Blood Axe Read Online Free PDF

and hear from forensics.’
    After writing up his report, Ian set off to speak to Charles Everleigh. Conveniently for Ian, he worked in the hospital where the mortuary was located. Charles was in theatre, so Ian went straight to the mortuary where he was pleased to see Avril, the cheerful young anatomical pathology technician he had met while he was working on a previous case.
    â€˜Hi, Ian,’ she greeted him with a ready smile. ‘How’s things? And how’s your wife?’
    â€˜She’s OK,’ he answered vaguely.
    It occurred to him that he had no idea about Avril’s relationship status. So much for being a detective. She wasn’t wearing a ring, but that didn’t necessarily mean anything.
    â€˜I suppose you’re here to see Jonah,’ she went on.
    He nodded, mentally bracing himself to view Angela’s cadaver again.
    Avril pulled a mock sad face. ‘And there I was, thinking my luck was finally in and you’d come here just for me. Oh well, your loss.’
    Ian grinned and followed her into the mortuary where the local home office pathologist was examining the body. Jonah Hetherington was a plump man in his forties. He had pale freckled skin and ginger hair. For someone with such a grim job, he was unremittingly cheerful.
    â€˜She’s young,’ Jonah said, plunging in straight away.
    â€˜Yes, I know. Just sixteen.’
    â€˜Like the song.’ Jonah broke into song in a pleasant tenor voice, beating time with a bloody gloved hand, ‘She was just sixteen, and you know what I mean.’
    Catching sight of Ian’s expression he broke off, with a mischievous grin. Ian couldn’t help smiling.
    â€˜Right,’ Jonah went on in a business-like tone. ‘Time of death around eleven on Sunday night. She was killed with one single blow which cracked her skull open like… well, cracking it in two. She would have died instantaneously. Her attacker was standing in front of her when he struck, so she may well have seen him. There’s no knowing.’ He paused, contemplating the dead white face, split open almost as far down as the eyes.
    â€˜He?’
    â€˜What?’
    â€˜You said “he”.’
    â€˜Did I?’
    â€˜Does that mean you think the killer was a man?’
    Jonah shook his head. ‘To be honest, I’m not sure if we’re looking for a man or a woman,’ he replied.
    â€˜You said “he”,’ Ian reminded him. ‘What gave you the impression it was a man who did this?’
    Again, Jonah hesitated. ‘Did I say “he”?’ he asked. ‘I think what I was thinking was that the killer hit her pretty hard, that’s all, so it seems more likely she was killed by a man.’
    â€˜But it’s only an impression?’
    â€˜Indeed,’ Jonah confirmed. ‘At this stage, there’s no knowing the gender of the killer, or anything else for that matter. Rest assured, Ian, we’re doing everything we can to winkle out more information from her.’
    â€˜Is it possible to at least estimate the height of her assailant from the angle of the blow?’
    Jonah shook his head. ‘If only I could. To answer with any certainty, I’d need to know his arm length, and whether he was standing on anything when he hit her. It seems unlikely, to be honest. My guess is he was an average-sized bloke, quite strong. But that is pure guesswork, and not very helpful to you.’
    â€˜What about the murder weapon?’
    Jonah frowned. ‘A clean cut with a straight, sharp blade. It looks like a very wide knife, something like an axe blade.’
    â€˜An axe? Keep that quiet for now, will you?’
    Jonah nodded. He understood why Ian wouldn’t want the media getting hold of that sensational possibility.
    â€˜It was a particularly violent attack,’ Jonah went on, ‘but I wonder if it mightn’t have been a mugging that went spectacularly