The Trophy Exchange (38 page)

Read The Trophy Exchange Online

Authors: Diane Fanning

Tags: #Fiction, #Mystery & Detective, #General


Ted!


O
kay
. O
kay
. She said I could come over and see the kids this weekend.


That

s a step in the right direction.

Ted laughed out loud.

Yeah, right. She also said I could sign our separation agreement while I was there.

Lucinda didn

t know what to say. She was spared from the effort of figuring that out by the ringing phone.

Pierce,

she said.


Lieutenant, I

ve got your DNA results. They are very interesting.


Interesting? How? Audrey?

A dial tone was her only answer.

 

Forty-Eight

 

With both arms stretched in front of her Lucinda pushed open the two doors and burst through the entr
ance
to the lab.

What

ve you got?


Come here,

Audrey said. In her bright
-
blue suit, she would

ve looked like an edit pencil if she
hadn’
t ha
d
her elbows jutting out
with
her hands rest
ing
squarely on her hips.

Lucinda joined her in front of a computer with two monitors. Audrey punched on the keyboard and two profiles popped up on the left-hand screen.

There are the samples from the two beer bottles. Identical,

Audrey said.

She
pressed another combination of keys. Two profiles popped up on the right-hand monitor.

The top profile is from the nail scrapings of the young girl at the triple homicide. The lower profile is from the bottom of the skillet

that one is just preliminary. We took a few shortcuts to process it as quickly as possible. We

ll need to run it again but they appear to be identical.

Lucinda

s eye bounced between the two screens.

They all look identical.


No. Not quite. Very similar. But some distinct differences. Look here. And here. And here. And here,

she said pointing a pencil tip from screen to screen.


What does it mean?

Lucinda asked.


I did a quick process of one of the samples from the suspect you brought in last night.


Thank you, Audrey.

Audrey glared at her with a pursed mouth and one arched eyebrow.

Oh jeez, Lucinda thought.

Thank you,
Dr.
Ringo.


You

re welcome, Lieutenant,

she said as she pounded on the keyboard again. Three profiles replaced the two on the first screen.

On top, we have a beer
-
bottle profile. On the bottom, we have the fingernail
-
scraping profile. The one in the middle is your suspect.


What am I looking at? What does it mean?


Your suspect

s profile is a perfect match with a beer bottle profile.


Yes, and
. . .
?


It is similar to but not identical to the crime
-
scene profile.

Lucinda wanted to scream in frustration at her lack of comprehension and Audrey

s refusal to get straight to the point. Instead, she asked again,

What does it mean?


Do you want my guess? My educated guess?


Yes, please.


In my professional opinion, the owner of profile one and two is the brother of the owner of profile three.


So
,
wait a second. You

re telling me my suspect was not at the crime scene but his brother was?


That

s what the profiles indicate, Lieutenant.

 

Forty-Nine

 

Lucinda pressed the elevator button, got impatient and headed for the stairs pounding up three flights to her floor. She flew past Ted on the way to her phone.

Looks like our perp is Evan Spencer

s brother.


What? Evan Spencer has a brother?

Lucinda spouted out a quick summary of the test results to Ted as she punched in the numbers to Evan Spencer

s office.


Doctor

s office.


This is Lieutenant Pierce. I need to talk to Dr Spencer right now.


I

m sorry, Lieutenant, Dr Spencer is with a patient. May I take a message?


No, you may not. Interrupt him. Now. I need to talk with him immediately.


I am sorry but I cannot interrupt the doctor when he

s
―”


Yes, you can. Do it. Now.


But
―”


I could have you arrested for obstruction of justice.

Lucinda heard the phone clatter on the desktop. She waited, tapping her foot.

Hello, Lieutenant?

the receptionist said, her voice filled with caution and dread.


Yes.


Dr Spencer told me to tell you to call his attorney.


Listen. You tell the good doctor that either he picks up the phone right now or I

ll come over there and barge into his examination room. I

ll even wave my gun around if I have to.

The phone clattered once again. In a moment, Evan Spencer came on the line.

Lieutenant, as soon as this call is completed, I am contacting my attorney and asking him to file a harassment complaint with your superiors.


Where is your brother,
D
octor?


What brother?


Your brother.

For a moment there was silence on the line then Evan spoke.

I don

t have a brother, Lieutenant.


I know you have a brother,
D
octor.


I

ve answered your question, Lieutenant, and you refuse to accept my answer. I have to insist now that you talk to me only through my attorney. If you interrupt me at my office, I

ll sue you and the department.

The phone slammed in Lucinda

s ear.

Lucinda disconnected and pressed in the extension for the forensic lab explaining Evan

s denial to Ted as she did
.

Audrey? Are you sure you have brothers there? Could you have made a mistake?

Lucinda winced as Audrey

s vitriolic response scorched her ear.


Yes,
Dr.
Ringo, but the suspect says he doesn

t have a brother.

She held the phone from her ear and winced again.


I

m sorry
Dr.
Ringo. Thank you,
Dr.
Ringo.

She hung up the phone.
Why would Spencer lie about something like that?

Damn! Damn! Damn!


Lucinda?

Ted asked.


What?

Lucinda snapped.


What if he has a brother but doesn

t know it?


What if
. . .
Shit!

Lucinda slipped on her jacket and headed for the door.

I

m off to Lynchburg to pay a visit to Evan Spencer

s mother, Ted. Wish me luck.

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