Page 18 of First Blood

Because she was right on time.

She put her hands on her hips. ‘I mean, any time you’d like to start on the reason we’re here so…’

‘The post-mortem on Luke Fenton has been completed.’

‘Excuse me,’ Kim said, as the pathologist reached for a clipboard.

‘My lunch was a cold sausage sandwich and surprisingly I wasn’t all that keen, so I decided to crack on.’

A low chuckle sounded from her colleague.

‘And my motivation for speed has absolutely nothing to do with getting you in and out of my workspace as quickly as possible.’

‘Your very tidy workspace,’ she noted, ignoring the jibe.

‘A tidy mind and all that, Inspector,’ he said, placing his clipboard behind him.

‘Vital statistics all recorded and will be sent in the formal report but in short our man was five foot ten and weighed around one hundred and fifty pounds. All major organs are of normal weight and size and exhibit no particular lifestyle vices. His last meal was some kind of Chinese dish with beef and noodles, and a full toxicology report will be with you once I have it back.’

‘Is that it?’ she asked.

‘Give a man time to pause for breath, Inspector, for goodness’ sake.’

‘Sorry to rush you but anything useful would be great,’ she said, offering what she thought was an accompanying smile.

‘Please don’t do that again,’ he said, frowning. ‘It’s not an expression that sits naturally on your face.’

Yeah, he was right. It did feel kind of strange.

He reached for a stack of printed photographs and laid three down.

The snaps showed the victim’s hair parted to reveal a sizeable lump on the back of the head.

‘Wow,’ Bryant said.

‘Yes, our man was hit with great force with an object that was almost sure to have rendered him unconscious.’

‘Giving our killer time to get him into position,’ Kim observed, remembering the scene that had met her.

‘And strip him,’ Bryant added.

‘Okay, that’s mildly helpful,’ she said, nodding towards the three photographs.

‘Well, as it’s my only priority to try and impress you, I shall continue.’

He laid out another three photographs and these needed no explanation.

‘The genital area,’ he said, which had been photographed from all angles. ‘The mutilation took place after death and although looks haphazard and frenzied was not. The cuts to the penis are amateurish but assured. There are few start and stop wounds so I’m guessing your killer knew exactly what they wanted to do.’

‘But it wasn’t the main event,’ Bryant offered quietly.

Kim looked his way.

He continued. ‘The nails were probably hammered in while the victim was unconscious. The genital mutilation was performed after death which pretty much leaves the neck work as the main course.’

Kim agreed.

‘Keats, do you have the close-ups of the neck?’