The Curious Incidents at Grand Show Place Cinema

Chapter 4

A couple of days later, as renovations started on the theatre, Constable Bren Williams knocked on the theatre's door.

"Hello Candace, is Edward in today?"

"Yes, he is. I will get him; he is with the contractor in Theatre 5." Candace replied.

"Good to see you, Bren," Edward reached out as he entered the office and shook Bren's hand.

"I need to ask follow-up questions about the fingerprints and the spit sample. Could Candace stay for the questions as well?" Bren asked.

Both Edward and Candace agreed.

"Do either of you know someone named Caritas Featherstone?" Bren queried.

Edward shook his head, indicating no. Candace had a shocked expression on her face.

"I remember going through a place named Featherstone in the U.K. when I was on vacation earlier this year," Candace replied.

"I was looking at the box of light bulbs installed in the theatre and noticed they were imported from Featherstone Lighting in the U.K., not sure if that is relevant," Edward offered.

"Did you see anyone else touch the glass at the ticket booth? Bren continued.

"No, she was the only one who grabbed the glass. Is that the name of the woman?" Candace inquired.

Bren made some notes.

"It is complicated. We found the fingerprints from Caritas Featherstone, born in Featherstone, Ontario, in 1968. They are also the fingerprints of Caritas Featherstone, born in 1868 in Featherstone, Staffordshire, U.K.," Bren explained.

"I thought no two sets of fingerprints were the same. Plus, how would you get fingerprints from 1868?" Edward asked.

"Good question. Caritas Featherstone was arrested in 1905 for murder just as Scotland Yard began using fingerprints in their investigations. The U.K. government digitized the historical fingerprint records earlier last year. We got the prints from there. I guess there is a possibility that two people from different eras could share a print. Maybe they are genetically related somehow. At this point, we don't know. It gets more interesting. Caritas Featherstone, born in 1868, was arrested in 1905 for murder; she also escaped in the middle of the night and was never seen again. The Caritas, born in 1968, was arrested in 1988, escaped from her cell, and was never seen again, until now." Bren elaborated.

"How do you know that the person you arrested is the same person from 1988?" Candace replied.

"The officers who made the arrest back then are still on the force. We sent them a sketch of the woman we arrested, and they positively identified her as the woman they arrested back then." Bren offered.

"You mean adjusting for age," Candace corrected.

"No, the woman looked the same as back then." Bren deadpanned.

"How is that possible? She would be almost 50 now." Edward chimed in.

"Technically nearly 150, if she is the same person that Scotland Yard arrested in 1905," Candace pointed out.

"I guess she aged well in hiding," Bren said with a grin.

"One other thing about the DNA sample. It shows you are both close relatives of the Featherstone woman," Bren pressed.

"I don't understand. How is there a DNA link to us? I have never had a DNA test done." Candace looked at Edward.

"Melanie and I signed up for a DNA-based genealogy site last year," Edward said.