Minos fished in the folder and withdrew several color prints.
“But you asked about scales, Detective. I wanted a good look at surface architecture, so I popped hairs from the Paraiso sample into the scanning electron microscope.”
Minos handed me a five-by-seven glossy. I felt Galiano lean over my shoulder.
“That’s the root end of a Paraiso hair magnified four hundred times. Look at the outer surface.”
“Looks like a bathroom floor.” Galiano.
Minos produced another photo. “That’s farther up the shaft.”
“Flower petals.”
“Good, Detective.” This time Galiano was the recipient of the proud smile. “What you’ve so aptly described is what we call scale pattern progression. In this case the scale pattern goes from what we call irregular mosaic to what we call petal.”
Minos was what we call a jargon meister. But the guy knew his hair.
Print number three. The scales now looked more honeycombed, their margins rougher.
“That’s the tip end of a hair. The scale pattern is what we call regular mosaic. The borders have become more ragged.”
“How is this relevant to cats and dogs?” Galiano.
“Dogs show wide variation in scale pattern progression, but, in my opinion, this progression is unique to cats.”
“So the hairs on the jeans came from a cat.” Galiano straightened.
“Yes.”
“Are they all from the same cat?” I asked.
“I’ve seen nothing to suggest otherwise.”
“What about the Specter sample?”
Minos leafed through his folder.
“That would be sample number four.” He smiled at me. “Cat.”
“So everything comes up feline.” I thought a moment. “Is the Paraiso sample consistent with any of the other three?”
“That’s where it gets interesting.”
Minos selected another page, scanned the text.
“In sample number two, the average length of the hairs was greater than in any of the other three samples.” He looked up.
“Over five centimeters, which is quite long.” Back to the report.
“Also, the hairs were more consistently of the fine variety.” He looked up again. “As opposed to coarse.” Back to the report. “And the surface architecture of each hair showed a mixture of smooth-edged regular mosaic and smooth-edged coronal scale types.”
Minos closed the folder, but offered no explanation.
“What does that mean, Senor Minos?” I asked.
“Sample two derives from a different cat than the other three samples. My guess, and it’s only a guess, won’t go into my report, is that cat number two is Persian.”
“And the other samples are not from Persian cats?”
“Standard shorthairs.”
“But the Paraiso sample is consistent with the other two samples?”
“Consistent, yes.”
“How was sample two labeled?”
Again Minos consulted the folder.
“Eduardo.”
“That would be Buttercup.”
“Persian?” Minos and I asked simultaneously.
Galiano nodded.
“So Buttercup wasn’t the donor of the Paraiso hairs,” I said.
“A Persian cat wasn’t the donor of the Paraiso hairs,” Minos corrected.
“That puts Buttercup in the clear. What about the Gerardi or Specter cats?”
“Definite candidates.”
I felt a sudden surge of optimism.
“Along with a million other shorthairs in Guatemala City,” he added.
