The woman in the yellow jacket was identified as Angie Wells– wife of Fred Wells, owner of the Salem Casino– and an avid bird watcher.

After their failed attempts to resuscitate, the EMTs had pronounced her dead on scene.

She was still lying in the hall, her body untouched, when I knelt next to her for a more thorough examination. Searching the pockets of her jacket I found a small bag of pills, a handful of used tissues, and a slender, brass key (Pr-1).

Her cheeks were pale and cold, like her fingers. I held them in my hand, examining them for signs of a struggle. She had a spiral platinum band on her left pinky, a gold ring on the index finger of her right, but no wedding ring.

In my discussions with the EMTs, the leading theory was poison.