Read Online Grave Stones by Priscilla Masters - Free Book Online

high spinal fractures would have rendered him quadriplegic, unable to either move or breathe. And the extent of the skull fractures – they’re embedded deep in the brain. Death would have been quick and, looking at the copestone, I’d say that is your murder weapon.’
    Korpanski nodded.
    It was an hour later that Jordan Cray was documenting his findings.
    Cause of death: respiratory failure due to extensive skull fractures particularly in the occipital area, together with cervical spinal fractures which caused fatal and irreparable damage to the Circle of Willis.
    Then he described the sequence of events, as he saw them, to the detective. ‘What happened was this,’ Jordan Cray said slowly. ‘There was a fight during which MrGrimshaw tried to protect himself.’ He indicated the injuries on the under side of the victim’s forearms, then held up his own to illustrate his opinion. ‘I think the weapon then was something like a baseball bat, judging both by the marks and the fact that there’s no debris in the wounds. One of these blows was forceful enough to break his left ulna. This is typical of a defensive injury.’ He crossed to the x-ray screen and traced the bones with his forefinger. It didn’t take five years in medical school to see the displacement of the smaller of the two forearm bones.
    Cray moved back to the body and continued. ‘Our victim fell backwards, indicated by bruising and lacerations on the sacrum and lumbar region of the back. I think he probably fell against the wall. This happened shortly before death. You saw the green stains on the clothing? I think if you consulted a botanist he would confirm that the moss was the same. And then when our victim is hurt and helpless on the floor, our killer sees his or her chance and topples the copestone right on our victim’s head, fracturing two cervical vertebrae.’
    Korpanski felt queasy. ‘Oh,’ he said, seeming to taste the formalin on his tongue even though the air exchange was turned full on.
    ‘I’d say that did it.’ Cray finished with a flourish of satisfaction. ‘And incidentally, Sergeant Korpanski, I removed a rose thorn from Grimshaw’s right palm. That should give you some clue to the location of the initial assault.’
    * * *
    All this time, back at the farm there was activity. The copestone had been removed to the laboratory for DNA analysis. The entire wall and murder scene had been photographed from all angles, an arc light illuminating the darker areas. The fingertip search of the scene was ongoing, as were the disposal of the animals’ carcases and the search of the farmhouse.
    Roderick Beeston had taken Old Spice to his surgery and was drip-feeding the animal.
     
    Hesketh-Brown had moved to the other side of the road and was interviewing more inhabitants of the Prospect Farm Estate.
    Amongst them was Hilary Barnes.
    He’d found her in the garden, secateurs in her hand and a weed bucket at her feet. He flashed his card and asked her whether she’d noticed anything out of the ordinary.
    She looked him up and down before replying as though her answer somehow depended on what type of person this detective was.
    ‘I was dead-heading my roses when I noticed some flies,’ she said. ‘Nasty big bluebottles. There have been more of them recently, as well as a particularly offensive smell.’ She looked severely at Hesketh-Brown as though it was all his fault.
    ‘Have you noticed anything else?’
    The woman looked at him now with wise eyes and a touch of humour.
    ‘Apart from the police cars screaming round theplace, do you mean? Or the house-to-house interviews going on across the road all afternoon? What specifically, Constable?’ Her mouth actually twitched.
    So she’d actually read the ID card.
    ‘There’s been an incident,’ he said carefully.
    ‘So I gathered.’
    ‘At the farm. I’m afraid the farmer’s had an accident.’
    ‘An accident, Constable? Do you mean he’s fallen off the haystack or turned