Who She Was: A Sylvia Wilcox Mystery

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murder mystery, female sleuth, private detective

Sylvia Wilcox risks life and limb to solve the cold case murder of Liza Stark, a suburban housewife found murdered in one of the most dangerous parts of town. This is a mystery that will keep you guessing until the very end!

Prologue

Detroit,
Michigan: “Poor Brightmoor” – July 2011

A stench rose from the rusty
dumpster behind the liquor store. The smell was evidence enough for Ali Mansu
to know that there was a dead body nearby. The store owner mumbled prayers to
Allah as he felt the hairs on the back of his neck stand up. He’d been in the
United States for three years, but he was familiar with the hot, putrid smell
of rotting flesh was a scent from his previous life in the Iraq. He dropped the
bag of garbage and peered into the dumpster. A fearful glance revealed only bags
of trash, but behind the dumpster, in a thicket of overgrown weeds, a pale,
leathery hand lay outstretched, reaching towards the sky.

The
fingers, stiff with rigor mortis, were curved into a claw. Between overgrowth
and debris, a pool of blood, blackened by the passage of hours, had formed
beneath the perforated skull. Strands of wayward blonde hair drenched in blood were
stuck to the cement. Even in the body’s diminished condition, it was clear that
this woman did not belong to Detroit. The degraded hand showed signs of a
recent manicure, and the large diamond dangling from her finger told a story
that went beyond robbery. Five bullets had been used. The first one would have
done the job, but whoever had murdered this woman had been angry. Money hadn’t
been the motive. Ali’s heart raced as he scampered towards the back door.

Police
from the 8th Precinct arrived within the hour. The overworked and underpaid
detectives examined the scene and talked to Ali, but he had very little
information to share. The store had only been open a couple of weeks, and he
didn’t know much about the neighborhood yet. The detectives headed back to the
alley and waited for the medical examiner to show up.

This
was homicide number 292 for Detroit.