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I shake my head. “You said she was going to work with you on the third vic scenario. But her recent entry is on the last vic. Her theories and tests on exsanguination.” I run through her notes, looking at the timestamps. “Shit.”
Quinn catches on quickly. “He deleted files.”
“We need a tech to go through the metadata.”
Quinn turns the keyboard toward him. “No time.” He scans the evidence logs, looking for anything checked out by Avery. When that doesn’t produce results, he clicks open the server and proceeds to pull up logs for the past two days.
“How do you know how to do this? You’re the last person I’d assume to be computer savvy.”
A smile twitches at his mouth. “I’m full of surprises, Bonds.” He looks over and winks before returning to his search. “Bingo. It’s not a full record, but it’s enough. Her last entry was on evidence identifier three-oh-one.” He pulls up the chain of custody files and locates the item information. “The rope recovered at the third crime scene on the suspended vic.”
I’m out of the seat and searching the evidence lockers for the rope.
Quinn puts in a call to the evidence room in the station. “Who signed it out? When?” His gaze follows me around the room. “Okay, thanks.”
“Let me guess. It was already signed out by Avery,” I say, shutting the locker.
“Yeah.”
“The rope isn’t here. Neither is the sample I gave her.” I press my hands to my forehead, trying to push away the growing ache. “Avery had him. She found his mistake. She had to—and it cost her.” I steeple my fingers over my mouth, thinking. “Who else would have access to her notes? The whole lab? Someone else has to know what she found.”
“Kyle has every lab tech up in holding taking statements.”
“We need to be ahead of this. We have to consider the possibility that—”
“I know, Sadie.” Quinn shoves a hand through his hair. His phone beeps, and he looks down at the message. “Damn. Kyle says one tech didn’t come in today. It was reported to be her day off, but no one can get ahold of her.”
“She could know what Avery discovered.” A sinking feeling pulls at my stomach. “She could also be the leak, Quinn.”
“Maybe.” Quinn grabs an evidence bag and drops the scalpel inside. “Let’s secure the scene, then we’re heading to that tech. She can’t come in to make a statement, we’ll go to her.”
I nod and quickly mark the hanger, shoving my fears aside. My hands suffer a sudden tremor, and I drop the roll of evidence tape. “Crap.” I watch it roll under Avery’s desk. Crouching down, I reach for the roll and spot something on the underside of the desk.
“Oh, my God. Avery, you’re so sneaky.” I reach up and detach a notebook from the desk.
Quinn walks over. “You got trace?”
I smile up at him. “Better.” Dropping the book into a bag, I say, “We got Avery’s personal notes. Old-school style.”
He lends me a hand, helping me to my feet, then taps his phone. “Kyle, forward me all the statements of the lab techs and have the analysts go through the lab surveillance and the servers. Someone deleted files. I want to know why and how it was missed, and how someone got into the system. See if there’s any altered surveillance and keep me updated.”
“You didn’t tell him about the missing evidence.”
He drops his phone into his trench coat pocket and guides me toward the double doors. “That’s because I don’t want the lab techs to know what we know yet.”
“You don’t trust Kyle?” I ask as I grab my bag before we push through the doors.
“I don’t trust anyone anymore.”
A heaviness weighs on my chest. I’ve lived with that mistrust my whole life—and now it’s returned with a vengeance.
5
Frailty
Colton
“You scored big.”
