فصل 59

Chapter 59

THE DNA lab was new, smelled new, and the personnel were younger than Starling. It was something she’d have to get used to, she thought with a twinge she’d be a year older very soon.

A young woman with A. BENNING on her name tag signed for the two arrows Starling brought.

A. Benning had had some bad experiences receiving evidence, judging from her evident relief when she saw the two missiles wired carefully to Starling’s evidence board with twist ties.

“You don’t want to know what I see sometimes when I open these things,” A.

Benning said. “You have to understand that I can’t tell you anything, like in five minutes-“

“No,” Starling said. “There’s no reference RFLP on Dr Lecter, he escaped too long ago and the artifacts have been polluted, handled by a hundred people.”

“Lab time is too valuable to run every sample, like fourteen hairs say from a motel room. If you bring me-“

“Listen to me,” Starling said, “then you talk. I’ve asked the Questura in Italy to send me the toothbrush they think belonged to Dr Lecter. You can get some epithelial cheek cells off it. Do both RFLP and short tandem repeats on them. This crossbow quarrel has been in the rain, I doubt you’ll get much off it, but look here-“

“I’m sorry, I didn’t think you’d understand-“

Starling managed a smile. “Don’t worry, A. Benning, we’ll get along fine. See, the arrows are both yellow. The crossbow quarrel is yellow because it’s been painted by hand, not a bad job, but a little streaky. Look here, what does that look like under the paint?”

“Maybe a hair off the brush?”

“Maybe. But look how it’s curved toward one end and has a little bulb at the end.

What if it’s an eyelash?”

“If it’s got the follicle-“

“Right.”

“Look, I can run PCR-STR - three colors at once in the same line in the gel and get you three DNA sites at a time. It’ll take thirteen sites for court, but a couple of days will be enough to know pretty well if it’s him.”

“A. Benning, I knew you could help me.”

“You’re Starling. I mean Special Agent Starling. I didn’t mean to get off on the wrong foot - I see a lot of real bad evidence the cops send in - it has nothing to do with you.”

“I know.”

“I thought you’d be older. All the girls - the women know about you, I mean everybody does, but you’re kind of” - A. Benning looked away - “kind of special to us.”

A. Benning held up her chubby little thumb. “Good luck with the Other. If you don’t mind my saying so.”