Chapter 4 third chapter

"What do you think?" In the office, Robert and I discussed the case again. "If these fibers are attached to people's clothes, it is easy to explain, but the current situation is how the fibers are attached to the naked corpse. We should analyze it in this way. The naked corpse is likely to be emitted by its own physical energy during its lifetime The heat emitted by the body absorbs those fibers, even if there are only a few. This shows that the deceased had the possibility of absorbing these fibers only when he was lying on an object containing such fibers.” I answered Robert in this way.

"If you put it this way, the investigation is also very difficult. After all, there are too many products using this fiber." "That's true, but I have another piece of evidence. I found a piece of cigarette paper on Cindy's chest. I was lucky. If we got there half an hour late, it might have been blown away by the wind. The paper The sticky saliva is enough for us to conduct a DNA sample test. However, whether this is the murderer's DNA cannot be concluded." "Well, the case has finally made some progress." Robert finally showed a smile on his tense face all day long.

"Also, I have sent the dog hair found at the criminal dump site to the state FBI crime laboratory. It has been tested to be pug hair. Pugs are a toy-sized dog. It is a little unusual for the state to keep this kind of dog. In Florida every year in July and August, the highest temperature is an average of 31 ℃. It is not easy to raise a pug in such a high temperature. This animal is at 21 ℃ It is most suitable for breeding, and if the temperature exceeds this temperature, the country will not allow transportation." I continued my analysis. "It makes sense, so that our detection range can be reduced again." Robert rubbed his hands and lit a cigarette, which is his usual practice, and he always does this when he encounters happy things.

"Regarding the choke marks on the necks of the four dead bodies, this is also a common feature of two of the dead, Wendy and Cindy, and the bodies of the other two dead have decomposed. I have compared the recorded choke marks, and the neck marks of the two of them There are indentations formed by the nails left by the murderer when he strangled them. Strangulation is a common method of killing. When checking the neck for abrasions and contusions, it is a possibility of strangulation. The murderer often uses Other killing methods stun her before strangling her neck. Or strangling a person unconscious before using other killing methods, and then disguising the corpse as death from illness, suicide or accidental disaster. However, Cindy’s suffocation phenomenon is more prominent, and her corpse’s Other parts - skin peeling and subcutaneous bleeding were found on the chest and legs. If the place where she was dumped was the first scene, we should have found the towels used by the criminals to block the victim's screams around her nose and mouth , foreign objects such as handkerchiefs or dirt, or accompanied by superficial scars in the shape of abrasions. However, there were no such things left around, only pink fibers, some dog hair, and a piece of what looked like a cigarette paper.”

"So it seems that the place where Cindy dumped his body was not the first scene. By the way, Eddie, do you know Peter McDonald?" Robert asked me. "I know, he is a well-known criminal investigation expert in China, and he has published a book on identifying tire marks." My heart moved, and I understood what Robert wanted to do. "I've already sent him the photos of the tire marks at the scene of Wendy's murder, hoping he can give him some advice." Sure enough, Robert said. I shrugged and said, "Of course, that might give us some good news."

It seems that what I said was right, two days later, when I was still busy in the laboratory, Robert rushed in like a gust of wind. "Eddie, it's amazing. You wouldn't expect such a coincidence." Robert said to me beaming. It seemed that there was a major breakthrough in the case, so I took off my white coat and followed Robert to his office. "Peter Macdonald called me early this morning and he said he had received the pictures from me and to my surprise he told me he was surprised when he saw them because it was such a coincidence Well, this tire happened to be the one he presided over when he was working at Firestone."

