Chapter 6 - THE BLOOD IN THE BASEMENTLaboratory testing confirmed the blood belonged to Emily.
Small amount.
Several drops near the cot.
One smear beside the hidden door.
A larger cleaned area on the concrete.
Not enough to establish catastrophic injury.
Enough to prove she had bled there.
Hair recovered from the blanket matched Emily through known samples.
Her fingerprints appeared on water bottles and the portable toilet.
Richard’s fingerprints appeared on nearly everything.
Not surprising.
His house.
Margaret’s print was found on one food container and a ceramic soup bowl.
Also not automatically criminal.
She could have touched them before they entered the basement.
But the bowl contained dried tomato soup.
Noah had specifically described Grandma bringing soup.
The red-thread key had Margaret’s DNA on the thread.
Again:
Consistent.
Not a complete case.
Police also found marks along the door where something had struck from inside.
A screw was loose.
Emily had tried to get out.
That image stayed with me.
My sister in a room beneath a basement I had walked through without knowing it existed.
Hitting the door.
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Calling Noah’s name.
Waiting for Claire.
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