Chapter 160: A Grain of Sand (2/2)
It was five or so minutes before his brows scrunched. ”It looks thoroughly cleaned out but I got a single grain of sand,” he said.
I breathed in relief. ”We can estimate where it is from, right?” I questioned.
The analyst nodded. He put the grain of sand on a Petri dish and put it aside carefully. ”We can say the place from where this sand is within a fifty-kilometer radius.”
”Wait. This sand could be from long ago, right?” Nash asked.
The analyst shook his head. He pointed to the exterior of the bag. ”Look at this. You can see the distressed threads and the lack of color, right?”
Nash and I nodded. ”But the interior of the bag is in very good condition. The material on the inside doesn't react poorly to long-term wear and tear, but the exterior, though for rough use can't handle rough scrubbing. The discoloration is from bleach or other cleaning substances. The interior is better because the cleaning didn't affect the cloth lining.” He pointed to the frayed stitches on the inside. ”Only the stitches that stand out are worn.”
He gave us a victorious smirk.
”So, the killer cleaned it inside out after use but this grain of sand remained?”
The analyst nodded. ”Maybe it's a particle from inside their house and they didn't suspect it is inside. It should give us a good idea about the neighborhood the bag is from,” he said pleasantly.
”I don't understand,” Nash admitted.
”The composition of the soil differs every fifty kilometers or so. With the help of geology and forensic sciences, we can pinpoint the location of soil residue. But the soil structure keeps changing over the years. It changes about every other decade… just slightly,” I explained. ”You should look at more than what goes on inside the interrogation room.”
”Finally, the technology is catching up with evidence, huh?” Nash asked, fascinated.
”There is nothing else in the bag. It has been thoroughly cleaned out,” the analyst said aloud. He moved on to the box and then paused. He looked up at me in awe.
”This…” he trailed off.
”What about it?” Nash asked.
”Uh… is this a coincidence or—” he stopped and looked around. When he saw no one around, he spoke up again. ”The box, it's the same generic one that Miss Lewis brought over, right?”
Nash choked.
”Is it evident?” I asked.
”It could be a coincidence but… hard to come across such a thing in our industry,” the analyst admitted. He opened the box and looked inside. ”I'll run these for DNA and prints.” He picked up the letter. ”Definitely the same guy.” He sighed. ”The quality of the paper is the same, too. What is this? Another helping hand from the weird person?” he asked.
He was starting to hyperventilate.
”Don't worry. If you don't say who it is, neither will we. It's a secret investigation. Do you understand?” I emphasized.
He nodded vehemently.
Nash's phone rang. ”Nash speaking,” he spoke into it immediately. There was speaking from the other side.
My attention was on the analyst who was feeding in the information into the computer and looking from prints on everything inside the bag. I didn't have much hope, but I was banking on the accomplice getting desperate and making a mistake.
The grain of sand looked like a small thing, but it could give me a general locality I needed to look at.
But I noticed that Nash was too silent. I turned to him. The phone hung at his side and his eyes held an indescribable expression.
”What's wrong?” I asked.
”Uh, the task force we sent to catch the suspects for the abduction case asked everyone in the locality and spotted a house that matched the description. The residents were the exact profile, too.”
”Okay, so?” I prompted.
”They went inside the house and it looked like it had been abandoned. There was a basement but no one was inside…”
I could see that he was rambling. There was a point to this ramble and I needed to shake him out of it.
”Nash, get to the point. What is the conclusion?” I asked. ”They didn't catch the suspects. What is the next course of action?”
”I don't know…” he whispered.
My brows scrunched up in confusion. ”What does that mean? Bring the task force back and regroup,” I advised.
”I can't.” He was silent for a long time. ”Evie stayed outside like I had asked her to. While they were searching inside, she texted the team that she had seen the suspect. Uh… they can't find her.”
I was confused to say the least. ”Can't find who? The perpetrator? Did they escape?” Evie would not approach the perpetrator and try to take him down, right? She was reckless but she knew I didn't want her in danger. She wouldn't do that. That was why she texted her team to come out. But how did the perpetrator vanish?
And then Nash's answer came, making the world crumble around me.
”Evie. Evie's gone.”