Page 62 of Lost Hours
“Yes, that combined with the angle of the shot tells me it is.”
“Is that what your thing on the tripod is for?” Nolan asked.
Grady nodded. “My trajectory calculations tell me the gun was fired reasonably close to perpendicular—ninety degrees—to the glass. At least within plus or minus fifteen degrees. That coupled with the caliber and special characteristics of the bullet is why we have a through-and-through. Anything less might not have exited the body.”
“You said,at this pointyou can’t tell us that it’s the bullet that killed the mayor,” Nolan said. “But will you at some point be able to tell us that it’s the one that passed through his body?”
“Certainly, if there’s blood and tissue residue that’s positive for the mayor’s DNA. But it also contains ground glass, which I can match to the window.”
That seemed to strike Mina’s interest. “How?”
He used a long tweezer to take the bullet out of the bag and display it for them. “Can you see the white glass embedded between the lead slug and the copper metal jacket?”
Mina leaned close to his hand. “Oh, yeah. I see it.”
“We can take a sample of the window glass and compare the chemical makeup to the glass in the bullet.”
“Thus proving the slug in the wall was fired through that window,” Nolan said. “That, along with having the mayor’s DNA, would prove it’s the bullet that killed him and this is the murder scene.”
Grady nodded, then frowned. “Until we have the DNA results or proof Becca is alive and unharmed, this bullet could’ve passed through her as well.”
He secured the slug, then held up another bag. “We also recovered a spent cartridge casing outside the window by the footprint. We can process the casing for prints and DNA, too, leading to our shooter’s ID. Any questions?”
Mina gave a slight shake of her head.
“We’re good,” Nolan said.
“Then that’s all I have for now.” Grady dropped the casing bag back into his kit. “I’ll be returning to the lab tonight with all the logged evidence, and we’ll get going with the DNA as soon as possible.”
“I can’t begin to thank you for your help,” Mina said.
Grady waved a gloved hand. “No worries. It’s what we do.”
Blake approached them. “Dylan has collected both laptops and is retrieving the mayor’s office machine now.”
“Good timing.” Mina smiled. “We need to talk to the mayor’s assistant again, and while we’re there, we can make sure he has everything he needs.”
“I’m sure he does, but it’s always nice to have follow-up.” Blake took the firm stance Nolan was beginning to associate with him when he wanted to make a point. “As long as it doesn’t impede in our investigation.”
“Don’t worry,” Nolan said. “We won’t get in the way.”
“Thanks again for everything.” Mina spun and headed for the door.
Outside, she looked at her watch. “Almost five. We have to hurry if we want to catch Daisy and Dylan in the office before she locks up for the day.”
She jogged to her car and clicked open the locks. Nolan got in with her, and she traversed the roads like someone with years of familiarity in navigating them. She made the drive through Lost Lake in what Nolan could only believe was record time, not speaking but keeping her eyes on the road.
He watched the clock on the dashboard tick down until it hit three minutes after five, and she screeched to a halt in front of the courthouse in a reserved law enforcement space.
She was out of the vehicle before it even stopped rocking, and he had to run to catch up with her and climb the steps to the main entrance. They jogged over marble tile floors to the last door on the right. He jerked on it, half expecting it not to open and Daisy to be gone, but there she was at her desk, typing away on her keyboard.
She looked up and shot to her feet. “Did you find Ernie’s killer?”
“No. Sorry, Daisy.” Mina crossed the room. “We have a few more questions for you.”
She sighed. “Then I guess your guy in the other room will continue to do whatever he’s doing with Ernie’s work machine.”
“Let me just check in with him, and I’ll be right back.”
