Page 29 of Den of Iniquity

“Yes, does Rick know about that?”

Kyle nodded. “When Gabe up and quit the band, Rick couldn’t figure out how come, so I told him.”

“Tell him that’s why you’re worried and why you want to find out more about Caroline. And tell him that since we’re looking for DNA, it would be best if he wore gloves while he’s searching through the trash, and anything he finds should go in a plastic bag.”

“Like a sandwich bag?”

“Yes.”

“Okay,” Kyle said. “I’ll ask him and see what he says.”

A while later, when Kyle was out in the yard, playing fetch with Sarah, I noticed that he was texting on his phone between throws. A little while later, when he came in, he gave me a thumbs-up.

“Rick says he’ll be glad to,” he told me, “and he’ll do it tomorrow night.”

Mel was home by then. “Rick will be glad to do what?” she asked.

“Kyle’s friend Rick is going to raid Jeremy’s trash can tomorrow evening and see if he can come up with some possible evidence containing a sample of Caroline’s DNA so we can ship it off to Lulu Benson.”

“Good-o,” Mel said. “I’m glad you took my advice.”

So was I.

Chapter 13

Bellingham, Washington

Tuesday, February 25, 2020

Determined to get a look at Darius’s evidence box, once Mel and Kyle were out of the house on Tuesday morning, Sarah and I headed for Seattle. On the way, I placed a call to Todd Hatcher.

“Good morning,” he said cheerfully.

“Any luck tracking down Caroline Richards’s history?” I asked.

“Not so far,” he told me.

“Well,” I said, “if we can lay hands on a sample of her DNA, we may try going the forensic genealogy route.”

“Given the circumstances, you can’t very well turn up on her doorstep and ask for a cheek swab,” he commented.

“No, I can’t,” I agreed. “We’re having to be a bit more underhanded than that. One of Kyle’s friends is going to raid their trash can tonight looking for cigarette butts. I’ve been led to believe she’s the only person in the residence who smokes.”

“Good luck with that,” Todd said, “but I suspect this isn’t a social call. What else can I do you for?”

“If Caroline and her mother were put into Witness Protection in 2002 or 2003, presumably they were connected, one way or another, to some operation—maybe a federal one, maybe not. Do you know any experts I might be able to contact for details concerning what was going on back then?”

“I might, but I’ll need to have some idea as far as the locale is concerned.”

“And I won’t have any information regarding that until we see if the DNA data points us in a specific direction.”

“Okey dokey,” he said. “Let me know.”

Todd sounded like he was getting ready to hang up. “One more thing,” I said quickly, “only this is on another subject altogether.”

“What’s that?”

“I know how many drug overdose deaths there were in King County in 2018, but can you give me a breakdown of how many of those were determined to be accidental?”