“Okay, what do you need from me, Dr. Floris?”
I picked up the paper bag I’d set on the desk before going into the lab.
“Please tell me that’s not a head.” He said. “Animal or human.”
Frowning, he opened the bag, the laughed as he lifted Creepy-Ted from the bag.
“Ohno,not ateddy bear,”He feigned mock horror.
“Sure, laugh now, but if you came home to itsitting on your bed, you’d be singing a different tune.”
His laugh dried up. “Seriously?”
“Seriously.”
“Who sent it?”
“No clue.”
“No card or anything?”
“Nope.”
“So one of your secret admirers left you a little love memento?”
“After breaking into my house.”
He examined it, turning the little monster over in his hands. “Okay, well, that’s creepy and all, but what’s this got to do with me?”
“It doesn’t. It has to do with your brother who heads up the forensics department at the state crime lab. I’m hoping he can scan it for fingerprints or something? I’ll pay whatever I need to. Under the table, of course.”
“Hold the phone.” Andrew dropped the bear back into the sack and rolled the top. “First, how many people have touched this thing since you’ve had it?”
“Only me.”
“Okay, that’s good. Did you put him into the sack immediately?”
“No. I threw him outside.”
Andrew sighed and rolled his eyes. “It’s a good thing you don’t work in forensics, Dr. Floris, because the first rule in collecting evidence is to handle it as little as possible and store it in an uncontaminated container that shields it from the elements,includingrain, dirt, mud. You pretty much danced all over it. The odds of finding traceable prints on it…” He laughed.
“So you’re telling me there’s nothing you can do?”
“I’m not saying that. I’m just saying you might not get the results you want.”
I fisted my hands on my hips. “I know that it’s possible to pull prints from fabric regardless of the fact that it was exposed to the elements.”
“From all the news you watch?”
I clicked my tongue. “Come on, Andrew, this is serious.”
“Fine. Yes, it’s possible, but that fabric usually isn’t in theform of long-pile fabrics, like this stuffed animal. Even with non-porous fabrics like leather, fingerprints only last as long as its environment will allow, whether it be inside,oroutside in the rain. It also depends on how the print was transferred—with oil, sweat, blood. Even then, there are no promises that a full print would have been transferred.”
“What about the red bow around its neck? That’s not a long-pile fabric.”
Andrew studied the bow, then seemed to decide something.
“Okay, you win, Dr. Floris,” Andrew sighed. “I’ll text my brother. No promises.”
