I heard the click of the shutter go off as I documented the tire tread on the side of the road. I snapped each photo in chorological order, making sure to get the length of the impression. Once I had a full roll of film done with just the length of the impression, I began to take other photos just for better examination of the characteristics from the tire. Greg was over with Nick taking notes and photographing the body of the young girl that had been left out here in the desert. I hadn't gotten a good look at the damage, but was focusing on looking for any tire or footwear impression, as well as any trace along the way. I placed a ruler that had come from my kit next to the impression in the sand and photographed that as well, making note of everything I was doing. So far there were no signs of footprints anywhere, and I was coming to the conclusion that this was a body dump.
The impression was off to the side of the road, where I was predicting that the one side of the car had its wheels stuck in the shoulder, explaining the indentation into the sand. I took out a can of hairspray and sprayed over the impression. I then began to gather a mixture of dental stone into a zip lock bag, measuring out the correct amount of water and pouring it into the plastic bag. Once I had the two elements mixed together, I cut the corner of the bag and began to pour the contents into the impression to cast it. The tire impression was only about two feet long, and would be easy enough to carry back to the lab once it was cast. However, waiting for it to cast would keep the scene from being cleared.
I watched as David showed up to survey the body once Greg and Nick had completed their notes and photography and began to search for further evidence. Greg looked over at me, and signaled to Nick that he was going to see how I was doing. I looked up at him with a smile, but it slowly faded at his worried expression.
"Greg, I'm fine."
He sighed, and ran a hand through his now again short hair. "I know, it's just, I worry about you Siv."
I stood up. "I know, but I can handle myself. We're going to have to wait for this cast to be done. The scene won't be cleared til morning. What did you guys find?"
"Possible body dump, no signs of any struggle but it looks like blunt force trauma. We'll know more once Doc. Robbins has the autopsy done."
I nodded. "Stop looking at me like I'm not helpless Sanders."
"I'm sorry I just can't help it."
"I know, but just stop."
"It's already noon and we're just now getting home from work!" Greg exclaimed.
I smirked at his annoyance. "You should be used to it by now."
He sighed. "I know. Hey, so have you thought about what our baby's gonna look like."
I shook my head. "Not lately, why are you going to start trying to figure out what alleles they'll get?"
"No…"
"Boy or girl, they won't be blonde."
"Why not?"
"Because Greg, it was a recessive trait from my grandfather, somehow I got it when my brother and both my parents were brunettes."
I went over to the kitchen table and began to sift through the mail while Greg went up to get ready to sleep. I found an odd letter that had no return address, but knowing my own curiosity I began to open it. A typed letter was inside, so I couldn't tell whom it was from. My eyes slowly scanned the few words on the paper: Stay away from him.
I dismissed the letter, throwing it away, thinking it wasn't a big deal, and headed up to bed where Greg was already sleeping.
