The Broken Window (Lincoln Rhyme 8)

"Posing of the body?"

"No . . . but one thing I noticed, Detective," Pulaski said. "All her fingernails were long, except one. It was cut really short."

"Blood?"

"Yes. It was cut right down to the quick." He hesitated. "Probably premortem."

So 522's a bit of a sadist, Rhyme reflected. "He likes pain."

"Check the other crime-scene photos, from the earlier rape."

The young officer hurried off to find the pictures. He shuffled through them and found one, squinting. "Look at this, Detective. Yeah, he cut off a fingernail there too. The same finger."

"Our boy likes trophies. That's good to know."

Pulaski nodded enthusiastically. "And think about it--the wedding ring finger. Probably something about his past. Maybe his wife left him, maybe he was neglected by his mother or a mother figure--"

"Good point, Pulaski. Reminds me--we forgot something else."

"What's that, sir?"

"Did you check your horoscope this morning before we started the investigation?"

"My . . . ?"

"Oh, and who got the tea-leaf-reading assignment? I forget."

Sellitto was chuckling. Pulaski was blushing.

Rhyme snapped, "Psychological profiling isn't helpful. What's helpful about the nail is knowing that Five Twenty-Two now has in his possession a DNA connection to the crime. Not to mention that if we can decide what kind of implement he used to remove the trophy, we might be able to trace the purchase and find him. Evidence, rookie. Not psychobabble."

"Sure, Detective. Got it."

" 'Lincoln' is fine."

"Okay. Sure."

"The rope, Mel?"

Cooper was scrolling through the fiber database. "Generic hemp. Available in thousands of retail outlets around the country." He ran a chemical analysis. "No trace."

Crap.

"What else, Pulaski?" Sellitto asked.

He went through the list. Fishing line, binding her hands, and cutting through the skin, which resulted in the bleeding. Duct tape covered her mouth. The tape was Home Depot brand, of course, torn off the roll 522 had ditched; the ragged ends matched perfectly. Two unopened condoms were discovered near the body, the young officer explained, holding up the bag. They were Trojan-Enz brand.

"And here are the swabs."

Mel Cooper took the plastic evidence bags and checked the vaginal and rectal swabs. The M.E.'s office would give a more detailed report but it was clear that among the substances were traces of a spermicidal lubricant similar to that used with the condoms. There was no semen anywhere at the scene.

Another swab, from the floor, where Pulaski found the treadmark of a running shoe, revealed beer. It proved to be Miller brand. The electrostatic image of the tread was, naturally, a size-13 Sure-Track right shoe--the same that 522 had ditched in the trash can. "And the owners of the loft had no beer, right? You did search the kitchen and pantry?"

"Right, yes, sir. And I didn't find any."

Lon Sellitto was nodding. "Bet you ten bucks that Miller is DeLeon's brew of choice."

"I won't take you up on that one, Lon. What else was there?"