Billy Choi pointed a finger and fired it, gunlike, at Pall saying, “Federal Building — ’95. Helped put McVeigh away. Nice job, man.”
Pall tried not to react, but a smile flickered.
Next to him sat Chris Anderson, the improbably handsome Beach Boy of a chemist and lab tech from Meridian, Mississippi. He half rose, and introduced himself in his soft southern accent, but when he mentioned the Shaw and Associates lab, the other forensics experts sat up a little.
Across from Anderson sat Jenny Blake, her blue eyes studying the tabletop as her fingers fiddled with a ballpoint pen.
“Jenny Blake, computer stuff,” she said, not rising, without really looking at anyone at the table.
Harrow barely nodded at the next-in-line criminalist when Choi popped up and said, “Billy Choi, crime scene analyst, tool mark and firearms examiner formerly of the Big Apple, now of sunny Los Angeles and...” He turned straight to the nearest camera. “...breakout star of Crime Seen! on You Bee Cee. Book ’em, Danno!”
This goofy performance cracked up the whole team, even Jenny and Harrow. It was just the tension break they needed, and once again the team leader sent Choi a little appreciative smile and nod.
As the Book ’em, Danno laughter subsided, Harrow patted the air and said, “All right, all right... let’s get down to it.”
Anderson sat forward, his intensity undercut by his Southern drawl. “Where do we start, Mr. Harrow?”
“It’s J.C, Chris.”
“Yes, sir.”
Everyone laughed.
“And you all know the basics already — so let’s start with our new evidence. Carmen, you found it — care to walk us through?”
Carmen was ready with a remote. The massive screen behind Harrow came alive and showed the evidence bag that held the single leaf.
She said, “This corn leaf was found in the driveway of a home in Placida, Florida. Stella Ferguson and her two children were shot in their home in a manner very similar to J.C.’s family.”
He felt eyes flick toward him, but remained neutral.
“Stella’s husband, Ray, was town marshal of Placida.”
This news narrowed the eyes of the other forensics experts, and their attention was rapt as she went on to explain the circumstances — including the severed wedding-ring finger — and how the case had gone cold, until she’d spotted the leaf.
Laurene asked, “How did you even know to look at that leaf? Even the state investigators missed it.”
Carmen’s grin was not terribly professional, if very winning. “Hey, I’m a farm kid. You use what you know. And I knew that leaf was wrong... but that was all I had for sure. I took it to J.C., and he was able to hook me up with the right expert — Dr. Brent Caldwell at Settler Seed.”
Slack-jawed, Choi asked Harrow, “You knew lookin’ at the leaf what seed company made it?”
Before Harrow could explain, the DNA scientist, Pall, did it for him: “No, but he knew that Settler Seed would have DNA samples from every plant put out by every commercial seed company in the world. Naturally, they have samples from every plant they manufacture; but also samples from every competitor’s plant. They need to make sure that they don’t infringe on someone else’s patent and, likewise, to make sure the competition isn’t infringing on theirs.”
Choi said, “Chess club, right? Captain?”
Pall frowned. “Chess club, yes. Captain, yes, but not of chess club — wrestling team.”
Choi held up his palms in mock surrender.
Anderson said to Carmen, “Very nice thinkin’, Miz Garcia. But what d’yall find out?”
“As it happens, this particular leaf came from Settler itself — field corn KS1422, which is sold exclusively in Kansas and is, as I said, field corn not sweet corn, which is the type grown in that part of Florida.”
Choi said, “I know there’s sweet corn and popcorn, but what the hell is field corn?”
Everybody gave Choi a look.
“What?” he asked, injured. “Where I come from, corn’s in a can or frozen or frickin’ microwavable.”
Harrow held up a palm. “Billy, you’re doing exactly what I expect from you, and everybody on the forensics team.”
“I am?”
Harrow’s eyes traveled around the table. “I don’t expect any of you to know everything. God knows, I don’t. And if you don’t know, for God’s sake, say so. Screw your ego — we have a killer to catch.”
Laurene said, “J.C. is right — we’re all going to have holes in our game that the others of us’ll need to fill.”
Harrow asked, “How many people saw that corn leaf and saw nothing but a leaf, until Carmen came along and saw something different?”
Choi opened his hands and said to Carmen, “So? Enlighten the ignorant.”
“Field corn,” she said, “is grown for uses other than human consumption — animal feed, some plastics, biofuels such as ethanol, although it’s used as fuel in bio-gas plants in Europe, where it generates power.”
“Thanks,” Choi said. He said to the others, “That wasn’t so hard, was it?”
Carmen said, “Anyway, the point is, this is a type of field corn sold exclusively in Kansas.”
“The question that comes to mind is,” Anderson said, “how does a leaf from a corn plant grown in Kansas wind up in a cul-de-sac in Florida... a state where they only grow sweet corn?”
“That,” Harrow said, “is what we’re to find out.”
Pall said, “If the killer left that leaf behind — whether accidentally or on purpose — it’s a reasonable assumption that his area of operations extends beyond Florida.”
“Yes,” Laurene said. “It extends to the Midwest, where we have a similar crime, in another corn-growing state — Iowa.”
Choi said, “How do we know the Florida victim didn’t have an Uncle Silas from Kansas who walked that leaf in? Helluva leaf of faith, guys. Sure you want to make it?”
Carmen said, “I’ve already researched the families of the victims, and of the neighbors, and there’s no Kansas tie. Trust me. None.”
“Okay,” Harrow said, shaken a little by Choi’s valid undermining of their clue. “Anybody think this lead is too thin to be worth taking?”
No one did. Thank God.
“All right, then,” Harrow said with a sigh. “Jenny?”
Jenny looked up quickly, a rabbit who’d heard the bark of a nearby dog.
“Use those computer skills to find me a link between my case and the Ferguson murders in Florida.”
She nodded and reached down for the briefcase that held her laptop.
“Also, check for similar crimes, particularly in the Midwest. The Florida case slipped through our fingers for a while, so maybe there are more.”
Jenny was already getting out her computer. She gave Harrow another quick nod and turned to her keyboard and monitor, focusing on her task.
“Laurene,” Harrow said, “as our chief crime scene analyst, I want you on a plane to Placida today. Find out what else they missed.”
Laurene nodded, asked, “When was this murder?”
“September,” Carmen said.
“Not what you’d call a fresh trail.”
“Billy,” Harrow said, ignoring that, “you and Carmen will go with Laurene — I want you two to interview the cops and any potential witnesses. Treat them right — they worked hard on the case. They’ll look at you as poachers, so play nice.”
Choi crossed his heart. “My best behavior, boss.”
“Now I can sleep better, hearing that. Oh, and see what you can get on the guns too.”
Choi nodded.
Pall asked, “What about us?”