Harry and Nikki were warmly received by the staff of Plymouth's Coronary Office the next morning, despite all their fears of perceived 'intrusion.'

They were immediately introduced to a Doctor Weller, a genial, plump woman in her early fifties, who surprised Nikki by inviting them to participate in the Post Mortem, when they'd expected simply to be overlooking the process.

'No, no. We're down on staff at the moment – maternity leave.' Doctor Weller explained, shrugging. 'So we need all the help we can get. Homicides of this nature are pretty uncommon down here.'

'Has the decedent been identified?' asked Harry, as they were led to the lab.

'Yes, the wife came in yesterday'

'Wife?' remarked Nikki, looking over at Harry. 'Leo didn't mention that'

'Mmm.' Nodded Doctor Weller, 'She was notified on Sunday night. I was given to understand that she didn't take the news well. She was certainly a wreck when she arrived to identify the body. Well, here we are.'

They'd reached a pair of glass double doors, through which Harry could see a small forensics laboratory.

'They're prepping the body for post-mortem right now, so if you just change through there,' she motioned to a doorway to the left, 'I'll meet you in here in ten minutes.'

*****

Nikki gently rolled the body over on its side.

'So the vast majority of the wounds are from the front, intermittently piercing all the way to the back, suggesting a short, frenzied attack'

Letting the body lie flat again, she measured the depth of the wounds.

'The depth varies from roughly seven inches to complete penetration, exiting through the back'

Harry pointed at a dark wound by the shoulder.

'The bruising pattern in this area' he circled it to clarify for the attending officer, 'suggests that the victim was held down for the first blow, which appears to be here' he gestured to a large, sloping laceration just below the jaw.

'The blade appears to have intersected the Jugular vein, Carotid Artery and Trachea, as well as possibly nicking the Vagus nerve. Due to the lack of alternate bruising I'd say it's clear that the blow directly immobilised the victim, suggesting that the remaining lacerations were superfluous.'

DCI Noakes turned to Nikki. 'Explain?'

'What my colleague means is that the severity of the initial blow would have completely incapacitated the victim, making all subsequent wounds gratuitous.'

'So the attack continued even after victim had been completely debilitated?'

'Exactly. Which would be consistent with a particularly aggressive or frantic attack. The fact that the wounds were predominantly inflicted on the upper torso might also suggest a personal aspect was present in the homicide.'

'Right. So cause of death?'

Harry leant back on the gurney. 'Exsanguination, though we're still awaiting the tox report to see if he was sedated or under the effect of any medication'

'I see' DCI Noakes nodded. 'Time of death?'

Harry turned back to the cadaver. 'Judging by the relative dissipation of rigour, and taking into account that he was found outside, I'd say maybe 60 hours?'

'So Saturday night then, roughly Nine O'clock'

Nikki nodded. 'Do you think we could take a look at the objects he was found with?

The DCI shook his head. 'There wasn't much to it. He was found in a duvet casing, in woodland just off the A38.

'Well, we'll need to have a look at the duvet casing then.' Harry conjectured, steeping away from the cadaver and removing his gloves. 'And we'll need to take a look at where he was found, just for a precursory sweep of the area..'

'Yes, in due course.' Snapped the DCI, tersely. 'I have, strangely enough, done this before. Protocol declares that when a body is found the immediate location is..' The Detective was cut off by a loud buzzing noise emanating from his pocket.

'Yes?' He barked into his mobile, having fished it out.

Harry turned and raised his eyebrows at Nikki, who rolled her eyes.

'What? Okay. Yes. No.. David's Drive, Whitleigh. Right.' The Detective turned back towards the Pathologists, ashen faced.

'Another body's been found, in a scrapyward in Whitleigh.'

Harry cleared his throat 'well we can split the case if you need help.. Nikki can stay here and I'll help on the other case..'

DCI Noakes shook his head. 'No. Same case.'

Nikki regarded him quizzically, furrowing her brow.

'Body number two happens to be decked out in the same bed-set as body number one. Odds-on they're the same case, don't you think?'

Harry nodded in agreement. 'Natural progression, I suppose'.

'Right then' said the DCI, tucking his phone away and striding towards the glass doors. 'Come on!'

For a moment, Nikki seemed caught up in thought. 'The same bed set?'

'Mmm' Harry agreed. 'Odd. Practical, though.'

'Practical?'

Harry nodded. 'Well, it's one way of avoiding laundry.'

*****

Twenty minutes later they were both standing underneath a haphazardly erected forensic tent, scrutinising the body laid out before them.

Harry knelt down. 'So this' he gestured to a pillowcase obscuring the face, 'is the same design as the duvet from Steve Hebden?'

The DCI nodded. 'The very same.'

'Right then' continued Harry. 'Let's get cracking, shall we?'

Nikki let the police photographer get finished, before cautiously removing the pillowcase, revealing the face of a dark-haired Caucasian woman in her late thirties.

She checked the body over quickly, taking care not to disturb the woman's thin summer dress.

'No ID, no ring.. severe bruising to the right temple, suggesting a temporal haemorrhage.. her clothes are in fairly bad condition, she might have been dragged before being dumped. Who found her?' she asked, turning to DCI Noakes.

'The owner' he replied, turning and gesturing to a thin, grey-haired man in his late fifties, standing twenty feet away with a police officer. 'Says he locked the gates on Friday and was ill yesterday.'

'So either a break in or somebody with access to a key?'

The detective nodded. 'Looks that way.'

Harry pointed out some deep grooves in the mud nearby.

'Those look fairly recent' He squatted down for a closer look. 'Could be from the vehicle the body was transported in?'

The DCI sighed. 'Can we move the body yet?'

Nikki frowned, still perusing the nearby surroundings.

'Yes, but please don't disturb the imminent setting'

'Right.' Noakes indicated that the body could be moved. 'Smells bloody awful'

Harry walked over. 'Yes.. she's in a similar condition Hebden would have been in had he not spent a cushy night in the morgue.'

'You think they were killed at the same time?' asked the detective, turning.

'Probably not..' Harry regarded the body for a moment. 'judging by the lack of identifiable COD it's difficult to tell her time of death, but judging by the similarities in the cases, and the relative lack of decomposition, I'd say it's fairly likely they were killed within around five hours of each other.'


Thank you so much for your kind reviews! I'm glad the spacing's better :) Apologies for the gore in this chapter, who knew my Biology A Level would come in so handy? L xx