Robert froze, fearing her words might come true.
Sophia had now lost both parents. It was uncertain if she would avenge her parents.
Robert hit up Kurt's cousin to get the lowdown on what went down with Tony and Kurt after the murder.
Kurt's cousin didn't hold back on her feelings about Tony, calling him a troublemaker who was always stirring up drama. But when it came to Kurt, she couldn't stop singing his praises.
"He's a good kid, always so kind to us. Whenever we help him out, he always pays us back, whether it's with money or just lending a hand."
Robert felt a little uneasy hearing this. "Then what did you do to help him out?"
The couple exchanged a quick, nervous glance before looking down. "Just some small favors."
Robert had a hunch there was more to the story with Kurt, but he decided not to push it.
Ethan jumped in, "How did Kurt and Tony get along? Any beef between them?"
"Everyone has their issues. Kurt was more than generous with Tony. Tony didn't work, and Kurt was always giving him money," Kurt's cousin explained.
"So why the drama then?"
"Tony got played by some woman. She convinced him to sell his parents' house, and then she took off with all the cash."
Robert and Ethan exchanged a look, thinking Tony's girlfriend might be a suspect in his murder.
"Do you know who this woman is?"
"Nope, never even seen her."
On the way back, Robert turned to Ethan, "Tony's case might be tied to his girlfriend, but we can't rule out revenge. The way Tony was mutilated suggests the killer wanted to punish him sexually. And Ella was tortured and raped. Sophia could still be a suspect."
Ethan asked, "If Tony's ex is the killer, why would she off him after getting the money?"
"Let's talk to Tony's friends, see if they know anything."
Robert and Ethan started questioning Tony's friends and got a surprising lead.
Tony's friends were all rough types, but Tony had been laying low for the past couple of years, mostly staying home.
Then out of the blue, Tony invited them out for drinks, saying he was going to be a dad soon.
But not long after, he got wasted and said the woman had an abortion and left him.
Just as Robert was about to ask more, his phone rang. It was Ryan.
"There's something off about Lyra's death."
Upon hearing that, they rushed back to the station.
Ryan explained, "Lyra's fatal wound was under her left armpit. The weapon was a sharp, narrow surgical knife. It went in diagonally between the ribs, hit the aorta, and killed her instantly. The killer was strong and precise. There was hardly any blood on them."
Ethan suddenly remembered what Sophia had said during the interrogation. Quick death, little blood, easy cleanup.
He shivered. Robert was clearly thinking the same thing. Tony's case had anesthetics, a surgical knife, and a clean, efficient killing method. It all pointed to Sophia, given her medical background.
Ryan frowned, "It's weird. Why stab under the armpit?"
He had Ethan follow his lead, first taking off the torn-down jacket, then tying up his hair, while Ryan squatted.
When Ethan raised his arm, Ryan quickly stood up and mimicked stabbing Ethan's left armpit with his hand as a knife, hitting the mark.
"Normally, the armpit is covered by the arm. The killer could only stab if Lyra raised her arm."
Robert got it. "The killer must've known Lyra and her routine. They hid, waiting for her to come back and change. When she raised her arm to tie her hair, they struck."
After killing Lyra, the killer put on the jacket Lyra had prepared to avoid being recognized and took her phone.
So Lyra actually had two jackets. One torn-down jacket was left at the scene, while the killer wore the other one away.
'Is the jacket still with the killer, or has it been ditched?' Robert wondered.
Robert suddenly remembered that Lyra was Kurt's girlfriend before she went to prison, and she pushed Kurt's wife into the river.
'Could she have done it out of jealousy? But why didn't she act when Kurt first got married?' he thought.
"Bring Lyra's brother to the station," Robert told Ethan. Half an hour later, Lyra's brother was there.
He told Robert, "Lyra once told me she had her tarot cards read, and they said she would be entangled with Kurt for life."