Page 32 of Tough as Steele

Nate looked into the back, catching a strong whiff of body odor. Mimi’s car would never smell like that. Had to be from her kidnappers. “The vehicle is spotless. Not surprising from Mimi. She’s a neat freak, but man, it reeks.”

“So our kidnappers don’t have good hygiene, but I don’t see anything else odd,” Londyn said. “At least there’s no sign of blood.”

“Don’t be too quick to speak.” Sierra leaned into the passenger side and shone an ultraviolet light over the door handle and then the door panel. “No latent prints. Not a one. They either wore gloves or wiped the car down. Scoot out, Londyn, so I can check the wheel.”

Londyn backed out, and Sierra moved in. Her light danced across the smooth surfaces. “Makes sense that the kidnappers wore gloves, but I’d at least expect to find Mimi’s prints.” Sierra moved to the back and followed the same pattern. “Nothing. Not a single print.”

“So we’re out of luck then,” Nate said.

“Not necessarily.” Sierra backed out and grabbed a spray bottle filled with clear liquid from her kit. She dropped tablets inside and swirled the bottle to mix it.

“Turn off the overhead light,” she commanded.

Nate tapped the button. The car darkened, and not even the weak light from a nearby street light brightened the interior.

Londyn pointed at the bottle. “Is that luminol?”

“No. It’s BLUESTAR, a blood reagent that works similarly to luminol.”

“Why not just luminol?” Nate asked. “That’s what I see most of our criminalists use.”

“It can alter DNA, but BLUESTAR claims it won’t. Plus, with the streetlight in the distance, I can’t eliminate all ambient light, and BLUESTAR doesn’t need one hundred percent darkness to display the stain.”

“So, you think there’s blood,” Londyn stated.

“Not necessarily, but if someone bled in the car and they cleaned it up, prints made with trace amounts of blood could still remain.”

“Wouldn’t we see them?” Nate asked.

Sierra shook her head. “They’re likely invisible to the naked eye, but once we find them, I can lift them. Let’s first see if we get a positive sign for blood.”

She sprayed the BLUESTAR mixture, the air filling with a chemical smell as a flashing hot release of white light appeared and disappeared rapidly, leaving only a blue glow.

“I knew it.” Sierra’s head shot up, fire burning in her eyes. “Blood on the passenger door. I hate to say it, but we could now be looking at a murder investigation.”

9

Nate didn’t like the discovery. Not at all. Not when it could be Mimi’s blood that Sierra was photographing. All the horrible emotions from when he’d heard about his parents’ deaths came rushing back. Each time, his gut had cramped and made him hurl. Sweat beaded on his forehead, and he felt lightheaded.

No. Stop it. You can’t fall apart. Not here. Not in front of these professionals. Not when Mimi needs you.

He swallowed hard and called up part of the SEAL Code and his iron will.

I serve with honor on and off the battlefield. The ability to control my emotions and my actions, regardless of circumstance, sets me apart from other men.

He might not be serving as a SEAL, but he was serving the public as an officer of the law, and no matter his pain, he would suck it up and do his job.

He watched Sierra move as fast as the flashes of light.

She lifted her camera and snapped pictures. “The glow disappears in thirty seconds or so with reagents, so you have to be quick to capture the image.”

Nate swallowed again. “If Mimi really was murdered in the car, would they be able to clean up the blood this well?”

Sierra looked up. “Depends on the injury. If a large quantity of blood, I would’ve found it elsewhere too. This could simply be from a manageable cut.”

“So she’s probably still alive.” Nate could be grasping at straws, but he needed this tight cramp in his gut to ease.

Sierra met his gaze. “A gaping wound could’ve occurred outside of the car. Not on the nearby ground, as we would see it, but it could’ve happened in the escape vehicle. Then one of the men accidentally introduced it into the car.”

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