arrived and, with the help of Duncan, Jimmy, and two police officers who were there, the body of Dan Thornton was taken down and laid out atop a white sheet on a stretcher that had been wheeled into the room. While this was going on, I spent my time surveying the rest of the apartment, sorting through all the sensations I was getting.
âThe chair is wrong,â I said to no one in particular. The others in the room ignored me, but Duncan heard what I said and walked over to me.
âHow so?â he asked.
âI donât think the chair was ever upright anywhere near Mr. Thorntonâs body. Someone carried it over there and laid it down on its side to make it look like Thornton stood on it and then kicked it over. This carpet is new. If Thornton had ever stood on the chair, there should be deep imprints in the carpet from its legs. I can sense other irregularities in the pile but I donât feel any from the chair legs anywhere beneath where the body was.â
âInteresting,â Duncan said, staring at the carpet with a curious expression.
âI donât think he hanged himself.â
âBecause of the smell on the laptop and the note?â
âAnd the chair thing.â
âWhat else are you picking up?â
I kept hearing the sound of high-pitched flute music, louder in some areas than others. It was something Iâd experienced before but once again I didnât know what was triggering it. Like the annoying tag sensation, I kept this one to myself for now, and instead shared the things I could interpret.
âWell, when I look at the carpet I also feel pressure spots along my arms. Most of them feel the same, but in some areas, the pressure is lighter or heavier. Iâm not sure what it means, but I think it might be footprints Iâm picking up on. For instance, over there by the end of the couch you can see a depression left by someoneâs foot. I think thatâs the victimâs footprint, because the pressure I feel when I look at the majority of the rest of the room is the same. But over by the dining table, and here by the stairs, I feel lighter and heavier pressures when I look at the carpet. Itâs as if other people were walking in hereâsomeone with a bigger, heavier footprint and someone with a lighter one.â
Duncan cast a smug look toward Jimmy before telling me, âThe person who called nine-one-one was the victimâs girlfriend, and she found him pretty much the way you see him now. She told us she didnât go near him, and that the only places she went in the apartment once she let herself inside were the bathroom and the kitchen. Apparently the sight of her boyfriend hanging there made her ill and she ran into the bathroom because she thought she might vomit. She didnât, and she then went into the kitchen and poured herself a glass of water. Then she went out into the hallway and used her cell phone to call nine-one-one.â
âThat probably explains the sound I picked up on in those areas,â I said, âthough I canât tell if the smell that caused it was something on her body like a perfume, lotion, or shampoo, or if it was her laundry detergent.â
I looked away from the carpet and toward Duncan to assess his reaction. He cocked his head to one side and smiled at me.
âWhat?â
âI knew your little talent would come in handy.â
âIâm not sure how handy it is telling you stuff you already know,â I said.
âWe knew about the girlfriend being in here, but not anyone else.â
âThose other footprints could well be yours, or Jimmyâs, or the other cops whoâve been here.â
Duncan nodded and gave me a grudging look. âYou may be right, but itâs still useful information. You have to understand, itâs rarely just one thing that helps us solve these cases. More often itâs a combination of things. We have to take bits of evidence and lay