The Missing Teen

Chapter 3

"They're both sticking to the same story," Cole said with some frustration. He was back in the Intelligence Division offices with Lucy Thorne, after they had spent all day interrogating Aleister Black and Zelina Vega. They would eventually have to be sent home because there was no evidence to charge them with anything. There were suspicions, however. For that reason, before they went anywhere, their house was going to be searched from top to bottom. Presented with the option of having the front door smashed in, Vega had handed over a key to commander Thorne.

"Yes, exactly the same story," Thorne said. She was sitting perched on the edge of Bayley Martinez's desk, while Cole stood in front of her. Both of them knew that when two potential suspects gave exactly the same statement, it suggested that they had colluded with each other ahead of time about what to say. They probably thought they were being smart by showing no inconsistencies, but it was actually a red flag for seasoned investigators.

Vega and Black were sticking to the story that they had gone to Rosa and AJ's house on the day that AJ Mendez had gone missing, but neither of them had seen AJ. They claimed that Black had gone to work mowing the lawn, while Vega had cleaned the kitchen and washed the dishes. During that time, Vega said she had heard AJ storm down the stairs and bang the front door shut on her way out.

A few minutes later, the conversation was interrupted when Thorne's cell phone rang. She saw the name Bayley Martinez on the screen. She touched the green phone icon. "Thorne."

"Commander, it's Bayley. The forensics team had just finished their search of AJ's bedroom. The found minute traces of blood on the door frame, and one on the wall. They were too small for the naked eye to see, but they were there. Someone must have cleaned up."

"Not well enough," Thorne said.

"Exactly. The samples will be sent off for analysis. We should get results tomorrow. They've found some of AJ's hair on a hairbrush, so they'll have something to match the DNA to if the blood is hers."

"Thanks, Martinez. I'm going to text you an address. We've just had a warrant approved to search AJ's cousin's house. I want you and Flair to meet Cole and I there. We've been questioning Zelina Vega, the cousin, and her boyfriend. Right now I like them for some kind of involvement in this, so we're going to tear the place apart from top to bottom. Forensics will be there too."

"Got it, boss. We'll meet you there," Martinez said.

Thorne ended the call and looked at Cole. "Forensics found traces of blood on the doorframe of AJ's bedroom. They're going to get it analysed."

"It's not sounding good, is it?" Cole asked. Everything he was hearing so far was leading him towards suspecting either kidnap or murder.

"No. But if we're going to find AJ, we need something that's going to force those two to start telling the truth. Come on, let's get back over to their house."

When he arrived at Vega and Black's house with Thorne, Cole saw Martinez and Flair were already there waiting for them, along with two forensics specialists. As he got out of the car, he worked his hands into a pair of black nitrile gloves, preparing for what was going to be a long search through all the junk that had been accumulated in the house.

"Okay, here's the plan," commander Thorne said, also putting gloves on. "Martinez, Flair, you're going to search downstairs. Cole, you'll be with me upstairs. We're going to tear the place apart. If there's anything that can lead us to AJ, whether she's dead or alive, I want it found." She looked at the forensics team. "I want you guys in the bathroom. We were here earlier today, and we noticed that the bathtub and the tiles are much cleaner than the rest of the house. It looks suspicious."