Chapter Twenty
“Check this out! The matching is uncanny!” David said, welcoming Detective Sloan into the Crime Lab DNA Unit.
Sloan rushed to the desk where a large flat screen monitor prominently displayed fragments of ink patterns. To his untrained eye, it all looked the same to him, reminding him of his high school chemistry laboratory class.
Seeing the confined and cluttered space that is the Crime Lab, he was grateful he stayed clear of the scientific path when it came to career decisions. He was the kind of man who needed to stretch his wings and be in the open. Among the people and all the messiness of the world, he had found more recognizable patterns of human behavior. For all the beliefs of sophistication and individualism, the one truism that has been a central part of his investigative efforts has been the observation that human beings are creatures of habit. He was sure it wouldn’t be different this time around.
“What am I looking for?” Sloan asked, careful not step on the enthusiasm of the lab rat he depended on to do his job well. Thank goodness for those who don’t long for the unconditioned air of the outside world.
It proved to be the right invitation for an elaborate explanation of the science and nuances of DNA matching. Long story short, there was a clear evidence of someone related to Alyson having impregnated her.
“Not like a close relative. I would say at least many layers removed from parents. I know it sounds strange, but that is as definitive as we can get with this piece of information. What is more prominent is the presence of this person’s DNA all over the place. I would say there is frequent contact with the girl before her passing. I would look there first.”
Sloan went back to his office, disgusted by this new revelation. It can’t be that difficult to pinpoint all the distant relatives of the Crawfords who may have had contact with Alyson. He feared the family might not cooperate to save themselves from embarrassment. If he has to subpoena every single person, he was going to have to do it. This is a sensational double homicide begging for national attention. There is no better leverage than this. The best thing about this new piece of evidence was he won’t have to get distracted by the peripheral issue of young kids behaving badly. He decided he would treat that as a secondary issue and train his focus on the family. Job number one is to visit with Seth Crawford again.
“Hello, can I speak to Mr. Seth Crawford please?” Sloan had expected to hear Seth’s voice on the direct line he was given to contact in case of emergency. He imagined it would be a cell phone. Instead, a pleasant sounding woman answered the call with a courteous greeting.
“Mr. Crawford is not available at the moment. Can I take a message?”
“This is an emergency. Detective Sloan from BPD. Could you please check with him? I need to talk to him as soon as possible.”
“I told you, Mr. Sloan. I will take a message. I’m sure Mr. Crawford will contact you at his earliest convenience.”
Sloan had hit an immovable wall. He was going to have to sit around and wait.
“Please tell him this is regarding a positive ID on DNA evidence.” He figured that will expedite the return call. Who in their right mind wouldn’t want to know about the killer of their daughter? If he is not contacted within a reasonable amount of time, reasonable being within five to ten minutes, he will know there is something fishy going on in the family.
“I will make sure he gets the message, Mr. Sloan. Have a good day now.”
The lady sure seemed to want to get off the line quickly, Sloan thought. Satisfied with the progress he was making on the case, he got back to catching up on paperwork, his least favorite responsibility. Someone has to do it. Besides, he had nothing to do until he gets the all-important call. As he shuffled stacks of papers from his desk, he started strategizing how he will reveal the information to Seth.
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