“Oh, one more thing,” Hansen added. “We recovered skin cells from beneath two of her fingernails. Looks like she managed to scratch him.”
Sean’s attention snapped back to the coroner. “Seriously?”
“Yes. I sent the samples upstairs to the lab just before you arrived.”
After thanking Hansen for waiting on them, Matt and Sean took the elevator two floors up to the criminal investigation lab, where technicians examined the physical evidence collected from the scene and victim.
A man in a white lab coat stood just inside the door reviewing a file when they walked in. His face brightened at the sight of the sheriff.
“Oh, good. I was about to call you.”
After Matt introduced Sean to Hank Cunningham, the head of the lab, he got right to the point. “You got something for us?”
“Yeah.” Cunningham handed over a printed report. “We managed to pull a print off the penny this time. Ran it through AFIS and got a hit.”
Matt blinked in surprise. “You’re kidding. Please tell me that it’s not tied to some old unsolved case with no name attached.”
“Nope. We actually caught a break.”
Sean stepped closer and read over the sheriff’s shoulder.
“Stuart Crowell. Twenty-five years old. Petty larceny and burglary.” His gaze moved farther down the report. “Did two years in Virginia state prison. No parole violations and hasn’t missed a meeting with his probation officer since being released six months ago.”
“Doesn’t exactly scream serial killer,” Matt muttered.
“I agree, but we still have to check him out.”
Experience told him the lead probably wouldn’t amount to much. Cases like this were never solved that easily. Still, they had no choice but to follow it.
Sean shifted his attention to the evidence spread across the nearby workstations. “Anything else? Did you recover her clothes?”
“No.”
Matt lowered the report. “Same as the first two victims. We never found their clothing either.” His expression darkened. “He’s either dumping them somewhere else or keeping them as trophies. And we still haven’t located the actual kill sites. None of the victims died where the bodies were left.”
“Did you get anything from the victim’s fingerprints?” Sean asked.
Cunningham shook his head. “Nothing in AFIS or any other government database. She’s never been fingerprinted.”
Matt blew out a frustrated breath. “And she doesn’t fit any missing person reports yet, so she’s still Jane Doe. Wonderful.”
“We’re still processing trace evidence from the body and scene, including the fingernail scrapings, but nothing else stands out so far. Other than the penny and the carving, anyway. I’ll call if we find something.”
“How long until we get the DNA results from the scrapings?” Sean asked.
“I already sent a sample to the state lab and requested priority processing, but it’ll still take weeks.” The lab tech lifted a hand when Matt’s expression darkened. “And yes, before you ask, that’s the fastest they can do it.”
The sheriff didn’t look pleased, but he let it go.
“Did you keep backup samples?” Sean asked.
“Always.” The other man nodded. “Just in case something gets lost.”
“If you send a sample to the FBI lab, we may be able to move it faster.” He pulled out a business card and wrote his cell number on the back before giving it to him. “I’ll have my SAC make some calls and put a rush on it.”
“That’d help. I’ll get the paperwork together and overnight everything before I leave tonight.”
“What’s the direct number here?” he asked. “Once I get a contact name at the FBI lab, I’ll call you so the samples go straight to the right person instead of disappearing into a backlog.”
