Aftermath Read Online Free PDF Page B

the skeleton. Poison is an unlikely fifth, as is drowning, but those two might and will leave traces respectively. Heavy poisons such as arsenic and cyanide will leave traces, alcohol won’t. But I will be able to tell if they were drowned . . . but the absence of a body of water in the area leads me to think it unlikely.’
    ‘I would think so too, ma’am, the fact that they were restrained and attached to a long chain makes me think that they were alive when they were abandoned . . . alive and conscious . . . from a police officer’s point of view.’
    ‘I would be inclined to agree with you, Chief Inspector, from a forensic pathologist’s point of view,’ she tapped her forefingers lightly on the rim of the table, ‘from the perpetrator’s point of view, I would think he’d want a rapid onset of death . . . he would abandon them to thirst or hypothermia. He wouldn’t return each day with a plentiful supply of water to keep them alive until they starved . . . too risky. So logic, not scientific analysis, points to hypothermia or thirst as the likely cause of death, depending upon the time of year they were chained up and abandoned. But that is encroaching on your area of expertise. Sorry.’
    ‘Encroach all you like.’
    ‘Thank you, but I suppose that that is my way of apologizing for being unlikely to find a cause of death. I think my expertise, modest as it is, will be confined to doing what I can to assist in the identification of the deceased, especially since one victim had sustained a distinct head injury much earlier in her life.’
    ‘That’s still very, very useful, thank you.’ Hennessey then glanced at Eric Filey and repeated, ‘Thank you.’ George Hennessey had come to like Filey a great deal, and come to respect him; young, slightly rotund, not only was he clearly sufficiently good at his job that he impressed Dr D’Acre but, unlike other pathology laboratory assistants whom Hennessey had met, Filey possessed a warmth about him and approached his employment with a good-humoured attitude, although when circumstances demanded, as at that moment, he was capable of demonstrating sincere reverence.
    Dr D’Acre used a stainless steel length of metal to prise open the jaw of the skeleton. ‘Definitely Caucasian or white European . . . the skull is northern European in appearance, and could also be Asian, but the teeth confirm it . . . definitely northern European in terms of race . . . and there is some dental work which may prove very useful in determining her identity. As you know, dentists have to keep their records for eleven years. This particular victim was murdered, or at least lost her life, within the last eleven years. Probably in the last two or three, and the dentistry appears to be British.
    So someone, some dentist, will have a record of her dental work and that is as unique as a fingerprint. Human teeth are like snowflakes . . . no two sets are ever the same.’
    ‘That will also be very helpful,’ Hennessey spoke softly, ‘very helpful indeed.’
    ‘Yes, the field is narrowing . . . no males as yet . . . and just glancing at the other skulls here, and recalling the fifth victim in the drawer, it seems that all are northern European in terms of race.’
    ‘The field is narrowing, as you say, ma’am. We don’t need to look for males or people of ethnic minority in our missing person files.’
    Dr D’Acre smiled and mouthed, ‘Thank you’, at Hennessey and then said, ‘I do like to be of some use.’ She then addressed Eric Filey. ‘Can you hand me the tape measure, please, Eric?’
    Dr D’Acre extended the tape measure whilst Eric Filey held the tape at the head of the corpse, until it reached the feet. ‘Tall lady,’ Dr D’Acre commented, ‘five foot ten inches, or about a hundred and seventy-eight centimetres in Eurospeak. Add an inch on to that to allow for the shrinking of the cartilage and the decay of the flesh beneath the feet,