Strand of Deception Read online

  Maddie frowned at him. “Of course I took a sample. That is my job.”

  He raised his hands level with his shoulders. “I didn’t mean to offend. We just have nothing but forensics to go on at this point.” And his supervisor sitting on his shoulder.

  Her expression softened. “We’ll have all the results tomorrow late afternoon. After this step that’s running now, we have to set up the PCR and run that for about three and half hours. Then, we’ll be able to type. That’s the longest part of the process.”

  “How long?”

  “System has to run twelve and a half hours for the typing, then it’ll take us three or four hours to review the data and interpret for the report. After that, our lab supervisor and Peter review everything for technical and administrative verification of our scientific analysis and conclusion.”

  “I’ll let Ivan know you’re on your way to get that print. I’m sure you’re anxious to get it into IAFIS.” Helm waited on a response.

  Nick stood. “In a minute.”

  Helm nodded and left.

  Nick turned back to Maddie. “In your professional opinion and experience, what were your observations of the crime-scene staging?”

  She leaned back in the chair. “Obviously she wasn’t killed in the vehicle as there were no blood patterns or anything to indicate that’s where she died. Not enough blood.”

  He sat back on the edge of her desk. “Go on.”

  “And if that’s accurate, there’s no explanation for a blood drop where I found it on her back, so that would logically lead me to believe it might be someone else’s.” She cocked her head. “With stabbings, it’s not unusual for the assailant to accidentally cut himself and leave a blood trace on the knife or the victim.”

  True.

  “So if he cut himself, then put her in the car, it’s possible he transferred his own blood to her back.”

  She tapped her finger against her chin. “I’m also wondering about the cause of death.”

  He crossed his arms over his chest. “The stab wounds?”

  She wrinkled her nose and shook her head. “That’s just it—there’s something off about them.”

  “Why do you say that?”

  “Her eyes.”

  Huh? McMichael hadn’t mentioned anything about Gina’s eyes. “What about them?”

  Maddie shook her head slightly again. “They were open. Fear and shock were preserved at the time of her death.”

  “Getting stabbed wouldn’t surprise and scare you?”

  She stood and shoved her hands into her coat pockets. “Usually I see shock, but fear indicates dying after processing what’s happening to you.”

  “I’m not following you.” But she intrigued him that she thought more like a detective than a scientist.

  “Okay, let’s say that Eva is going to stab me.”

  Eva grabbed Maddie’s pen. “Oh, goodie. I don’t have to be the one who dies this time.”

  Maddie grinned and shook her head. “Now, I’m unaware she’s coming up behind me.”

  The pretty blonde moved behind her. She threw an arm around Maddie’s throat, then made stabbing motions with the pen toward Maddie’s heart.

  “See, I’m shocked. I’m being attacked. But because of the stabs, I die before fear has a chance to set in.” Maddie turned to face Eva. “But now, Eva comes at me head-on.”

  Eva advanced on Maddie, making stabbing motions toward her.

  “So I’m shocked, yes, that I’m being attacked, but, because I’m seeing my killer, I’m also scared.”

  Had to respect a lady using logic and science. In his line of work, the combination was rare. Sure hadn’t been in Joy. “I see.”

  Eva tossed the pen on Maddie’s desk.

  “But that doesn’t make sense either because I didn’t see any defensive wounds on her hands.” She shook her head. “I can’t figure out why she didn’t raise her hands to stop the assault. I don’t get it.”

  Nick would normally never discuss unconfirmed details, but in this particular case . . . “Would it make more sense if I told you the stab wounds were delivered postmortem?”

  Maddie closed her eyes. She hummed very softly for a moment, then blinked to look at him. “Yeah, yeah it would. It would explain the lack of defensive wounds, the staging . . . we can’t know for sure until the ME finishes the autopsy, though.”

  “Right. That’s just his impression before the autopsy. What about the blood drops in the car?”

  “Minor, confirming the stabs were postmortem. If I had to guess, and again, I’m not the ME, but I’d say she was stabbed soon after death, then set inside the car for staging.” Her eyes narrowed. “Then we don’t have a serial killer on our hands.”

  “Doesn’t look like it.”

  Eva ran a hand over her golden curls. “So whoever killed the senator’s daughter wanted it to look like a serial killing.”

  “Seems that way.”

  Maddie shook her head as she dropped back into her chair. “There are some true monsters in the world today. The things people do to each other . . .” She shivered. “It’s just horrible.”

  For the first time in a long, long time, Nick had the urge to hold a woman. To pull her against his chest and loan her his strength. He managed to stop his arms from reaching for her.

  Why hadn’t she called him?

  It was too much to hope for that the ground would open up and swallow her whole.

  The door opened and Peter glared from the doorway. “Agent Hagar, Ivan’s got the print ready for you.”

  Nick stood. “Thank you, ladies, for sharing your insights. I look forward to your full reports.” He smiled the smile of his that was a threat to her pulse, then joined Peter. “I’ll also need to get Gina Ford’s cell. I believe it was recovered at the scene.”

