The Broken Window

Williams; he’d undoubtedly made sure that none of this would lead back to himself personally. Second, real evidence that he’d left accidentally and that could very well lead to his home—such as the tobacco and the doll’s hair.
    The bloody paper towel and wet blood were in the first category, intended to be left. Similarly the duct tape, meant to be slipped into Williams’s garage or car, would undoubtedly match strips used to gag or bind Myra Weinburg. But it would have been kept carefully protected from 522’s dwelling so it didn’t pick up any trace.
    The size-13 Sure-Track running shoe probably wasn’t going to be stashed at Williams’s house but it was still “planted” evidence in the sense that 522 had undoubtedly used it to leave a print of a shoe similar to one of Williams’s. Mel Cooper tested the shoe anyway and found some trace: beer on the tread. According to the database of fermented beverage ingredients, created for the NYPD by Rhyme years ago, it was most likely Miller brand. That could be in either category—plantedor real. They’d have to see what Pulaski recovered from the Myra Weinburg crime scene to know for sure.
    The bag also contained a computer printout of Myra’s photo, probably included to suggest Williams had been stalking her online; it was therefore meant to be planted as well. Still, Rhyme had Cooper check it carefully but a ninhydrin test revealed no fingerprints. Microscopic and chemical analyses revealed generic, untraceable paper, printed with Hewlett-Packard laser toner, also untraceable beyond the brand name.
    But they did make a discovery that might prove helpful. Rhyme and Cooper found something embedded in the paper: traces of Stachybotrys Chartarum mold. This was the infamous “sick building” mold. Since the amounts found in the paper were so small, it was unlikely that 522 meant it to be planted. More likely it came from the killer’s residence or place of work. The presence of this mold, which was found indoors almost exclusively, meant that at least part of his home or workplace would be dark and humid. Mold can’t grow in a dry location.
    The Post-it note, also probably not intended to be planted, was a 3M brand, not the cheaper generic but still impossible to source. Cooper had found no trace in the note other than a few more spores of the mold, which at least told them that the Post-it’s source probably was 522. The ink was from a disposable pen sold in countless stores around the country.
    And that was it for the evidence, though as Cooper was jotting the results, a tech from the outside lab Rhyme used for expedited medical analysis called andreported that the preliminary test confirmed the blood found in the bags was that of Myra Weinburg.
    Sellitto took a phone call, had a brief conversation then hung up. “Zip . . . The DEA traced the call about Amelia to a pay phone. Nobody saw the caller. And nobody on the expressway saw anyone running. The canvass at the two closest subway stations didn’t turn up anything suspicious around the time he got away.”
    “Well, he’s not going to do anything suspicious, now, is he? What did the canvassers think? An escaping murderer would jump a turnstile or strip his clothes off and change into a superhero outfit?”
    “Just telling you what they said, Linc.”
    Grimacing, he asked Thom to write the results of the search up on the whiteboard.
    STREET NEAR DELEON WILLIAMS’S HOUSE
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    • Three plastic bags, ZipLoc freezer style, one-gallon
    • One right size-13 Sure-Track running shoe, dried beer in tread (probably Miller brand), no wear marks. No other discernible trace. Bought to leave imprint at scene of crime?
    • Paper towel with blood in plastic bag. Preliminary test confirms it’s the victim’s
    • 2 ccs blood in plastic bag. Preliminary test confirms it’s the victim’s
    • Post-it with address of the Henderson House Residence, Room 672, occupied by Robert Jorgensen. Note and pen untraceable. Paper untraceable. Evidence of Stachybotrys Chartarum mold in paper
    • Picture of victim, apparently computer printout, color. Hewlett-Packard printer ink. Otherwise untraceable. Paper untraceable. Evidence of Stachybotrys Chartarum mold in paper
    • Duct tape, Home Depot house brand, not traceable to particular location.
    • No friction-ridge prints
    The doorbell rang and Ron Pulaski walked briskly into the room, carrying two milk crates containing plastic bags, evidence from the scene