Chapter 165: Another Letter (1/2)

”The results are out,” Nash shouted. I jerked up to look at him.

”The sand analysis?” I whispered. Nash nodded enthusiastically. Despite my attempts at looking dignified, I sprinted to the forensics lab and found the familiar faces of the analysts gaping at me.

They had never seen me like this and they would probably never see me in this state ever again.

”What are the results?” I asked.

The analyst looked up from his report, the dark circle under his eyes prominent. ”Dr. Butler,” he said, his voice excited. ”Here.” He pushed the result towards me.

I looked at the general location of the sand and frowned. ”This is somewhere around Queensbury?” I asked. I tilted my head to the side.

”The beach at Queensbury is a popular destination. Ideally, that is the only beach in this vicinity that still has sand. All the other beaches have been encased in rock and pebbles and shells, highly unlikely for anyone to get sand residue from there,” the analyst said.

He looked perplexed. ”Does that help in any way? Almost everyone goes to that beach on their days off. We can't narrow down anything, right?” his voice was low and deliberate.

I shook my head. I pulled out my cellphone and searched for companies that shipped sand from the beach. And there you had it, garden supplies. The sand was good for gardening and was therefore supplied to certain localities in the ten-kilometer range. I could only find one medium-sized company so that was a plus.

”Gardening supplies,” I prompted, showing Nash the screen.

Nash contemplated for a moment. ”He wouldn't very well go to the beach to pack the bag and he cleaned it so carefully. It's strange for one grain of sand to be left behind.” His eyes lit up with understanding. ”It's from his backyard. The paraphernalia is in the house's backyard and he dug it out. Somehow it got into the bag after he had completely cleaned it out!”

I nodded.

The analyst looked confused. ”You got that from a simple search?” he asked. ”But it spans across a wide area, right? How will you find the identity of this person?”

”Kid, you've done well. You've given us more information than we could ever imagine,” Nash said proudly.

I didn't add in but I felt relieved. This didn't look like much but I had to admit that searching would become a little easier.

We were back in the confines of Nash's room when I spoke up. ”We need to narrow those lists to the people who lived within twenty miles of the beach at that time,” I told Nash.

Nash was reluctant, though. ”The higher end of the population living within three kilometers of the beach are rich. The property prices are exorbitant. This doesn't fit in with the initial idea that the BTS killer was powerless. Money usually equals a sense of success in life,” Nash rationalized.

”I wouldn't put it past them, though. The BTS Killer was out of a job at the time, it hurt his masculinity. It doesn't have to do much with money more than it is about his ego, right?”

Nash clucked his tongue. ”But usually, police academy attendants are from middle-class households and lower-income households.”

”Statistics would say that, but I can't bank on it right now, can I?” I asked him firmly.

”The search is too big, Sebastian,” he warned.

Something at the back of my head nagged at me. ”Where did Alicia grow up?” I asked myself.

Nash's eyes grew wide. ”Do you think it would work?”

”It was possibly his first time actively helping a criminal out. He would have a harder time scoping out Alicia. He might have gone to the same school or lived in a close neighborhood, right?”

Nash pressed his lips together. ”Most parents prefer sending students to the nearest school. That is true. I can triangulate and find a general location, that is for sure.”

I heaved a sigh of relief. ”You get on it. I'll call the news station and talk to the host,” I informed.

Nash was behind his desk in no time, going through the list and redoing it once again.

”Hello?” I said into the phone. ”Have I connected with SBN News Studio?” I asked into the phone once the call had been picked up.

”Yes, speaking. May I know who you are looking for?” the gruff female voice asked from the other side.

”I am calling from the city police about a case. Is there anyone authorized to speak of such matters?” I questioned.

There was silence on the other end.