The Chess Master (A DI Erica Swift Thriller Book 15) by M K Farrar

Author:M K Farrar [Farrar, M K]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Warwick House Press
Published: 2025-03-20T00:00:00+00:00

TWENTY-NINE

When Erica got back to the office, she’d asked for a rush on the samples SOCO had lifted from the crime scene. They were on a time-sensitive case, and it was possible two young lives were in danger. The request had been met with grumbles and comments about how busy they were, but they’d conceded.

It took a number of hours, but eventually one of the guys from forensics got back to her on the phone.

“Is there anything solid you can give me?” she asked, doing her best not to sound too desperate..

“We’ve confirmed that we found spots of blood,” he said. “They match Jerome’s.”

“Shit. Any of Caitlyn’s blood?”

“Not that we’ve found so far.”

She ground her teeth. “What about Jerome’s phone? Any sign of that?”

She hadn’t been expecting them to find it, since a ping had put its location near Dagenham, but it was possible Jerome—or at least his phone—had returned to the storage room after that ping had been picked up.

“Not in the storage room. There are search teams working the local area in case it was dumped nearby. There’s something else to do with Caitlyn’s phone,” he said. “Someone had deliberately stopped to remove the SIM card. They didn’t want that phone to be traced.”

“Damn.” She sat back and let out a sigh. “Do you think you’re going to be able to get anything of use from it?”

“I really can’t say. It’s still early days, DI Swift.”

“I understand. What about from the storage facility?”

“Possibly. That place is a dumpster fire of fingerprints and DNA. Whatever happened in there, it definitely didn’t appear as though anyone had taken the time to clear anything up. We’re still running all the samples, but it wouldn’t surprise me if we get a hit on our records.”

“A match to someone with a record?” she confirmed.

“Yes, but whether it’ll have anything to do with the case or not is anyone’s guess. I’d say a whole heap of different people have been in and out of that storage room. We found empty bottles of vodka, disposable vapes, cannabis residue inside homemade bongs, a couple of empty baggies that I suspect will come back as positive for cocaine or amphetamines. It’s definitely been used as a party den.”

Could Jerome and Caitlyn have been involved with drugs? No one they’d spoken to had implied anything more serious than a bit of recreational use on Caitlyn’s side, and Jerome’s friends and family had all insisted he wasn’t into that kind of thing. He preferred to play sports at the weekend than go out partying. So what were they doing in the storage room, other than just hanging out together? Making out, most likely. Had they got themselves caught up with a dealer who had done something to them?

“Thank you for getting me that information so fast,” she told him.

“No problem. I’ll let you know if we find anything else.”

She ended the call and filled Shawn in on what she’d been told.

He frowned. “What does that mean? Why is there

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