CHAPTER THIRTEEN
Jim and Iris returned to the CSI lab to find Greg holding two different sheets of paper, his face reflecting a quirky grin and raised eyebrow.
"Kid, you're on, give us good vibes," Brass said.
"First off, the man you have in custody is not a match to these DNA samples either by blood or epithelials. Second, I do have a DNA sequence for the little girl and also another – that of a male – to the blood and epithelials. No in-common ileals to reflect paternity or similar relative to the victim." Greg said in triumph. "I'm running the male DNA through the databases and hopefully we'll get a hit."
All Iris could do was grab Greg to give him a quick kiss on the cheek. "You are a jewel!" Greg's blushing response cracked Brass up.
"Okay, the Gonzalez guy is cleared for the moment but he will be deported back to Mexico," Brass replied.
Unfortunately, their jubilance was short-lived as the various computer lab databases came up negative for the unknown male DNA sample. Iris felt her heart hit rock-bottom at this latest setback.
"Hon, you two have done all you can do tonight. I'm getting you home to grab some shut-eye. Remember, you always tell me tomorrow's a new day and you'll have fresh eyes too. So practice what you preach!" Brass admonished her.
"I know…I know…tomorrow," Iris replied wearily. Greg had never seen Iris looking so tired and washed out. He put a hand on her shoulder before she left.
"Go on home with Jim. Hit the ground running tomorrow. Okay?" Greg said with concern shading his voice.
"Will do," Iris said as she walked away with Jim.
At home before retiring for the night, Iris discussed her thoughts with her husband. She desired his input. As encouraging as the new evidence was it had not brought Iris any closer to determining the identity of the child's murderer. As much as Brass disliked it, he was faced with now having to question students at the school to see if any inappropriate contact had occurred with any staff or unknown parties. The fact that the children were developmentally challenged with varying degrees of intelligence would likely hamper any useful information that might be gleaned.
Tomorrow looked to be another long day for each of them.