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“It’s engraved. Not that I can see what it says, but that looks like some kind of marking.”
He grabbed a magnifying glass and she wanted to yank it out of his hand to look herself but didn’t. “Good eye,” he said. “I’ll go back into evidence and see if we can get a better idea of what it says. If it’s anything.”
“It might not be,” she said. “It could be what you think. Second-hand stuff. But the only reason I don’t think it is, is look at the shoes in his closet. The way things are hung up.”
The guy was very meticulous. Kind of like her.
“I noticed that too. Very organized, but he looks disheveled.”
“There could be any number of reasons for that,” she said. “Or, maybe it’s not his house or he’s not who he says he is. Or trying to be someone else. Those shoes, some of them are a few hundred dollars apiece. Yet he’s wearing worn Nikes. I can’t see the labels on his clothing hanging, but there are things in there that I’d picture Cade wearing and he’s high fashion. The old sweatshirt and the worn jeans on the victim don’t match. And they’re not ones in fashion either but worn from years of use. His hands look rougher than I’d think for a wardrobe like that. I’d picture manicured nails and those are rough and ragged.”
“You’ve got a point,” he said.
“Can I ask what the guy did for a living?”
“He was in finance,” he said.
“I can see it with the clothes. Flashy wardrobe and antique furnishings in the house. It just doesn’t explain a few calluses. It’s not like there is a sign of a struggle either. Nothing looks broken in the house.”
“One of the neighbors said that he liked to tinker around the house and build things. We found evidence of that with some tools. You’re good thinking of those things as you saw them.”
“It all makes sense,” she said. But something wasn’t sitting well. She moved to another picture. “Is this his bathroom?”
“Yes,” he said.
“There are three toothbrushes,” she said.
“So?” he said. “Some people open a new one and then don’t throw the old one out right away.”
“True. But there are three. And two in one cup and one in another. Plus they are worn differently. The two are worn one way and the single one a little bit different even though it looks newer. Did you do DNA testing? You know it’s this guy’s place?”
“He matched his driver’s license, and he is the same person that signed the lease. He was ID’d on top of it by the landlord.”
She looked around some more. “Any reason someone would want him dead? Did he lose money for someone?”
“We’ve looked into that,” he said. “It was a theory, but everyone has been cleared that would have a motive. There were a few that were happy he was gone.”
Her head went back and forth and the doorbell went off. “Dinnertime. I’ve got a thought and I can tell you while we eat.”
“I’ll listen to anything you’ve got to say,” he said.
They were seated at his table, their plates full of fried chicken and waffles. She’d never had this before and wondered why that was.
“This is awesome,” she said. “I should try to make it, but I’m not sure I want to actually fry chicken.”
“Too much work,” he said. “Why bother when I can buy this?”
“I don’t blame you.”
“Tell me what is going through your head on the case,” he said.
“Maybe I watch too much TV,” she said. “But what if this guy wanted others to think he was dead?”
“Could be,” he said. “But heisdead.”
“Is it him or someone that looks like him?” she asked. “You know. A sibling or a twin?”
“He doesn’t have any siblings,” he said, laughing.
