The sterile, fluorescent-lit air of the police station seemed to hum with the finality of closed cases and sealed fates. The murderer who had killed Linsy’s uncle was gone. The need for a protracted investigation, for the agonizing search for evidence, had evaporated in the brutal simplicity of a four-story fall.

“That’s the end of it,” a detective said, his tone devoid of emotion as he closed a manila folder.

“Ms. Bento, your statement has been recorded. You should get that wound ...