Die With Me Read Online Free PDF

she have been aware of what was going on around her?’ Donovan asked.
    Blake gave her a tight smile. ‘Like someone a little drunk.’
    ‘No more than that?’
    ‘With the right dose, the effects are placidity, sensuality and mild euphoria. Anxieties dissolve into a feeling of emotional warmth, well-being and pleasant drowsiness.’
    ‘You mean she would lose her inhibitions,’ Donovan said, glancing at Tartaglia for confirmation. They were obviously thinking along the same lines.
    He nodded. ‘And fear.’
    ‘It produces a heightening of the sense of touch, increased sexual enjoyment and performance for both men and women,’ Blake continued, ignoring where they were going with this.
    ‘Which is why I keep coming back to a sexual motive,’ Tartaglia said, rapping his fingers lightly on the edge of the desk. ‘Picture this. Gemma was with a much older man. She met him outside the church – clearly they had arranged to meet there. They kiss, so we know he’s not a stranger, then they go inside together. The church is empty, nobody about at that time of day, and it’s more than likely they knew it would be. This all smells to me of careful preparation. They go upstairs to the gallery and sit or lie on the floor. They light candles, burn incense and drink wine, all of which they would have had to bring with them. Then the girl falls to her death and the man disappears.’
    ‘What do you want me to say, Inspector?’ Blake asked, her face expressionless.
    She was still missing the obvious, as far as he was concerned. Pathologists were so literal, so clinical. Just deal with the bald facts, never try to interpret them, let alone use your imagination.
    ‘Look, we’re talking about a fourteen-year-old girl,’ he insisted, holding her gaze. ‘A virgin, according to you. This was all premeditated, not something that just happened by chance. Why go to all this trouble, unless there’s something specific you want to get out of it? The girl’s the follower in all of this, the innocent victim. And now she’s dead, with GHB in her system. Don’t tell me there was no sexual purpose.’
    Blake shook her head slowly. ‘This is pure speculation. There is absolutely no physical evidence to suggest a sexual encounter.’
    Exasperated with not getting the answer he wanted, he exhaled, leaning back in the chair so violently that it made a loud crack beneath him. ‘You looked for signs of a struggle? Grazing, bruising, scratches? You checked her fingernails?’
    Blake looked affronted. ‘Of course. I did the PM myself but I found nothing suspicious. The details are all in my report, which you’ll have in the morning.’
    She cleared her throat and folded her arms as if that was the end of the matter. For a moment he pictured her, white-skinned, full-breasted and bleary-eyed, her hair fanned out on the pillow. But that was history and he felt furious with himself again for allowing his thoughts to wander in that direction.
    ‘OK, going back to the GHB,’ he said, forcing himself back into the present. ‘What sort of quantities are we dealing with here?’
    ‘Nothing especially high, nothing more than a couple of grams. Although even a small amount of alcohol would intensify the sedative effect. Gemma would have been in quite a happy and relaxed state, but she may have had trouble staying awake.’
    ‘How quickly would it have taken effect?’ Donovan asked.
    ‘It depends on the dosage and the purity of the drug. But for someone Gemma’s size, on an empty stomach, I’d say fairly quickly, particularly with the alcohol. Probably no more than ten to fifteen minutes at most.’
    ‘Might she have wanted to jump off the balcony? You know, like someone on a bad trip?’
    Blake shook her head. ‘GHB doesn’t make you hallucinate.’
    ‘Would she have been capable of climbing over the balcony on her own in that state?’
    ‘Remind me how high the balcony is?’
    ‘About four feet,’ Tartaglia said. ‘And very