and redecorated and it's on the market. Their stuff is in storage waiting for probate. I went through the crates. The people I talked to didn't know the Jacobis very well. The one thing they always mentioned was how affectionate the Jacobis were to each other. Always patting. Nothing left of them now but five pallet loads of stuff in a warehouse. I wish I had - "
"Quit wishing, you're on it now."
"What about the mark on the tree?"
"'You hit it on the head'? Means nothing to me," Crawford said. "The Red Dragon either.Beverlyknows Mah-Jongg. She's sharp, and she can't see it. We know from his hair he's not Chinese."
"He cut the limb with a bolt cutter. I don't see - "
Crawford's telephone rang. He spoke into it briefly.
"Lab's ready on the note, Will. Let's go up to Zeller's office. It's bigger and not so gray."
Lloyd Bowman, dry as a document in spite of the heat, caught up with them in the corridor. He was flapping damp photographs in each hand and held a sheaf of Datafax sheets under his arm. "Jack, I have to be in court at four-fifteen," he said as he flapped ahead. "It's that paper hanger Nilton Eskew and his sweetheart,Nan. She could draw a Treasury note freehand. They've been driving me crazy for two years making their own traveler's checks on a color Xerox. Won't leave home without them. Will I make it in time, or should I call the prosecutor?"
"You'll make it," Crawford said. "Here we are."
Beverly Katz smiled at Graham from the couch in Zeller's office, making up for the scowl of Price beside her.
Scientific Analysis Section Chief Brian Zeller was young for his job, but already his hair was thinning and he wore bifocals. On the shelf behind Zeller's desk Graham saw H. J. Walls's forensic science text, Tedeschi's great Forensic Medicine in three volumes, and an antique edition of Hopkins' The Wreck of the Deutschland.
"Will, we met once at GWU I think," he said. "Do you know everybody?.. Fine."
Crawford leaned against the corner of Zeller's desk, his arans folded. "Anybody got a blockbuster? Okay, does anything you found indicate the note did not come from the Tooth Fairy?"
"No," Bowman said. "I talked toChicagoa few minutes ago to give them some numerals I picked up from an impression on the back of the note. Six-six-six. I'll show you when we get to it.Chicagohas over two hundred personal ads so far." He handed Graham a sheaf of Datafax copies. "I've read them and they're all the usual stuff - marriage offers, appeals to runaways. I'm not sure how we'd recognize the ad if it's here."
Crawford shook his head. "I don't know either. Let's break down the physical. Now, Jimmy Price did everything we could do and there was no print. What about you, Bev?"
"I got one whisker. Scale count and core size match samples from Hannibal Lecter. So does color. The color's markedly different from samples taken inBirminghamandAtlanta. Three blue grains and some dark flecks went to Brian's end." She raised her eyebrows at Brian Zeller.
"The grains were commercial granulated cleaner with chlorine," he said. "It must have come off the cleaning man's hands. There were several very minute particles of dried blood. It's definitely blood, but there's not enough to type."
"The tears at the end of the pieces wandered off the perforations," Beverly Katz continued. "If we find the roll in somebody's possession and he hasn't torn it again, we can get a definite match. I recommend issuing an advisory now, so the arresting officers will be sure to search for the roll."
Crawford nodded. "Bowman?"
"Sharonfrom my office went after the paper and got samples to match. It's toilet tissue for marine heads and motor homes. The texture matches brand name Wedeker manufactured inMinneapolis. It has nationwide distribution."
Bowman set up his photographs on an easel near the windows. His voice was surprisingly deep for his slight stature, and his bow tie moved slightly when he talked. "On the handwriting itself, this is a right-handed person using his left hand and printing in a deliberate block pattern. You can see the unsteadiness in the strokes and varying letter sizes.
"The proportions make me think our man has a touch of uncorrected astigmatism.
"The inks on both pieces of the note look like the same standard ball-point royal blue in natural light, but a slight difference appears under colored filters. He used two pens, changing somewhere in the missing section of the note. You can see where