A uniformed officer standing guard in front of the door was talking to a Hispanic woman who looked upset. We introduced ourselves and asked the officer what was going on.
“She’s the maid. Guess they forgot to tell her we sealed the place.”
I held out my hand to her and introduced myself and Bailey.
“My name is Maria Sosa,” she said in heavily accented English, giving my hand a tentative shake. “What happened?”
“I really can’t say at the moment, I’m sor-”
“Is it Hayley? Did something happen to her?”
“We…don’t know just yet.” I shouldn’t have said that much, but Maria’s concern for Hayley was so sincere, I couldn’t completely shut her out with a non-answer. “How long have you been working here?”
“Three years. Ay, it would be terrible if something happened to Hayley. You must help her,” Maria said, her eyes filling with tears. “She’s a good girl, you know? A little wild sometimes, but always nice. She try to help me learn English…” She wiped her eyes with the back of her hand.
I gave her a moment to collect herself. “When was the last time you saw her?”
“Thursday.”
“Was that the last time you were here?”
“Sí. I work Monday to Thursday.”
“Was anyone else here with her?”
Maria nodded. “Her friend, Mackenzie. The little sad one.”
“Why do you say she’s sad? Did something happen?”
Maria shrugged. “I don’ know anything really. She jus’ seem like that to me.”
Interesting. “Was anyone else here?”
“No.”
I took her full name and phone number and told her she wouldn’t be able to clean the house for a little while and that I’d tell Russell she’d been there. I hoped he’d pay her until we released the house. After all, it wasn’t her fault she couldn’t get in to work.
“Any idea when the criminalist is coming?” the uniformed officer asked.
Bailey looked at her watch. “Within the hour.”
“You get Dorian?” I asked. Dorian Struck was the best criminalist in the business. In her twenty-odd years she’d seen it all and tested most of it. But she was a notoriously tough old bird who was a tyrant when it came to preserving her scenes. If she caught us stepping into the house before she’d processed it, she’d have our heads on spikes.
“I think so.”
Dorian was always in demand, so she wasn’t always available. But a high-profile case like this could put the whole crime lab under a microscope. Pun intended. I was willing to bet big money her boss would make sure she got here. Dorian herself never cared one way or another. High-profile, low-profile, it was all the same to her. All she cared about was the evidence.
