Chapter 17
SEVENTEEN
Dusk approached. Katie had hoped they could do more, but they hadn’t received much from the medical examiner’s office and forensics yet, despite her chasing. She also hoped they would have their reports from Rockview PD by tomorrow.
When they pulled into Pine Valley Sheriff’s Department parking lot, Katie explained what had happened with the outside lighting the night she found the finger, and that there was currently no explanation she was aware of apart from “they went out.”
McGaven studied the lighting outside the main building as they walked to the entry with their swipe cards.
As they approached the forensic division, Katie thought about how lucky she was to be with John.
They could work together, keeping their personal and professional lives separate. Thinking about him made her smile.
They reached the forensic examination room and found John sitting at a desk looking through files. He turned when he saw the detectives enter.
“Hey.”
“Hey, yourself,” said McGaven.
“What’s so important that you had us come in right away?” Katie said.
John’s expression looked serious.
“Just tell us,” she said.
John swiveled his chair toward them with a big sigh. “The DNA on the bloody napkin found near Heritage Road belongs to one of our own.”
“One of us?” she said. Her mind was bombarded with thoughts of who and why.
“Arson Investigator Luke Ames.”
“What?” said McGaven. “The arson K9 handler guy?”
“Yes.”
“Are you sure?”
“Certain.”
“He made the discovery and called it in,” she said, more to herself than the others. “He said he runs in the area. A napkin could easily drop out of his pocket and blow into the field, but…”
“It does seem odd,” said McGaven.
Katie thought about it for a moment. “We’ll have to be careful how we proceed. It could just be a coincidence.”
“How do you want to handle it?” said McGaven.
“I need to talk to the sheriff,” she said. “But this information doesn’t leave this room, understood?” she said.
Everyone nodded.
“We’ll have to question Ames,” said McGaven.
“Yes. But we’re not going to storm the firehouse.”
McGaven chuckled.
“What?”
“Storming the firehouse? Never seen you do that before,” said McGaven.
Katie looked at John.
“It’s true. I’ve never seen you storm anywhere,” said John.
Katie couldn’t help but smile. She knew they were trying to make light of a heavy situation, even though there was nothing funny about it.
“I think you should talk to him,” said McGaven.
“Just me?”
“I think it’d come across more casual, like we’re not putting him in the hot seat.”
Katie sighed. She knew McGaven was right.
Looking at the photo on John’s screen, it was a younger version of Ames from when he first became a firefighter.
His eyes were bright with excitement, along with a genuine smile.
He was different now. Something seemed to have been weighing heavy on him, or maybe an incident had changed him in more recent years.
“Okay,” she said. “I’ll get in touch with him.”