Page 71 of Lost Cause
“Say we do find a grave,” Burke said. “We have to connect the lichen to our suspect to prosecute them. Can you figure out who tracked it into the house?”
Sam’s eyes narrowed. “Yes, but only if I have your suspect’s footwear and it still contains traces of the lichen.”
“Aren’t we missing the obvious here?” Abby glanced between the two of them. “Just because someone picked up the lichen, doesn’t mean they had anything to do with killing and burying a body. For that matter, they could’ve picked it up anywhere, couldn’t they?”
Sam leaned back on her stool. “It’s possible they tracked it in from another property, but it’s highly unlikely. With this lichen being so unusual in this area, I doubt we would find it on another property around here.”
“Also,” Burke added, “if we find the grave with the lichen on the surface, without footwear supporting our theory, it could just be coincidental.”
“Agreed,” Sam said. “But before wasting too much time discussing this, we can either search for the lichen in the morning, or we can get someone to the property to do a professional search.”
Abby connected gazes with Sam. “Nolan told us he would call Dr. Kelsey Dunbar at the Veritas Center to see if she might be available if we need her. She’s their forensic anthropologist. Do you know her?”
Sam nodded. “She’s the best.”
“Let me see what he learned.” She dug out her phone and tapped his icon. When he answered, she put him on speaker and explained their thoughts about the lichen. “Did you talk to Dr. Dunbar?”
“I did,” he said. “I just have to let Kelsey know if we need her, and we’d become a top priority in her schedule.”
“Then let’s get her out to the property as soon as possible. The first ferry tomorrow arrives at six.”
“No need to depend on the ferry,” Burke said. “I can bring her over in my friend’s boat.”
“Good. I’ll let you know when to expect her.” Nolan ended the call.
Excitement burning in her gut, Abby looked at Sam. “I’d hate to put Victor through watching Kelsey search his property for a body, especially not his wife’s. I would like to leave him here.”
Sam covered her heart with her hand. “That would be cruel. He can stay here. No problem.”
“But we do need to tell him what’s going on,” Burke said. “And get written permission to search his property. You seem to have the best connection with him, Abby. Can you talk to him? I’ll be there for support.”
“Of course.” She didn’t want to be the one to break the news that his wife might be buried on his property, but delivering bad news had always been part of her job as a sheriff. Meant she had plenty of experience, and maybe she could help him move closer to believing in God.
“Victor doesn’t need protection here,” Burke said. “Still, I’d like to leave Gabe here with him. Never know when Victor might freak out and demand to leave.”
Not an idea Abby much liked. “I’m sure Gabe would agree, but I’ve basically only given him grunt jobs. Let’s let him finish reviewing the journals, then he can interview the people Detective Orman talked to. I can call Nolan back and ask him to send someone else from our team.”
“Hold up,” Sam said. “Why make them drive all this way? I’m sure Gage would assign someone to stay with Victor.”
Abby liked the idea, but… “We’ve already asked so much of you guys.”
“You know we’re happy to help in any way we can. Helping others is our calling.”
Abby smiled at her. “If you put it that way, then sure, and we really appreciate all of you. Gage needs to know Victor istemperamental, and it would be good to have someone with plenty of patience staying with him.”
Burke grimaced. “She says as I’m about to spend the rest of the night with the man in a tiny cabin.”
Sam chuckled. Abby wanted to join in, but Burke just highlighted another personality trait. Impatience. Something else he had in common with her family. Control their surroundings and people to help them achieve their goal, and along the way, if the person didn’t fall into place, lose patience.
She couldn’t think about that now. She had to prepare herself for breaking the bad news to Victor.
Burke smiled at Sam. “I guess we’ll see you at dinner unless you keep working and discover something else before then.”
“I’ll take another look at the oil sample. I already took a quick look at it on my other microscope. Dust and debris has settled into the sample, suggesting it’s been there for some time. I can further analyze the layering of particles, which might offer a rough timeline.”
Burke’s expression didn’t change much, but the respect in his eyes said enough. “I’m way beyond impressed with what you can do.”
“Actually, this is nothing. Next, I’ll use gas chromatography-mass spectrometry to analyze chemical degradation.” She paused and looked at them. “Your blank expressions say this means nothing to you, but trust me. It’s specialized equipment, so noteveryforensic tech uses it, but it’s the gold standard in forensic trace evidence analysis.”
