Paint the town red

Chapter XL

I was so impatient to take a look at the list of things found at Liam's, so on Monday I came to the station even a little before the start of the working day. I wanted to go to Esteban right away, but I knew perfectly well that it was still very early and the medical examiner probably wasn't in the office yet. So I went to my office to add additional evidence to our case, namely a video recording from the store where the ribbon was supposedly purchased, as well as screenshots from the moment of its purchase. Of course, I also attached a file with a description of the hoodie our suspect was wearing.

When I finished completing the case in digital format, I attached the evidence to one of our folders in the locker - the digital version, of course, is convenient, but the paper version is much more reliable.

I finished my work and looked at my watch - it was 9:30 a.m., and Max was still not at the station. I checked my phone and didn't see any late warning or anything like that from him. He didn't usually do that, so I started getting anxious again, like the time he got sick and didn't come to work. But knowing the situation in which everyone in my environment is now involved, I feel doubly afraid for my friends. I texted him asking where he was, and I felt the panic coming on again, when I finally got a reply from my partner on the phone.

Max Verstappen:

"I'm at Frederick's, he called Liam and me for some kind of questioning. I'll be back soon. Love you."

At Frederick's? Maybe the questioning is related to the search of Liam's house? Yes, it probably is. Well, since Max is with the boss, and it's almost 10 a.m, then it's time to visit Esteban, who has probably already came to work. Putting the phone in my pocket, I left my office and went directly to our expert's office.

As I assumed, Esteban was already at his workplace, namely, in the lab, where he was carefully examining something under a microscope. I knocked on the glass adjacent to the laboratory and his office, which distracted him and nodded. A minute later, Estie left the lab and entered his office.

"Hey, you wanted something?"

"Yes, I have a few questions about your topic."

"Well, if so, then ask."

He said, pulling the latex gloves off his hands and deftly throwing them in the trash. Then he adjusted his glasses on the bridge of his nose, folded his arms and leaned his back against the wall.

"Was anything found during the search of Liam's place?"

"You mean the murder weapon? Or clothes?"

"Both."

Esteban shrugged, then went to the file cabinet and flipped through several of them. When he found what he was looking for, he turned to me and opened the file.

"Okay. I ran DNA on all the knives in Liam's house, but none of them had DNA on either of the victims."

"Maybe he threw it away?"

"You got a text hinting that Russell may not be the last victim?"

I nodded and raised an eyebrow questioningly, to which Estie adjusted his glasses on the bridge of his nose again.

"That is, if he was going to kill someone else, he would not get rid of the weapon with which he had already killed four people. Why would he suddenly change his weapon?"

"And you'd have found it for sure, right."

Esteban nodded, then he recounted all the knives he had checked - their parameters, their features, whose DNA he had found. There weren't many knives: in fact, he only had kitchen knives and a few souvenir ones, but the latter had traces of the DNA of their owner, that is, Liam, and an unknown person. This "unknown" most likely the master who made the knife, or the person who never came to the attention of the police.