"Charley, you said you've got something?"
Mike felt a distinct sense of rejuvenation as he entered the crime lab late that afternoon. Between the sterile atmosphere, the neon lights and white coats were clues that would hopefully bring them a lot closer to solving their murder case.
The targeting of police officers was something that was eating him up from the inside.
A profession as difficult and demanding as theirs had come under increasing scrutiny over the past few years, creating a nationwide mistrust in law enforcement officers and everything they stood for. It had also opened up the flood gates to individual anarchists utilizing the opportunity to specifically target any blue uniforms they came across, no matter how random the encounter.
Murders and assaults on LEO's had become a daily thing, the respect for a once highly regarded profession decreasing with every biased news report from so-called liberal sources such as Sal Tidari from Channel Twelve. And although Mike couldn't openly charge the man with accessory to murder due to his police-hating reporting, he was keeping a very close eye on the development of their current case.
If it turned out that the murders on these three innocent men were spurred by one of the many reports he created, perhaps it was time for the uppity reporter to receive a muzzle.
"Mike, I was wondering what took you so long. I called you five minutes ago…", the African American lab expert joked and straightened out from behind his microscope, his hands leisurely resting in the pockets of his white coat.
"Let's not waste any time then and get to the point. What did you find?", the Lieutenant requested curtly, causing Dan and Charley to share a knowing smile, before the Lab Tech ushered the detectives to a nearby table.
"We found a print on the driver's side door to Farnum's car."
"A finger print?", Dan asked credulously, only to have the forensics expert shake his head.
"No. I think it might be a glove print."
"A glove print? What are you talking about?"
With his brows furrowed, Mike stepped closer to the elongated white lab table that contained several foils and clear plastic sheets.
"Well, I'll admit it's not much, but I felt it was important for you guys to know.", Charley continued and rested a hand next to one of the sheets as he leaned against the table, "We found it when we dusted the car for prints. See, I believe our killer wore leather gloves and cleaned the murder weapon shortly before it was use to shoot our latest victim. Some of the cleaning oils must have left a residue on the gloves, which in turn gave us a partial print."
Nodding understandingly, Mike crossed his arms in front of his chest, his busy eyes scanning the lab equipment below.
"How sure are you that it came from our killer and not Officer Farnum? He did motorcycle patrols and could have still been wearing his gloves when he left for the day."
"We thought about that too, Mike.", Charley added and smiled, "But the hand is smaller than Farnum's. Also, the position we found it in was right across the door and the chassis of the car, as if somebody had been leaning in through the driver's side window. That would be an unlikely position for the driver."
"Yeah, you're right, I see."
Pursing his lips, Mike glanced up when he heard Dan shuffle nervously.
"Hold it. You're saying these hand prints are smaller than those of Officer Farnum? But our victim was only 150lbs and five-nine. If these prints are truly from our killer, they'd be too small. Our witness clearly said that he was six feet tall and about 200 lbs."
"Daniel is right, Charley. They're way too small. Is there any way you can tell how old they are? Maybe it is something unrelated to our case."
The Lab Tech stared at both detectives in solemn determination as he shook his head, before pointing his chin back at the evidence on his table.
"I'd hate to disappoint you folks, but these prints appeared during or right after the murder. There's both, gunpowder residue and blood from our victim mixed in with the handprint."