notebook and hurried over to the sergeant waiting for him at the end of the driveway.
    â€œIdent here yet?” he asked Sergeant Sue MacLeod by way of greeting.
    She glanced over his shoulder. “They’re just pulling in.”
    He turned and saw the van slow down in front of the house.
    â€œWhere’s the victim?”
    â€œShe’s around back. Looks like she fell off a balcony.”
    â€œFell, tossed or jumped?”
    Sue shook her head. “Hard to say. She’s got two kids. The son, who is about fifteen, says he heard something but didn’t see what happened.”
    â€œWhat about the other kid?”
    â€œShe’s twelve. She was asleep, she says. She only woke up when she heard someone running down the stairs.” The sergeant shrugged. “But I just have a feeling about this. Thought you should come and do a prelim, anyway.”
    He nodded. Sue MacLeod was a good cop. She’d covered a lot of scenes. She wouldn’t have called him in at two in the morning unless she thought it was worth it.
    Two Forensic Identification Services detectives approached them. They were dressed in uniform—not bunny suits—and carried their cameras in one hand, evidence markers in another. Their cargo pockets bulged with swabs, magna powder to dust for fingerprints, fingerprint lifters and clear tape for collecting fiber and hair samples.
    Ethan nodded to the Ident guys. “We’ll do a prelim to start with. See if we come up with anything that requires us to hold the scene.”
    Sue headed to the backyard. “She’s around here.”
    â€œName?” Ethan asked, falling into step beside her.
    â€œElise Vanderzell. She’s visiting from Toronto, according to her children.”
    â€œAnyone else home?”
    â€œNo. The kids were on their own when I got here.They’re staying in this house while the owner is in New Zealand.”
    â€œWhat about the husband? Is he in Toronto?”
    â€œNo. He lives here. But no one has been able to reach him.”
    â€œIs he away?”
    The sergeant shook her head. “Apparently the victim and her kids traveled from Toronto to see him. They arrived around 5:30 p.m. He showed up just after that but left.”
    â€œSo she arrives this afternoon and is dead by tonight…” Ethan murmured. “Not a great way to start a vacation.”
    Sue gave him a warning look. “The kids are still with their mother.”
    They rounded the corner and stopped, scanning the scene. The fire department had set up lights so the grounds were well lit.
    Two Emergency Health Services technicians were putting away their equipment. Fire personnel were carrying ladders back to the truck. One of the FIS guys peeled away from the group and began placing markers for photographing.
    In the middle of all this uniformed bustle sat two kids. Blankets draped their shoulders. A patrol officer crouched awkwardly with them on the grass. Neither of them paid attention to him. Both kids just hugged their knees. Both stared at their mother. She lay by the top of a concrete stairwell that led to a basement door. Ethan bit back a sigh. It was obvious that where she had been placed wasn’t where she had fallen. Her body was straight, although her gown was rumpled around herknees. A large pool of blood was adjacent to her body but not under her head, yet the signs of massive head injury were obvious even from a distance.
    The other Ident guy knelt by the victim. Ethan followed him, planting himself between the victim and the kids.
    â€œIt’s time for the kids to go inside,” Ethan said to the uniformed constable.
    The girl stood obediently, but the boy just raised