Page 100 of Solid as Steele
“I’ll also look for a computer.” Nick gave a tight smile. “And by the way, I finished reviewing Tovar’s interview recording. He lied to you like you suspected. Seems as if he remembers Cassie and that he was at the bar that night. But like I said, this process won’t hold up in court.”
“I just told him about your review of his answers, and he confirmed knowing her,” Owen said. “Can you review the interview I just did too?”
“Sure.” He jerked a thumb at his teammates. “These guys are bound to take much longer to finish than me, and I can do it while I wait.”
“Thanks, man,” Owen said. “We’ll email the interview to you.”
“Your shipment of weapons arrived first thing this morning,” Grady said. “Two of the rifles were chambered for the .308 Winchesters, but neither were a match for the bullet that killed Cassie. Or any of the ones fired at you at the rental.”
Owen’s hands clenched. “What about the slugs from the most recent scene we sent along with the weapons? You have anything on those?”
Grady shook his head. “I wasn’t able to process them before I hopped onto the chopper.”
Owen’s shoulders tightened. “I was hoping for some good news for once.”
“I get that.” Grady offered a tight smile. “Not sure if this is good news or not, but Icanconfirm the slugs Sierra recovered from Cassie’s murder scene were fired from the same gun used to fire at the two of you outside the rental house.”
Owen’s mouth fell open. “Whoever shot at us, likely killed Cassie.”
“We can’t be sure who fired the gun. Someone else could have gotten ahold of it between the murder and now, but it was the same weapon for sure.”
Owen frowned. “I guess I just want it to be Tovar.”
Mackenzie laid a hand on his arm. “We’ll find out who killed her. How can we not with all these experts on our side?”
Owen gave a firm nod. “You’re right.”
“I wish I had more DNA results for you,” Emory said. “DNA from the bullets Grady just mentioned should finish in about twenty hours, and I imagine your parents told you they brought Cassie’s old hairbrush in. That sample is also running and should complete tonight.”
“We also have a glass from Tovar in the truck,” Owen said. “We were hoping you could run it for DNA and prints then compare to the ones you’ve collected.”
“Sure.” Emory smiled.
Mackenzie looked at Kelsey. “Are you here to help the others?”
She shook her head. “Since we found the remains in the desert, and Tovar is a suspect in the murder, Blake thought we might find clandestine graves on his property. I’ll scan the area with my drone to see if he’s right.”
Mackenzie couldn’t believe she and Owen hadn’t thought of that.
“This scene could take a few days to complete,” Blake said. “We don’t want to delay evidence processing so Riley will be staying on, and we’ll be sending evidence back to the lab with him tonight and then twice a day until we finish here. The glass can go with him tonight. Any of our team members who are finished or aren’t needed will return too.”
“Sounds like you thought of everything,” Mackenzie said.
“A couple of my techs are on the way in our van with added supplies and will provide additional manpower,” Sierra said.
“You’re like the cavalry.” Mackenzie laughed.
The others joined in except Blake, who looked at his team. “We’ll get you set up, and then I’ll take that tour with Owen and Mackenzie.”
He clapped his hands, and everyone started into motion, appearing very eager to get to their work. He clearly still thought of himself in his former role as sheriff, except he was now sheriff of this posse of talented forensic team members.
Mackenzie turned to lead him on his tour, but when the sight of the abused women came to mind, she dreaded seeing the scene again. How many other women had fallen victim to Tovar’s sex trafficking—and what had become of them?
She glanced at Owen. His whole body had become tight with stress. He could be wondering the same thing as Mackenzie. Or worse, he was wondering with each step if Cassie had faced the same fate before she was brutally murdered.
22
Owen and Mackenzie moved from expert to expert. Owen had high hopes for this team and wanted early forensic leads that could be used to persuade Tovar to confess. So far though, Sierra and Emory had struck out on locating clear-cut evidence to point to Cassie having been in the truck.
