There were a lot of assumptions in that statement. But the physical evidence fit. Still, it wasn’t going to be enough evidence to convince their lieutenant to upgrade the case to a homicide investigation—which would give them not only more resources but also more pull with the DNA lab.

Brandon looked at Jane. “This is helpful. Anything else?”

She stood up and tucked her flashlight into her pocket. “There’s the damage on the vehicle—the scratched paint and chipped taillight. But it looks old to me. And Keith checked the car out.” She nodded at the CSI working on the minivan. “He said there’s nothing mechanically wrong with it, except for a dead battery, which could have happened after she abandoned the car and left the door open. The lights could have drained the battery.”

“Or, she could have pulled over and parked for some reason, and then couldn’t get the car to start again.” Antonio looked at Brandon.

But Brandon didn’t buy that scenario. His gut told him Vanessa had pulled over because she was afraid of something and then either fled her vehicle or was forced out.

“There’s something else,” Jane said. “I’m hoping it will help.” She walked around the front of the car, and they followed.

“I lifted fingerprints throughout the car. Got a good set from the steering wheel, plus several clear prints from the dashboard and the lock switch on the driver’s door. Those prints likely belong to your missing woman, assuming she was the person behind the wheel.”

Brandon didn’t like assumptions, but that one seemed logical unless, of course, Vanessa had been carjacked, and someone else had been behind the wheel. Either way, when combined with the pool of blood in the woods, the scenario pointed to a possible homicide.

“I found two more prints on the vehicle on the outside of the driver’s-side window. These two prints don’t resemble the others I got inside the car.”

Jane shined her flashlight on the glass at an oblique angle. Brandon saw smudges of fluorescent green powder where the prints had been dusted, and his heart rate sped up. It was their first trace of a possible suspect in Vanessa’s disappearance.

He looked at Antonio. “Think it was the guy who swerved off the road? Tom Murray?”

“He didn’t touch the driver’s side, according to his sworn statement. Murray said he went around to the open side and only touched the wallet to check the ID. We got his prints for exclusionary purposes, in case there’s any doubt.”

Brandon looked at Jane. “And you’re sure these prints on the glass don’t match the others inside the vehicle?”