  The door had barely closed before Eva plopped onto Maddie’s desk. “Oh. My. Gosh. That man’s swagger is like watching the smoothest tango.”

  “Eva.”

  “I tried to warn you that he was in the doorway. I cleared my throat as loud as I could.”

  “I know.” Maddie pinched the bridge of her nose under her glasses. “I am beyond embarrassed and mortified.” Another reason she shouldn’t discuss her feelings in public. It wasn’t like she hadn’t already lived through a very public humiliation. She should’ve learned her lesson.

  Then again, they didn’t often have guests show up in the lab on a Saturday. But she should’ve known better. She knew he’d been on his way. Knew he’d come in the lab.

  “If you could have seen his face . . .”

  Maddie snapped her attention to Eva. “Why?”

  “He smiled pretty big before you knew he was there.”

  Was there no end to her humiliation? “Good thing he wasn’t smiling when I turned around.”

  Eva chuckled. “Further proof the man is wise.”

  Maddie groaned and laid her head on the desk. “I won’t be able to face him again.”

  “Yes, you will.”

  “Maybe he’ll get a hit on the print and I won’t have to interact with him anymore.”

  “You jerk.” Eva jumped to her feet and snatched foot covers and placed them over her boots. She practically stomped around the divider and into the actual lab.

  “What?” Maddie followed after she’d covered her shoes and gloved up. “Why am I a jerk?” She checked the gauges on the genetic analyzer. “I didn’t do anything.”

  “Except not call a very handsome, very eligible man who is clearly interested in you.”

  Maddie opened her mouth to argue.

  Eva shook her head. “And who you are obviously interested in as well. So that makes you a jerk.”

  Maddie transferred the utensils from the bleach wash to th
e ethanol bath, anything to keep her hands busy. “Because I’m being cautious?”

  Eva spun on her three-inch heels. “Seriously, Maddie? If a woman goes out on a date with a man and the date goes well, and he is supposed to call her after he gets back in town, and then doesn’t for no good reason, we women call him a jerk.” Eva glared at her. “You know I’m telling the truth.”

  Yeah, but that didn’t mean she wanted to admit it.

  Eva sighed as she monitored the temperatures of the refrigerators housing the reagents. “You told me how much you’ve been hurt in the past, but take it from me, all men are not like the two who hurt you. How can you get your happily-ever-after if you don’t let yourself take a chance on falling in love?”

  “It’s not that.” But she didn’t know any way to defend herself other than the truth, and she certainly didn’t want to admit that. Maddie irradiated the utensils with ultraviolet light.

  “Then tell me. I want to understand. Want to help you.”

  “I don’t need help.”

  “Uh, yeah . . . you do.” Eva began the decontamination of the hoods with ultraviolet light. “Might as well go ahead and spit it out—you know I’m not going to drop it.”

  Wasn’t that the truth? Maddie headed back to the office part of the lab. She tossed her gloves into the trash and sank into her chair.

  Eva followed, sitting atop her own desk, swinging her legs.

  “Fine.” Maddie made a point to sigh loudly. “Apparently I can’t make good choices when it comes to men.”

  “What?” Eva’s eyes widened and her legs stopped swinging.

  “Well, look at my track history. One man cheated on me and the other was a liar and married.” Maddie swallowed against the dulled pain. “Just call me the cheater magnet.”

  Eva laughed. “You’re kidding me, right?”

  “No. And stop laughing. It’s not funny.”

  “You’re what, thirty-four?”

  Maddie nodded.

  “In your life, you’ve only been serious about two men.” Eva wagged two fingers at her. “Two. In thirty-four years, you’ve been in love twice.”

  “So?” Maddie’s mother and father had met each other in high school, fallen in love, gotten married, had children, and lived happily ever after until they were both killed when a drunk driver hit their vehicle. They’d found their true love first time out of the chute.

  “You don’t have enough experience to claim yourself a cheater magnet.” Eva chuckled. “You haven’t even gotten three strikes.”

  “That’s not funny.”

  “No, it’s not, but it isn’t funny that you’ve only had two relationships and you’re basing your dating standards on those two losers.” Eva pointed at her before hopping off the top of her desk and moving to her chair. She smiled across the lab. “Haven’t you ever heard the saying that third time’s the charm?”

  So she heard. Didn’t mean it applied to her. Maddie had thought she’d found the perfect man in Adam. That turned out to be a disaster, but she’d moved on. Chocked it up to experience and licked her wounds. Then she’d met Kevin in book club. She’d taken the relationship slower because of her past mistake but eventually allowed herself to fall in love again. She’d been so sure her happily-ever-after was just around the corner. Let herself believe in the fairy tale ending like her parents.

  Then she’d found out Kevin had a wife.

  She couldn’t risk a third time. What would be left of her heart if it broke again?

  Chapter Eight

  “When I was a boy, I always saw myself as a hero in comic books and in movies. I grew up believing this dream.”

  Elvis Presley

  “She’s waiting in the conference room.” Timmons ducked his head into Nick’s office. “Looks quite uncomfortable there to me.”

  “Thanks. I’ll let her stew for a minute.”

