Anyone could have discovered your name and cell number. You explain to your partner. You'd also given a card to Arnold Post. He'd saved it in his wallet. Any decent kidnapper would go through the wallet, finding the fresh calling card from the Santa Fe police. It would naturally belong to a detective Post had some contact with, a detective who would probably be assigned to the kidnapping.

It's the next day. You dread popping your head in the office for fear it will get cut off, but you sneak in anyway and make your way downstairs to Wendy Murakama's lab. She's already made a preliminary examination. "Are we sure it's Arnold Post's body?" you ask with faint hope.

"Yep. The dental records match. But I do have good news. The corpse is at least two days old."

"What? You add up the days on your fingers. "He was dead before the ransom drop. He was probably killed the same night he disappeared. Right?"

Wendy removes her plastic gloves. "We have weather damage, animal damage. A lot of things to take into account. I may know more after the autopsy. But right now it looks like death occurred before the drop-off. You didn't botch anything."

"Thanks," you say, feeling as if a great weight has been lifted from your shoulders. But you don't smile.

"Hey, what's wrong? You should be happy."

"I am. I'm just thinking. Why would you kill your kidnap victim before getting your hands on the ransom?"

"Maybe something went wrong. Post fought back or tried to run."

You shrug. "Maybe."

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