As expected, we learned nothing from examining the items in their bags.
Carefully, I slid the blade of the scalpel along the sealed seam of the outside bag. The inside bag was a regular ziplock.Nina went to great lengths to protect her childhood heirlooms.
Guilt riddled my body, causing me to pause before pulling the blanket out and exposing it to the elements.
“Spread it out on the table; we’ll check it for clues first, then try the black, blue, and infrared lights,” Gibson said as he pulled long light tubes out of a drawer.
I unfolded the blanket on the cold metal table.
“Did you see a magnifying glass in your search?” I asked. I preferred to do a manual check before using a camera to magnify the blanket on the large monitor mounted on the wall.
“I did.”
A minute later, Gibson handed me an old-fashioned, gold plated, round magnifying glass.
“Christ.”
“Mine’s not any better.” He waved it in front of my face.
At least my handle was smooth; his looked like a knotted magical wand.
“Let’s get to work.” I moved the bright over-head light over the table and lowered it.
We started by examining every inch with magnifying glasses. Then we took pictures, starting with the whole blanket, then zooming in on sections.
“Nothing about the pattern stands out,” I said.
“Let’s turn it over.”
The other side was identical, except for Nina’s name being inverted.
“Hand me the blue light.”
After handing me the wand, we donned our orange glasses, and Gibson turned off the overhead light.
Nothing. I wasn’t surprised; Nina had probably washed it hundreds of times before packing it. I expected the same results with the other lights.
“Let’s take a look at Eddy,” G said, using the name Nina had given her bear.
“Let me pack this up first.”
G crossed his arms over his chest and tapped his foot, watching instead of helping, as I carefully folded the blanket and slid it into the ziplock bag.
“Are you done?” He asked after I’d set it on the counter.
“Don’t be a dick.”
His laugh grated on my nerves.
“Okay, Eddy, it’s your turn,” G said as he took the bear out of the bag.
Eddy was well-loved, as evidenced by his missing eye and only half a mouth.
An image of infant Nina, sucking one thumb while clutching the teddy bear in her other hand, shaking in fear with tears running down her face, filled my mind. And stopped me in my tracks.
This is all she has from her birth parents: a blanket and a dark brown bear.
A bear we’d most likely have to open to search inside.
