Blood Will Tell (24 page)
Authors: April Henry
“Did you allow that tie to touch any of our cups?”
“What?” He looked at Alexis, but she seemed just as confused as he was.
“Nobody ever washes their ties. And they brush against all kinds of viruses and bacteria and just plain dirt.” Ruby made a face. “If I go to a doctor and he's wearing one, I ask him to take it off and then wash his hands.”
Understanding dawned. “Because it could transfer germs from a sick person to you,” Nick said. “Just like that pulse oximeter transferred my DNA to Lucy.”
“Otherwise known as a pulse ox,” Ruby said. “Exactly.”
“Don't worry. It didn't come anywhere near your drinks,” Nick said, although he really had no idea. Ruby finally sat down but didn't reach for her coffee. Alexis had already picked hers up, and now she took a sip and gave Nick a grateful smile. With that smile, all the knots in his stomach loosened, and he picked his up, too.
Then she said, “Thank you. And Bran and I saw you on Channel 8 last night. You looked good.”
The knots retied themselves. He set his coffee back down, untouched. “I made sure I didn't mention either of your names.” For their own reasons, each girl wanted to fly under the radar. “The reporter told me they're saying the surgery to repair that guy's Achilles tendon was successful, although he'll probably always have a limp.”
“I still don't understand why you had a razor blade in your shoe.” Ruby's brows pulled together.
How could Nick explain it to them? “Everyone but you guys thought I killed Lucy. My dad even told me that he would look out for me in prison.” He remembered the clang of the doors, the guard's stare, the smell of sewage and sweat, his father's dead eyes. A shiver ran through him, hard enough that his untouched coffee slopped over the edge of the mug. “Just being there to visit that one time was enough. I knew I couldn't face going to prison.”
Alexis got it right away. She touched the back of one hand with a fingertip. Her nails were bitten to the quick, which made him forgive her instantly, made him love her even more. “Oh, Nick, you wouldn't have, would you?”
“I don't know. I don't think so. It was just a weird kind of comfort when I was desperate, you know?”
Ruby still looked a little bit lost, but Alexis nodded. “Are you going to see your dad again?” she asked. He could still feel the brush of her finger.
“I don't know.”
“Still,” Alexis said, “he is your dad.”
Unexpectedly, her words stung. Maybe Nick could forgive his dad for what he had done, but that didn't mean he had to actually let him into his life after all these years. “Your dad isn't in your life, though, right? And you don't seem to mind.”
“That's different.” Alexis's mouth twisted.
“How?”
“I don't really want to talk about it.”
He made himself pull back. “I guess my mom still goes to see my dad sometimes because she still remembers the person he used to be. Same with my brother, but since he doesn't remember as much, he doesn't go as often. And I don't have any memories of who he was before. Not really.” It still felt weird knowing just what a huge secret they had kept from him for years and years. He understood their reasons, but he didn't agree with them.
A silence fell over the table.
“Have you heard what Dimitri has been calling us?” Ruby said. “The three musketeers.”
In her clumsy way, she was trying to change the subject, trying to save Alexis and Nick from feeling the pain she saw but didn't understand.
Still, Nick liked the sound of it. He raised his mug. “To us. The three musketeers.”
They clinked mugs and smiled at each other. Friends.
Maybe that wasn't everything Nick wanted, but for today it was enough. As he looked from Ruby to Alexis, he put his mug to his lips and drank in the sweetness.
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A lot of
Blood Will Tell
revolves around DNA and its implications. DNA expert Daniel Krane, PhD, research scientist and professor at Wright State University and founder of Forensic Bioinformatics, graciously answered question after question. As I was revising the book, Nathaniel David Adams, a bioinformatician who works with Dan and who was also once an EMT, helped me get all the details right.
I met Dan through Lee Lofland, a veteran police investigator and founder of the one and only Writers' Police Academy, where Dan was a featured speaker in 2013. The Crime Scene Questions for Writers group on Yahoo was also a wonderful place to gather accurate information. And Robin Burcell, a former cop and author in her own right, helped me with information about questioning juveniles.
As for Portland County Sheriff's Office Search and Rescue, it was modeled on the real-life Multnomah County Sheriff's Office Search and Rescue (MCSO SAR). Not only does the group find people lost outdoors, but it also searches for crime scene evidence and recovers human remains. Jake Keller has volunteered with MCSO SAR since he was a teen, and he has patiently answered dozens of questions, including questions about knives.
Speaking of knives, thanks to the customer service folks at Global Restaurant Solutions and to the produce staff at both New Seasons and Food Front for not getting freaked out about my questions.
Kudo to my editor, Christy Ottaviano, for championing Nick, Alexis, and Ruby. Other wonderful folks at Henry Holt include Amy Allen, April Ward, Holly Hunnicutt, Allison Verost, Ksenia Winnicki, Marianne Cohen, Christine Ma, Angus Killick, Katie Fee, and Lucy Del Priore.
And this past year, my agent, Wendy Schmalz, and I marked our twentieth anniversary of being a team.
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April Henry
is the
New York Times
âbestselling author of many acclaimed mysteries for adults and young adults, including the award-winning YA novels
Girl, Stolen
;
The Night She Disappeared
;
The Girl Who Was Supposed to Die
; and
The Body in the Woods
, in the Point Last Seen series. She lives in Oregon.
aprilhenrymysteries.com
. Or sign up for email updates
here
.
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OTHER MYSTERIES BY
APRIL HENRY
:
The Body in the Woods,
Point Last Seen series
The Girl Who Was Supposed to Die
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CONTENTS
Other Mysteries by April Henry
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Copyright © 2015 by April Henry
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Henry Holt and Company, LLC
Publishers since 1866
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The Library of Congress has cataloged the print edition as follows:
Henry, April.
Blood will tell / April Henry. âFirst edition.
pages cm.       â(Point last seen; [2])
“Christy Ottaviano Books.”
Summary: “Teen Portland Search and Rescue team member Nick Walker becomes a prime suspect in a murder”âProvided by publisher.
ISBN 978-0-8050-9853-2 (hardback)âISBN 978-0-8050-9867-9 (e-book)  [1.  MurderâFiction.  2.  Criminal investigationâFiction.  3.  FriendshipâFiction.  4.  Eccentrics and eccentricitiesâFiction.  5.  Mystery and detective stories.]  I.  Title.
PZ7.H39356BI 2015Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â [Fic]âdc23Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â 2014048673
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First hardcover edition 2015
eBook edition June 2015
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eISBN 9780805098679