Page 76 of Code Violation

“What if I knew a lab that would do it as a charity?”

Andre’s eyebrows drew together. “I’ve heard about labs that do this work, but isn’t there a waiting list?”

“There is, but I have an in. A close friend of mine, Lindsay Horton, runs a lab and is invested in these cases. We’ve worked together before. She works out of San Francisco, so getting her the sample would be fairly easy. At least we wouldn’t have to drive it across country like the last time she and I did this.”

“I’m not going to say no, but before I say yes, why this case? Why Cooper Springs? There are thousands of cold cases, Janes, Johns and Jays. Missing persons from across the United States.”

“Like I said before, I no longer think Donny was brought here. But I’ve been here for a while now, and I feel tied to the town. I want to know what happened to Kaylee, the third lost girl of Cooper Springs. Initially, I thought they were connected, but that doesn’t appear to be the case. Her family deserves closure just as much as Morgan’s and Sarah’s did.”

Andre nodded, biting his lip.

“My gut is telling me that this is our chance to find out who killed Kaylee. Will we actually find any DNA that leads to an arrest? Maybe not. It’s been a long time. But it would be good to have closure.”

Nero moved to the next item on his list. “And what about Ms. Harlow’s death? Has she been tied to Dina at all?”

Dear sat back, recrossing his arms over his chest. His eyes were narrowed and his gaze intense. Nero shifted in his seat, glad he wasn’t being interrogated.

“At the moment, there is nothing to link the Harlow case with Morgan Blass and Sarah Turner. They were decades apart. But the fact that Ms. Harlow lived in Zenith and we now know that Dale Lockwood used that trail on occasion certainly raises questions. Questions we may never know the answers to.”

A bland answer if there ever was one.

“She was killed around the same time Blair Cruz disappeared, correct? And Blair’s remains haven’t been found yet. What if Ms. Harlow saw something she shouldn’t have? What if she saw Lockwood in Zenith or even abducting Blair?” Nero theorized.

“It’s possible, even probable. But we don’t have any proof. And with Lockwood dead and Dina Paulson heavily medicated and dying herself, I don’t know if we ever will recover Ms. Cruz’s remains. The story will have to be put together by the forensic team sometime in the future.”

“If there’s anything I can do to help,” Nero offered.

Lips pressed into a thin line, Dear rose to his feet. He pulled a heavy set of keys out of the top drawer. “I want to show you the evidence room. Leave your bag here, it will be secure.”

The police chief moved around his desk and headed into the hallway, Nero right on his heels. Dear stopped at the evidence room door and, after flipping through the keys, inserted one into the door’s lock. The lock protested but turned. Dear pushed the door open and motioned Nero inside.

“This is the glory of our evidence room. The West Coast Forensics team looked around in here, but they didn’t find anything pertaining to the remains that were found. They collected DNA from Morgan’s mother and Sarah’s brother and used those samples to compare to the remaining DNA, but they didn’t have time to organize the rest of this and see if there were clues to the other cold cases.”

Nero peered over his shoulder. Wooden shelves were stacked with aging cardboard boxes. Some sat on top of other boxes, and some were crumpled and sagging.

“I’m trying to get a grant to bring an expert in to get this into some semblance of order. I don’t know if it ever was set up correctly.” Dear sighed.

“How far back does it go? How many years?”

Dear shook his head, staring at the shelves. “All the way to 1925, when Cooper Springs set up its own police force.”

Nero sympathized. He’d been in evidence rooms in small, underfunded police stations before, and the state of this one wasn’t surprising.

“If you can find what you’re looking for, I’m willing to have it sent to your lab.”

“Are you serious?”

“As a heart attack. Nick can help you.”

“Are you certain about that? I think he’d rather have me gone.” Nick Waugh had warmed up a bit to Nero, but not enough to spend hours with him in a small room.

“I’m sure. I’ll have a chat with him. He’ll come around. Nick’s a good person.”

Nero’s gaze took in the piles of boxes, overwhelmed by the remnants of the lives they held within them.

“It’s a shame,” Dear said, echoing his thoughts. “I’m not a superstitious guy, but this room is full of ghosts.”

EPILOGUE

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