The machine beeped loudly. Cassie tried to ignore it, especially as she wasn't able to do anything about it at the moment anyway. As much as she wanted to be back on the case properly, it was better to stay clear. The presence of her DNA was now part of the perpetrator's MO rather than proof against her, but that didn't change the fact it was important to the investigation.
She hoped they could figure out who was behind this, or it was going to hang over her head for a long time to come. It wasn't worth thinking about how bad that could be for her career. Any number of things could happen that would mean Richard stopped protecting them, and then she'd be carted off to prison before anyone knew what was happening.
Issac hurried over to the machine and pulled up the database homepage. She didn't need to see more to know what the alert had been. A DNA match had been found. It was most likely hers.
"The second profile got a hit," Issac said excitedly.
"Second profile?" she echoed even though she knew she was supposed to keep out of the case.
"The second one we found on Ronald Thackery's body. The first profile matched yours. I printed it off to compare and rule it out. But the second..."
"How can we possibly have gotten a match? There's barely anyone on the database. The chance of getting a hit is small enough as it is. The chances of two matches are minuscule."
"And yet, that's what's happened," he said. Even as he finished speaking, he picked up the phone and typed in the extension code for the morgue first, then the computer lab, asking the others to come to them.
The results must be good.
Or very bad. All three of her mates were also in the system.
"It isn't one of you, is it?" Cassie asked.
"No," Issac assured her. "We're all in the clear."
"Except me."
"Even you. Richard said they weren't going to be pursuing you as a suspect."
"That doesn't mean they won't change their mind in the future," she pointed out. "Until we have the confession of the person behind this, it means nothing."
He made his way over to her and pulled her into his arms. "It's going to be okay," he reassured her. "I know it doesn't necessarily feel like that right now, but it will be. We'll catch the person responsible for this, even if the match isn't the killer either."
She leaned her head against his chest, accepting the comfort he was giving her. "Are you going to tell me who the match is?"
"When the others get here," he promised. "I'm not trying to torture you, I'm just being dramatic."
A soft laugh escaped her. "Is that really necessary?"
"I suppose not, but what's life without a little drama?"
"You're terrible." She couldn't keep the affectionate teasing out of her voice.
"And yet you love me anyway." He kissed the top of her head.
The door swung open and her other two mates entered the room, both of them looking a little confused by the summons. She supposed that made sense. Neither of them were summoned to the lab much, normally she and Issac waited until there was a briefing to give them any news they needed, unless they'd stopped by for another reason.
"What's going on?" Hadrian asked.
Issac pulled away from Cassie, a wide grin on his face. He clearly wanted to milk this for everything he could.
"We got a match on the second DNA profile," he announced to the room.
"But he won't tell me who it is," Cassie added. "I think he wants to keep me in suspense."
"I promise the wait is over," Issac replied. "The DNA matches none other than Diana Matthews."
An odd hollow feeling flooded through Cassie. "Richard's assistant?"
"One and the same."
"This isn't from the body she delivered, is it?" Hadrian asked. "That would be a potential explanation."
"No, this is from the body of our latest victim, Ronald Thackery. And as you all know, we have extensive recordings of the events in the tent thanks to Richard and his desire to capture it," Issac pointed out. "Diana Matthews has been nowhere near the body since it transferred into our custody, which means she had to have been around it beforehand."
"But that doesn't mean anything," Cassie countered. "Maybe they went on a date, or are friends."
"Perhaps, but this gives us a new suspect to pursue," Hadrian said.
"That means she could have known two of the victims," Cassie mused. "The way she answered about whether or not she knew Jenna was suspicious."
"You think she might have?" Hadrian asked.
She shrugged. "Maybe I'm just being overly suspicious, but I don't think so. Something isn't right about the situation."
"I'll look into it," Hadrian promised. "I might not find anything, but if there's a connection, it'll show up in some of the records."
"It would help if we knew more about Jenna," Cassie said.
"True."
"I'll take another look at the other two bodies," Zack said. "I'm reasonably certain I've already got everything I can off them, but it's worth another look just to be certain."
Hadrian nodded. "Good. We need to cover every angle."
"Then we should tell Richard," Cassie said.
