Blood Secrets - By Jeannie Holmes Page 0,11
scowl. “Have Freddy and Reyes finished processing the interior? Taken photos?”
“All done. It’s all ours until it’s moved to the impound lot.”
He nodded. “Who found the car?”
“According to Reyes, a security guard making his usual rounds. He noticed the driver’s-side door was left open, and investigated. Found a backpack and purse on the backseat. Identification in the purse and a check on the car’s registration all point to Mindy Johnson.”
“No sign of the driver?”
“None.”
“Have her parents been notified?”
“I called Tasha. She’s going to talk to them.” Alex picked up a clear plastic evidence bag from a bin next to her feet. “The security guard also found a BlackBerry shattered on the ground beside the car.”
Varik took the bag from her and flipped it over. The contents shifted and clanked against one another. “Do we know if it belongs to Mindy?”
“No. Freddy says he may be able to pull something usable from the SIM card, but he doesn’t hold out much hope.”
He handed the bag to her, and she replaced it in the bin. “Anything else?”
She nodded and knelt beside the open driver’s-side door. “Freddy and Reyes found a few fingerprints on the steering wheel and door handle. They also found blood spatter on the passenger seat.”
Varik poked his head into the open door, brushing against Alex as he leaned forward.
She shifted her weight to create space between them. “Reyes ran a field test and determined the blood isn’t vampire. He’ll have to wait until he gets back to the lab to run more tests, but he’s pretty certain it’s human.”
Forensics had progressed greatly over the last few years while Varik enjoyed his retirement. Before he’d left the Bureau, the only way to determine if blood at a scene was vampire or human required lengthy lab processes. Now field tests to determine the origin were relatively simple. All analysts needed were cotton swabs and a few drops of a special chemical that reacted with the high iron content of vampire blood. If a reaction occurred, the sample was deemed vampire. No reaction meant it was most likely human blood.
Alex continued to tell him of Freddy’s and Reyes’s discoveries, but her natural scent of jasmine and vanilla called to Varik and his focus shifted from her words to her body.
The car’s dome light set her auburn hair aflame and made her pale skin glow. Her eyes had returned to their normal color and reminded him of emeralds rimmed in gold. Her soft curves belied the strength she possessed and rose-colored lips hid the delicate ivory points of her fangs.
His hand slipped to his chest and fingered the two-carat pink diamond ring he wore on a chain beneath his clothing. The ring had been hers. He’d slipped it on her finger while she slept six years ago—his way of proposing. She’d accepted but a few months later everything ended when he lost control of his blood-hunger and attacked her.
Now she’d consented to having him back in her life, and he wasn’t going to squander his chance to make things right.
“Hey,” Alex said, snapping her fingers in front of his face. “Earth to Varik.”
He thrust aside the memories he’d been indulging. “What?”
She smirked. “You were a thousand miles away. What were you thinking about?”
“You,” he answered truthfully. “Us.”
She sighed and stood, forcing him to take a few steps back. “Varik, now isn’t—”
“I know,” he snapped. “Now isn’t the time. You’re here to work so let’s work. What were you saying?”
She stared at him. Hurt swam in her eyes but was quickly captured and locked away. “I was asking you if we knew Mindy’s height.”
“Five feet, three inches.”
“Something’s not right.” She motioned to the driver’s seat. “Notice anything unusual?”
He looked to where she pointed and shook his head. “No.”
“The seat is too far back. Look at the distance between the steering wheel, the foot pedals, and the seat. I’m five feet seven, and the distance is too far even for me. It’s set for someone closer to your height.”
“So whoever drove it last must be at least six feet.”
“Exactly, and they forgot to adjust the seat or simply didn’t bother.” She looked toward the dormitory. “The driver also parked in plain view of the dorm’s front door. Whoever he is, he’s got a set of brass balls.”
“Does the building have security cameras?”
Alex nodded. “Reyes already collected the tapes and talked to the security guard working the front desk, who claims he didn’t see anything suspicious.” She thrust her chin toward the back of the car.