Page 133 of Another Girl Lost

“Tell me what I don’t know.”

“I also found dark-brown hair strands on Sandra’s body. These fibers were clutched in her right hand.”

Tanner’s hair had been military short and black and Scarlett’s ice blond. “Okay.”

“The fibers are old, but the tech at the lab has many tricks up her sleeve, but it’s going to take more time, assuming there’s a DNA match in the system.”

Would DNA from the hair prove Della’s existence? “Hair clutched in her hand ... as if Sandra were fighting,” he said more to himself.

“Or reaching for help,” Dr. Malone said. “It’s not uncommon for victims to grab anything, hoping to save themselves.”

Dawson’s mind wandered to Scarlett’s painting of Della. Dark curly hair. Had Sandra been reaching to Della for help or fighting for her life?

Lynn Yeats had also had long dark hair a decade ago, but hers was straight. The DNA profiles would tell him who’d been near Sandra at her death or handled her body. And if Della was Margo ... shit.

“Anything else?” he asked.

“June bugs.”

“What?”

“I found a June bug under Miss Taylor’s blouse. They tend to hatch in Southern Virginia and North Carolina in May and June. Not a hard date, but something.”

Sandra had last been seen in April. Dr. Malone’s discovery of a June bug indicated that Sandra could have been alive in May or June. If that held true, she would have been in Tanner’s house the same time as Scarlett. And there was also the bracelet engraved with anSCfound with Sandra’s body.

Dawson rolled his neck from side to side. “What about Tiffany Patterson? Was her phone ever found on her body?”

“Not that I know of.”

“What about any DNA?”

“Light-colored hair strands. Also off for testing for a match.”

Basically dead ends. “Thanks, Doc. Keep me posted.”

Chapter Forty-One

SCARLETT

Friday, July 19, 2024

11:45 p.m.

The walls of the box were tight. The air inside stale. My muscles ached, cramped. Clumps of dirt hit the outside of the box.Thump. Thump. Thump.Tanner was doing what he’d always threatened to do. He was killing me slowly.

I woke suddenly, my heart racing. My hands trembled as I ran them through my hair and stared into the darkness of the strange room. A hand came to my back and lightly rubbed my naked skin. I flinched.

“Are you all right?”

It took a moment to recognize Luke’s voice and for the pieces to fall into place. “Yes.”

He sat up, and in the shadows, I could feel his frown. “Nightmare?”

“Yeah.” I struggled to steady my hands. “It happens sometimes.”

“Do you want to talk about it?” he asked.

“I’m not sure words change much. It’s a past I can’t always shake.”

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