Read Online Critical Threat by Nick Oldham - Free Book Online

Next she picked up the fist-sized chunk of muscle that was the heart. ‘Good, healthy heart, too.’ Then she moved to the brain which had been sliced open like a country loaf. ‘Severe bruising of the brain, causing much internal bleeding, indicating a frenzied attack with a heavy, blunt instrument.’ Next came the liver, slimy and difficult to hold. ‘Liver healthy.’
    O’Connell glanced at the two detectives. ‘All in all, this woman was very healthy before she died. I would say she looked after herself well.’
    She placed her hands on her hips and blew out, then turned. ‘The trachea had been constricted, indicating an attempt at strangulation, but neither the strangulation nor the beating killed her – it was drowning.’ She regarded Henry and pursed her lips, raised her eyebrows and tilted her head. ‘All in all, this woman has been subjected to prolonged and severe torture. She has been beaten and half-strangled and her head has been held under water until she died. She was then set on fire. Brutal, nasty.’
    â€˜You can tell all this?’ Rik said.
    She blinked and frowned at his stupidity. ‘And more … I’m a pathologist, so, death, as it says in some book or other, is my beat.’
    â€˜As it is mine,’ Henry said.
    â€˜Touché.’ She smiled pleasantly. ‘You don’t know who she is yet?’
    â€˜No,’ Henry admitted. ‘No leads as yet. Gonna be a toughie, I reckon, unless we get lucky in the next few hours.’
    â€˜Lucky?’ O’Connell said cheekily. ‘Why not get professional instead?’
    â€˜They go together hand in hand. One begets the other.’
    She did not look convinced and she was acting as though she did not have much time for Henry, or perhaps she was just being professional.
    â€˜You want an opinion?’ she asked.
    â€˜On me, or the deceased?’ He raised a flirty eyebrow.
    â€˜The deceased,’ she said and Henry saw her hiding a smile.
    â€˜Always welcome.’
    â€˜It will be difficult to establish the ethnic origin, but there is a gold filling in one of her back teeth which could be helpful if you get the gold analysed. I say that because I actually think we are dealing with a woman of Asian origin here from what I can see of what is left of the bone structure in the face. A facial reconstruction could prove worthwhile.’
    â€˜Asian?’ Henry said, surprised.
    â€˜And if I’m right, you could be dealing with an honour killing.’
    Henry’s heart sank a few centimetres in his chest. ‘An honour killing? Bugger.’
    â€˜Just a gut feeling … I could be wrong, though.’
    â€˜But I’d guess that’s not usually the case?’
    This time O’Connell did not hide the smile. ‘No, not usually … now, if you’ll excuse me, the job’s not over until the paperwork’s done, if you know what I mean? I think you’ve probably got enough to progress your investigation. I’ll let you have the report and a copy of the DVD of the PM by tomorrow afternoon.’
    Henry took the hint and started removing his mask as he and Rik walked towards the door. ‘Thanks, Doctor O’Connell …’
    â€˜Professor, actually,’ she corrected him.
    â€˜Thanks, Doctor Professor,’ he said. He stopped and looked at her. She shot him a look of amused contempt before returning to the organs. He and Rik went into the office next to the mortuary to hang up their masks and gowns.
    â€˜You shameless flirt,’ Rik chided Henry.
    â€˜Ah, but that’s all I do now,’ Henry said, his mind pondering what the next stage of the investigation would be. He was thinking about his ‘fast-track menu’: the list of things to do that included a combination of investigative actions which, according to the
Murder Investigation Manual
(which Henry could almost recite), ‘are likely to