Danika appeared as normal: hair tied back, face and body clear of make-up and jewellery. The mortuary technician, Paul Farringdon, had already helped her photograph and swab the body in the external examination and now stood patiently beside the body, hands clasped loosely in front of him.
‘While we waited for you,’ Danika said, turning to address Claire and Stefan head on, ‘the body was photographed, samples taken from under the fingernails, and surface traces of debris collected from her body and hair. Despite being in the water, we still managed to collect some samples.
‘We also used the ultraviolet light. Mainly to check for any signs of sexual activity, which came up negative for any traces of semen externally, but since she was in the water, this could have easily washed away or been contaminated. I will check internally for any signs of trauma, but so far, I’m not convinced she was raped. I know some people have already been speculating,’ she said, casting a sly look at Paul before continuing. ‘She does have some minimal bruising around the groin, but given her choice of job, it’s to be expected.’
‘Some men like it rough,’ Paul said.
Stefan smirked.
Claire’s face was stony.
Danika visibly shuddered. ‘Yes, thank you for that.’
‘OK,’ Claire cut in, ‘let’s assume the bruising is old until you check internally.’
‘It’s not old,’ Danika said. ‘It’s recent, but could have been caused before she was taken off the street by the killer.’
Claire wrinkled her nose. She hated cases involving rape even more than murder, no matter how vicious it was. She moved Danika’s attention on.
‘Anything else?’
Danika nodded and pointed to Nola’s body. ‘External examination shows she put up some resistance, but she was restrained by the wrists. Handcuffs maybe,’ she said, pointing to the bruising around each wrist.
‘This obviously restricted her ability to effectively fend off whoever did this. You already know she was found weighted down by that heavy chain, and there are marks around her ankles which are consistent with her being bound, but not by the chain.’ She pointed to the dark-coloured bruises around Nola’s ankles. ‘I believe the chain was added afterwards.’
Claire lowered her head for a closer look. ‘How’d you know that?’
‘The width of the chain. The links themselves are much thicker than the marks around her ankles, which means it was added afterwards.’
‘To make sure she stayed at the bottom of the water,’ Stefan said.
Danika nodded again. ‘Yes, and for a while, she would have done. But whatever was used to bind her before death was much thinner.’
Claire’s eyes wandered back to Nola’s skin and her eyes narrowed. ‘These ligature marks,’ she said, pointing so Stefan could have a look, but directing her question to Danika. ‘The surface is uneven.’
‘Yes, well spotted. I think her ankles supported her weight at some point, when she was tied up. It looks as though she was suspended.’
Stefan looked at her and cocked an eyebrow. ‘Why?’
‘Ready for the kill?’ Claire offered.
Danika nodded. ‘Yes, it’s a reasonable assumption.’
‘But she could’ve been dragged by her feet, couldn’t she? That would also leave the same uneven marks.’
‘You’re right, but then I would expect to see scratch marks up her body: back, legs, hips, arms,’ she said, trailing off. ‘Although her skin had begun to deteriorate in the water, I can still see there’s nothing consistent with her being dragged. The only other cuts and bruises that she does have are on the face, along with the defence wounds.
‘I also inspected her mouth and found some abrasions to the tongue, not to dissimilar to razor blade cuts, small little nicks in the flesh.’
‘Did she do it herself inadvertently with her teeth? Maybe when she struggled?’ Stefan asked.
‘These cuts are too perfect. I’m guessing someone else inflicted those wounds. The cuts are neat and identical. The cut on the right side of the tongue is an exact mirror-image to the cut on the left. They are the same length and depth.’
‘The cuts were inflicted at the same time,’ Claire said.
‘Yes, with something sharp, placed either side of the tongue.’ Danika paused for breath. ‘Cause of death was through exsanguination, I’m ninety-nine percent sure of it. Once I’ve performed the internal and had a toxicology report I’ll be…’ She cut her sentence short and paused, staring at the wound at the side of Nola’s neck. She shook her head.
Claire exchanged a look with Stefan. ‘Something wrong?’
Danika looked up. ‘I don’t know really. I mean, the killer could have got lucky, I suppose.’
‘Lucky?’
Danika pointed to the wound. ‘The killer only made one incision, cutting in just behind the point of the jaw. This severed a jugular, carotid artery, and trachea, in one fluid, forward motion.’
She looked up at them to emphasise her point. ‘There are no other attempts made, no hesitation marks. This person got it right first time and with a very sharp instrument.’
‘Is that really so unusual?’ Stefan said.
‘Inspector, this method of dispatch takes practice. Cutting like this is generally seen in something like animal slaughter. When it’s performed correctly, blood flows freely, draining the body. Death occurs in a very short space of time. We’re talking seconds here – not hours – for her to bleed to death.’
‘It’s almost like a mercy killing, then. Is that what you’re saying?’ Claire asked, her eyes narrowing as she looked at Nola’s throat.
Danika shook her head and looked pained as she said, ‘I’d hardly call it a “mercy” killing. The killer stuck her like a pig.’ Claire held up her hand for her to calm down.
‘You know what I meant. You could view it as a more humane way of killing her, rather than prolonging her agony. This was quick. You say this would take some skill to perform, so maybe the person we’re looking for is well educated or trained?’
She looked at Danika, expectantly.
‘It’s cruel, that’s what it is.’
There was a long silence between them. Paul, who had remained quiet throughout, could only look down at the floor. When he risked a glance at Danika again, he saw her body visibly harden once more.
This was her job: to examine and find the causes, find the facts. She knew it was fruitless to become emotionally involved. Normally she was good at keeping her personal emotions buried inside her. Why Nola Grant was any different, she didn’t know and couldn’t understand. She seemed to shake off her personal feelings as quickly as they’d arrived.
‘If this was someone’s definition of mercy, they’ve got a sick sense of humour.’
Paul carefully placed the body block under Nola’s back, allowing her chest to arch up, her arms and neck falling back against the cold autopsy table. Stefan looked away as the wound at her neck briefly opened wider, reminding him of a mouth opening, puckering and shutting again.
Danika committed a few details to tape before making her first incisions with her scalpel. She cut the large Y shape into Nola’s torso and with the help of Paul, cut through and removed the sternum and ribs as one whole