a precipitin test to be sure.”
Alex glanced at the cotton swab. “Aren’t you worried about using up the sample?”
“It’s okay. We’ve got methods now to replicate DNA so that we can get a usable sample from a very small amount. I can get one off a single hair follicle, if I need to.”
“I’m pretty sure it’s human blood, given the circumstances,” Alex said. “The question is, whose?”
“You want a DNA profile,” Mia stated.
“I guess.” Alex glanced at Troy. He hadn’t told her that when he set up the appointment?
“And I assume you also want us to run it through the database for you.”
“Depends.” Troy claimed the stool beside Alex, and she felt reassured by his closeness. “Alex believes the blood belongs to a murder victim.”
Mia’s brows arched. “A victim? Would they be in the missing-persons index?”
“What’s that?” Alex asked.
“The national DNA database has three main parts,” Troy said. “One is for profiles lifted from crime scenes—that’s the forensic index. Then there’re profiles from offenders. The third part is missing persons. Profiles from un-IDed remains.”
“It also includes donated profiles,” Mia added, “from families who are looking for someone, hoping they’ll turn up someday.”
“I see.” Alex felt the weight of her ignorance. “Sorry, but this isn’t really my area. Tracing people in cyberspace, I know all about. Tracing people through genetic codes, I’m way out of my league.” Alex looked at Troy. “I doubt Melanie’s in the database, though. I mean, I’m the only one who even believes she’s missing. And she doesn’t have a criminal record.”
Mia tipped her head to the side, clearly confused. “I’m sorry. I’m not sure I understand your objective here. Your department thinks someone was murdered? And they sent you here to—”
“I’m not a police officer,” Alex cut in. “I’m a private investigator. One of my clients disappeared, and I think there was foul play involved.”
Mia gave Troy a look, but Alex couldn’t decipher it. Had he misled her about why they were here today? Or maybe she was annoyed to be wasting her time with a civilian.
“Alex is trying to convince police that her client is dead,” Troy said. “She wants a murder investigation. But the only evidence she has is this”—Troy nodded at the earbud—“and a burned-down house, where her client was staying. Alex thinks the killer set fire to the place to conceal the crime.”
Mia leaned back against the counter and folded her arms. “So there isn’t even a case yet, really. Just your belief that something bad happened to this woman.”
“That about sums it up,” Alex said.
Mia watched her for a moment, drumming her fingertips against her sleeve. “All right.” She shrugged. “Works for me.”
Alex stared at her. She was going to help. Alex hadn’t really believed it until just this moment, and she didn’t know what to say.
“What?” Mia glanced at Troy. “That’s why you came here, right? To make your case?”
“I’m just surprised,” Alex said. “Getting the tests run… this detective I know made it sound like such a big deal.”
“I get that a lot,” Mia said. “Old dogs, new tricks, and all that. Most cops still look at DNA as something used to prosecute a case, not investigate. It’s one of the biggest problems we’re up against.” Her voice took on an edge as she talked. “With the technology available now, that’s so shortsighted. We can use DNA to put a weapon in someone’s hand. To put a perp at a crime scene where he claims he’s never been. We can pile up evidence and pressure someone into a confession, save the taxpayers a big trial. But that’s not happening right now because the system is broken. We’ve got this amazing technology, but we’re really only using it to prosecute cases that have already been solved.”
The room fell silent, and Mia’s words hung in the air. Alex realized
Alex glanced at the cotton swab. “Aren’t you worried about using up the sample?”
“It’s okay. We’ve got methods now to replicate DNA so that we can get a usable sample from a very small amount. I can get one off a single hair follicle, if I need to.”
“I’m pretty sure it’s human blood, given the circumstances,” Alex said. “The question is, whose?”
“You want a DNA profile,” Mia stated.
“I guess.” Alex glanced at Troy. He hadn’t told her that when he set up the appointment?
“And I assume you also want us to run it through the database for you.”
“Depends.” Troy claimed the stool beside Alex, and she felt reassured by his closeness. “Alex believes the blood belongs to a murder victim.”
Mia’s brows arched. “A victim? Would they be in the missing-persons index?”
“What’s that?” Alex asked.
“The national DNA database has three main parts,” Troy said. “One is for profiles lifted from crime scenes—that’s the forensic index. Then there’re profiles from offenders. The third part is missing persons. Profiles from un-IDed remains.”
“It also includes donated profiles,” Mia added, “from families who are looking for someone, hoping they’ll turn up someday.”
“I see.” Alex felt the weight of her ignorance. “Sorry, but this isn’t really my area. Tracing people in cyberspace, I know all about. Tracing people through genetic codes, I’m way out of my league.” Alex looked at Troy. “I doubt Melanie’s in the database, though. I mean, I’m the only one who even believes she’s missing. And she doesn’t have a criminal record.”
Mia tipped her head to the side, clearly confused. “I’m sorry. I’m not sure I understand your objective here. Your department thinks someone was murdered? And they sent you here to—”
“I’m not a police officer,” Alex cut in. “I’m a private investigator. One of my clients disappeared, and I think there was foul play involved.”
Mia gave Troy a look, but Alex couldn’t decipher it. Had he misled her about why they were here today? Or maybe she was annoyed to be wasting her time with a civilian.
“Alex is trying to convince police that her client is dead,” Troy said. “She wants a murder investigation. But the only evidence she has is this”—Troy nodded at the earbud—“and a burned-down house, where her client was staying. Alex thinks the killer set fire to the place to conceal the crime.”
Mia leaned back against the counter and folded her arms. “So there isn’t even a case yet, really. Just your belief that something bad happened to this woman.”
“That about sums it up,” Alex said.
Mia watched her for a moment, drumming her fingertips against her sleeve. “All right.” She shrugged. “Works for me.”
Alex stared at her. She was going to help. Alex hadn’t really believed it until just this moment, and she didn’t know what to say.
“What?” Mia glanced at Troy. “That’s why you came here, right? To make your case?”
“I’m just surprised,” Alex said. “Getting the tests run… this detective I know made it sound like such a big deal.”
“I get that a lot,” Mia said. “Old dogs, new tricks, and all that. Most cops still look at DNA as something used to prosecute a case, not investigate. It’s one of the biggest problems we’re up against.” Her voice took on an edge as she talked. “With the technology available now, that’s so shortsighted. We can use DNA to put a weapon in someone’s hand. To put a perp at a crime scene where he claims he’s never been. We can pile up evidence and pressure someone into a confession, save the taxpayers a big trial. But that’s not happening right now because the system is broken. We’ve got this amazing technology, but we’re really only using it to prosecute cases that have already been solved.”
The room fell silent, and Mia’s words hung in the air. Alex realized
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