Raising Cain by Gallatin Warfield Read Free Book Online Page B

fingerprint examiner for the San Diego Police Department had conceived a method for developing fingerprints
     on human skin. It was a controversial process utilizing aerosol spray and ultraviolet light. Similar to a neutron test for
     gunpowder residue, the test was successful in detecting fingerprints on skin in about ten percent of the cases.
    Bellini checked the date on the developer spray can to see if it was current. Expiration was a year away. He removed the cap
     and began spraying the body, beginning with the arms, then moving to the face and neck, covering the exposed skin with a fine
     sticky mist. He looked at the checklist printed on the can: “Allow mixture to remain on the skin for three minutes before
     exposing to UV light.” Bellini checked his watch and hooked up the black lamp. “Three minutes,” he said aloud. Then he extinguished
     the overhead light and switched on the lamp.
    The upper half of Joseph’s body glowed purple under the rays. Discounting the paramedics and doctors, who always wore gloves,
     anyone who touched Joseph within the past forty-eight hours might have left a fingerprint on his skin. Bellini scanned the
     lamp toward the head, looking for a white oval mark that would signify a print. Each arm was scanned. Nothing. Then up to
     his shoulders. Again, they were clean.
    Bellini played the lamp across Joseph’s neck. “Huh?” he gasped. He moved the lamp closer, then away.
    “What the hell?” He was looking at a strange jagged pattern that had suddenly appeared across the back of the dead man’s neck.
    Bellini put down the lamp and felt his way to the closet, fumbling inside until he located a camera filled with special film.
    In a moment he was back. He raised the lamp with one hand and the camera with the other, clicking images of the unusual lines
     from every angle. He’d run a lot of these tests before and developed fingerprints on skin. But in all the tests he’d ever
     done, he’d never seen anything like this.
    Jennifer sat at the counter of Russel’s Deli waiting for Gardner. The restaurant was a block down the street from the courthouse.
     Jennifer checked her watch. It was almost nine in the evening.
    After their meeting with Lieutenant Harvis, Gardner had put her back to work. A string of felony cases needed indictments
     drawn up. Could Jennifer do it? Of course. Plowhorse Jennifer could do it all: try cases, interview witnesses, draw up indictments.
     Gardner had taught her well, and she’d been a great student. Her own work ethic demanded no less. Work, work, work, day and
     night. The fight song of the law profession.
    “More milkshake?” Ida Russel asked. The hefty proprietor lifted a metal cup and poured chocolate into Jennifer’s glass.
    The prosecutor shook her head. “I’m full, Ida. Thanks.” She’d had one of them today already, and that was her limit. She was
     as concerned about keeping fit as Gardner, but every now and then she craved a sweet. Jennifer swiveled her stool and looked
     out at the empty street. Suddenly she was struck by a déjà vu. She’d been in the same spot earlier, at lunch. And she’d swiveled
     her stool the same way.…
    It was bright outside. The sun had painted gold streaks across the plate-glass window. The door opened and a young woman entered.
     She was pregnant, holding a young child’s hand, pushing a stroller. Blond and pretty, she was a suburban supermom. Jennifer
     studied her face. It was flushed and anxious as she struggled to keep her toddler under control
.
    “Can I, Mom?” the boy asked in a whiny voice. He pointed to the candy counter. The mother dug into her purse and handed a
     quarter to Ida. Then the infant in the stroller began to cry. As the boy sucked a lemon stick, the woman rocked the tiny one
     gently against her chest. A picture perfect grouping
.
    Jennifer turned away suddenly, grabbed her sandwich and took a bite. The baby looked like Molly: a little round face with
     big round eyes and