Execution of Innocence by Christopher Pike

Author:Christopher Pike
Language: eng
Format: epub, mobi
Published: 2012-09-06T10:48:28+00:00

CHAPTER NINE

Back at the police station, Lieutenant Riles and Lieutenant Sharp got one of their wishes fulfilled. They had taken a sample of Mary's damp hair and put it in a plastic Baggie. Through the clear bag they could see that the hair fibers had stained the plastic red. The police gave one another knowing looks. Sweet innocent Mary had blood on her hair.

But whose blood?

They gave the sample to Dr. Kohner, who was working very late, and asked him to type it immediately, along with the samples of blood from the frozen puddles. A definitive test, such as a DNA comparison, could take as much as a month to conduct. But typing the blood would narrow the number of suspects, and the two detectives believed that might be enough to make one of the girls talk. Obviously, they thought it would be Mary. Hannah had retreated to a slant-eyed realm of silent venom. Curious, since it was her beloved brother who had taken the slug in the eye.

Typing would take at least two hours, maybe three.

There was still no word on Charlie. Where he might be, what he might be breathing. Air or dirt, snow or water.

Outside, the sun slowly began to warm the sky.

The detectives placed the girls back in the interrogation room where Mary had spent a portion of the night. The police station wasn't that large; they used the room for taking physical evidence as well as verbal. After drawing the blood, the detectives called for the coroner. At first Kohner hung in the background, and to the girls, he looked like a healthy corpse come to feed on their brains. He stared at them as if he had energy left for another autopsy. He only stepped forward as Riles was preparing to sample the stuff under their nails, and the stuff on their hands, particularly around their thumbs, where powder remains from a fired revolver would collect. Riles, with Kohner’s help, used needles, razors, and tweezers. They scraped the girl's skin very lightly, but Hannah hated the process and expressed her discomfort.

“You can't do this,” she said. “I want to see my lawyer. I want to talk to my father.”

“You can talk to both after we've collected our samples,” Riles said, holding Hannah's hands firmly. “Remember, young lady, you are under arrest and charged with first degree murder.”

Hannah snorted. “Not for long.”

“We can keep you for at least twenty-four hours,” Sharp said.

“We'll be out of here in less than four,” Hannah answered.

That could be true, the cops thought. Hannah's father did know the judge and probably sent him expensive Christmas cards each year. But at least by then they'd have the blood typed. It was going to be real interesting to see what matched what. Riles could hardly wait to get the results, but Sharp was still uneasy. Hannah seemed awfully confident, as Mary showed signs of cracking.

Confident Hannah, not devastated Hannah.

She had tossed aside the charade of grief without realizing it.

“You have pretty hands,” Kohner said to Mary as he scraped her skin carefully with the edge of his razor.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.