One by one, the different parts of a human body were revealed inside the wall. Leg bones, finger bones, a rib cage...

The forensics team carefully assembled the bones into a complete skeleton.

"Initial assessment," one of them announced, "the deceased is female, time of death approximately twenty years ago."

*Twenty years?*

Caitlin's eyes sharpened. That was exactly when Marcia Nelson had disappeared. Could the victim be Marcia?

No. That didn't make sense. If the victim was Marcia, why would she have gone to the trouble of stealing a painting? To hide her own body?

Captain Quinn asked, "Can you estimate the age of the deceased?"

"Likely between thirty and forty," the medical examiner replied. "She had given birth before. We'll need to run further tests for a more precise age."

As the ones who discovered the scene, Caitlin, Gordon, and the agent were taken to the station for questioning.

"Miss Kensington, can you please explain why you were at that apartment? And how did you know there was something wrong with the wall?"

Sitting in the interrogation room, Caitlin faced the officer with complete composure. "Twenty years ago, the first owner of that apartment, Marcia, was the caregiver my grandmother hired for my mother. But after my parents' car accident, Marcia disappeared too. I've always suspected she was involved in the crash."

"While reviewing Marcia's file, I discovered she owned a property in The Capital twenty years ago, which seemed impossible given her financial situation at the time."

"What made me even more suspicious was that her sister, Karla, sold the apartment right after Marcia went missing."

"To find out more, I decided to schedule a viewing."

"I studied medicine. The moment I walked into that apartment, I knew the smell was off. When I saw the painting on the wall, I was certain there was something wrong with it."

One of the other officers in the room asked, "What was wrong with the painting?"

"It was an original Master Summit. I'm sure you all know how valuable his work is. Put yourself in Karla's shoes. Would you glue a priceless painting to a wall right before selling the property?"

"Clearly, Karla was using the painting to hide a secret."

A thought suddenly struck Caitlin. "Or perhaps, the woman we know as Karla isn't Karla at all. The body in the wall... that's the real Karla."

"Miss Kensington, do you have any evidence to support that claim?"

Caitlin spoke slowly. "About five or six months ago, I saw Karla at the airport. I

noticed she'd had plastic surgery. My theory is that Marcia killed Karla and hid her body in the wall."

The signs of surgery were subtle, but as a doctor, Caitlin had noticed them immediately.

"But why would Marcia kill her own sister? What was her motive?"

"Karla was her sister, the person closest to her. If Marcia was involved in what happened to my been the

parents Karla would have my

first tonotice something was wrong," Caitlin explained. "Marcia killed her to keep her from exposing

the truth."

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Captain Quinn massaged her temples, her expression thoughtful as she listened to Caitlin's theory.

A younger officer, however, looked unimpressed. "Kid, you've been watching too many detective shows. Real police work relies on evidence, not wild speculation. Karla is Karla. How could she possibly be Marcia?"

He thought young people these days made solving crimes sound too easy, as if a

few episodes of a crime drama made them an expert.

Just as he finished speaking, the office door opened.

Captain Quinn turned to Caitlin. "Miss Kensington, I understand you want to find the person responsible for the accident but it's hot as simple as you think. That case was closed years ago. The officiabfinding was that your parents' crash was an accident, not a homicide

An officer hurried in, his face grim. "Captain Quinn!"

"What is it, Garfield?" she asked, standing up.

Officer Garfield leaned in and whispered something in her ear. Captain Quinn's expression changed instantly. She stared at Caitlin, her eyes wide with shock.