Midnight Dunes by Laura Griffin

Author:Laura Griffin [Griffin, Laura]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Penguin Publishing Group
Published: 2022-05-24T00:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER

SIXTEEN

Owen noticed the tension as soon as he stepped into the bullpen. Most of the cubicles were empty, but several people stood in the door to the chief’s office. Owen dropped the bag containing his Italian sub on his desk and walked over to Nicole, who was leaning against the doorframe.

“What’s up?” he asked in a low voice.

“Labs just came in.”

Brady had his elbows on his desk and a stack of papers in front of him. Miranda sat in a chair on the opposite side, tapping her finger on the page and explaining something as Emmet peered over her shoulder.

“They couldn’t get anything, even with PCR,” Miranda said.

“What’s PCR?” Emmet asked.

“Polymerase chain reaction,” she said. “It’s a process that can be used to amplify a DNA sample when there isn’t much material to work with. In this case, the sample was too degraded.”

“What are we talking about?” Owen asked.

The chief looked at him. “The cigarette butts found under the body. Looks like the DNA’s no good.”

Miranda looked at him. “It’s very degraded, probably due to time and weather, which likely means the cigarette butts are too old to be from our perpetrator.”

That had been a long shot, anyway. Owen hadn’t been counting on it.

“We got a match with the fibers, though,” she said, and he picked up on the excitement in her voice.

“The ones from the tarp?” he asked.

“The tarp from the car trunk and the two fibers found in the victim’s teeth at autopsy. They’re a poly-wool blend commonly used in upholstery fabric.”

“So, what, does that mean maybe he smothered her?” Emmet asked, looking at Owen. “I thought the ME told you manual strangulation.”

“He did,” Nicole said. “But maybe he used the pillow or cushion first, to muffle her screams.”

“Are these the labs from the autopsy or the Volkswagen?” Owen asked.

“Both,” Brady said.

It was a testament to the chief’s pull. He’d been rattling cages at the county crime lab for days, trying to get a rush on the physical evidence.

“What else from the autopsy?” Owen asked.

“The nail clippings,” Miranda said. “We recovered DNA from beneath one of her fingernails.”

Owen’s pulse picked up. “Any hits?”

“None in CODIS,” Brady said. “So, for now let’s assume that he doesn’t have a criminal record. Or at least nothing serious enough to merit a DNA sample.”

“The DNA is still really useful,” Miranda said. “It was recovered from beneath a torn fingernail, indicating a struggle. So, when you close in on a suspect, it’s essentially a smoking gun.”

As Miranda spoke, the energy in the room was palpable. They were finally starting to get some traction.

Brady looked at Owen. “Where are we on that alibi?”

Nicole turned to him, clearly surprised. “Who gave us an alibi?”

“Hancock,” Owen said. “He called me up this morning to let me know he was on a business trip the week before Memorial Day, from Thursday to Sunday.”

“Where?” Nicole asked.

“Cabo San Lucas, he says.”

“He just called you out of the blue?” Emmet asked.

“Yep. He had his lawyer on speakerphone.”

“Well, that covers our time window,” Nicole said.

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