‘What did Mabel say?’ This time Alyssa threw her head back and laughed at the way her partner checked all around him as if he was afraid Mabel was eavesdropping.

‘Surprisingly, after she grilled Holly for several hours over two days, she came around, and is in fact, quite excited that she’ll still get to see Holly on more than just long weekends and holidays.’

‘Well, then, I’m happy for her.’

Two officers walked out, and since one of them stopped to hold the door, Alyssa and Cord jogged up the steps and inside where they bumped into Lynn Sharp.

‘Oh, just who I was coming to see. Detectives, do you have a minute?’

‘Of course. What can we do for you?’ Alyssa’s feet moved automatically in the direction of the conference room, but she stopped at Lynn’s next words.

‘It’s more what I can do for you.’ The medical examiner inhaled through her nose and released her breath slowly through her mouth. ‘We received some of the results already from the DNA swabs taken from the men you arrested in Placitas. As you’re fully aware, the hospital performed rape kits on all the girls, and the DNA discovered in Rachel Otis’s kit match both Daryl Wainwright and Martin Mendez. As soon as the rest of the results come in, I’ll let you know, but I wanted to come tell you that first, and since I was going to be here anyway…’

‘Thanks, Lynn. We appreciate it.’

Instead of leaving to attend to her other business, Lynn’s head swiveled, her gaze landing on a dirt-streaked man cursing at an officer. And then softly, she said, ‘You know I’m an agnostic, but it’s moments like this that I really hope there’s a fiery hell where men like them will go straight to, do not pass go.’

Alyssa understood and agreed with the sentiment. ‘Me, too, Lynn. Me, too.’

Ten minutes later, she sat around the table in the conference room with her team, which included Liz Waterson who’d returned yesterday from visiting her parents in North Carolina.

‘Before we get started, Lynn Sharp stopped Cord and me a few minutes ago to inform us that the DNA samples taken from two of the men match the DNA taken from the rape kits performed on the girls. Wainwright and Mendez.’

‘Well,’ Tony said, ‘this is good news. It’s sick and sad, but it’s just one more nail in their proverbial coffin.’

A kerosene-soaked wooden coffin that’s headed straight to the hottest flames of Hades. The vehemence of the thought was so forceful and startling that Alyssa was almost afraid she’d uttered it aloud.

Liz twirled a red pen around on the table. There was a hard edge to her voice when she finally spoke. ‘It is insane what people will do for the almighty buck. I mean, good heavens, even without the bundle of money Salazar would’ve had if her husband hadn’t swiped her father’s money, she was still an extremely wealthy woman in her own right.’