Chapter 10
Lindsay winced as the freezing cold air of the morgue hit her, it was strange.
Montana had been much colder but it was like death made it all the more cold.
'Maybe,' she thought, 'Or maybe your just going crazy!'
Shaking her head she went to find Sid, who by now had a very satisfied smile on his face. But why she did not know.
"Sid." Lindsay smiled as the M.E jumped, startled by her sudden presence.
Sid clutched at his heart "Jeez Lindsay. Do you want to give me a heart attack??" he said.
"Of course not Sid, who on earth would do your autopsy?" she said wagging a finger jokingly.
Sid mumbled something under his breath too low for her to catch it.
'Getting too much like Danny.' Is what he thought.
Smiling now Lindsay turned towards the trolley with the little boy on it and gave a sad smile before standing back to allow Sid access.
His smile was less defined now, but it was still there Lindsay noticed. Instead of wondering about it she listened in as he began to speak.
"Boy aged 2 named Andy Dulhurst, no middle name. Died of being quite literally crushed to death. He had a heavy wait place on his chest but something soft, not hard like a weight, it crushed his ribs and sent them backwards perforating his lungs and eventually stopping his heart. Bruising on his hands and legs."
Lindsay examined the arm Sid extended towards her and took photographs. Interesting shapes.
"Do you have any idea what caused them Sid?" she asked hopefully, but to no avail.
"Nope not a clue, well actually I think they might not have developed fully if u come back in a few hours I'll look again for you!"
"Thanks Sid" Lindsay looked into his face there was something hidden there and as he met her gaze she knew there was something he didn't want to tell her.
"What is it Sid?" she asked nervous now.
He pointed to the child' s now lifeless body.
"I don't know how to say this but the most severe bruising was found on the boy's back near his anus and there was severe signs of sexual activity."
Watching Lindsay's face get paler he noticed her hands ball up into fists.
"There was also semen found in his stomach and bite marks along his penis. This boy was very horrifically sexually abused."
Sid could feel his face turn green as he thought of how sick a man would need to be to do that to a child, no not a child, a baby.
"If you want my opinion on how he died I'd say that so far from what evidence, it looks like he was crushed to death by a body. The body of however abused him!"
Lindsay closed her eyes and exhaled heavily before opening them. Sid was watching tentatively at her, nodding at him she replied.
"I think you've hit the nail on the head there, Hawkes and I will need to go back and examine the nursery, but I'm pretty certain that your theory is what actually happened."
Looking down at the child on the morgue slab she asked Sid the dreaded question.
"Did you collect a sample of semen from the anal passage and saliva from the child himself?"
Sid nodded dutifully and handed her the samples, "There you go."
Motioning to the right, Sid covered up the child's body and then pulled back the cloth on the mothers body.
" Juliana Elizabeth Dulhurst, 35 years of age. Worked as a dental receptionist.
Some defensive wounds, no sexual activity.
Straightforward blow to the head, died instantly."
Lindsay shook her head dismally and accepted the photos Sid passed her. Flicking through them she found nothing conclusive and just as he was about to move on she remembered something.
"Sid, what weapon do you think could have done this?" Lindsay pointed to the dent in the mothers head.
"That's what am getting to." Sid replied and shuffled towards the fathers corpse.
Following him Lindsay noticed a tiny palm mark on his shoulder and paled.
Sid noticed her reaction and nodded.
"I'm afraid that those results," he pointed to the ones grasped firmly in her hand, ",May belong to David Dulhurst himself, there were signs of recent sexual activity and along with the bruises……"
Sid trailed off and Lindsay's heart fell to her stomach, Sid was never incapable of finishing a sentence no matter how heinous the crime.
Lindsay walked around the trolley and roughly tugged up the cloth so that David Dulhurst's face was hidden, she then put her hand on Sid's shoulder.
"Sid, Sid? Are you okay??" Lindsay was worried now and then she noticed that he was no longer gazing at the body in front of them but rather gazing at her. Sid removed her hand from his shoulder and held it in his for a moment.
"It's good to have you back Lindsay" was all that he said, but it was enough.
Lindsay felt at home again, even in the cold confound space of the morgue.
Lindsay had finally found her home.