Page 41 of Liar's Point

Brady took a pair of reading glasses from his pocket and slid them on, then leaned closer to the laptop. “We’re sure this is her vehicle?”

Owen nodded. “Correct.”

“Can we enhance this?”

“We already did.”

“This guy in the hooded sweatshirt and sunglasses—he’s our guy.” Brady looked at Nicole.

“We believe so. The car leaves the premises and never reenters,” she said. “So we think Aubrey is inside it and unconscious or dead.”

“In a duffel bag in the trunk,” Brady stated.

“That’s what the CSIs seem to think, based on the fiber evidence.”

Brady leaned back and removed his glasses. “Shoot me that footage,” he told Owen. “I have a contact with the FBI cyber crimes unit in San Antonio. I’ll see what they can do to enhance the image. Maybe we’ll get a better look at this guy. What else do we know?” He looked back at Nicole. “Anything more in the car?”

“No prints except the victim’s. However”—she glanced at Adam, who still looked happy to let her take the lead—“the rearview mirror was adjusted for someone much taller than Aubrey, who’s five foot three.”

Brady’s eyebrows tipped up. “He leave any fingerprints when he adjusted it?”

“No. We assume he was wearing gloves. However, the mirror could still give us a lead. Miranda swabbed it for touch DNA, which could have potentially been transferred to the gloves if he touched his face or something while he was wearing them. Miranda also recovered a single strand of dark hair in the driver’s seat, which is potentially huge.”

The chief stared at her without comment. Evidently, he didn’t see the potential “hugeness” of Miranda’s find.

“The victim has dark hair,” Brady said.

“Yes. But this strand was about three inches long. Aubrey’s is much longer.”

Brady tapped his pencil on his notepad. “So, your theory is that this guy slipped into her apartment. No sign of forced entry—” He glanced at Owen for confirmation.

“That’s right.”

“—and attacked her, had her ingest some sleeping pills, then injected her with a lethal dose of fentanyl, according to our tox report. Then he loaded her into a bag, put her in the trunk, and drove her to the beach to stage her suicide.”

Silence came over the room as the chief looked around the table. His gaze settled on Nicole.

“That’s the theory?”

She nodded crisply. “Yes, sir. Based on the evidence we have so far.”

“Why?” Brady looked at Owen. “What’s his motive?”

Owen’s brow furrowed. This was the weakness, the aspect of the case for which they had zero leads thus far.

“We don’t know,” Owen said. “The lack of forced entry could mean that she knew him and let him in.”

“So, you’re thinking a boyfriend?”

“Her roommate thinks she may have stayed with her ex-boyfriend overnight,” Adam said, chiming in at last. “She didn’t spend the night at the apartment. We know that.”

“So, what then?” Brady asked. “You guys are thinking some kind of jealous ex scenario?”

“Could be a crime of passion,” Owen said.

Nicole shook her head. “Nope.”

Brady looked at her. “You don’t agree?”

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