Such a waste, thought Mac Taylor. This is the first thing that comes to his mind whenever he sees a youthful corpse such as Gwen DiCarlo's bare naked body lying on the slab of Sid Hammerback.
"No water in her lungs" Sid started "She didn't drown".
"Cause of death?" Mac asked.
"Ventricular Fibrillation. Tox screen came back. Elevated levels of morphine in her system. Her heart just gave out" Sid said.
"So the killer dumped the body in the river to hide it" Mac concluded.
"She was heavily sedated" Sid continued "and I suspect it was over a long period of time. Check out her arms. It's riddled with puncture wounds."
"Maybe the killer didn't mean to kill her --- overmedicated" Mac said.
"Bruising on her wrists and feet mean she was tied up" Sid said, showing Mac the red scratches on her wrists and feet. "You want to hear something funny, though?"
"What?" Mac asked.
"Stomach contents --- clam chowder, bread and a Coke " Sid said.
"Are you serious?" said Mac, his eyebrows brought to the center of his forehead.
"Yeah" Sid laughed. "Throw in a salad and I'd let this guy kidnap me" Sid turned the corpse and showed Mac the victim's back. "Also, what appears to be a tattoo or a…."
"Brand" Mac said. "On her back. Three concentric circles"
"Yeah, how'd you know?" Sid asked.
"Same as Lindsay's" Mac said.
Sid nodded his head knowingly --- it's never funny to joke when it involves one of your own.
"Is she ok?" Sid asked.
Mac smiled. "She's alright. She's coming down later with Gwen's brother Jason to claim the body".