until people started talking.
Burton was his friend, had proven it time and again. What the man was
saying about Russell was probably true.
Collins reasoning hadn’t totally evaporated in the presence of silk
lingerie.
“You got time for a cup of coffee, Bill?”
FRANK WALKED DOWN THE TWO FLIGHTS OF STAIRS, TURNED right and opened the
door to the crime lab. Small and in need of paint, the room was
surprisingly well-organized due in large measure to the fact that Laura
Simon was a very compulsive person. Frank imagined her home to be every
bit as neat and well-kept despite the presence of two preschoolers that
kept her sufficiently haggard. Around the room were stacked unused
evidence kits with their unbroken orange seals creating a bit of color
against the drab, chipping gray walls. Cardboard boxes, carefully
labeled, were piled in another corner. In yet another corner was a small
floor safe that held the few physical items requiring additional
security measures. Next to it was a refrigerator that housed evidence
requiring a temperature-controlled environment.
He watched her small back as it curved over a microscope at the far end
of the room.
“You rang?” Frank leaned over. On the glass slide were small fragments
of some substance. He couldn’t imagine spending his days looking at
microscopic pieces of who knew what, but he was also fully aware that
what Laura Simon did was an enormously important contribution to the
conviction process.
“Look at this.” Simon motioned him over to the lens.
Frank removed his eyeglasses, which he had forgotten were still on. He
glanced down and then raised his head back up.
“Laura, you know I never know what I’m looking at.
What is it?”
“It’s a sample of carpet taken from the Sullivans’ bedroom. We didn’t
get it on the initial search, picked it up later.”
“So, what’s significant about it?” Frank had teamed to listen
very’attentively to this tech.
“The carpet in the bedroom is one of those very highpriced models that
cost about two hundred dollars a square foot. The carpet just for the
bedroom must have run them almost a quarter mil.”
“Jesus Christ!” Frank popped another piece of gum in his mouth. Trying
to quit smoking was rotting his teeth and adding to his waistline.
“Two-fifty for something you walk on?”
“It’s incredibly durable; you could roll a tank across it and it would
just spring back. It’s only been there about two years. They did a bunch
of renovation back then.”
“Renovation? The house is only a few years old.”
“That’s when the deceased married Walter Sullivan.”
“Women like to make their own statement about those things, Seth.
Actually, she had good taste in carpets.”
“Okay, so where does her good taste get us?”
“Look at the fibers again.”
Frank sighed but obeyed the request.
“You see at the very tips? Look at the cross section.
They’ve been cut. Presumably with not very sharp scissors.
The cut is pretty ragged, although like I said these fibers are like
iron.”
He looked at her. “Cut? Why would anyone do that?
Where’d you find them?”
“These particular samples were found on the bed skirt.
Whoever cut them probably wouldn’t have noticed a few fibers clinging to
his hand. Then he brushed against the skirt and there you are.”
“You find a corresponding part on the carpet?”
“Yep. Right under the left side of the bed if you’re looking toward it
about ten centimeters away at a perpendicular angle. The cut was slight
but verifiable.”
Frank straightened back up and sat down on one of the stools next to
Simon.
“That’s not all, Seth. On one of the fragments I also found traces of a
solvent. Like a stain remover.”
“that might be from the recent carpet cleaning. Or maybe the maids
spilled something.”
Simon shook her head. “Uh-uh. The cleaning company uses a steam system.
For spot cleaning they use a special organic-based solvent. I checked.
This one is a petroleurnbased, off-the-shelf cleaner. And the maids use
the same cleanser as recommended by the manufacturer. It’s an organic
base too. They have a whole supply of it at the house.
And the carpet is chemically treated to prevent stains from soaking in.