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Back Cross and Burn Save as PDF
Chapters (74)
  1. About the Author
  2. Also by Val McDermid
  3. COPYRIGHT
  4. CROSS AND BURN
  5. Dedication
  6. Acknowledgements
  7. Epigraph
  8. 1
  9. 2
  10. 3
  11. 4
  12. 5
  13. 6
  14. 7
  15. 8
  16. 9
  17. 10
  18. 11
  19. 12
  20. 13
  21. 14
  22. 15
  23. 16
  24. 17
  25. 18
  26. 19
  27. 20
  28. 21
  29. 22
  30. 23
  31. 24
  32. 25
  33. 26
  34. 27
  35. 28
  36. 29
  37. 30
  38. 31
  39. 32
  40. 33
  41. 34
  42. 35
  43. 36
  44. 37
  45. 38
  46. 39
  47. 40
  48. 41
  49. 42
  50. 43
  51. 44
  52. 45
  53. 46
  54. 47
  55. 48
  56. 49
  57. 50
  58. 51
  59. 52
  60. 53
  61. 54
  62. 55
  63. 56
  64. 57
  65. 58
  66. 59
  67. 60
  68. 61
  69. 62
  70. 63
  71. 64
  72. 65
  73. 66
  74. 67

Dave nodded, his expression miserable. ‘I did.’

‘What’s her DNA doing on the database?’ Paula clutched at what she knew was a broken straw.

‘She was arrested and charged over the stabbing, remember? Even though the charges were dropped pretty much overnight, the DNA stays on the record.’

Paula shook her head, disbelieving. ‘Could it have been transferred by someone else? Planted, even?’

‘It’s very doubtful. The way it’s soaked into the threads and the cloth around the button – it would be hard to replicate that unless you had a liquid sample. And if you were trying to fit him up, wouldn’t you leave the bloodstain somewhere more obvious? We could have missed that, even on a detailed second pass. If you hadn’t been counting buttons, it could easily have gone unnoticed.’

‘There must be a mistake. You’ve got to run the test again.’

‘I will, of course. But I’m confident the answer will be the same. And I’ll also run a mitochondrial DNA test. That’s the DNA that comes direct from the mother to the child. If that’s a match, there’s no room for doubt.’

‘What if she had another child? A sibling he doesn’t know about?’

‘You’re reaching, Paula. That hypothesis breaks down as soon as we test his DNA, unless it’s his secret identical twin. Which starts to sound like The Man in the Iron Mask.’

Paula stared at the screen, willing it to metamorphose into something different. ‘Can we keep this to ourselves?’ She saw the look of horror on Dave’s face. ‘Not completely, obviously. But at least till you’ve double-checked that there hasn’t been a cock-up with the test. Or with the database. And you’ve checked the mitochondrial DNA. And’ – she pointed to the evidence bags she’d delivered – ‘you expedite the evidence from this latest murder and see whether that gives us a more viable suspect.’

He sighed. ‘I’m not happy with this, Paula. This is important evidence in a murder inquiry.’

‘Evidence that we both know makes no sense.’

He rubbed his soul patch between finger and thumb. ‘The science doesn’t lie, Paula. The blood on that jacket – you can’t get away from it. That blood came from Tony Hill.’

35

Marie was on her way back from the bathroom when she heard the raised voices. If she needed any help in working out where they were coming from, she’d only have had to follow the eyes of everyone who worked within earshot of Rob Morrison’s office. Even with their headsets on, they could clearly still pick up the sound of aggravation.