"We're posting an officer outside your room," Kari assured him."And we'll be reviewing security footage from that convenience store.If that SUV was there when you were, we might get a plate number, a clear view of the vehicle, maybe even the driver."
She rose."Get some rest.If you remember anything else about that SUV—any detail at all—call us immediately."
"I will."Jake looked between them, his expression still shaken."And thank you.For finding me.For..."He trailed off, unable to finish.
"We're going to catch whoever did this," Polacca said.It was a promise none of them could be certain of, but it needed to be said.
They were almost at the door when Kari's phone rang.She glanced at the screen—Chief Lomayesva.
"Blackhorse," she answered.
"Detective, where are you?"The Chief's voice was tight with controlled excitement.
"At the hospital, just finishing with Jake Honanie.Why?"
"Get back to the station.Now.Forensics just called with results from the knife recovered at Emma Talayesva's house."He paused, and Kari could hear the significance in the silence."They found DNA.A full profile.And it's in the system."
CHAPTER SEVENTEEN
The drive back to the station felt interminable, though it couldn't have been more than ten minutes.Kari gripped the steering wheel, her mind racing through possibilities.DNA in the system meant someone with a record—military service, prior arrest, maybe a voluntary submission for exclusion purposes.Someone whose genetic profile had been catalogued and stored.
Someone they could identify, locate, and arrest.
Polacca followed in her own vehicle, both of them going well above the speed limit on the empty morning roads.The sky was fully light now, the sun climbing above the eastern mesas, turning the landscape into sharp contrasts of light and shadow.
At the station, Chief Lomayesva was waiting in his office, a file folder open on his desk.His expression was controlled, but Kari could see the tension in his shoulders, the tight set of his jaw.This was significant.
"Sit," he said as they entered.
Kari and Polacca took the chairs across from his desk.The chief didn't make them wait.
"The knife recovered from Emma Talayesva's residence was processed by our forensics team in conjunction with the state crime lab.They found epithelial cells on the handle—skin cells, left when someone gripped it tightly.The DNA profile was run through CODIS."He turned the file folder so they could see it."We got a hit.Martin Kooyahoema."
Kari leaned forward to study the file.Martin Kooyahoema, age thirty-seven.His booking photo showed a lean man with sharp features and wary eyes.His record showed two arrests: one for assault six years ago (charges eventually dropped after the alleged victim recanted), and one for burglary four years ago (pleaded guilty to a reduced charge, served eighteen months).
"What do we know about him?"Kari asked, studying the photo.The face looked hard, closed off.The kind of face that belonged to someone who'd learned not to trust authority.
"Not much beyond the record," Chief Lomayesva said."After his release, he seems to have kept his head down.No employment on file with any of the major tribal enterprises.Could be doing odd jobs, cash work, something off the books."
"Address?"Polacca asked.
"Last known address was a trailer park on the east side, but according to the manager I spoke with this morning, Kooyahoema moved out three months ago.No forwarding address."
Kari felt a flicker of frustration."So we don't know where he is."
"Not yet.But we're working on it."The chief pulled out another sheet."I've got officers checking with known associates from his time in custody, looking at family members, seeing if anyone knows where he's been staying."
"What about connections to the victims?"Kari asked."Anything that links him to Patricia Lomahongva, Robert Nuvangyaoma, or Emma Talayesva?"
"Nothing obvious.Different social circles, different parts of the reservation.But that's what you'll need to find out once we locate him."The chief closed the file."In the meantime, start building a profile.Talk to people who knew him, find out what he's been up to since his release, see if there's a pattern of behavior that fits our killer."
"Where do we start?"Polacca asked.
"His parole officer is the first call.Woman named Janet Sekayumptewa—she supervised his release and kept tabs on him until his parole ended last year.If anyone knows Martin's state of mind, his habits, his associates, it'll be her."
* * *
Janet Sekayumptewa worked out of an office in the Department of Social Services.She was a stocky woman in her fifties with tired eyes and the weary expression of someone who'd seen too many people fail to turn their lives around.
