Page 80 of In Cold Blood
“Hendrix. As you said. My brother was murdered. What would you have done?”
“Alerted the authorities immediately. I think as law enforcementofficers we know that people do a lot of shady things to get what they want.” He smiled. “If we need anything more, Mr. Sutherland, we’ll be in touch.”
Noah closed the door. He looked out the window as the SUV reversed, spun around, and drove out. He didn’t hold it against him. He may have said the same thing in his position. But he wasn’t in his shoes. His brother wasn’t dead under suspicious circumstances.
Noah chewed over what he’d been told. He tried to contact Thorne but she didn’t pick up. Parish being jumped was exactly that, an attempt to stall the investigation. What had he found? And why did he want to show it to Noah? Of all the people that he should have discussed it with, why him? And who else knew what he’d found?
It wasmidafternoon by the time the rental company dropped off a replacement vehicle. It was a black Ford Bronco. Sturdy. Roomy. Modern. Wasn’t great on gas but certainly capable of handling the rough terrain of the Adirondacks. Had he lived in the area, it would have made a good vehicle.
Noah placed a call to his father to make sure he was okay but as usual, it went to voicemail. After taking a shower, he picked up the phone, his mind chewing over something he hadn’t seen in the police report so far.
“Savannah. The love of my life.”
“Not even in a parallel universe,” she replied.
He laughed.
“How’s it going out there?” she asked.
He muttered under his breath.
“That good?”
“Hey look, um, that genetic genealogist you worked with.The one who helped with the Alman case. Didn’t you say they had a friend who assisted with the Golden State Killer investigation?”
“Yeah, that’s right.”
“Correct me if I’m wrong but didn’t they get his DNA from his car?”
“Off the door handle. Yeah. The DNA from the vehicle helped tie some of the cases together. Then a day before they arrested him, they collected some pieces from his trash. A tissue for more DNA.”
“But the DNA from the car was enough to tie things together?”
“I guess. They used one of those public genealogy websites to compile a family tree for those in the age range and those who lived in the region when the crime happened. Why?”
“How long does that process take?”
“Depends who’s doing it. It used to take a long time but now in the right hands, it can be done within hours, a day at the most in some cases. I mean, there are times when it takes longer, but yeah, it can be done fast.”
“And we still have the genetic genealogist’s contact?”
Savannah went quiet.
“Savannah?”
“I thought you weren’t getting involved, Noah.”
“I’m not. I… well, things have changed. I wanted to follow up with something that could help. Something I think they may have overlooked.”
“Okay, and how do you think Parish will take that?”
“Parish is in the hospital right now.”
“What?”
“Someone jumped him last night.”
“Is he going to survive?”