I opened my mouth wide. I never thought that Peter MacDonald was the tire designer we were looking for, which is of course good news. Later, Peter sent us detailed information.From the information, we know that this kind of tire is a radial tire produced by Firestone Company, which is specially used for small trucks and multi-purpose sports cars.Moreover, Peter has a very clear grasp of the types and specifications of tires. According to him, the current international standard tire code is expressed in millimeters as a unit of section height and percentage of aspect ratio, followed by the tire type code, rim The diameter in inches, as well as the load index, is the code for the allowable load-carrying mass, and the allowable speed code.The advantages of radial tires are mainly manifested in that it can improve the quality of radial tires, and can also make the thickness of the carcass uniform and well balanced. Of course, it can save materials, make the carcass thinner and save energy, and make the vulcanization time shortened.

Next, Robert investigated the tire sales records to see how many of them were sold in Florida.The results of the investigation showed that this tire was not the best selling tire, and in the past twelve months, only one dealer in the entire state of Florida had sold it.It appears that tire tracks in the mud are an extremely valuable piece of evidence we find at a crime scene. The tire pattern looks very clear, indicating that it is a mark left by a newer tire.There was also a small rock embedded in the tire.In general, when there are stones in the tires of the car, they must be removed in time. If they are not removed, there will be several negative effects, such as: when the car starts, the stones will fly up, which may hit the rear car, and the tires will be clamped If there are too many small stones, the car will consume a lot of fuel, and of course it will increase the noise of the tires.

Data from tire sales show that a set of the tires was bought by a woman in Clearwater, who lives just a few miles from where the body was found.We identified her as Terry Jean Howard from the phone number she left with the tire dealer. Terry lives in a villa on Belcher Road in Clearwater.In the evening, Robert led the detectives to her place of residence. A detective quietly approached her car parked outside the villa. It was a pickup truck. After some investigation, he turned around and gave Robert a thumbs up. It was determined that the tires of this pickup truck were produced by the Firestone company that Peter said, and the investigation of this woman named Terry showed that she had suffered from drug addiction in the past, and now she has been cured, and she also worked as a prostitute. I have a pug and often take it for walks nearby.

Robert did not confront Terry directly, did not summon her.The wind in Qingshui Town has become very tense during this period, and there are rumors everywhere that the detectives of the police station are continuing to search for a serial killer. It is said that this criminal lives not far from the city.The word spread so quickly that it became the go-to topic of conversation in town.Under such circumstances, at night, there were not as many pedestrians on the road as before, and everyone in Qingshui Town seemed to become more cautious. I know that now is a critical moment in the investigation of the case, and Robert and I have carefully analyzed Terry's past occupations.She and the four deceased had similar occupations, such as taking drugs and working as a prostitute, but could this be the reason why she insisted on killing Wendy and Cindy?If Terry was really the murderer, how did she kill women of similar height and weight to her one by one, and abandon them in the field or near the factory in the form of naked corpses?The crux of the matter is, does her hand have the strength to strangle the four women?Frankly, I don't really believe this.

"So, if Terry's drug addiction kicks in, will he lose his mind and kill someone?" I asked another question. "I don't think it's very likely. Of course, we're not sure. However, Terry is already middle-aged. When her drug addiction breaks out, she may first try to solve the drug problem instead of killing people. If From the perspective of homosexuality, there is absolutely no need for Terry to make such a move, and he must kill the person before he can." Robert replied to me like this. We've checked Terry, and as a middle-aged woman, she's out of drugs and prostitution.Perhaps she has realized that there are better choices in life, so she is determined to quit drug addiction.It can be seen that she wants to live a normal life. She takes a pug for a walk around the neighborhood after dinner every day. Of course, at this time, she also meets her past sisters on the road, or she nods and smiles. If so, it's normal. Most of the nearby residents have a good impression of Terry Jean, saying that she is an honest and kind woman, she gets along very well with the neighbors around her, and her tone of speech is very respectful.People are changing, some people get better and some people get worse. "Maybe, we can start with the people around her!" After such an investigation lasted for a while, Robert put forward his point of view. I understood what Robert meant, and the other agents nodded in agreement.We have a lot of information about Terry.We found out that she was now living with a boyfriend named James Randall, a forty-one-year-old construction worker.