  “Yes, sir. I’m going to watch the crime-scene unit go over Gina Ford’s place.”

  Nick nodded at Timmons, then stared back at the most-recent update on the case.

  The print Helm’s expert had gotten was a full and clean, but AFIS didn’t have it in the system. Timmons ran it through the FBI’s maintained IAFIS database. Match came back to David Tiddle. While that would be encouraging, Tiddle was her boyfriend, apparently a serious one, whose defense would be that he’d touched that dash numerous times over the course of normal and expected contact.

  He stood and stretched, then ambled toward the conference room. He grabbed a cup of coffee on his way.

  Cynthia paced, hugging her arms as he entered. “Agent Hagar.”

  “Have a seat, please.” Nick sat on one side of the table and gestured to the seat across from him. He opened a file, perusing his handwritten notes, then looked over the table to address her. “I don’t like being played, Ms. Mantle.”

  Her young eyes were wide. “W-What do you mean?”

  “You weren’t exactly forthcoming with me about the state of your current relationship with Gina.” He slammed the folder closed, then glared at her. “Were you?”

  “I-I don’t understand.”

  “Why didn’t you mention you and Gina hadn’t been very close lately? That there was some serious animosity brewing between you two?”

  She blinked three times rapidly. He’d scored. “All friendships go through rocky patches. This certainly isn’t our first.”

  Good, he had her on the defensive. “What rocky patch is that?”

  Mantle sighed. “David. Her boyfriend.”

  This could be more interesting than he’d thought. Nick leaned back in the chair and took a slurping sip of his coffee. “Go on.”

  “Ever since she and David got serious, she’s been different. With all the sneaking around to keep it hush-hush from her father, she never has time to hang out with me or her other friends. When she isn’t in class, she only wants to be with David. And everything out of her mouth is ‘David this’ and ‘David that.’ It’s tiresome.”

  “You sound jealous.”

  Mantle shrugged. “Maybe I am a little. I saw him first. He probably would’ve asked me out if Gina hadn’t come along.” Her lips went into almost a perfectly straight line. “But as usual, the golden girl showed up, flaunting her father’s money and power, and she got whatever she wanted.”

  Jealous and bitter. Nick shifted in his seat. Many a time he’d felt almost the exact same way about Roger and the way Dad would give him anything he wanted.

  “But he started to poison her against me.”

  “Who?”

  “David. He would tell her how much better she was than me, encourage her to cut ties to those of us clinging to her, using her.” She swallowed and set her hands on the table. “I told Gina if she really wanted to stand on her own two feet like she proclaimed, then she needed to start taking care of herself and stop relying on Daddy or David.” Mantle shivered. “She didn’t like that too much. Called me some ugly names, said some mean things, and we just left it at that.”

  “When was this?”

  “A couple of weeks ago.”

  “But y’all stayed in the same study group?”

  “Of course.” She tapped her fingers on the table. “Like I said, we’d been friends for too long and knew this was just a spat. We’d had them many times over the years. Both of us knew we’d work through this once we both cooled down.”

  “Yet you didn’t?”

  “Actually, Thursday night she was acting more like herself, but upset. I asked her what was wrong, like I told you, and she just told me that she had to confront someone about something she’d found. I knew it had to be someone close to her because of how upset she was.”

  Interesting she’d left all this information out of her previous statement. “Did she tell you any more than that?”r />
  “No, but she asked if she could call me in the morning if she needed someone to talk to after she was done with her confrontation. I told her of course.”

  “Even though you two hadn’t worked through your latest . . . spat?” Did she really expect him to believe her?

  She smiled. “You aren’t a woman, Agent Hagar. We go through these cycles with our best friends. Ask any woman and she’ll tell you that. But no matter what, when the chips are down, your best friend is there for you.”

  If that was true, he really didn’t understand women at all. Not that he ever thought he did.

  “Ms. Mantle, why didn’t you mention earlier that you spoke with her on Friday morning?”

  Her cheeks pinked. “I forgot about that. I just called to check on her, because she’d been so upset the night before. I wanted to make sure she was okay.”

  “And was she?” Nick held his pencil so tight, it was a wonder it didn’t snap in two and splinter across the conference room.

  “She said she was on her way to have one of the most serious discussions in her life. I asked her was this about the confrontation she’d mentioned the night before and she said yes. She realized she had to confront two people, and both would leave her scarred.”

  Nick finished scribbling and looked back at Cynthia. “And what else?”

  “Nothing. She said she had to go and that she’d call me later.” Tears pooled in her eyes, but she blinked them away. “I never heard from her again.”

  He could respect her not using the tears ploy. So many young women he questioned used them for sympathy. Never worked on him. “I have to ask, Ms. Mantle, where were you when you spoke to Gina?”

  “In my apartment, about to head to class.”

  “Do you know where Gina was?”

  “She was in her car. I could hear the wind noise. No matter how cold it was, Gina always cracked her car window. She had to have fresh air.”

  “What did you do after you got off the phone with her?”

  “I hit the shower, then went to class.”

  “What class and what time did it start?”

  “You think I’m not telling you the truth?”