Page 63 of Justice for Samara

“Yes. Please. We need a DNA sample from both of you so the medical examiner can compare it to the DNA they extracted from the bone marrow. We’d like to be able to positively identify the person. Would you be willing to give us a sample?”

Norma nodded. “Absolutely. Even if it’s not Glenna, someone’s family needs closure, and that’s our duty as Christians.”

“Yes, ma’am. I’ve got a couple of kits in my cruiser. I can go get them and we can do it right now.”

“Is there a needle?” Norma asked.

“No. It’s a swab on the inside of your cheek. It’ll only take a second. We do them all the time. I’ll be right back.” As quickly as he could, he headed to the SUV, pulled out his go bag, got two of the test kits, and turned to go back. Just as he did, a text came in on his phone, so he checked.

Real interesting stuff.

He shot a quick one back to her.

Yeah. I’m at Glenna’s parents’ house. Real, real interesting stuff.

She sent one back immediately.

I’m finished with first interview. I won’t do second until I hear from you. Call me plz.

He smiled.

Will do. Love you.

He got a smiley face and a heart back, and that made him smile even wider. But he wiped it off his face before he stepped back inside. Glen and Norma were speaking in soft, quiet tones, his comforting and hers grief-stricken. “Okay, this is all they are. I can do them, or I can tell you how to do them and you can?”

“I’d rather you did them. I’m afraid I wouldn’t do it right,” Norma said, sniffling.

“Sure. It’ll only take a second. Let me put your names on the little packets so we know whose is whose.” He wrote her name on the first one, then broke it open and pulled out a swab. “Okay, open your mouth. I’ll take it from inside your cheek. We’ll do two each in case one of them doesn’t work correctly.” It only took him a few seconds to swab hers, then he turned to Glen. “Okay, here we go.” Once he’d swabbed Glen’s cheeks, he put the swabs in the little vials, broke the sticks off, and slipped them into the appropriate packets. “There we go. I’ll take these to the medical examiner and they’ll have the results in a day or two, hopefully.”

“Is there anything else you can think of that we can do?”

“No, sir, except to let me know if Stadler contacts you and what he says. I’d be most interested to know. But for your own safety, I wouldn’t contact him. Leave him alone. There’s a lot going on that you don’t know about, and you could be in danger if he thinks you know something that would incriminate him.”

“Okay. We won’t. And if he calls, we’ll give you a call immediately,” Glen said.

Michael nodded. “Day or night. Doesn’t matter. I’m always glad to talk to you.”

Norma’s eyes were glittering with tears. “Michael, thank you so much for coming to talk to us. I really appreciate it. But I think I need to go lie down. I’m not feeling very well.”

“Of course, of course. And I’m sorry that we had to see each other again under these kinds of circumstances, but seriously, I love you guys and if I can do anything to help you in any way, please let me know. I’ll let myself out. Glen, good to see you again.”

“You too, son. Take care of yourself and tell Marjorie we said hello, please.”

“Will do. Thanks again.” It was hard to leave, seeing them in that much pain and wanting so badly to do something to help, but there was nothing left for him to do.

When he got out on the highway, he pressed his phone into the dash-mounted holder and used his hands-free system to call Samara. She answered with a bright, “Hey, babe!”

“Hey.”

“What’s wrong? You sound, I dunno, upset or something.”

“We got the medical examiner’s report back. I’m about ninety-nine point nine percent sure it’s Glenna. Gunshot wound. And she was pregnant.”

“Damn. You got it just now?”

“No. I just left her parents’ house. Babe, it was horrible. Her mother’s cancer is back and she looks terrible. And her dad… He was so sad. They hadn’t had much contact with her because they despise Stadler.”

“Well, that’s certainly one thing everyone who knows him seems to have in common.”

---