Death's Door. Meryl Sawyer

I’ve read, the liver will be rejected unless the two immune systems are compatible. I’m not related to Wyatt Holbrook. The chances of my immune system being a close enough match are astronomical.”

      “I know you’ve been through a lot today. I hate to add to your burden. I’m just asking you to think about trying to help a man who has devoted his life to giving to others.” He handed her a business card. “Think about it. I’ll be in touch.”

      CHAPTER FOUR

      What attracts malaria mosquitoes the fastest?

      “WHERE IS EVERYONE?” Madison asked Rob Matthews, Erin’s former boyfriend. “There were dozens of people at the funeral home.”

      It had been three days since she’d discovered Erin’s body. The police wouldn’t release the body until the coroner certified the autopsy results. Until then, there was always the possibility additional tests might be needed. During that time, Madison had scrambled to plan the funeral and notify as many of Erin’s friends and relatives as possible.

      It had proved to be a difficult task. Erin had been an only child of parents with almost no living relatives. The second cousins Madison did manage to locate in Missouri barely knew Erin’s name. None of them had met her and they weren’t interested in attending her funeral.

      Erin’s employer was fond of Erin and said he would be at the service. Madison contacted a few friends that she and Erin had known in high school. They hadn’t stayed in touch with many of them, but several assured Madison they would come. Considering the few people who planned to attend, Madison was astonished when she turned from her place in the first row where she was sitting beside Rob and saw there was standing room only in the tiny chapel operated by the funeral home.

      Who were they? she’d wondered. Apparently, they’d read the notice in the newspaper. Just seeing all the solemn faces cheered Madison. She’d imagined Erin being buried with almost no one to grieve for her. As soon as the brief service was over, Madison had phoned the caterer to order more food and made sure everyone had maps to the Fisher Island home where she was holding the reception.

      “Do you think people were intimidated by Fisher Island?” Madison asked Rob. “Is that why they didn’t come?”

      “I doubt it. Most people never have the chance to visit a private island like Fisher. They wouldn’t miss an opportunity.”

      Madison looked around. Less than a dozen people were clustered in small groups near the lavish buffet. No one was at the bar, where a waiter stood ready to serve drinks.

      “So where are they?” she asked. Most of the guests who were present had eaten and would be leaving soon.

      “Well…I suspect some of them might not want anyone to know their names.” Rob’s dark brown eyes telegraphed concern and anxiety. He was obviously grieving but trying to be stoic. He was tall and a little thinner than when she’d last joined him for dinner. He had a warm smile and a great sense of humor, but he was a little offbeat. She could never tell what he was really thinking. In that way, he was a lot like Erin, she decided.

      “What do you mean?” she asked.

      “The police had a car with a video camera outside the funeral home.”

      “They did?” Madison had been so shell-shocked from her best friend’s death and lack of sleep that she’d barely managed to keep from sobbing as she’d walked into the chapel. She hadn’t noticed much.

      “I think it’s standard after a homicide,” Rob replied. “Some killers get a morbid thrill from attending their victim’s funerals.”

      “I know.” She’d seen enough crime shows to realize this. “But people at the funeral were so normal-looking. A lot of them were women. Some seemed to be grandmother and grandfather types. They didn’t look like killers.”

      “What do killers look like?” he asked, his voice pitched so low he was almost whispering.

      “I don’t know. I’ve asked myself over and over who could have killed Erin. She never hurt anyone. Who would want her dead?”

      “No one. No one we know, anyway.”

      “Don’t bet on it,” she replied. “I know the statistics. Homicides are rarely random acts.” She didn’t mention the details Paul had given her. From what he’d said, the killer knew a lot about Erin’s personal habits. The murderer could have been a stalker who spied on her, or someone she knew.

      Rob slipped his arm around her shoulders and gave her a reassuring hug. She leaned just slightly against his tall, spare frame. Here was someone who loved Erin as much as Madison had. The only other person at the funeral who had honestly cared about Erin. Whatever had caused Erin and Rob to break up could easily have been Erin’s fault. As close as Erin and Madison had always been, it remained a mystery to her why Erin never quite connected with other people.

      A lone wolf. That’s what her father had once called Erin. The thought of her father brought her back to Paul Tanner and his horrible accusations. She’d tried not to think about what he’d told her.

      Madison wanted to reach her mother, but she was still between ports somewhere in the South Pacific with the young hunk who’d replaced her beloved father. Her mother had been so devastated by the loss of her husband that she’d remarried more quickly than she should have, in Madison’s opinion. Madison didn’t care for the man, but she had to deal with him if she wanted a relationship with her mother.

      Though in her heart, Madison knew Zack Connelly was her father, she just wanted to hear her mother’s explanation for visiting a fertility clinic. She’d thought it over and decided her mother must have received some type of fertility drug. That’s why what appeared to be her signature had been on one of the clinic’s forms. Forget it, she told herself. Focus on Erin, on the present.

      “Who do you think all those people at the chapel were?” Madison repeated the question she’d just asked as she pulled away from Rob. “Why would they care if the police saw them?”

      He ran his slender fingers through his dark brown hair, his gaze troubled. “I’m fairly sure they knew Erin from the Everglades Animal Defense League.”

      “Oh, really?” She hadn’t thought of those folks. Erin had been active with the group since her first year in college. Madison had been at MIT at the time, but Erin had told her about being a founding member of the group when Madison came home at Easter. The organization had campaigned hard to stop cosmetic testing on animals. What had begun with pickets and print advertising had escalated into break-ins and arson.

      “That’s what caused our split, you know.”

      Madison shook her head; Erin had never wanted to discuss her problems with Rob. Typical Erin. Her friend talked least about what mattered the most.

      Not that Rob had been any more forthcoming. Madison had gone to dinner a few times with him, when he’d been kind enough to call and see how she was dealing with her divorce. He’d never brought up his split with Erin. It was as if a steel curtain came down. No one knew the details except Erin and Rob.

      “As a vet, I’m sympathetic to the cause,” he told her. “But I couldn’t condone criminal activity.”

      She could see his point, yet she shared Erin’s concern with the way many animals were treated in labs. “It’s wrong to test cosmetics and hair products on animals.”

      “Like Aspen.”

      “Dr. Wallace told you?” After finding Erin’s body, Madison had taken the golden retriever to Rob’s veterinary clinic, but she’d been late for the appointment and his associate had treated Aspen. When Madison had told the police Aspen had an eye infection, it had just been a guess fueled by her desire to get away from the crime scene. Rob’s associate had stunned her when he’d informed her Aspen’s runny eyes had probably been deliberately inflicted.

      “Wally thinks hair spray or maybe spray deodorant