Three gazes bored into her as they waited for her to explain.
"We waited to tell him about my DNA. It'll look bad if we do the same again." As much as she hated the idea of their current theory getting out, she knew she was right. Whether Diana was guilty or not, they needed to be clear about where they stood with everyone who was part of the investigation.
Issac tapped a finger on the side of his chin. "Hmm. Richard might be able to give her an alibi for the time of the murders, if he can, then we know not to waste our time."
Cassie flashed him a grateful smile, glad one of them was understanding where she was coming from, even if she doubted anyone would be able to give Diana an alibi. She wasn't sure where her certainty was coming from, but the explanation that the pixie was behind it made a lot of sense. All they had to do was prove it.
"I'll call him now," Hadrian said, giving in to them already. He must also see the logic in their statements. He pulled out his mobile and hit dial, then speakerphone so they could all hear.
Hadrian began to pace back and forth as they waited for the line to connect. She hoped Richard would pick up. If not, there'd be a potential issue.
"Hello, I'm not able to answer the phone right now. Please leave a message and I'll get back to you."
Cassie groaned at the tinny pre-recorded message. Why couldn't he have picked up the phone?
"Hi Richard, it's Hadrian. We have a suspect that isn't Cassie. We found her DNA on the body of Ronald Thackery. It's important you get hold of us right away." He hit the end call button and sighed deeply.
"Why not tell him it was Diana?" Cassie asked.
"It felt safer not to. We don't know who has access to his messages. If we were talking to him directly, we could make sure no one else heard. But if she is guilty, then we can't have her finding out we're on to her."
"Then I think we need to take the building offline," Cassie said. "If we think there's the possibility that she's monitoring Richard's voicemail, then we have to assume she's capable of monitoring our computer systems too."
"And we have a match on record."
"Won't it be suspicious if we're off the grid?" Issac asked.
"It'll be more suspicious if we're searching her life and looking into her," Cassie countered.
"She's right," Hadrian acknowledged. "But instead of taking us offline, I'll make some changes to our firewalls and implement a warning system to let us know if anyone is trying to breach them."
"Is that going to be enough? What if she's already got a way in?" Issac asked.
"Good point. We should all change our passwords. If there's anything we can do without the computer systems, then we should do it without. I realise some things are going to be unavoidable, but let's keep as much as possible away from them. Communicate in person where possible," Hadrian instructed, taking charge in the way all four of them were used to.
Cassie had never wondered why he was the one in charge of their branch of the PCI. As well as being well versed in the various things he had to do as their computer expert, he knew the best way to command a room and keep things organised. It was one of the many things she appreciated about him.
"All right, let's get on this. Zack, can you go back to the morgue and search the bodies again? Issac, retest all the samples we've already got just in case there's a trace of Diana's DNA in any other places. I'm going to try and get hold of Richard again. If not, then we need to get to the High Council building to see if we can find him," Hadrian said.
"You're convinced we've got the right suspect?" Cassie asked. "It's a lot to jump from a DNA sample to guilty, especially when we didn't make that assumption for me."
"I have a feeling..."
"We should check it before we do anything else," she said, not wanting to rush to any conclusions and completely destroy a woman's life for no reason.
Hadrian nodded. "Can I use your computer?"
"Of course." She gestured towards it.
He tapped away at the keyboard, pulling up a program she hadn't used before but looked similar to something she'd seen him use in his office.
"I've got a hit."
"Already?" She tried to keep the surprise out of her voice.
"It isn't hidden very well." He tapped another couple of keys and then pointed to the screen.
A photo of a smiling Jenna beamed out from the screen with her arm around a second familiar face.
Diana.
"The caption says roomies night out," Hadrian said.
"Thank goodness for the wonders of social media," Cassie muttered.
"Didn't she say she didn't know Jenna?"
"She seemed certain she didn't," Cassie responded.
"Then I think we have all we need to be sure she's the one behind this. We need to get hold of Richard before it's too late. Let me set up the firewalls and try to give him another call. If he doesn't answer, we'll make our way over to the Council building."
She nodded and tried to ignore the tight feeling in her stomach. Diana had been clever so far. It was only a matter of time before she discovered they were on to her.