Gina glanced at Jacob’s notes. He’d got it all down. ‘And the foetus?’
‘The foetus weighed in at 14.9 ounces and was measured at 4.1 inches long. Sex, female. Holly Long was about fifteen weeks pregnant.’
Gina scrolled through her diary on her phone. ‘So, she would have conceived around the week of the twentieth of January?’
‘That would be a good estimate. There was something else.’
Gina exited her calendar and looked back up.
‘There were a couple of scars on the base of her neck, consistent with fingernails digging into her skin. The measurements have been logged. I will send these to you too. Two rows of half-moon scars. Someone must have gripped her like this – may I demonstrate on one of you?’
Gina nodded and the tall pathologist leaned over her, placing his two thumbs gently on her throat as he gently pressed his nails into the back of her neck. As the nails pinched her flesh she felt her stomach sink and her heart rate speed up. He let go and sat back in his chair. ‘Do you see what I mean?’
Gina nodded. She saw what he meant and she knew how it felt. She knew what it was like to gasp until her oxygen supply had been cut off. She knew how it felt to look into the eyes of someone who was clearly enjoying every moment as her vision had prickled.
‘Are you okay?’ The pathologist pushed his fringe to the side.
‘Guv?’
‘Yes, I’m okay. It’s just such a horrible way to die, suffocation. No, I’m fine. I suppose what Holly went through has just become more real. Thank you for demonstrating.’
‘That’s where the light scarring could have come from, anyway. Unfortunately, I can’t say when this could have occurred. Going back to other things, we found no other blood on Holly apart from her own. No semen, no other bodily fluids and no skin from a struggle under her fingernails. As for DNA, I know from the reports I’ve read that the lab has a lot to process still.’
‘I know, I think the whole party had been in the room at some point during the day, plus it hadn’t been properly cleaned between customers. It’s proving to be a nightmare. Anything else?’
The pathologist smiled. ‘This is an unusual one. I noticed a slight shadow at the back of her throat.’
‘And.’ Gina’s pulse began to race.
‘The head of a carnation with all the petals removed had been pushed right back.’
Gina shivered. ‘So we know where the petals had been torn from. That’s made me feel a little queasy. Poor Holly. Any more surprises?’
‘No, that really is it.’
‘Thank you. I suppose we best go. We have a pub to get to.’ Gina felt the urge to get out.
‘Lucky for some.’
‘If only. We have to get to the bottom of these gatecrashers, so not for pleasure unfortunately.’
‘If there’s anything else specific you need to ask, just pick up the phone. Otherwise, I’ll get started on the report. Are you sure you’re okay?’
She nodded. The pathologist had applied barely any pressure at all when he placed his hands on her neck. It was no more than a tickle and now with the news of the flower head in Holly’s throat she almost wanted to gag. She felt her face reddening as they said their goodbyes and left the building.
‘Any thoughts about all that, guv? That was a lot to take in.’ Jacob placed his notebook in his pocket and checked his phone as they hurried across the car park.
‘The person who did this was quick. They took her by surprise, startling her with a fractured nose as she opened the door. I’m just running a scenario here. Maybe her attacker then grabbed her by the wrist and thrust her onto the bed. She would have been kicking up a fuss by now or maybe she was stunned. I can imagine a blow to the nose would be instantly disabling and I’m guessing that the person who attacked her would know that. So the attacker has her on the bed and she’s starting to fight back maybe, this is when the attacker grabs the lamp and hits her over the head, stunning her again. They then take the opportunity to weigh her down with their body weight and smother her with the pillow. This is a really violent attack.’
Jacob gripped the car door handle and got in.
Gina placed her keys in the ignition. ‘Then Holly’s attacker places the pillow used to smother her back in its place. Why even do that? There is blood on the drawers, blood on the wall, blood on Holly’s head and face. Neatly placing the pillow back wouldn’t disguise what happened. They went to the effort to place it facing down so that the blood was hidden from view, then they leave without even closing the door properly. Before that, they place her neatly, put a flower head in her throat and sprinkle petals on her torso. This person was deeply affected in one way or another by Holly’s pregnancy – of that I’m sure.’ She pondered for a moment. ‘The initial attack had been thought through. Stun and go in for the kill. But the finish, it’s shoddy. This is the finishing of a panicked person, an emotional person but no one saw anyone looking panicked at the party following the time of the attack. Whoever did this must have composed themselves almost immediately.’
‘Complicated. I’ll never understand what drives someone to do something like this to another person.’ Jacob shivered as he put his seat belt on. ‘Late breakfast or pub? Which first.’
‘I’ll treat us to a pasty from the garage after we’ve been to the Angel Arms.’
‘Right you are!’
