Death Walker by Aimée & David Thurlo Page A

information that came from the Albuquerque crime lab, via the FBI.”
    “They faxed something?” Ella glanced around her desk.
    “No, I called theagent in Farmington, knowing he’d put a rush on things for us. The crime lab began tests with the saliva on the gum almost immediately upon receipt. I took a chance, figuring they might have answers they could give us verbally before anyone got around to writing the report.”
    “Good thinking!”
    “Their tests are very hopeful, according to Agent Blalock. The blood type doesn’t give us much becauseit’s type O, the most common. We can rule out the victim, however; his blood type was AB. But the saliva in the gum is from what they call a secretor. That’s an individual whose body fluids, like his blood, can be grouped. According to experts, sixty to eighty percent of the population are secretors. So we have a good chance of establishing that the gum was chewed by a particular individual. Allwe need is a suspect to get a comparison sample from. Until then, however, it’s just one more report.”
    “Let me check some data banks and see if I can find a similar M.O. on murder victims in the Four Corners area,” Ella said, switching on her computer. “If it works, we may get a lead.”
    “You don’t sound hopeful.”
    Ella shrugged. “I don’t think we’re going to find any easy answers on this case.This killer is too organized.” Ella cleared her throat. “The best I can hope for is to find a loose trail, or another slip-up, like the gum, that could lead to Dodge’s murderer. Many killers have long histories of brushes with the law. Prior convictions, especially ones like aggravated assault, could point us in the right direction.”
    “I’ll help you look through the files and data banks.”
    Justine’senthusiasm again reminded Ella of herself at that age. She’d been eager to change the world back at the start of her career. Nowadays she was satisfied with making a good collar that would stand up in court. “Okay, let’s both get busy.”
    With Justine working her own leads from the computer in her lab, Ella accessed state computers. She mentally reviewed what she knew as she searched for any leads.The killer lived in the area, she was sure of it. He had stalked Kee Dodge, then struck at a time well in advance of the start of the class, knowing the road to that class site was not well traveled. He’d known there was no need to rush, as evidenced by the time he spent creating the charcoal dry painting. He’d imbedded the bone in the victim’s eye, and had taken care to remove any evidence thatmight incriminate him, like the weapon he’d used to initially strike down the victim. Everything had been considered, except the gum.
    Perhaps it was time to take a closer look at Dodge’s students. In this type of killing, where everything had been meticulously planned, the murderer often enjoyed playing with the police by getting involved and acting helpful. That egotism pointed to the weaknessthat would eventually bring him down.
    She called Justine into her office.
    “It’s time to track down Steven Nez,” Ella said. “See if there’s a listing in the phone book.”
    “No need. I know where he and Sally live. It’s in Shiprock, just west of the high school.”
    “He’s not living there any longer, but maybe Sally can tell us where to find him.” Ella hadn’t forgotten what Elsie Billey had toldher.
    Following Justine’s directions, Ella drove past several alfalfa fields, then saw a single trailer parked just east of some low hills. Two small children were playing tag outside, while a jeans-clad woman in her mid-thirties hung up laundry. “That’s Sally,” Justine confirmed.
    The woman turned and glowered as Ella opened the car door and stepped out of the vehicle calling out that she neededto speak to Steven Nez.
    “He’s not here. You’re wasting your time,” Sally snapped.
    “I’d like to ask you a few questions,” Ella said clearly, not