Sam wasn't really surprised. In a lot of sexual abuse cases there weren't any sperm present, either because the perpetrator used a condom – some actually did – or because he didn't ejaculate. It would have been nice to have the DNA for positive identification, just in case they needed it.
"He did find a hair, though, that wasn't Ms. Dean's. I'm impressed he spotted it, because Ms. Dean was blond, and so is this guy."
A wolfish smile spread across Sam's face. A hair. Just a single hair, but it gave them the DNA they needed. The case was slowly coming together. A partial shoe print, a single hair; it wasn't much to go on, but they were making progress.
CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR
When Sam got home that afternoon, both T.J. and Luna were just going in his front door. That meant Jaine was in his house, rather than hers. He liked that. He hoped she was making herself comfortable, because he didn't intend to let her sleep in her own house until after he had caught Marci's killer, and maybe not even then. Having her around was way too much fun to give up, even temporarily.
The day was miserably hot, and sweat crawled down his spine as he went inside. He put the heavy stack of paper, half of the printed-out personnel files from Hammerstead, on the coffee table, then stood for a minute inhaling the blessedly cool air. With his lungs rescued from heat damage, he shrugged out of his jacket and followed the noise into the kitchen.
Jaine was pouring four glasses of iced tea, which meant she had seen him drive up.
"You're just in time," she said.
He removed his pistol and badge and laid them on the counter next to the coffeemaker. "For what?" He took one of the glasses of tea and drank deeply, his throat working. "We're planning a wake for Marci. Her sister, Cheryl, is going to come."
"Where and when?" he asked briefly.
"Tomorrow night, at my apartment," said Luna. "Okay. I can be there."
Looking startled, Jaine said, "But if we're all together, aren't we safe?"
"Not necessarily. You could just be providing him with a golden opportunity to get all of you at once. I won't intrude, but I'll be there."
Jaine snorted. If Sam was anywhere around, he intruded. He was one of those people you couldn't ignore. T.J. slanted a meaningful look at him. "Before we get started, I have news."
"I have news," said Jaine.
"So do I," said Sam.
They all waited. No one said anything. Luna finally spoke up. "Since I'm the only one who doesn't have news, I'll direct this." She pointed at T.J. "You go first. You've had my curiosity up since we talked on the phone." T.J. raised her eyebrows at Sam, and he knew she was asking if it was all right to tell the other two what she had been doing. Since she would have told them anyway if he hadn't shown up, he said, "Go ahead."
"I made copies of all the personnel files for Mr. Strawn," she said. "He said a certain detective had asked to see them, and he was granting permission."
Three sets of eyes turned in his direction. He made a face. "I brought a lot of paperwork home with me. We're running all the names for prior convictions or outstanding warrants, too."
"How long will that take?" Jaine asked.
"If nothing pops up on the computer to point us in the right direction, we'll have to go through all the files and see if something sticks out, maybe dig deeper."
"A day? Two days?" she prodded.
"You're an optimistic little cuss, aren't you?" He took a long swallow of the cold tea.
Luna made a T with her hands, signaling a time-out, then pointed at Sam. "Your turn."
"The M.E. found a blond hair on Marci that wasn't hers." The three women went very still, and he knew their minds were racing, trying to think of all the blond men at Hammer-stead. "Does anyone spring to mind?" he asked. "Not really," Jaine said. "And what you call blond, we might call light brown." She looked at the others, who shrugged. "There are a lot of guys at work who qualify."
"Don't drop your guard," he warned. "She might have picked up the hair somewhere else. It's a lead, and when we catch him, if the DNA matches, then we have him nailed. Just be extra careful around the blond guys."
"That's a cheerful thought," Luna said glumly. "I think I'm the only brunette in sales."
"I'm going to go through the files by department, starting with accounting, since Marci was the first target. By the way," he said to T.J. "thanks for giving them to me broken down into the separate departments."
She gave him a wry look. "Anything I can do to help." Luna directed the conversation again, pointing at Jaine. "It's your turn."
Jaine took a deep breath. After three broken engagements, she had to brace herself to announce that she intended… again… to get married. She glanced at Sam, and he winked at her.
"Samandlaregettingmarried," she said in a rush, running the words together as if they would attract less attention that way. What the gods didn't notice, they couldn't squash.
Sam put his fingers in his ears to block out the squeals that erupted. T.J. hugged Jaine. Luna hugged Sam. Then they somehow all ended up hugging each other. The circle was too small without Marci, Jaine thought, but she refused to let tears ruin this little celebration. Life went on. It was sadder without Marci, emptier, but it went on nevertheless.
"How? I mean, when?" T.J. asked.
"In three weeks, when her folks get home," Sam replied. "I was thinking maybe in a judge's chambers, but my family would never fit, and they'll all want to be there."