Part 27 (1/2)

A fully-staffed lab could spend weeks on a single case. And from the look of it, the two victims had killed each other. Hailey had found, more often than not, if it looked like a duck and walked like a duck...

Still, she knew better than to be rash. In a case like this, Hailey had asked CSU to run the prints for known felons. Though it was time-consuming, the process was easy enough. Technology had come a long way and prints could be scanned and compared with both California's justice system records as well as NCIC, the National Criminal Information Center, which the FBI maintained.

”No felony matches?”

Sydney shook her head. ”No, but we've got a dozen partials that couldn't be matched.”

”But it's like a bus-you've got kids in and out of there all the time.”

Sydney nodded. ”I've got some adult prints, too, but nothing comes up.”

”And the blood?” The initial process with blood was to take samples to identify the blood types of the victims and rule out a third party.

”AB and O, both positive. Victims' types.”

”And in the places you'd expect them?”

”The pattern of blood splatter looks consistent with the theory that they killed each other.”

”And they were known for being aggressive,” Hailey added. ”There had been two instances of domestic disturbance in the past.”

Sydney nodded.

”What about toxicology?”

”Won't be back for weeks. The Unit's way too backed up on more pressing cases.”

Hailey knew there were convicts awaiting lab results before going to trial-men and women who sat behind bars while the labs scurried to prove whether or not they were really guilty of anything. ”Then we've got to close it. The Dennigs murdered each other.”

Sydney gathered her notes, started to stack them for Hailey to take with her. Hailey was thankful the case was over.

She'd probably spent fifty work-hours on it, enlisted the help of at least three other cops to make calls and visits to friends, neighbors, and the kids' school. The case should have been closed at that.

But because of the nature of the victims-that is, rich and high profile-the chief had pushed the lab to look through the rest of the evidence for anything else.

”How long did it set you guys back?”

Sydney shrugged. ”Day and a half, maybe a little more.”

Even in a case where they didn't have the a.s.sailant, CSU could test only a small sample of the evidence brought in-five percent was aggressive. It was just too much. Things were scanned with black lights for traces of blood, and then particular spots were tested. But the funds and time to test everything weren't available. ”I'm glad to put it behind us.”

Sydney handed the papers to Hailey, frowned.

”What's up?” Hailey asked.

”Seemed too simple, you know?”

Hailey paused, thinking maybe it was. But she knew better than to dismiss another cop's gut. ”Can you think of something we should look at again?”

Sydney hesitated, shook her head. ”Not a thing.”

”I know what you mean. With the pressure from the chief, it would have felt better to find something more.”

Sydney looked up. ”But that's how it goes, you know? That's annoying, but it's not what's bothering me.”

”What's bothering you?”

Sydney was quiet a moment. ”I guess the fact that they had kids. Why the h.e.l.l would you leave your kids without a parent?”

Hailey couldn't answer that one. The simple truth was emotion often got the best of people.

Sydney shook her head.

Hailey couldn't find anything to say, at least nothing rea.s.suring. ”If anything else comes up, call me. I'll be writing it up for a few days.”

Hailey left the building with none of the sense of triumph she often had when they'd closed a case. She only hoped she'd get it by closing Natasha's case.

Back at the Hall, Hailey rode to the top floor and wound around the busy corridors until she reached the stairwell. Then she walked down step-by-step, her black flats echoing on the cold concrete. In a decade of coming in and out of this building, the stairwells had always been the quietest spot. People were just lazy, herself included. Somehow, though, she'd thought the walk might clear her head. Unfortunately, it didn't work.

She arrived at the fifth floor and peered down the stairs that led back to her own floor. But she knew she had to do it now, get it over with. Bruce Daniels-the name brought on a wave filled with so many warring emotions, it was impossible to sort them all. Today, frustration might have won out.

Walking toward IA wasn't something any cop liked to do and Hailey was no exception. Even walking down the hall, people seemed to give the door a wide birth as if it were surrounded by an invisible fence that shocked anyone who got too close.

With the list IA had put together, Daniels was her best bet to get this investigation moving. She knew there were absences on that list.

She thought about the promise she'd made to G.o.d, the one where she'd never see Daniels again if Mackenzie was all right. Maybe now was the time to end things anyway. She hesitated at the department door.

Unlike most cops, she didn't have anything specific against IA. She thought a good portion of the bad rap they took wasn't fair. They did a job and Hailey had seen enough bad cop behavior-like Scott Scanlan's-to know that there had to be a system in place to police the police.

She also knew there were some cops who lived to persecute others. Some cops pegged the people in IA as the kids who had been bullied and picked on in school. As children, they'd had thick gla.s.ses or red hair, were chubby boys or girls. They didn't blend the way Hailey had, just barely staying on the fringe of normalcy. And so they'd decided to bully the ultimate bullies. Those were the ones they thought went to IA. She knew that was sometimes true, too.

She set her shoulders back, entered the office. She told the secretary that she needed a few minutes with Bruce Daniels if he was available.

The secretary told her to go on in.

When she reached Buck's half-open door, she knocked gently.

He looked up, his eyes barely widening in surprise. She saw a smile hover just beneath the firm lips. ”Inspector Wyatt.”

She didn't enter. ”Hi. I've got a couple of questions on the list you made, if you have a few minutes.”

They both spoke in work tones, full volume as though announcing to the department that they had nothing to hide.

He nodded to the seat across from him and she considered whether or not she wanted to sit, then decided she did.

Buck stood then and closed the door before making his way back to his own chair. She didn't watch him move. It would make staying away more difficult.

She studied pictures and diplomas she'd seen a half-dozen times. When he was settled back behind his desk, he rested his hands on top of some papers and gave her a little nod like a high school princ.i.p.al. ”How are you feeling?”