New Gods of North America.

Chapter 460 Fingerprints
After many twists and turns, Wayne finally decided to go on another trip with Conor and the others.
After all, although the detective agency had taken related courses before, this was the first time that the "fingerprint verification" program was used in practice.

In order to achieve a better "proofing" effect, Wayne felt that he should provide on-site guidance and supervision.
Although he couldn't be said to be "experienced", he had at least seen similar content in various detective novels and mystery dramas, so he could barely be considered to have "seen pigs run".

Inissa, Lina, and other agents were also very curious, so almost all the troops were mobilized at the temporary base.

The group first went to the cathedral and the police station to ask for the address, and then found the two "Williams" as witnesses, and forced them to work overtime together.

Sheriff William originally thought that the "fingerprint" thing sounded unreliable, and his expression was a little alert. "Everyone's fingerprints are different? Can we use it to find the murderer?"

It was too troublesome to explain the technical aspects in detail, so Wayne chose to prevaricate:
"I come from a family of sheriffs in a small western town, and my uncle has been a sheriff for many years. I am also a student in the academy, and have been praised by professors, and some of my academic achievements have been applied for honors (although they are in mathematics). You can trust me in this regard, and just help to bear witness."

Tom Hagen's assistant William was more cooperative in comparison. He generally trusted the detective agency's behavior, but he was also curious about Wayne's experience and asked about Uncle Benjamin.

Due to the limitations of this era, the only methods that detective agencies can actually use to extract fingerprints on the spot are the "powder method" and the "iodine fumigation method".
The former currently uses repeatedly ground graphite powder and a soft brush, and can only be used to collect fingerprints on relatively smooth surfaces such as glass, ceramics, and polished metal.
The latter is to use something to hold the iodine element, and after it is smoked and sublimated, the reaction between iodine and oil will make the fingerprints appear.

Fortunately, iodine tincture was included in the official pharmacopoeia of the American Medical Association more than a decade ago, and elemental iodine is also used in the formation of silver plate cameras, so this thing now has a "market", otherwise the detective agency would have to do it themselves.
Even though the purity of this thing is a little off, it is effective enough for fumigation.

Wayne pressed his fingerprints on a piece of white paper in front of everyone in the detective agency and the two Williams. He then used a beaker and a candle to demonstrate the on-site operation again. A fingerprint that was not particularly clear soon emerged:

"You see, the facts prove that this method is feasible. Theoretically, after the crime, the only people who searched here were police officers. The detectives from the detective agency wore gloves at the scene, so if the fingerprints of the investigators are ruled out, then the remaining fingerprints can be temporarily included as suspects."

Similar experiments have actually been demonstrated in the internal courses of the detective agency, and some detectives have even performed them themselves.

This was a rare opportunity to have fun like this, and to "actually" play it out in an actual investigation, so the agents became more interested. Even Inissa and Lina each brought a set of tools to play with on the scene.

Compared to daytime, nighttime actually has another advantage. Some fingerprints are not obvious during the day, but they are faintly visible under the light of candlelight at night, making them easier to notice.
The mailbox outside the murderer's house was soon fumigated by the detectives like cupping, one by one. A blank envelope near the ashtray in the living room soon became a "key target" in everyone's eyes.

Compared to "showing fingerprints", "collecting fingerprints" is more troublesome these days.
Ryan's photography ability can only be used within the detective agency for his own inspections, but if he wants to take it out as clues and evidence, he has to have someone draw the fingerprints according to the appearance, and some things have to be taken away directly.

That night, they collected more than a dozen things that might be "problematic". The next morning, Wayne and his team went to the police station again to collect fingerprints from the police officers who had searched the scene and the murderer, in order to "eliminate interference items".
Collecting fingerprints from living people is relatively simple. Ask someone to use fresh garlic juice to leave fingerprints on paper. After being roasted, they will appear and can be preserved for a period of time. Facts have proved that in this era when "solving cases with fingerprints" has not yet been deeply rooted in people's minds, the probability of successfully finding a missing person is still quite high. Sure enough, a strange fingerprint was found on the seemingly blank envelope.

Some police officers were skeptical about the fact that "fingerprints are almost impossible to be exactly the same". Wayne simply threw the "fingerprint collection cards" of the police officers and the murderer to them and asked them to find out if any of them had exactly the same ones. If they found a pair, they would be given $100.

Then the police officers repeatedly checked and reported the fingerprints. They saw Wayne and his team leave without successfully winning the prize. They found that some fingerprints might look similar, but the shapes, sizes and patterns were difficult to be exactly the same. Their suspicions in this regard quickly faded.
I just felt that these "top students in the academy" and the "special investigators" hired by the city police committee did have some real talent.

After alleviating the police station's concerns, Wayne and his team took the envelope, which was no longer "blank", to question the murderer before leaving.

Although the murderer seemed to have had some vague guesses when he was asked to collect fingerprints, when Wayne put the fact of strange fingerprints found at the scene in front of him, he was obviously still a little shocked. He did not expect that the investigative technology of this era had become so terrible.

"Next, we will collect fingerprints from your neighbors to eliminate more interference factors. But that may not be important. There is no postmark or address on this envelope, so it was obviously not sent to your home through normal mail. The letter seems to have been burned before you went out to commit the crime, which means that the information inside is not ordinary. If you give up your accomplices yourself, this matter may still have room for redemption."

To be honest, facing a scapegoat who is willing to take the death penalty, no matter how much evidence there is, it is sometimes of little use. Wayne is just "shooting at the bit".
The greater significance of the detective agency collecting fingerprints is to prove to the cathedral and the police that there is indeed a hidden "third party" or "third party" in this case.

The murderer was well aware of this, and despite being shocked, he still chose to continue moving forward alone:

"This matter was my idea from the beginning to the end. It has nothing to do with anyone else. The clues you found look interesting, but unfortunately they have nothing to do with this case."

How big is the hatred between you and Tom Hagen that is worth you dying like this?

The detective agency has officially proven that there is a bigger "iceberg" behind this case that has not been unearthed.
Therefore, the intensity of the investigation was intensified again. Inissa and Lina led people to trace the murderer's past experiences, such as checking the places where he had worked and some things mentioned in his experiences.

Wayne took some time off to report to Mr. Russell, the financial sponsor of the first office.

Investigation is investigation, and business is business.

(End of this chapter)