Chapter 10 - The Wrong Fingerprints
Mateo raised his hands before anyone could touch him.
"I handled that container."
Ortiz stopped the officer.
"When?"
"Not that one. One like it. We use them for liquid fertilizer concentrate."
The officer held the bag higher.
Mateo pointed to a faint green stain along the plastic seam.
"That mark. Same dye."
Daniel stepped toward the bag.
"So someone took a container from the gardening shed?"
Mateo nodded.
"One I'd already touched."
Ortiz looked at the officer. "Nobody cuffs him yet. Bag it, photograph the truck, and pull shed cameras."
The officer lowered the cuffs.
Mateo's hands stayed raised for another second before he forced them down.
Thomas had planned everything around things Mateo had actually touched.
Real prints.
Fake story.
A clean frame.
Daniel's attorney arrived with lab results from the reception.
"We have the first chemical screen."
Daniel snatched the paper.
"What did Evelyn use?"
"The residue in the pitcher contains xylazine and a second cardiac depressant. Enough of the combination could have killed you."
Daniel looked toward the house where Evelyn was still being questioned.
"She said she thought it was a sedative."
"Her original purchase may support that."
The attorney handed him another page.
The powder traced to an online sleep compound Evelyn had bought under a false name.
It did not contain the cardiac agent found in the pitcher.
Ortiz's eyes narrowed.
"Someone switched it."
Mateo remembered the dinner napkin.
Thomas wiping his fingertips.
"What kind of cardiac agent?"
The attorney scanned the report.
"Veterinary use. Restricted. Mostly large animal sedation."
Daniel looked up.
Thomas owned racing horses in Westchester.
Ortiz was already calling for a warrant.
Two hours later, the veterinarian at Thomas's private stable sat in front of investigators with a ledger open on her desk.
"One vial went missing three weeks ago," she said.
"Missing?" Ortiz asked.
"Removed under owner authorization. I assumed Mr. Mercer requested it."
Daniel leaned forward.
"Which Mr. Mercer?"
The veterinarian turned the ledger around.
Daniel's signature appeared beside the date.
His home address was written beneath it.
His driver's license number followed.
Mateo stared at the page.
Daniel touched the signature with one finger.
"That's not mine."
The veterinarian looked confused.
"Your assistant emailed the authorization from your personal account."
Ortiz asked for the email.
The veterinarian printed it.
Daniel read the header.
FROM: [email protected]
SUBJECT: Veterinary Supply Release
Everything looked real.
Then Mateo saw the timestamp.
2:13 a.m.
Daniel had been in surgery for a torn rotator cuff that night.
Mateo pointed.
"You weren't awake."
Daniel's face changed.
Ortiz's phone buzzed.
She answered, listened, then turned toward Daniel.
"Mr. Mercer, the hospital says someone accessed your patient records the same night that email was sent."
"Who?"
Ortiz stared at him.
May you like
"A doctor attached to Thomas's private clinic."
