Page 31 of Stay Awake
She’d worked closely with Bowen when she’d done a stint in theforensics unit after she’d received her detective’s badge. When it came to working a crime scene, nobody was more thorough.
“We’ve been through everything in the apartment with a fine-tooth comb. There’s no ID, no wallets or credit cards or anything else that will enable a quick identification of the victim, or the woman who was with him.”
“You’re sure it was a woman?” Lavelle asked.
In answer, Bowen slid open the bedroom closet door to show a selection of women’s clothes neatly hung on cedar hangers. Halliday pushed the hangers across the rack to take a better look. The clothes were largely fashion items from mass market brands. She noticed they all had the faintest whiff of mildew.
The odor was so subtle that most people wouldn’t have noticed it, but Halliday smelled it immediately. She’d lived in a basement apartment in her last year of college and her nose had been sensitive to the smell of mildewed clothes ever since.
She handed Bowen the flyer she’d printed, showing the security camera image of the mystery woman with long hair exiting the elevator along with a man the previous morning. The date and time code were stamped on the image.
“The man, who we believe is the victim, entered this apartment with this woman yesterday morning,” said Lavelle.
Bowen lifted up his glasses to take a closer look. “Long dark hair. It sure looks like she’s our gal. Shame we can’t see her face.”
“She’s awfully shy in front of the cameras,” agreed Halliday.
Bowen rummaged in a metal case filled with evidence bags and retrieved several small sealed bags. Each contained a human hair. “Based on the unusual length of the hairs, I’d say it’s likely these hairs put the woman in your photo in the bedroom with the victim around the time he died.”
“How do you know the woman was here at around the time of the murder?” Halliday asked.
“One of the long hairs was found on the victim’s body. With blood on it,” he said. “I suspect she was leaning over him when the hair fell. I’d say the woman in the photo is your prime suspect. Unfortunately, there’s no root sheath on any of the hairs we collected. We won’t be able to run them for DNA without intact roots.”
“That’s a real pity,” said Halliday, deflated.
Detective Bowen walked them through the bedroom pointing to different evidence cards and explaining what had been found in each location.
“There was a partial print on a lipstick applicator we found wedged behind a leg of the bed. We’re testing the lipstick for DNA,” he said.
“You think the lipstick belongs to our suspect?” Lavelle asked.
“Who knows. It might have been here for months,” said Bowen.
In the bathroom, Bowen pointed out where they’d found fingerprints on the sink, faucets, light switch, and cupboard doors. They’d bagged the long black hair that Halliday had seen near the sink, and found a matching hair on the floor.
“We found some interesting items in the bedroom that we’ll get the lab to do a rush job on,” Bowen said.
“Like what?” Halliday asked.
“We found foreign matter on the pillow where the victim’s head was.” He showed them a small evidence bag containing tiny granules of a black substance.
“Any idea what it is?” Halliday held the evidence bag up to the light to get a better look.
“My guess is that it’s flecks of paint. Black,” Bowen responded.
He held up another handful of evidence bags with a single strand of hair in each. “I don’t think these hairs are from the victim or the long-haired woman,” Bowen said. “They’re shorter in length and the color is different. It’s a few shades lighter.”
“You think there might have been a third person in the apartment?” Halliday asked.
“Could be,” he said. “It’s also possible the hairs are from someone who stayed here in the past. The owner or another short-stay guest. We need to get the owner’s prints and hair samples for matching purposes.”
“Can’t,” said Lavelle. “The owner’s in Hong Kong until next week.”
“That’ll slow things down.”
After they’d gone through the apartment, Halliday and Lavelle went down to show the doorman the photo of the long-haired woman.
“I don’t think I’ve seen her before,” the doorman said, after taking a close look. “But I wouldn’t bet my house on it. There are people coming and going all the time. There are at least eight apartments in the building that are rented out on short-term rental sites. The night doorman regularly gives guests the keys to their rentals when they check in late. He might remember them.”
