Page 22 of Three Widows

‘It links in with another fact. She was tied up, and for a considerable period of time. Her wrists and ankles bear witness to that. I found microscopic nylon fibres ingrained in her wounds. Also, some sort of insulation tape had been stuck across her mouth for a time. It was wound around her head. There’s evidence of hair loss at the back of her skull. That could have occurred when the tape was ripped off.’

‘Bound and starved. The poor woman.’ Lottie wondered who could behave towards another human being with such callousness. She found it difficult to imagine what the victim had gone through. ‘You’d be locked up for treating a dog that way. I’m nearly afraid to ask the next question.’

‘There is no evidence of sexual assault.’

‘Good. Did you recover any fibres besides the rope?’

‘Some on the inside of the dress. I’ve sent them to the lab to be identified and analysed. Look like carpet fibres, but don’t quote me until the analysis is completed.’

‘SOCOs are at her house,’ Lottie said. ‘There was carpet on the stairs. I’ll arrange for a comparison with what you have.’

‘You should also know that before her limbs were broken, she was badly beaten, possibly with a piece of timber. Maybe a four by four. The backs of her legs are in ribbons, and that’s not a technical term. I found tiny splinters embedded in the muscle.’

‘What kind of bastard are we dealing with here, Jane?’

‘Someone without empathy.’

‘Anything to point me to where she was held?’

‘Somewhere cold for a time. She had frostbite on her fingers and toes.’

‘Like a freezer?’

‘Or a cold storage room.’

‘Was she killed, then frozen before being dumped?’

‘I don’t think so. I think she sustained the gunshot wound shortly before she was put on that piece of ground.’

‘Crap. What about the dress she was wearing? Did you get anything from it besides the fibres?’

‘It was new. I’ve sent it for further tests. Can’t tell you anything else at the moment. Oh, and after she was shot, her body was washed before the dress was put on her.’

‘Shit,’ Lottie said.

‘Not washed very well, but it will reduce the chances of getting the killer’s DNA from it.’

Lottie pondered that for a moment. ‘The gun. What was it?’

‘Glock. Nine millimetre. I retrieved the bullet from her brain. Lottie, before you go… I’ve held off the worst till last. Her eyes.’

‘Her body was being pecked by birds when she was discovered.’

‘I’ve seen the pecking made by the birds on her flesh. It wasn’t birds that took her eyes. They were surgically removed.’

‘Holy God! This is one sick bastard I’m looking for.’

‘I’ll do my best to find evidence to help you nail whoever did it.’

‘Jane, I’m half afraid to ask, but was she alive when her eyes were…’

‘No, she’d died from the gunshot shortly beforehand.’

‘Thanks. Send on your preliminary findings as soon as possible.’

Lottie hung up and pondered the call.

Eyes surgically removed.