Page 121 of The Scene of the Crime

‘Jesus Christ. You serious?’

‘No, I’m making it all up because I’ve nothing better to do. I want to know where you are and what the hell you’ve been doing.’

‘All right, calm down, Mike. I’ve been out grafting and I got some interesting information from Stubbings and a woman called Chandice Bramston. I’m calling so we can meet somewhere private and chat about it before telling Anderson.’

‘I’m just about to go into Wheeler’s postmortem. I’ll call you when I’m done.’

Jessica and Chapman put on protective clothing and entered the mortuary examination room, where Doctor Giorgini was already gowned and putting on some rubber gloves. Wheeler’s body was still clothed, and Jessica took some frontal photographs before helping Nicki and a mortician turn the body over for more photography. Once this was done, they removed the clothing, and Jessica put them in exhibit bags. Nicki then put measuring scales by the various injuries to Wheeler’s torso, and Jessica photographed them. Nicki made a Y incision on the torso, cut into the skin and muscle with a scalpel, and thenfolded back the flesh. She put a measuring scale on his ribs and asked Jessica to take some photographs.

‘A few of his ribs are broken. It looks like one of them has ruptured his spleen, resulting in a slow internal bleed into his abdomen over at least two or three days. I’ll need to remove and examine his internal organs to be sure.’

‘Is that what killed him?’ Chapman asked as Nicki cut through Wheeler’s ribs.

‘Two secs and I’ll be able to tell you.’ She lifted out his internal organs and placed them in a large bowl. She put his spleen on a chopping board, and Jessica took some photographs of it before Nicki examined it. ‘Yup, his spleen has been punctured by a rib.’

‘How would that little puncture wound kill him?’ Chapman asked.

‘When the spleen ruptures, it can easily bleed internally, leading to haemorrhagic shock and death.’

‘What’s haemorrhagic shock?’

‘A life-threatening condition that occurs with major blood loss, which results in inadequate oxygen supply to the body’s tissues and organs, which in turn causes death. A ruptured spleen is a medical emergency requiring swift diagnosis, intervention and sometimes surgery. If he’d gone straight to a hospital after the injury, he might have survived.’

‘Would he have been in a lot of pain?’ Jessica asked.

‘Yes. Bleeding from the rupture can irritate a nerve that runs from your neck and down through the left side of your chest. Other symptoms are dizziness, disorientation, anxiety and nausea, to name but a few.’

‘So, whoever or whatever caused his ruptured spleen was responsible for his death?’ Chapman asked.

‘Technically, yes. I’m certain the rupture didn’t occur when he was gagged, bound and tortured.’

‘Would the eggshell skull rule apply?’ Chapman asked.

‘That would be for the CPS and a court to decide, not me,’ Nicki replied.

‘What’s the eggshell rule?’ Jessica asked Chapman.

‘The rule protects vulnerable individuals and ensures that a defendant is held accountable for the full extent of the harm they cause during an assault, regardless of the victim’s pre-existing condition or vulnerability.’

‘The torture with the cigar is grievous bodily harm and could be a contributing factor, but it’s a very fine line in this case, DI Chapman. I’ll need to do histopathology on his organs and brain before confirming the exact cause of death.’

‘There were signs of a struggle between Johan and his assailant at the De Klerk house. If Wheeler was responsible, then it could be Johan broke his ribs and caused the ruptured spleen,’ Jessica told them.

‘That’s a viable theory,’ Nicki said.

‘Now that Wheeler’s dead, only De Klerk can tell us what happened,’ Chapman said.

‘Maybe whoever Wheeler contacted on the burner phone knows what happened,’ Jessica suggested.

‘At the moment, we haven’t a clue who he is, and if he’s left the country, we are screwed,’ Chapman said dejectedly.

‘I think we should stop speculating until I finish the postmortem,’ Nicki said as she removed the internal organs and put Wheeler’s spleen in a separate container before opening the stomach to examine the contents. ‘Can you photograph this for me, please, Jessica?’

‘What is it?’ Chapman asked.

Using tweezers, Nicki lifted the object from Wheeler’s stomach. ‘It’s a condom with something wrapped in cling film and tape inside it. It looks like Wheeler’s a drug mule and was trying to smuggle these to Dubai. When swallowed like this,it’s harder to detect them using traditional X-ray or computed tomography imagery.’

‘So it could have been drugs that were in the lockbox or stolen from De Klerk’s safe,’ Chapman suggested.