Perimortem (Elloree Holt Forensic Crime Thriller Book 1) by R. J. Strong

Author:R. J. Strong [Strong, R. J.]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Fourteen28 Publishing
Published: 2024-02-06T00:00:00+00:00

23

“L

ooks too clean to me.” Lam bent over and peered through the passenger side window of Christina Clarke’s red Toyota Camry. He looked up at Elloree on the other side. “You think there’ll be anything left?”

She gave him a wry smile as she snapped on blue nitrile exam gloves. “Every contact leaves a trace, kiddo. Even cleaning up leaves a trace. There’s always something left behind. Our job is to find it.”

“Okay,” he said, not sounding convinced.

“Alright, glove up let’s get started.” Elloree walked to Lamar’s side and started pointing at dents and damage to the vehicle on the driver’s side. “All this needs to be noted and photographed. When you get to the interior, spend some time taking notes about the inside condition. Just the fact that it was cleaned so thoroughly is a red flag. Make sure you over-document that.”

Lam nodded, “We won’t miss anything.”

“You mean you won’t miss anything,” said Elloree with a grin. “I’m going to be sitting over there drinking coffee, watching. Don’t screw it up, Lam. You know what to do.”

Lamar shook his head and laughed silently as he headed across the high bay to his stack of equipment.

A detached building behind the station housed the high-ceiling garage. Any vehicle that needed a forensic workup came here. The building was secured with an alarm system and cameras. To ensure legal chain of custody, access was limited to the Crime Scene Unit and their immediate supervisors. Everyone needed an escort. Today the AC was on the fritz and it was hot inside.

Elloree propped herself on a stool at the bar-height counter running along the outside wall. The rest of it was covered with Lamar’s camera, flash, tripod, notepads, clipboards, scales, and black markers.

Three feet beside her, Lamar stood by the workbench struggling to get a pair of bright purple exam gloves over his sweaty hands.

Elloree settled back in the chair and sipped her coffee, scrolling through her phone.

Lamar began moving around the car systematically opening a door, snapping a photograph then closing it.

Twenty minutes later, he extracted himself from the back seat and stretched out his back, groaning.

“Hey El,” Lamar called out.

“Yah.”

“Can you come here? I feel like I’m in the twilight zone.”

Elloree put her paper cup down and walked over to him. “Whatcha got?”

“Okay, so the roomie says the vic kept a sloppy car. It looks that way on the seats and doors. There are splashes, stains, whatever. Makes sense. But the carpets are pristine. Like professionally vacuumed.”

Elloree took his flashlight and poked her head inside the cabin. Dropping to one knee she put her face next to the carpet in the rear floorboard. Canting the flashlight to one side, she scanned the thin pile with oblique light. A few fibers and a single long hair were all she could see.

She pulled her head out and stood. “You’re not wrong. It was cleaned. But I seriously doubt he had it professionally detailed. You don’t let someone that close to what you’re trying to hide.”

Elloree handed the flashlight back.

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