Page 47 of Lost Hours
She peeked into the locker, then started down the room toward the punching bag, turning around to come back down the other side. She took notes as she walked and stood scribbling for a few moments before looking up. “This room will take considerable resources and time. It’s likely the killer, or this Smythe fellow if he’s not the killer, touched every item in this room. And like I mentioned with the Faraday bag, DNA could be left in many forms in here. Think of it. One of them could simply have sneezed.”
“Surely they would’ve wiped the object off,” Mina said.
“They might have indeed, but even if they wiped it off, they likely still left DNA behind.” Sierra turned to survey the room and shifted her stance as if fortifying herself for the task at hand. “Each removable item in here will have to be photographed and bagged. The fixed items and furniture will be processed in place, though I would like to see if the lockers can be dismantled to bring the one that held the mayor back to the lab.”
“Do you need help with that?” Mina asked.
“Thank you, but no.” Blake planted his hands on his hips. “Our team has taken apart far more challenging items than this, and they can handle it. After today we don’t want anyone outside of our team in this room without our knowledge until the scene is finished.”
“If you need to see this scene or the other two, just let me know, and I can arrange to escort you.” Sierra moved her hands to encompass the space. “A room map will have to be created. In addition to copious photos. I’d also like to do a 3-D video so we can refer back to it if we need to.”
Blake looked Mina directly in the eye. “And like she said, that will take time.”
“How much time?” Mina asked, starting to wonder how long this killer would go free.
Sierra studied them as if she expected an argument. “This room alone will probably take one forensic expert plus a full-time photographer two days to complete.”
“And don’t forget the time on the other end in the lab.” Blake let his hands fall to his side. “The items will have to be processed for DNA and fingerprints. Sierra will handle fingerprinting, and my wife, Emory, will process the DNA.”
“Dare I ask how long we’ll have to wait for that?” Nolan asked before Mina had a chance to voice the same question.
Sierra nipped her lower lip. “The actual DNA processing requires a full twenty-four hours, but locating, extracting, and quantifying it could eat up days. Honestly, with extensive potential evidence to process, it could be weeks. However, if you would like to prioritize the items we collect, that could speed things along.”
Nolan let out a long breath. “I can give you a list of items that helped us solve the escape room mystery. Maybe we could start with those things.”
“That sounds like a good idea,” Mina said. “If our killer touched anything in this room, he likely touched those objects.”
“Then I’ll text you a list as soon as we finish up here,” Nolan said.
Sierra nodded. “With your permission, I’d like to hold off on processing the kitchen and dining room until after we see what we locate here.”
“I’ve already searched the kitchen for any takeout containers or other leads,” Mina said. “And I’ve looked for trash taken out to the bins. We found nothing, so he must’ve taken it all with him.”
“Makes sense,” Blake said. “From what I’ve seen so far and heard from you all, we could be looking for a person with serious skills in evading law enforcement.”
“We could even be looking for someone who once was in law enforcement,” Nolan said.
Blake looked at Mina. “It might be worth investigating prior members of the local force, if you haven’t already done that. Especially someone who was let go.”
“That would be a short list,” she said, but he was right. “I’ll certainly look into it.”
“There could be someone on that list who had a grievance with the mayor.”
“I can’t speak to the time when I didn’t live here,” she said. “But local politics can always play a role in hiring and firing. I suppose someone could’ve made the mayor mad and the sheriff terminated the employee.”
“Then let’s move on to Becca’s house.” Sierra changed the subject. “Maybe we’ll find something there that will jump out as a strong lead, and we can get it handled quickly.”
Mina could only hope so, but investigations didn’t work that way. Leads weren’t handed to law enforcement. Finding a killer required detached, diligent work. She only hoped she could put aside the fact that someone under her watch, someone she knew and liked, had been murdered and find the strength to lead such an investigation.
Nolan led Sierra and Blake toward Becca’s main door. He was impressed with the Veritas staff, to say the least, and looked forward to their take on this crime scene. They were both very knowledgeable about crime and crime scenes, and Sierra seemed to have cutting-edge knowledge and skills in forensics. He didn’t know how he was going to repay them for their kindness, but he would try to find a way.
His phone rang. Seeing Jude’s name he answered. “Hold on a second.”
He looked at Blake and Sierra. “I have to take this. Mina can show you around, and I’ll be right in.”
They departed, and Nolan turned his attention to his call. “Please tell me you have something about Becca to report.”
“Not really. It’s more like what I don’t have to report. I reviewed all of her social media accounts, and there’s no mention of her going out of town.”
