Page 60 of Two Kinds of Stranger

Lake tossed Bloch what at first looked like a plastic bar about two feet long. She pressed the bottom of the bar and one side ofit lit up with bright purple light. She moved into the corner of the room and began to sweep the floor. Lake had a similar dark light, and he started in the kitchen area, sweeping the light over the kitchen work surfaces and the floor.

It didn’t take them long to clear the room. Even less time to sweep the bathroom.

Harry watched in silence. While the apartment was dark, I could still see well enough. There was nothing remarkable about the place. By Manhattan standards, it was a really nice apartment and would’ve cost a bundle every month. But there didn’t appear to be any sign that this was a place where two people had been murdered not one week ago.

‘Some spotting in the sink drain. Not enough. James probably cut himself shaving at one point. Let’s go over the bedroom,’ said Lake.

As they moved into the bedroom, I closed the door behind them. Harry and I then opened the blinds and curtains in the kitchen, living room and the bathroom. I checked the street, saw Sacks still arguing with the tow-truck driver and the patrolman. He outranked the patrolman, who would’ve ordered the tow-truck driver to unhook the vehicle. But the tow-truck driver was having none of it, by the looks of things. The Taurus was still halfway up the trailer ramp. It wasn’t moving further up the ramp, but nor was it coming back down.

Tow-truck drivers, as a rule, don’t give a shit.

‘We’d better hurry,’ I said.

I left the window, entered the bedroom behind Harry.

Lake had his light focused on the mattress. There was some spotting, but not a huge amount. UV lights, in the correct range, show up all kinds of stains that are not visible to the naked eye. Blood, bacteria and other bodily fluids are visible because they do not reflect the light back from the surface. He sprayed someof the spots, took a Q-tip to the stains and then placed it in a plastic tube.

Beside the double bed, Bloch was on her knees on the floor.

She swept the light over a large stain, the size of a dinner plate, only visible on the hardwood floor under the UV light. It was strange to see something materialize under the violet and purple light, and then disappear just as light left it. This staining did not appear as dark as the area that Lake was examining on the mattress.

Bloch took a sample, same method Lake had used: collecting the material on a Q-tip and then placing it in a sealed plastic tube. She’d send everything to Raymond, a forensic DNA expert in a local lab who did all of her work and brought back results quickly and efficiently.

‘We’re done,’ said Bloch.

Harry swept open the curtains. I ran back to the living room, and checked the window, which gave the best view of the street below.

The Taurus was off the ramp. The NYPD patrol car and the tow truck were gone.

‘Sacks is on his way. We need to move now,’ I said.

Lake took Bloch’s evidence tubes and the light, putting it all in his bag as Lake and I left the apartment, ran down the hall, past the elevator and through the door leading to the stairwell. Soon as we got down a floor, we slowed, and took our time on the stairs.

‘Looks like that place has been cleaned up well. What do you think?’ I asked.

‘I’ve never seen a murder scene quite like it.’

‘Could the cops have destroyed the scene on purpose? All the bedding was taken.’

‘It will be in evidence. We don’t know how the victims were killed, but at least we know how they weren’t killed. They weren’tshot or stabbed, nor did they die from any kind of blunt-force trauma. There’s just not enough blood around.’

‘What about the area Bloch found on the floor?’

‘That wasn’t blood, at least that’s my best guess. Blood looks like a black hole under dark light. This was much lighter staining. Best guess, it’s a concentrated area of bodily fluid and bacteria.’

I nodded, said, ‘Then we do know how they died.’

Lake stopped on the landing, turned to face me.

‘How?’

‘The stain on the floor is probably vomit residue. My guess is James and Harriet were poisoned, same as Elly.’

My phone buzzed in my jacket.

Caller display readCHRISTINE. I hit answer.

‘Hi, are you okay?’ I asked.