. >> it was july of 1990 a friday the 13th when tom and lenora ward stopped by the comic bookshop beforegoing out to dinner. they liked buying from the woman there, barb. >> she knew our name. immediately when we would walk in she would light up with a smile. many times she would actually come around the counter to greet us. >> but not on this summer evening. it was just after 6:00. tom and lenora had picked out a comic, but there was no one behind the counter to take their money. not barb or her husband michael, the co-owner. >> it wasn't uncommon that someone wouldn't be at the cash register, but this was a longer than normal time so we thought we would stick around just to make sure because we liked her. >> some teenage customers were also in the shop browsing and they, too, were itchy to pay and go. they were the first ones to peek into the back room and see barb sprawl. >> cried out, there's somebody back here! and at that time tom and i rushed to the back storage area and found barb on the floor. >> we thought she perhaps had fallen backwards and hit her head. >> i noticed that she