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Nicole put a gloved hand on her arm. “Do you think these cases are linked to Tiffany’s?”
Flicking her finger at the paper bags on the table, Jessica answered. “That’s what these are all about—a card that mentions my sister’s name and a doll that may be one my sister had in her possession at the time of her murder.”
“You’re kidding. That’s significant…and scary for you. Are you all right?” Nicole’s dark brown eyes got huge. “Wait, is that why you found the second victim? This guy told you where she was?”
Jessica told her the story of the text, the meeting that never happened and how the killer lured her to Missy’s body. “It was awful. Somehow discovering a body like that was a hundred times worse than coming into a murder scene where dozens of cops and CSIs are already roaming around.”
“I can imagine.” Nicole waved her arms around the room, shelves stacked with boxes, plastic and paper bags. “It’s all so sterile in here. Anyway, I haven’t heard anything about a person of interest yet.”
“I’m keeping my fingers crossed.” Jessica tapped the form on the table. “Initial this, so I can get out of here and go find Michael.”
Jessica passed by several of the labs where the techswould soon be analyzing the evidence from Missy’s homicide. She made a right turn at the end of the hallway and tapped on Michael’s open door.
He glanced up and waved her in, rolling his eyes and pointing at the phone. He’d just dashed her hopes that he’d be in a good mood and this interview would go better than she deserved.
When he ended the call, he dropped the phone on his desk and dragged his hands through his black hair, which made his light blue eyes even more startling when he skewered her with his gaze.
“So, Nancy Drew is back in the lab.”
“Yeah, so funny.” She plopped in one of the two chairs facing his desk without an invitation. “But Nancy’s the one who found Missy Park minutes after her death. The cops could’ve caught the guy right then and there.”
“He must’ve had some sort of escape plan mapped out in advance, knowing you’d find the body and report it right away.” Her boss steepled his long fingers. “I heard Finn Karlsson was on the scene with you.”
“He was there. We’ve been in touch since I’ve been in Kitsap.”
“He’s writing a book about Plank. Did he tell you that?”
“Y-yes.” Eventually. “But he’s going to have to write an addendum when we find out Plank didn’t murder my sister.”
“Deke Macy is not looking like the guy for these crimes, though.”
“Really?” Her head jerked up. “Who says?”
“King County Sheriff’s Department. Just got off the phone with one of the deputies. Macy has an alibi for both murders. Have to be checked out, of course, but easy to find out if he’s lying.” He held up his hands. “Suspects lieabout alibis all the time, knowing full well the investigators can figure that out after a few phone calls, interviews or camera footage. Could still be the guy.”
“But unlikely.” Jessica slumped in her seat. “I knew he was too good to be true. Creepy dude icking on college coeds and following young Instagram models—and not trying to hide it.”
Michael narrowed his icy eyes. “Sounds like you did quite a bit of your own research on the creepy Mr. Macy.”
“He worked with Tiffany ten years ago.”
“If you want to be a cop, Jessica, go to the academy and be one. If you want to be a top-notch forensics investigator, do your job.”
“Like you didn’t do your own investigating once upon a time.”
“Yeah, that was because I was accused of murder.”
His office phone rang, and he dropped his gaze to the display. “Sheriff’s department again. Maybe Deke Macy did lie. Wilder here.”
Jessica studied Michael’s impassive face, which gave away nothing.
“I see. Good. Rush job. Yeah.” When he ended the call, Jessica was none the wiser.
“Did he lie about his alibis?”
“No, but something almost as encouraging. They found trace DNA on both sets of red fibers…and it doesn’t match the victims’ DNA reference samples.”
Chapter Twelve