were absolutely watertight was one of them. Getting initial funding, office space, office staff, and business licenses to operate in the city of New York was another.
By the time Leland left Mr. Pagoni, virtually all of the sticking points had been overcome. Before they parted company, Leland and Mr. Pagoni even took a minute to pray for the success of this venture. Having the Italian Mafia clearing the way for the ministry of God’s Word seemed an incredible concept, but there it was. God truly did move in mysterious ways.
“Hey, Phil, we’ve got the forensics and autopsy reports back on those kids who were killed in the park three days ago,” said Detective Bill Strom, as he walked into the lieutenant’s office. “I sure hope you’re in a good mood.”
“Because you’re about to tell me something that will sour my mood regardless,” deduced Phil Stoddard, turning from his computer. “Out with it.”
“OK,” said Bill, “it looks like one of those kids grappled with his assailant or assailants before he went down. Forensics found two dark hairs and some skin beneath his fingernails. The guys in forensics took it in for genetic typing. Thing is, the hair turned out not to be human, neither was the skin.”
“Maybe it was from his dog,” suggested the lieutenant. “Two of the kids had dogs, didn’t they?”
“Yes they did, but here’s the creepy part,” continued Bill. “It wasn’t canine, or even feline. The skin and hair don’t match any of the 50 or so animal genomes in the database. It’s close to human, really close, but not quite.”
“Maybe it’s from an ape of some kind, or maybe the lab just fouled up the test. I don’t know. I’ve never really understood all that genetic stuff. If you’re trying to tell me that little green men or Big Foot killed those kids, well, I don’t have the time. Our assailant was human, a damn weird one to be certain, but he was human.” There was clear frustration in the lieutenant’s voice.
“Look Phil, I worked with forensics for three years,” continued Bill. “I know a little bit about the science; they’re not making this stuff up, and there’s nomistake. I don’t know what I’m trying to tell you beyond the fact that it’s weird, that’s all. They will be expanding their search. Maybe it will be something simple that we’re just overlooking. We all know that it was a man who wielded the blade that killed those gang members.” Bill paused. He really hated to bring up the next issue. “There’s something else. Some blades leave a trace of their identity behind, and this one left a doosey, an almost microscopic fragment. There were faint traces of titanium and iridium in two of the wounds.”
“Iridium?” asked Phil. “I’ve heard of titanium, but iridium? That’s some kind of crazy, rare metal, isn’t it?”
“It is,” confirmed Bill, “four times rarer than gold and real;y expensive.”
“So, the sword, or axe, or whatever it was, was made of what, an alloy of titanium and iridium? What kind of crazy blade is that?”
“One that never existed before,” said Bill. “I don’t know a whole lot about metallurgy, but this is a new one on me. It combines one of the least dense metals with one of the most dense. Who knows what the properties of a metal alloy like that would be. The lab guys are looking into it. They are even sharing their findings with one of the professors over at New York University. Maybe he can shed some light on this.”
“We have a few clues, but they just don’t add up,” lamented Phil. “No eye witnesses have stepped forward, and we don’t have any suspects. There are no security cameras with a good view of that region of the park, either. The papers are suggesting that this was the work of a vigilante. I can’t eliminate that possibility, but I have my doubts. Unless someone comes forth with new information, we might have to put this one on the back burner for now.”
“Maybe not,”
By the time Leland left Mr. Pagoni, virtually all of the sticking points had been overcome. Before they parted company, Leland and Mr. Pagoni even took a minute to pray for the success of this venture. Having the Italian Mafia clearing the way for the ministry of God’s Word seemed an incredible concept, but there it was. God truly did move in mysterious ways.
“Hey, Phil, we’ve got the forensics and autopsy reports back on those kids who were killed in the park three days ago,” said Detective Bill Strom, as he walked into the lieutenant’s office. “I sure hope you’re in a good mood.”
“Because you’re about to tell me something that will sour my mood regardless,” deduced Phil Stoddard, turning from his computer. “Out with it.”
“OK,” said Bill, “it looks like one of those kids grappled with his assailant or assailants before he went down. Forensics found two dark hairs and some skin beneath his fingernails. The guys in forensics took it in for genetic typing. Thing is, the hair turned out not to be human, neither was the skin.”
“Maybe it was from his dog,” suggested the lieutenant. “Two of the kids had dogs, didn’t they?”
“Yes they did, but here’s the creepy part,” continued Bill. “It wasn’t canine, or even feline. The skin and hair don’t match any of the 50 or so animal genomes in the database. It’s close to human, really close, but not quite.”
“Maybe it’s from an ape of some kind, or maybe the lab just fouled up the test. I don’t know. I’ve never really understood all that genetic stuff. If you’re trying to tell me that little green men or Big Foot killed those kids, well, I don’t have the time. Our assailant was human, a damn weird one to be certain, but he was human.” There was clear frustration in the lieutenant’s voice.
“Look Phil, I worked with forensics for three years,” continued Bill. “I know a little bit about the science; they’re not making this stuff up, and there’s nomistake. I don’t know what I’m trying to tell you beyond the fact that it’s weird, that’s all. They will be expanding their search. Maybe it will be something simple that we’re just overlooking. We all know that it was a man who wielded the blade that killed those gang members.” Bill paused. He really hated to bring up the next issue. “There’s something else. Some blades leave a trace of their identity behind, and this one left a doosey, an almost microscopic fragment. There were faint traces of titanium and iridium in two of the wounds.”
“Iridium?” asked Phil. “I’ve heard of titanium, but iridium? That’s some kind of crazy, rare metal, isn’t it?”
“It is,” confirmed Bill, “four times rarer than gold and real;y expensive.”
“So, the sword, or axe, or whatever it was, was made of what, an alloy of titanium and iridium? What kind of crazy blade is that?”
“One that never existed before,” said Bill. “I don’t know a whole lot about metallurgy, but this is a new one on me. It combines one of the least dense metals with one of the most dense. Who knows what the properties of a metal alloy like that would be. The lab guys are looking into it. They are even sharing their findings with one of the professors over at New York University. Maybe he can shed some light on this.”
“We have a few clues, but they just don’t add up,” lamented Phil. “No eye witnesses have stepped forward, and we don’t have any suspects. There are no security cameras with a good view of that region of the park, either. The papers are suggesting that this was the work of a vigilante. I can’t eliminate that possibility, but I have my doubts. Unless someone comes forth with new information, we might have to put this one on the back burner for now.”
“Maybe not,”
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