Seeds of Evidence (9781426770838) by Linda J. White Page A

vaguely.
    He nodded and continued staring out over the ocean. “The important thing is, keep at it. Somebody intentionally killed that little kid, somebody bigger and stronger. He put something—a cord or a rope—around his neck and watched him as he died. That’s no way to treat a kid.” He gestured with his hands as he spoke. “There’s nobody to speak up for that boy now, nobody but you to bring him justice. It’s a sacred trust, you know? Don’t let anything get in your way.”

6
    K IT STOOD IN THE GREAT ROOM OF HER COTTAGE, STARING OUT OVER THE channel. A group of five or six gulls were fighting over some crab shells someone had thrown out, swooping and diving, picking up bits of crab and stealing them from one another.
    The house was quiet, too quiet, and loneliness had settled like an ache in her bones. David was right. It was best not to mix law enforcement and marriage.
    But what about children?
    The call from the forensic botanist from the University of North Carolina at Wilmington distracted her. “I did some initial testing on that material you sent me,” the professor said. “You have time to talk about it?”
    â€œSure!” Kit slid a pad of paper in front of her on the table and picked up a pen.
    â€œWhat is it you were hoping to learn?”
    Kit filled him in on the details of the case. “So I’m wondering: is there a way to use the seeds or the acorns to figure out where the boy was before he died?”
    Kit waited during a long pause. The botanist, Dr. Timothy Hill, was one of a tiny handful of people in his specialty who applied his science to criminal investigations. “Unfortunately,”Dr. Hill said, “tomatoes of this kind are ubiquitous. Now if they’d been heirloom tomatoes, those we could do something with. But these are just simple, common tomatoes grown commercially all over Delmarva, and their DNA would not be traceable.”
    Kit’s hope sank. “I thought that we could link DNA to individual plants.”
    â€œIt’s true, we have done that. Actually, we’ve been doing it since the early ’90s. The first case involved a murder in which the body was found near a palo verde tree out in Arizona. The investigating officer picked up some seed pods. Then, they identified a suspect, and found similar seed pods in the back of his truck. A DNA scan showed that all the pods came from the same plant, thus putting him at the place of the crime.”
    â€œAnd that won’t work for tomatoes?”
    â€œNot with these tomatoes. Besides, in the Arizona case, there were two samples to compare: one from the crime scene, one from the suspect’s truck. You only have one. But here’s something else to consider,” Dr. Hill said. “That little boy had been eating tomatoes out the wazoo. According to the medical examiner’s report of the number of seeds found in his gut, I’d say he’d ingested a dozen or more in the twelve hours before his death. Either this kid’s mother had a heck of a kitchen garden, or his parents are ag workers with lots of access to free tomatoes.”
    â€œWhich still doesn’t answer why he’d be out on the ocean in a boat.”
    â€œThat’s a question outside the field of botany,” Dr. Hill said, chuckling.
    â€œSo you can’t trace the tomatoes . . .” Kit said, pensively.
    â€œThe acorns now . . . they’re more distinctive. We might be able to work with that. We can often trace those to an individual tree.”
    â€œWhat kind of tree are we talking about?”
    â€œ
Quercus virginiana
. Southern live oak. Common from Norfolk south, in sandy-soiled coastal areas.”
    â€œNorfolk south? What about the Delmarva Peninsula?”
    â€œThey’re not native to the Eastern Shore. If they’re there, someone planted them.” Dr. Hill paused. “Then again, that could work to