The Delicate Storm Read Online Free PDF Page A

bear or bears had hidden it there to finish it off later.
    Later Cardinal found a bit of ear and scalp with a pair of tinted aviator glasses still attached.
    “Does this distribution look random to you?” he asked Paul Arsenault, who was photographing the glasses. “Or do you think somebody could have spread the parts around?”
    “You mean somebody not a bear?”
    “Somebody not a bear.”
    Arsenault sat back on his haunches, chewing one end of his moustache. “If there’s a pattern, I don’t think we’re going to see it from here. We need an aerial view.”
    “The fog’s thinning, but we’re still not going to be able to see anything through the trees. Not even with red markers.”
    Arsenault chewed the other end of his moustache. “We could put up helium balloons. My daughter had a birthday last week, and we’ve got a bunch of ’em at home.”
    A constable was duly dispatched to Arsenault’s house and returned twenty minutes later with the balloons. They attached thirty yards of fishing line to each balloon, tied to a weight on the ground near each piece of evidence. Then the OPP took pictures from the air.

    Cardinal and Delorme were back at Skyway Service Centre redeploying searchers when a black Lexus pulled up. Cardinal recognized it and sagged inwardly. Dr. Alex Barnhouse was the kind of irritant an investigation didn’t need. A good coroner, true, but he ruffled feathers, and not just Cardinal’s.
    Barnhouse rolled down his window. “Let’s get a move on, shall we? I haven’t got all day.”
    Cardinal waved cheerily. “Hi there, Doc! How are you?”
    “Can we get moving, please?”
    “Isn’t this the most gorgeous day you’ve ever seen? The trees? The mist? Right out of a storybook, don’t you think?”
    “I can’t imagine anything less relevant.”
    “You’re right. Better park that beautiful Buick of yours over there and we’ll get started.”
    Barnhouse got out of the car, carrying his bag. “God help us,” he said, “when the local constabulary can’t tell the difference between a Buick and a Lexus.”
    “You’re being naughty,” Delorme said quietly as they headed to the backyard.
    “He does tend to bring out my immature side.”
    Barnhouse examined the severed arm, then followed them into the woods, black bag in hand. He barely glanced at the various body parts.
    “Detective Cardinal,” he said. “It is my professional opinion that this unidentified male met with his fate in an unnatural manner. There being no clothes near the body is one such indicator. The small amount of blood is another. Given the severity of the injuries inflicted by the animal or animals, these trees and leaves should be covered with blood. They are not.”
    “But that could just mean the bears killed him someplace else and dragged the body all over the place.”
    Barnhouse shook his head. “The bear or bears ate him. They didn’t kill him. You can see it in the major bones. It is my opinion that some of the injuries were inflicted not by an animal but by a man or men wielding an axe or other sharp object. The bones appear to be chopped through, not yanked out. I am no expert in such matters and no doubt you will be availing yourself of the services of the Forensic Centre in Toronto.”
    “What can you give us on time of death?”
    “Great God, man. How can I give you anything on time of death? We haven’t even got a stomach to measure contents.”
    “Well, what about this axe business? Was that inflicted after death, or before?”
    “After. There’s no bleeding into the bones, which means the heart had stopped before the chopping up. And for that, I’m sure we’re all grateful.” Barnhouse scribbled on a form, tore off the top sheet and handed it to Cardinal. “Give my regards to the Forensic Centre. Now if someone will be good enough to show me the way out of here, I’ll bid you good day.”
    Cardinal motioned to Larry Burke.
    “This way, Doc,” Burke said. And Cardinal watched