“What can I say? We love our jobs and like to stay current. Guess you might say we’re nosey.” Sierra grinned. “We’ll process the usual areas and the items dumped from cabinets to see if we can recover prints. Other than that, is there anything else you want us to focus on?”
“Nothing in particular,” Ryleigh said. “Just everything you might think will help identify our intruder.”
“Right, all the things, just like a true law enforcement officer would request.” Sierra laughed. “Let me get a look at the second story.”
She picked her way through the rubble and headed for the stairs. Ryleigh followed, careful not to disturb anything on the floor.
Sierra stopped on the third step to squat down. “Some sort of vegetation here. We’ll bag it and give it to Winter Fox to review. She’s our new forensic palynologist.”
Ryleigh stared at the object not bigger than a pea. “Okay, that’s a new one for me. What does she do exactly?”
“Forensic palynologists analyze pollen, grains, spores, etcetera from crime scenes. They can use this data to determine what’s out of place or unusual in the scene.” Sierra started back up the stairs. “An example might be finding pollen at a scene that isn’t normally found in this area of the country. That would tell us that whoever was present brought it in from another place, giving you something to go on.”
“Most interesting.” Ryleigh toured the upstairs with Sierra until her phone rang. She didn’t want an interruption right now, but the call was from Russ. “It’s the sheriff. I have to take this.”
She stopped at the door to the main bedroom and answered.
“One of my deputies found Gates’s truck,” Russ said without a hello.
Her heart started beating harder. “Where?”
“On an abandoned logging road about a mile from the mill. I hear Sierra Rice is with you. I need to know what she wants us to do with it.”
“Hold on.” Ryleigh put the call on speaker and asked.
Sierra frowned. “Don’t touch it until after I can give it a quick assessment.”
“Did you hear that, Russ?” Ryleigh asked.
“Roger that. How soon do you think you can get over there?”
“I’m about done here.” Sierra looked at Ryleigh. “Give me the address, and I’ll head out from here.”
Russ rattled off directions. “I want you to accompany her, Steele.”
Ryleigh didn’t have to be told twice. “Of course.”
“Call me the minute you’re done, and we’ll go interview Eckles and his wife.”
The call went dead.
“The team I brought is too small to handle multiple scenes.” Sierra got out her phone. “I need reinforcements.”
She made the call and ordered three additional techs to make the drive down to the site, then hung up and looked at Ryleigh. “They’ll leave as soon as they can.”
“Just like that?” Ryleigh blinked at Sierra. “They’ll drop everything and race down here.”
“We get callouts all the time. It’s part of the job that we all accept when we take it on.” Sierra started down the stairs. “Not too much different than your life was as an agent, I assume.”
She had a point. So many people in law enforcement gave up much of their private lives to do their jobs. Not only the sworn officers but all the people behind the scenes. Analysts. Crime scene staff. Forensic technicians. And on and on. She’d seen the cost in her family with her dad, grandad, and uncle missing family events. Then her generation dealt with the same thing. But the loving support of others brought them through.
She prayed that the Veritas staff had such understanding and loving support.
They reached the patio door, and Chad looked up from where he was swirling black powder on the glass.
“Pay attention to the third step for particulates to mark for Winter’s review,” Sierra said. “Other than the Roomba, we have a straightforward B&E evidence collection.”
“Will do.” He stowed his brush and got out a long strip of wide tape.
