Read Online Death Day by Shaun Hutson - Free Book Online Page B

them.'
        'Got the weapon?'
        'Not yet.'
        'What're the names of the victims?'
        'Mackenzie. June, that was the wife, and Michelle, the little girl, aged about five we think.'
        Lambert wrote the details down on the pad,
        the receiver cradled between his shoulder and his ear.
        'Do you need me down there?' he asked hopefully.
        'Not at the moment, sir. I've got some men out looking for the suspect and Doctor Kirby is doing autopsies on the victims this afternoon.'
        'Ring me back the moment you get the results of those,' Lambert told him, 'or if anyone sees this Mackenzie, right?' He hung up, a sudden surge of adrenalin firing his body. He had forgotten about Mike for a moment, had managed to push that thought to the back of his mind. He had his work again. Now nothing would stop him from returning. He sat down, his thoughts jumbled, and read what he had written on the pad.
         Double Murder. June and Michelle Mackenzie. Husband chief suspect, disappeared. Knifed. No murder weapon found. Autopsies performed.
         What was Debbie going to say? He haif smiled.
        
***
        
        The phone rang again at four twenty-three that afternoon. The policeman snatched it up. 'Lambert,' he said.
        'Hayes here, sir. We've got the results of the autopsy.'
        'Go on,' said Lambert, suddenly realizing that he hadn't got a pad or pen. 'Hold it a minute,' he said, retrieving them from the coffee table. 'Right, fire away.'
        'Dr Kirby's here, if you want to speak to him, sir,' Hayes told him.
        'Put him on,' instructed Lambert, hearing the murmurings at the other end of the line. A second later, he recognized Kirby's voice. They exchanged pleasantries, then Lambert said, 'What's the verdict, John? And keep it simple, please.'
        'Messy ones, Tom, both of them. I found traces of skin under the fingernails of the woman. I would think your suspect is probably walking around with some pretty hefty scratch marks on his cheek. What order do you want them in?'
        Lambert was puzzled, 'What do you mean?'
        'The mother or the girl first?' Kirby told him.
        'It doesn't matter,' said Lambert, impatiently. There was a pause at the other end and the policeman could hear the sound of papers being rustled, then Kirby again. 'The little girl. I found six separate wounds, mostly around the upper body and neck. The deepest was eight inches, the fatal wound probably, situated just below the larynx. If it's any consolation, I think she was dead before he cut her badly.'
        Lambert scribbled details, 'And the woman?'
        'Twenty-three separate wounds.'
        'Shit,' murmured Lambert, still writing. Kirby continued, 'Mostly in the abdomen, chest and neck as before. The weapon was double-edged, jagged and tapering, which would explain the width as well as the depth of the wounds.'
        'What do you think? Butcher's knife, something like that?'
        'No. I know what it was, I've got it in my office right now. It was a piece of glass, or mirror to be more precise and the reason your boys couldn't find any murder weapon was because it was still embedded in June Mackenzie's body. I took a piece of mirror nearly fifteen inches long from behind the rib cage. It had been driven in from above, just behind the right clavicle, collar bone to you, and it had punctured the heart. I'd say that was the death wound.'
        'Jesus Christ,' said Lambert.
        'One more thing Tom,' added Kirby, as if the catalogue of atrocity hadn't quite been enough, 'the eyes were taken.'
        'Taken? What do you mean taken?' It sank home. 'Oh God, he didn't cut those out too did he?'
        'Well now, that's the whole point. My examination revealed that they were removed without the use of any external implements.'
        Lambert's nauseated anger broke forth, 'What the hell are you trying to say? Did he cut out their eyes or