An Indecent Death Read Online Free PDF

scarf, pantyhose, maybe a stocking or something similar. I can’t find any other suspicious marks on the body, no bruises or puncture wounds, no evidence that she was hit recently, and there’s nothing under her fingernails.”
    Brandt looked at Drumm, “This woman was in good shape, fit and with well-defined muscles. But I can find no evidence that she defended herself at all, or did any damage to her assailant.”
    Lori observed and took more notes as the organs were removed,  inspected and weighed. The stomach was opened, its contents examined. “Looks like white wine, tuna, vegetable soup and pasta.” The Coroner looked up at Drumm and Singh. “Nothing remarkable here. Stomach contents are an unreliable way of determining time of death, of course, but it looks like she died a few hours after eating her last meal. I’ll have the lab confirm that.”
    Drumm nodded, then said, “Sigrid, we’ll be on our way. Get the full report to me as soon as you can, please.”
    “Of course I will, Nicholas,” said the Coroner. “But the tox results take time. You know that.” She looked squarely at him. “I can’t rush them, not even for you.”
    Drumm sighed. “I know, Sigrid. Sorry.”
    The two detectives made their way back to their vehicles, stopping beside Lori’s Prius.
    Something was bothering Lori. “The Coroner said she wasn’t pregnant and she hadn’t given birth. And she said she wasn’t raped. But how can she be sure?”
    “She meant that there was no violence done to the genital area. We won’t know about sexual activity until the rape kit is analyzed. She might well have been sexually active just before her death but if so, there’s nothing to see. This wasn’t a case of someone being violently assaulted and then murdered. Looks like she was just strangled, maybe while she was sleeping. Possibly she was drugged – she didn’t put up any fight at all.”
    Lori said, “Those were nice clothes she was wearing.”
    The woman had been wearing a good quality black miniskirt, quite short, no shoes, no panties and no bra, just the sheer black blouse over a white tube top. The Coroner had found a simple gold chain inside the blouse. It was broken, likely damaged during the final choking. She had a sapphire ring on the ring finger of her right hand, no purse and no wallet.
    “She was killed late Friday evening or early Saturday morning,” Drumm said.
    Lori nodded. “It’s consistent with the party clothes she was wearing. The sort of thing a young woman would wear to go to a rave or a pub, after a hard week at school.”
    “Or maybe just a night out with her boyfriend,” said Drumm. “Maybe some guy was about to get lucky. Could be she dressed that way for her lover. Or maybe she always went around like that. Or maybe her killer took her underwear as a souvenir. There are too many unknowns right now, for sure.” He looked at his watch. “I’m ravening. Do you fancy something to eat?”
    Lori blinked. Ravening ? Oh – he meant ravenous. She realized she was starving as well, her earlier queasiness long gone. What was it about an autopsy that made a person hungry? “I’d kill for a curry,” she said. “Come on, I’ll buy.”

four
     
    It took Wesson most of the morning to locate Terry Noonan. Karl had discovered that he was a truck driver for a local firm, Hobbes Transport. His job took him all over the area and sometimes out of the country. This particular morning he had driven a load of auto parts down to Oshawa and was due back at the depot later in the morning. Karl decided it was best to wait for his return rather than try to intercept him somewhere on the road. He occupied himself by thoroughly checking out Noonan’s work area.
    Karl showed his badge to the manager of the facility. “We just need to talk to him about some routine matters,” Karl said. “Has he worked here long?”
    “Five years, more or less.” The manager was an older man, thin, fortyish and with a nervous