“Hey, Steve. You get anything?” He had been the second person she called after meeting with Lindsay Kelly that morning. He had retired from the WPD years ago, accepting a job as the on-site head of security for LockeHome, the largest home improvement retailer in the United States, headquartered in little old Wichita, Kansas. Whereas most cops in Kansas retired for good, or kept a small side hustle working security at concerts and sporting events, Steve was living the dream of a full-blown double-dipper, pulling in a healthy six-figure salary on top of his pension.

“A little, but it’s not too late to stay out of the rabbit hole,” Steve warned. “I lived there myself a long time, but no one got sucked in worse than your dad. I was pretty worried about you, too, not all that long ago.”

Like Ellie’s father, Steve had been a member of the College Hill Strangler task force. Unlike her father, he had been able to move on after the case seemingly went cold and the task force was disbanded. While her father was slowly sidelined to less important cases, Steve went on to become the department’s most prolific homicide detective. After her father’s suicide, Steve filled the void as well as he could, acting as an honorary uncle.

“I need to know,” she said. “If there’s any chance at all. I fought to have those samples added to the DNA database. I didn’t do all of that for nothing.”

“The sample that got a hit was blood on the edge of a sofa cushion in Janice Beale’s living room. I remember when your dad spotted the stain. I don’t think I would’ve caught it. More like a little smudge—could have been makeup, food, or a dog’s butt print until the labs came back. That’s all I got.”

“And what are they doing about it?”

“Other than getting annoyed with me for calling? And saying they-told-you-so about dumping every last bit of trace DNA evidence into the database? Jack squat. Or if they’re working the case, they’re not going to tell a private security guy like me.”

Steve was sometimes apologetic for his fancy corporate gig, but it had been a natural transition. He’d gotten to know the Lockes personally after the family’s son-in-law was shot to death in his driveway and Steve was assigned to the case. Fortunately, Steve’s reputation within the department was rock solid. If they were following up on the blood match, they would tell him.

“Why am I the only one who thinks this needs an explanation?” she asked.