Stride shook his head. “It’s not that simple. There’s a reason why a court wouldn’t compel a DNA sample. We don’t have any probable cause. Even if we run the test and find out that Stanhope was sending Laura those notes, that doesn’t change anything. It’s not like Pat Burns is going to put him in front of a jury. It’s not going to happen.”

“Are you saying you won’t run the sample?”

“Do you think I just snap my fingers and get these things done? There’s a backlog. There are other priorities. It’s one thing to compare DNA in a stalker note against a database to try to break a cold case open. It’s another to test one specific individual just because you’ve got it in your head that he’s guilty.”

“Don’t make it worthless, Jon. Tell me I didn’t do this for nothing.”

“I’ll talk to Pat Burns. That’s all I can do.”

“I can’t believe you’d ignore this,” Tish insisted. “I can’t believe you’d walk away from the one chance we have to find out what really happened. You heard Finn’s story. Peter assaulted Laura that night. He was in the field with the bat after Dada rescued her.”

“Finn has no credibility. If there’s one person whose DNA I’d like to run, it’s Finn.”

“What are you talking about? You think Finn killed Laura?”

“I think it’s a damn strong possibility. Finn is deranged, Tish. It’s not a big leap to think he was capable of murder.”

“You’re giving Peter Stanhope a free pass. Is it because of his money? Did you learn your lessons from Ray Wallace?” She stopped. Her eyes widened as she realized what she had said. “God, I’m so sorry. Please forgive me.”

“No one gets a free pass from me,” Stride said.

“I know. I’m sorry.”

“You’re the one who can’t see past Peter Stanhope,” Stride said. “There are plenty of other people who are hiding things about Laura. Including you.”

“Me?”

“Rikke said you were jealous of Laura’s relationship with Peter.”

“Don’t be ridiculous.”

“It looks to me like you’re obsessed with him,” Stride said.

“This isn’t about Peter. No one else was standing up for Laura, so I decided it was up to me.”

“Why?”

“She was my best friend.”

“So why were the two of you fighting that spring?”

“We weren’t. We were past it.”

“What was the fight about?”

“I told you that I don’t remember. It was thirty years ago.”

“You’re lying, Tish. Don’t lie to a cop and think I won’t know. Were you fighting about Peter Stanhope? Is that why you’re so focused on Peter? It makes me wonder whether you had a motive to kill Laura.”

“That’s crazy. You don’t honestly think I would go through all this trouble if I had anything to do with her murder, do you?”

“Where were you that night?” Stride asked.

“I already told you. I was living in St. Paul.”

“No, what specifically were you doing that night? Where were you? Who were you with?”