Page 105 of Forever Dead

“That’s what I’m trying to establish.”

Selena leaned closer to the speaker. “How many nails?”

“Fragments under three on the right hand and two on the left. Some are extremely small.”

“That’s more than Eleanor had,” Selena said.

“Yes. But I can’t tell you whether she fought harder or simply came into contact with more of the material.”

Selena pictured Patricia fighting while the killer restrained her. “If both women scratched their attacker, that could be transferred from clothing."

“Could be,” Blethan said.

“Leather gloves?”

“Possible.”

Selena thought about Eleanor’s damaged fingernails.

“Could the material have come from something the attacker was wearing? A hood, perhaps, or a mask?”

“Possibly,” Blethan said. “But there’s nothing in the fragments themselves that tells me where the material was worn.”

Selena considered the pattern. “Did you find anything similar on Patricia’s clothing?”

“Not yet,” Blethan said. “Matt is still processing it. The fragments under the nails are the significant part because they were protected from ordinary environmental contamination.”

“So, she probably picked them up during the attack.”

“That would be my working assumption.”

Connor asked, “Could both women have encountered the material somewhere else?”

“In theory, yes. In practice, two homicide victims with apparently matching organic debris beneath their fingernails is not something I’m inclined to call coincidence.”

“Could…” Connor hesitated for a moment. “Could it be skin?”

The fragments gave them a physical connection the property records couldn't.

Curtis Halle had an old grievance with Eleanor, experience skinning animal carcasses and a possible connection to Patricia through the psychiatric facility. Ray Cutler’s disputes involved both properties. Neither theory explained the material yet, but neither had been tested far enough to discard.

Blethan did not answer Connor’s earlier question immediately. Selena noticed the hesitation.

“Doc?” Connor said.

“I’m not ready to call it skin.”

“But you’ve considered it,” Selena said.

“I’ve considered everything I can reasonably consider.”

“What did you think it was, after Eleanor?”

“Initially? Treated animal hide. Some kind of costume material. Unusual leather. I still can’t rule those out.”

“Patricia changed your mind?”

“The amount gives me more to work with. It also makes the structure harder to dismiss as random debris.”