Red Mesa by Aimée & David Thurlo

Author:Aimée & David Thurlo
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: A Tom Doherty Associates Book

SEVENTEEN

Ella arrived at her office an hour early, resigned to the grisly task of tracking down Justine’s killer. Her excitement over the possibility of her cousin still being alive had disappeared with the morning and a reexamination of the physical evidence.

She had to face the truth head-on, and expend her energy on finding Justine’s killer. It had been absurd to muster any hope at all based upon the lingering scent of a perfume, which proved nothing.

Today she wanted to access several databases, but without any interruptions. With a chocolate-covered doughnut and some black coffee beside her, she studied the police records of everyone Justine and she had investigated this past year. From what she could see, Justine had made enemies, but no more or less than any other cop.

The phone interrupted her analysis, and grumbling, Ella picked it up on the third ring.

It was Carolyn Roanhorse. “I’m calling to let you know I’m going on vacation as of today, Ella. The medical examiner’s officer in Albuquerque will take care of any autopsies that are needed as the result of a crime. They handle the rest of the state anyway. I’ve also managed to get a forensic pathologist to take my place if needed in a crisis. He works for the Public Health Services and is based in Colorado, but he’ll fly down if it becomes necessary.”

“Go and have a great time. Forget all about work for a while. Believe me, if I could, I would.”

“You can’t. You’re not wired that way. And neither am I. I’ll be away from my office, but my mind will be here.”

Ella thought for a moment about what had been bothering her, then decided to go ahead and bring it out one last time. “Carolyn, I need to ask you something. Are you still very certain that the body we found was Justine’s?” Immediately she realized that she’d slipped up and said the name out loud for the first time since she’d heard it was Justine who’d died, but Carolyn was beyond allowing that to upset her.

There was a long silence. “Why does this sound like a trick question?”

“Just answer me.”

“Based on the evidence, yes, I believe that was Justine. The print taken from the fingertip we recovered matched those we have on file for her. Fingerprints are, essentially, one hundred percent reliable. The bones dug up were no help, and the tooth fragments were just too incomplete to do any comparisons with dental records. The same with the portion of the skull we recovered.”

Carolyn thought a moment, then continued. “Anyone arrested for killing Justine wouldn’t get any forensic help from me, that’s for sure. The physical evidence, probably all that a prosecutor really needs, is there.” There was another pause. “But let me guess. You’ve found something that appears to contradict that?”

“Maybe.” She told Carolyn what had happened at Paul Natoni’s trailer the night before.

“That perfume isn’t common, but it isn’t unique either,” Carolyn said slowly. “It could have been stolen from her and is now being used by another woman.

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