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“Victoria Ford’s urine and blood were discovered at the crime scene. The urine was found in the unflushed toilet; the blood was on the carpeting. DNA analysis confirmed that both the urine and the blood belonged to her. But the forensic report has me confused.”
“How so?” Dr. Lockard asked.
“The report shows that the urine contained a high level of ammonia, and that the blood had a series of chemicals in it.”
“Chemicals?”
Dr. Lockard began to read the report.
“Yeah,” Walt said. “Listed in trace amounts in the blood were styrene, chloroform, glyphosate, and triclosan. What are they, and are they usually found in blood samples?”
Dr. Lockard shook his head as he continued to read. “No. Those things are not naturally found in blood.”
“How about the ammonia in the urine? Is that normal?”
“No.”
“So where did it come from? And what are the chemicals in the blood?”
Dr. Lockard ran his tongue over the corners of his lips. The Wizard, Walt thought, had been conjured.
Dr. Lockard blinked a few times. “The ammonia is easy. Urea breaks down into ammonia after twenty-four hours. So the urine collected from the toilet was more than twenty-four hours old.”
Walt considered the timeline. Cameron Young’s body was in the early stages of rigor mortis, and had been hanging for much less than twenty-four hours.
“What about the chemicals in the blood?” Walt asked.
“Let’s see. Styrene is a chemical used to make rubber and plastic products. Chloroform is a solvent and general anesthetic. Glyphosate is, I believe, a pesticide. And triclosan is an antibacterial and antifungal agent.”
“If the blood at the crime scene belonged to Victoria Ford,” Walt said, “and we can forensically prove it did, why would she have all those chemicals in her system?”
“She didn’t,” Dr. Lockard said.
He stood up and walked to the kitchen nook to grab his laptop. He returned to the island, opened the computer, and began tapping on the keyboard. Walt looked at the monitor just as Dr. Lockard finished typing into the search engine. Walt saw the query:
Chemicals found in tampons
Dr. Lockard nodded, pointing at the monitor. “The styrene came from the plastic applicator of a tampon. The chloroform is an anesthetic because, you know, women push babies out of their bodies but corporations don’t believe they’re tough enough to handle a tampon. Glyphosate is a pesticide used in cotton crops that, sadly, finds its way into cotton tampons. And finally, the triclosan is used as a preservative to prevent contamination.”
Walt hesitated as he, too, stared at the monitor, trying to make sense of it.
Dr. Lockard turned from the screen and looked at Walt. “If I were involved with this case, more than simply performing the postmortem exam on the victim, the chemicals found in the crime scene blood, as well as the ammonia in the urine, would raise some serious red flags.”
“Red flags for what?”
“That the urine was badly preserved before being placed in the toilet, and that the blood had been harvested from a tampon and planted at the scene.”
CHAPTER 53
Manhattan, NY Monday, July 5, 2021
IT WAS APPROACHING 6:00 P.M. WHEN AVERY RODE THE ELEVATOR UP TO Natalie Ratcliff’s apartment and was again met by the author when the doors opened.
“Avery, good to see you again.”
“Hi,” Avery said. “I didn’t think you’d finish so fast.”
“I’ve been done for a day or two. Come on inside.”
