The Broken Window (Lincoln Rhyme 8)

Cooper then announced, "From the other scene--by the grave--I've got a fiber. It's similar to the rope used in the earlier crime."

"Good. What's in it?"

Cooper prepared the sample and tested it. A short time later he announced, "Okay, got two things. The most common is naphthalene in an inert crystal medium."

"Mothballs," Rhyme announced. The substance had figured in a poisoning case years ago. "But they'd be old ones." He explained that naphthalene had largely been abandoned in favor of safer materials. "Or," he added, "from out of the country. Fewer safety codes on consumer products in a lot of places."

"Then something else." Cooper gestured at the computer screen. The substance it revealed was Na(C6H11NHSO2O). "And it's bound with lecithin, carnauba wax, citrus acid."

"What the hell's that?" Rhyme blurted.

Another database was consulted. "Sodium cyclamate."

"Oh, artificial sweetener, right?"

"That's it," Cooper said, reading. "Banned by the FDA thirty years ago. The ban's still under challenge but no products have been made with it since the seventies."

Then Rhyme's mind made a few leaps, mimicking his eyes as they jumped from item to item on the evidence boards. "Old cardboard. Mold. Desiccated tobacco. The doll's hair? Old soda? And boxes of mothballs? What the hell does it add up to? Does he live near an antiques store? Over one?"

They continued the analysis: minute traces of phosphorus sesquisulfide, the main ingredient in safety matches; more Trade Center dust; and leaves from a dieffenbachia, also called leopard lily. It was a common houseplant.

Other evidence included paper fibers from yellow legal pads, probably two different ones because of the color variations in the dyes. But they weren't distinctive enough to trace to a source. Also, more of the spicy substance that Rhyme had found in the knife used to murder the coin collector. This time they had enough to properly examine the grains and the color. "It's cayenne pepper," Cooper announced.

Sellitto mumbled, "Used to be you could pin somebody to a Latin neighborhood with that. Now, you can get salsa and hot sauce everywhere. Whole Foods to 7-Elevens."

The only other clue was a shoeprint in the dirt of a recently dug grave near the site of the killing. Sachs deduced it was 522's because it appeared to have been left by someone running from that area toward the exit.

Comparing the electrostatic print with the database of shoe treadmarks revealed that 522's shoes were well-worn size-11 Skechers, a practical, though not particularly stylish, model often worn by workers and hikers.

While Sachs took a phone call, Rhyme told Thom to write the details on the chart as he dictated. Rhyme stared at the information--much more than when they'd started. Yet it was leading them nowhere.

* * *

UNSUB 522 PROFILE

* Male

* Possibly smokes or lives/works with someone who does, or near source of tobacco * Has children or lives/works near them or near source of toys * Interest in art, coins?

* Probably white or light-skinned ethnic

* Medium build

* Strong--able to strangle victims

* Access to voice-disguise equipment

* Possibly computer literate; knows OurWorld. Other social-networking sites?

* Takes trophies from victims. Sadist?

* Portion of residence/workplace dark and moist

* Li

ves in/near downtown Manhattan?

* Eats snack food/hot sauce