Three

Reuben Salter looked down through the slanted glass with a sigh. Below, Doctor Alexander was talking quietly with her assistant, a boy who didn't look as if he could be more than 16. The remains had been laid out on a metal gurney in the centre of the mortuary. Somehow, from the observation room, they looked even smaller.

"Alright, Salter?"

The detective looked at his friend and partner, standing a few paces to his left. Salter knew Ash well enough to read from the look in his eye that he was finding this as difficult as anyone. It was just that the man was built like a rock. And no one expected much emotion from a rock. Which was just as well, because you rarely got any from Ash, at least on the surface.

"Fine. Well, not fine, obviously. You know what I mean." He nodded down at the blonde woman below. "Do you think she's going to be OK for this?"

"Why wouldn't she be?"

Salter shrugged, wishing he hadn't spoken. But it was too late. The guv had a way of eliciting the uncomfortable truth, even from his fellow officers.

"Just doesn't seem right, somehow," he muttered, somewhat lamely.

"What doesn't?"

Salter moved his head in the direction of Alexander. She'd begun to wash what was left of the child's torso, pulling down a hose rigged to the pipes on the ceiling and directing the jets at the dead flesh. "Her. Doing that."

"What are you talking about?" Ash frowned. "She's obviously competent."

"I know she is, in fact – she wouldn't be here otherwise, would she? This place has a sterling reputation."

"Then what's the problem?"

Salter shrugged. "Call me old-fashioned, but she's just a slip of a girl. I mean, you could snap her in two, soon as look at her."

He saw Ash's raised eyebrow. "By 'girl', I think you mean 'woman'," said the DI. "And that's not just old-fashioned, Reuben, that's sexist."

Salter sighed. "Come on, I didn't mean it like that. I know she can do the job. She's handling that mess down there better than I ever could. But… I don't know. How does a g- a woman like that end up doing this sort of dirty work?"

"'A woman like that?'"

He sighed. "Guv. Even you've got to admit she's a darn sight easier on the eye than most women you pass in the street."

"What do you mean, 'Even me?'"

Salter shifted on his feet, uncomfortable. "I know you don't normally notice that kind of thing."

He saw Ash turn his gaze back to the young pathologist below. "It's not that I don't notice, Salter. It's that I don't assume that what people look like has any bearing on them as people."

"Neither do I!"

"You just did!"

"Well – that's not what I meant. I just meant… I don't know. It's a bit unexpected, that's all. She's seriously beautiful, and she cuts up dead bodies for a living. It's a little bit weird. You can admit that, can't you?"

Ash turned to look at him. They'd been working together for years now, and Salter had never respected a man more. But sometimes, just sometimes, trying to find common ground with Saul Ash could be like getting a United fan to admit City weren't entirely shit.

"Forty years ago, being a copper would have been near impossible for me. And a DI? Forget it," Ash observed. "All because of thinking not dissimilar to that."

Salter nodded. "You're right. Sorry." And he was.

The DI smiled, one of the wide, guileless gestures that Salter found somehow surprising from him, even now.

"OK," came the distorted voice of Doctor Alexander, through the speaker. "I'm ready to start."

The DI leaned over and flicked the switch on the wall to speak back. "Thank you, Doctor," he said. "Take as long as you need. I know this one's not easy."

Ash turned off the mic again, settling back into his chair. "I had, actually," he said, quietly, after a moment.

"Sorry?"

"Noticed. As it happens."

-X-

Nikki took a deep breath. Washing the body had revealed a mottled, bloated layer of epidermis that was already beginning to putrefy. Post-immersion autopsies were always difficult. Even a short amount of time in the water caused swelling and disfiguration beyond what had occurred at the time of death. Determining post-mortem what had occurred at the point of expiration as opposed to what was as a result of the immersion was always difficult. This looked as if it would be no different.

She began by conducting an initial external examination, looking at the flesh inch-by-inch, speaking aloud for the benefit of the two policemen looking on. There wasn't much to see, at least on the chest and thorax. At least, not until she reached the deep lacerations cut into the child's ribcage.

"There's evidence of bruising here, around each of the cuts," Nikki said, aloud. "They were made while the victim was still alive." She probed deeper into one of the wounds, opening the slit of skin wider with a spatula. "They seem to have been made in one swift, cutting motion, moving from left to right – from the posterior of the ribcage, to the anterior," she said. "There are no jagged edges – indicating no hesitation in the motion."

"Any indication of what caused them?" DI Ash's voice spoke from above her head. She didn't look up.

"There are nicks on at least two of the ribs," Nikki said, after a moment. "Consistent with some sort of knife, in my opinion. Not serrated. Quite a substantial blade, judging by the width of the groove cut."

"A machete?"

This time, Nikki looked up. Ash was standing now, looking down at her with a grave look on his face. She knew what he was asking.

"I won't be able to tell until I conduct more tests on the bone," she said. "Yes, it's possible. But at this time it's equally possible that the weapon could be a carving knife or a meat cleaver."

Ash nodded. "But it's murder?"

She shook her head. "I haven't found cause of death yet."

"Those cuts wouldn't have done it?"

Nikki went back to the lacerations. One of them was deeper than the others, striking beyond the rib and into the lung beyond. "This one might have. It punctured his lung. I'll know more when I open him up." She looked over at Zak. "Can you help me turn him over?"

They levered the corpse onto its side and from there, onto its front.

"Wow," said Zak, as soon as the boy's back became visible. "What the hell is that?"

The skin on the boy's back was criss-crossed with long, thin scars. Nikki pressed her gloved fingers along one. It ran from the left shoulder to the right hip, disappearing into and then reappearing from a mass of lighter scar tissue across the centre of his spine.

"'I've got a tree on my back'," Nikki muttered.

"Sorry?" Zak asked.

"It's a quote," came Ash's voice, from above their heads. "From Toni Morrison, I believe."

Nikki glanced up at him. "Yes. This boy's been whipped. Badly, and repeatedly."

"Did it occur at the time of death?"

She shook her head. "No. These scars have had time to heal. Zak, can you take some pictures, please?"

Once that was done, Nikki turned her attention to the great, gaping wounds where the child's head and limbs should have been. She was about to move on to the severed neck when the door behind her opened and Leo came in, dressed in scrubs. He held up his hands.

"Sorry. I don't want to interfere. Just thought I'd come and see how you're getting on."

"It's fine. Take a look at this," Nikki pointed to the first shoulder wound she'd looked at. "I haven't examined the other wounds yet, but to me, this looks as if the arm was removed post-mortem."

Leo frowned, leaning forward. "Zak, can you pass me the magnifier? Thanks." He examined the site for another moment before straightening up. "You're right."

They looked at each other for a moment, and Nikki could see the cautious relief in Leo's eyes.

"What was that, Doctor?"

"This limb was severed post mortem. The child was not alive at the time."

There was a pause. "And the others?"

"I haven't finished my examination yet."

"You know why it's important to know, don't you, Doctor Alexander?" asked Ash, as she looked up at him. "I can tell you do. Both of you."

Nikki nodded. It was what they'd all been thinking, though it hadn't been posited aloud. Something that no one wanted to consider may be happening in London. At least, not again. "It's less likely to be a ritual murder. Or at least, it's less likely to be a muti killing. In such murders, the victim is kept alive as long as possible. The power of the death… is thought to come from the fear and pain felt by the victim." She swallowed. "I have to tell you, Detective Inspector, this find doesn't rule out a ritual death."

"But it does make it less likely."

"The child's still dead," Nikki pointed out. "And he still suffered. It just means we have even less understanding of why."

"I know that." Ash said, softly.

She turned away.

[TBC]