Scream: A DCI Mark Lapslie Investigation Read Online Free PDF

padded scaffolding. One CSI was taking photographs while two others were carefully picking out foam rubber balls and sealing them individually in plastic bags, numbering them, then placing them carefully in a storage box. Each one was about the size of a tennis ball, made from foam rubber and coloured red, blue, yellow and green, although there seemed to be a larger preponderance of red than Emma would have expected.
    And then she realised that some of the red balls weren’t originally red.
    They were covered in blood.
    Sergeant Murrell nodded to one of the CSIs. ‘Can you show us the body without disturbing it any more than it has been already?’
    One of the CSIs looked up, nodded, then reached into the ball pit. She fished around for a few moments, then took hold of something and pulled it carefully up.
    Emerging from the ball pit like a whale surfacing from the depths of the ocean came what looked initially to Emma like something from a butcher’s shop window. Pale skin with slices taken off to reveal white bone and yellow fat. An eye, isolated in raw flesh. Meat, raw and bloody.
    It was only when the CSI’s hand emerged from the balls supporting a gore-streaked mane of blonde hair that the individual parts came together to form a complete picture, and Emma realised that she was gazing at a woman’s head that appeared to have been repeatedly slashed by someone with a long knife or a sword.
    ‘Good God,’ Emma murmured.
    ‘Not based on this evidence,’ Sergeant Murrell responded softly.
    ‘Is the rest of her in there?’
    ‘As far as we can tell, the body is intact – with the exception of those slices of flesh that appear to have been removed.’
    ‘Naked?’
    ‘Oh yes.’
    ‘And those cuts – are they confined to the head or do they extend over the whole of the body?’
    He grimaced. ‘We’ve not conducted a full visual examination as yet, but there are certainly cuts to the hands, arms, shoulders and chest. One breast has been completely sliced off. The legs have some shallow cuts to them, and the feet appear to be untouched.’
    Emma tried to visualise what she was being told. ‘The cuts to the arms and hands: do they look defensive?’
    Murrell shrugged. ‘That’s a valid interpretation.’
    ‘So – someone hacked away at her while she was standing or crouching, and she defended herself until the blood loss was too great.’
    Again, he shrugged. ‘I can’t argue with that interpretation, but I’ve never seen anything like this before.’
    ‘Forensics and the post-mortem should be able to confirm or deny it.’ Emma thought for a moment. ‘The flesh that appears to have been sliced off – have you found it?’
    ‘There’s no indications of another crime scene within the building, and with that amount of blood loss I’m sure we would have spotted it. The bits that have been removed might be buried underneath the balls, they might have been taken by the killer or they might have been left at the place where she was killed, wherever that was.’
    Emma nodded. ‘So there’s likely to be another crime scene that we haven’t discovered.’
    ‘That’s the way my thoughts are going.’ Murrell swallowed, and looked away. ‘Some of the men are talking about … cannibalism. Is that a viable theory?’
    ‘At this stage,’ Emma said, ‘anything is a viable theory, but try to discourage too much speculation. We don’t want to get so focused on one path than we miss evidence for another.’
    ‘Understood.’ He nodded. ‘So, what’s next? What do you want us to do?’
    ‘You’ve got the CSIs here already, which is good. They’ll process the evidence and document everything photographically. I presume the pathologist is on the way?’
    ‘Expected within the hour.’
    ‘Who discovered the body?’
    ‘The manager of this place. His name is Gareth MacFarlane. He said he arrived at around eight o’clock to open up, and found that the door had been forced. He called the police straight