The Mentor – Part 8

“Okay Allyson, let me take your finger prints first.  Where did you touch it?”

“Just on the handle and the bottom, but Mac put her fingers all over it.  You should be able to get several good prints.”

Allyson inked her fingers and then put each one in a separate block on a card from Carolyn’s kit.  Meanwhile Carolyn dusted and carefully applied the prints to a card labeled ‘Cup’.  She pulled a magnifying glass out of the drawer; and compared the two cards carefully.  She frowned.

“Allyson, I thought you only touched the bottom and the handle.  Your prints are all over this thing.”

“What!”

“All the prints on the cup match yours.  How do you explain that?”

“How can they be mine?  Mac handled cup and when she gave it to me; I took the handle.  I never touched anywhere else except on the bottom.  You must have done it wrong.”

“I didn’t do it wrong, I have done this with my brother several times and I know what I am doing.  If you didn’t touch it on its outer surface then how did your prints get there?”

Allyson threw her hands up into the air.  Just then Tim Peterson knocked on the door.  “Hey have you done it yet?  How did it go?”

“Not good, the only prints on the cup are Allyson’s.” 

“Weird?  Well I bought a ceramic pot for my mother’s birthday from Mac’s store.  She touched it all over.  Try and get the prints off of that.”

Carolyn got several good prints from the pot.  Then she compared them to the ones on Allyson’s card.  Her eyes widened.  She went over each print several times.  Then she shook her head.  “I don’t understand this at all.”

“What’s wrong?”

“Allyson’s prints are all over this thing too.”

“Impossible!  I never even touched it.  I never saw it before today.”

“Let’s go get a second opinion from my brother.”

* ** *** ** *

Carolyn’s brother looked up from his computer as the trio entered the sheriff’s office.

“Hey, what are you doing here?”

“I need your help.”

“Why?”

“Um, we’re doing a project for school.  I wanted to confirm my findings with you.”

He gave her a puzzled look; then he picked up the three cards and scanned them into the computer.  After a few minutes the results came back.

“Well the prints on all three cards belong to the same person and they are not found in either the state or local databases.

“Can two people to have the same fingerprints?” 

“No, everyone’s prints are unique.”

* ** *** ** *

“So how can Mac and I have the same prints?  Your brother said it’s impossible.”  Allyson paced the floor in Carolyn’s bedroom.

“Mac may have the answers.”  Tim looked at his watch.  “Uh oh, I have to get ready for my ‘PROM’ pictures.”

“You don’t sound very excited, Tim.”

“Well there’s this other girl that I like better than your sister.  I’m going to break up with Donna tomorrow.  I just hate telling her.”

“Oh, well it’s you’re nice to take her to the prom.  She has been looking forward to it.  Good luck with that other girl; you deserve to be with someone who is nice to you.”