“But the best part is,” Brianna continued, trying her best to control her growing excitement, “if Kristin can make a positive ID that one of the bodies in the morgue is Mandy Prentice, then we have a reason to bring Damien Aurora in for questioning, if for no other reason than he might have been one of the last people to see Mandy alive.”
Jackson hated being the voice of reason. It wasn’t a role that suited him. But he didn’t want Brianna being humiliated in front of other people, especially not the Auroras.
“You know his father is going to get him an army of lawyers,” Jackson told her. “You won’t be able to get near him.”
She began to say something in response when she suddenly stopped. Her mind was whirling because something Jackson had just said had triggered a memory, something she remembered coming across.
“Jackson, you’re brilliant,” she declared. Turning on her heel, she hurried back to her own desk. Typing, she pulled up a file.
“Not that I’m arguing with you about your assessment, but why am I brilliant?” Jackson asked, coming around to stand behind Brianna.
Moving back, she gestured at the monitor. “Because of this.”
There, on the screen, was a summary of an arrest dated two years ago. The person arrested was Damien Aurora.
Chapter 21
Dressed in her azure-blue scrubs, Kristin entered the morgue and crossed to Brianna and Jackson. She was carrying a thick folder.
“All right,” she said, opening the folder while two of her assistants worked in the background, “I have good news, I have better news and I have somewhat perplexing news.” Her eyes swept over the two detectives. “Which do you want first?”
Brianna exchanged looks with Jackson. It was obvious that he was leaving the choice up to her.
“Why don’t we pick middle ground and start with the good news?” she suggested.
“All right,” Kristin agreed, flipping through the folder. “The good news is that as it turns out, one of the more recent victims found in the hotel debris is Mandy Prentice.”
“And the better news?” Jackson asked, waiting for a shoe to drop.
“We found traces of Damien Aurora’s DNA on Mandy’s body. As it turns out, I even managed to lift a partial print from her throat. I think that it’s safe to say that Damien Aurora strangled Mandy Prentice—although there are indications that some kind of wire was used as well.”
“Could he have used both? The wire and manual strangulation?” Jackson asked.
“A bit of overkill,” the ME allowed. “No pun intended, but yes, it’s possible.”
Brianna sighed, relieved. She’d puzzle over the details later. “Two for two,” she declared. “We’ve got him!” And then, because things never went a hundred percent well, she tempered her response. “Or at the very least, a crack in that impenetrable wall so we can finally get in.”
Glancing at Jackson, Brianna could tell by his expression that he wasn’t about to start celebrating just yet.
“And what’s the perplexing news?” Jackson asked.
“There’s someone else’s DNA on Mandy’s body as well,” Kristin told them.
Brianna groaned. “It never gets easier, does it? Whose DNA is on her?”
Kristin raised her eyes to look at the detectives. “It’s a filial match,” Kristin answered.
“Filial match,” Jackson repeated. “Two different DNA samples mean that two people killed her. Damien and...?”
“Someone in his family,” Kristin concluded. It was all she had at the moment. “In this case it’s a close filial match.”
“So that’s what?” Brianna asked. “Father? Mother?” Neither of Damien’s parents were likable people, especially not his mother. She could see either person being involved in the dead girl’s murder—but why?
“Either-or,” Kristin agreed.
“How about a sibling?” Jackson asked.
Brianna looked unconvinced. “The only sibling Damien has is a sister,” she reminded her partner. “Jocelyn Aurora is a mouse compared to the barracudas in her family.”
“Maybe there’s a sibling we don’t know about,” Jackson speculated.
Brianna looked at him. “What? Somebody chained up in the attic they’ve never owned up to?” It hardly seemed plausible.
“No stone unturned,” Jackson replied. For now, he looked at what they had established. “But at least we have the name of a victim and we know someone in the Aurora family is responsible for her death.” He looked at Brianna, pleased. “We’ve got that thread you were talking about.”
Brianna’s eyes were all but dancing. “We do, don’t we? C’mon. Let’s go pay Damien and his family a visit.” She paused long enough to hug Kristin. “Great work, Kris! Thank you!”
“It’s what I’m here for,” she replied, but Brianna had already hurried out of the morgue with Jackson right behind her.
* * *
The gaunt-faced man who opened the door in response to the doorbell looked entirely unapproachable. Officially, Tom Howard was Winston Aurora’s estate manager, recently hired, it turned out, by the head of security, Rollins.
Howard preferred to think of himself as a majordomo, but everyone who came in contact with the man thought of him as a butler, which was what he would have been called a hundred years ago.
Brianna and Jackson held up their IDs simultaneously for the majordomo’s benefit. Lusterless eyes assessed the two detectives and gave every indication that it pained the man standing in the doorway to do so.
“Detectives O’Bannon and Muldare to see Damien Aurora,” Brianna told him.
“Mr. Damien is not receiving guests,” Howard informed them disdainfully.
“But he is in,” Brianna deduced from the way the man had worded his response.
“He is not receiving guests,” Howard repeated more forcefully.
At that moment, the sound of raised, angry voices shattered the mansion’s silence.
“Are you out of your mind? What the hell were you thinking?” Winston Aurora could be heard bellowing, his voice coming from somewhere within the mansion, presumably somewhere closer to the front of the house than farther.
“But Damien is receiving a tongue-lashing, from the sound of it,” Brianna surmised.
When she took a step toward the doorway, the tall, thin man shifted so that he was blocking her
