Page 21 of Tide and Seek

Royce gave a nervous laugh.“Max is a doctor.He tends to be particular about the details.”

Gonzalez nodded slowly, narrowing his eyes.“Oh, right.You’re Dr.Thornton.We spoke on the phone earlier.”

“That’s right.”

“So, you don’t agree DNA is fragile?”Gonzalez pulled off his hat and scratched his head.“Why not?”

“Because it isn’t,” I said matter-of-factly.“DNA itself is chemically stable.What degrades are the biological materials it’s in, like skin cells, hair, or fluids.Those get dispersed or broken down by wind, moisture, and exposure.But the DNA molecule isn’t destroyed by a breeze.”

Gonzalez seemed to consider my words.“Well, thanks for the science lesson, but either way, I’m not holding out much hope we’ll find usable DNA on the body.”He grimaced.“I mean, we’ll do our best, of course.They’ll excavate the scene like it’s an archaeological site, photograph everything, sift layer by layer.”

Royce nodded.“I’m sure everyone will do their best.”

“Why would they pick this beach?”I glanced toward the white tent.“Even though this is a private beach, it’s got plenty of activity.Don’t most murderers prefer to hide the bodies where they won’t be found?”

“Usually, yeah.”Gonzalez’s expression was grim.“Maybe the perp doesn’t know the area.It’s possible they thought she’d be washed out to sea if the tide came in, and any evidence or DNA would be destroyed.”

“Could be,” Royce agreed.“But the body’s pretty far from the tide line.”

“That it is,” Gonzalez murmured.“Which supports my idea that the killer doesn’t know the area.”

I stared out at the ocean.“Why not just dump the body straight into the ocean?Why leave it here on the beach?”

“I have no idea,” Deputy Gonzalez said.

“Seems so careless to leave her hand sticking out of the sand,” I muttered.

Gonzalez shrugged.“Maybe they didn’t leave her hand exposed.Maybe a dog or some other animal dug her up.”

I shuddered at the idea of someone’s family pet making that gruesome discovery.“I suppose that’s grim but true.”

Royce glanced toward the highway in front of the colony.“Is Homicide here yet?”

Gonzalez shook his head.“Not yet.We called them as soon as we confirmed it wasn’t accidental.I mean, obviously this was no accident.She didn’t bury herself.They’re sending a team out from downtown.”

Royce nodded.“Long drive.”

“Yeah.Between traffic and paperwork, it’ll be a while.We’re holding the scene until they get here.”Gonzalez folded his arms loosely across his chest.

Royce nodded, watching as a tech gently sifted through the damp sand with a flat trowel.“I’m assuming you don’t get too many of these out here?”

Gonzalez gave a humorless snort.“No.Drunks.Beach fights.We get plenty of those.But a dead body at Ocean Whisper Estates?That’s new.”

I nodded in agreement.I’d certainly never heard of a murder anywhere near here.In town, possibly, but out here, no.

Royce cleared his throat.“I hate to be indelicate, but since we have you here, maybe you can fill us in on what you have so far concerning the break-in at Max’s beach house?”

Gonzalez’s smile was astute.“Save you a trip to the station?”

Royce grinned sheepishly.“Exactly.”

“Sure, I can fill you in on what we have.”Gonzalez tugged a small notepad from his breast pocket.“To be honest,” he said, flipping through the pages, “I felt bad dragging you to the station.We don’t really have much to report.We did the preliminary investigation of the break-in, but it was mostly a bust.”

“Was it?”Royce frowned.

“Unfortunately, yeah.”He pursed his lips, reading his notes.“The lock on the front door to the beach house had definitely been broken, but there were no prints.”

“Does that mean it probably wasn’t kids?”I asked.“If they wore gloves.”