kept praying that he’d be caught robbing someone’s home and be identified,” Talie said.
“And that’s exactly what happened,” Raymond said. “Except he was chased down by the man he robbed. Then Frederick stabbed him in the chest and throat during the confrontation in the house he was followed to. Then you came in, found the man dying, tried to save him, and the police showed up. But we believe Frederick called them to tell them you’d killed a man. In fact, he says all the stolen goods are from you robbing the neighbors, then you got caught and killed to cover it up.”
“That’s ridiculous,” Talie said.
“Talie didn’t rob anyone!” Roman said, his voice becoming fierce.
“We know that,” Patrick said, looking at Roman. “But, what we have to explain is why Frederick’s fingerprints were not on the stolen goods. Talie’s were. She moved the items to the shed, so that’s explained, but why weren’t Frederick’s?” he asked. “And we need to find Frederick and subpoena him. We need to get him into court and make him explain his interpretation of that day.”
“He’s missing?” Riley asked.
“Not exactly. Just conveniently out of pocket each time we try to speak to him,” Mr. Schexnaydre said.
“What about the witness that saw him running from her home?” Roman asked.
“No. The witness, the victim’s wife, said her husband saw someone running. All she saw was her husband taking out after the person. He told her he was going after ‘the guy’, but she didn’t see the person herself,” Mr. Schexnaydre answered.
“Did you clean all the stolen goods before you moved them to the shed?” Patrick asked.
“No,” Talie answered.
“Did Frederick and his friends wipe their prints off the items they brought to the home?” Patrick asked.
“Not that I’m aware of. They were usually too drunk to even consider it. Falling asleep on the sofa as soon as they got in with beers still in their hands,” Talie said. “I cleaned up behind them, afraid they’d catch the house on fire with their cigarettes as they fell asleep. I’d cook so he’d have something to eat when they woke and I wouldn’t have to hear about not doing my part later, then go hide in the bedroom until time to get Darcie from the bus stop. When I came out to go to the bus stop, his friends were usually gone, and Frederick was already in the shower, or still asleep on the sofa.”
“It’s possible he wiped them down, or his friends did after you went into the bedroom,” Ms. Autry said.
“I suppose they could have. But I can’t say that I saw them do it,” Talie answered. She sat there thinking about it while her attorneys flipped through more pages in their files to see if they had more questions for her. “Wouldn’t they have left fingerprints on them if they were handling them at all, though?” she asked.
“Possibly. Unless they were wearing gloves or something to cover their hands,” Ms. Autry answered.
Talie sat there for a moment before her eyebrows raised. “I had to buy three packs of cleaning gloves in the month I lived there. Usually a pack of them would last me six months!” she said. “I couldn’t figure out where they were all going!”
“What do you mean ‘cleaning gloves’?” Patrick asked.
“The yellow rubber ones, like you wear when you wash dishes or clean the bathroom. I wear those when I clean the kitchen or the bathroom because I have sensitive skin. I’m allergic to the detergents and harsh cleaners. There are six pairs in each pack. I can usually make a pair last several weeks if not a whole month,” Talie said.
Patrick canted his head to the side. “Are they smooth on the outside?”
“No, they’re textured so you don’t drop things when you’re trying to clean. They’d be too slippery if they got wet if they weren’t textured,” Talie answered.
“Were they always the same brand,” he asked, beginning to scribble away in one of the files.
“Yes. I got them from the dollar store. It was all I had money for, and when Darcie or me needed something it was the only place Frederick would take us. I just bought their brand,” Talie said.
“Alright, send someone to get some of them,” Patrick said to Raymond. “Then have the stolen goods dusted again, but instead of finger prints, look for a match to the texturing on the fingertips of the gloves. Bring a pack to the jail, too,” Patrick said. Then he looked at Talie. “You’re