After dinner, the girls had been in bed and Alex was downstairs when he heard what appeared like books falling off a shelf. He discovered Marlene mendacity on the bathroom flooring, unconscious, blood trickling from her mouth. Audrey Lockett LaBranche was a dynamo with a huge smile, a continuously changing assortment of colourful hairstyles, and huge reserves of energy, ambition and religion. She was the founder and proprietor of LaBranche’s Childcare Center, in Chicago Heights, Illinois, which provided take care of 60 kids at a time, from babies in diapers to latch-key tweens, in addition to support for his or her harried parents. Soon, though, Laura was complaining about severe pain in her neck and shoulders.