Линда Ла Плант - Unholy Murder

Everyone got into position. Boon was turning his head away as best he could to avoid the smell. They all lifted the body on Pullen’s count and when everyone said they were ready she gave the order to shuffle forward.

‘I distinctly told you not to start the post-mortem without me, Tennison!’ Stanley bellowed as he stormed in the room.

‘Keep moving, we’re nearly there...’ Pullen said, trying to ignore him and concentrate on what she was doing.

Boon, startled by Stanley’s entrance, froze on the spot. As the others kept shuffling along there was a grating sound followed by a pop as the nun’s head, still in the veil and wimple, came away from her body. Jane, Pullen, and Lloyd glared at Boon.

Boon started to retch as he put the head on the mortuary table.

‘Shit. Sorry, Sam, I forgot to tell you DI Stanley wanted to attend the PM,’ Jane whispered.

After the nun’s body was placed on the table, Sam winked at Jane before turning to Stanley. ‘Ah, DI Stanley, a pleasure to meet you.’ She took off one latex glove and shook his hand. ‘I’m Dr Pullen, the forensic pathologist on this case. DS Tennison informed me you would be attending. I thought I’d get the body laid out on the table so I’d be ready to start when you got here. Perfect timing, wouldn’t you say?’

‘Sorry, I thought you’d started,’ an embarrassed Stanley replied.

‘Well, we can, now you’re here,’ Pullen said, putting her glove back on.

‘Stanley, how are you?’ Lloyd asked.

‘Teflon, what you doing here?’

‘I’m your lab liaison DS.’

‘I heard your injuries had rendered you unfit for front line duties. Didn’t expect to see you in this role, though,’ Stanley said.

Lloyd smiled. ‘I figured it would be less traumatic. After all, dead people can’t shoot you.’

Stanley took Lloyd to one side saying, ‘I’m a DI now. I don’t mind you calling me Stanley when it’s just the two of us, but when there’s junior ranks present, I’d prefer guv or sir.’

‘No problem,’ Lloyd said. ‘I like to be called Lloyd now and not Teflon, if you don’t mind.’

Stanley laughed. ‘Why? You’ve been known as Teflon for years.’

‘Unlike you, I like my Christian name. However, if you want to call me Teflon, I shall call you Evelyn.’

Stanley frowned. ‘I told you that in the strictest confidence. It’s not my fault my parents liked Evelyn Waugh’s novels.’

‘You told me that when you were pissed, and I haven’t told anyone... yet,’ Lloyd grinned.

‘All right, point taken,’ Stanley replied.

Lloyd took some photographs of the body then examined the interior of the coffin for any further forensic evidence but found nothing. Dr Pullen examined the head, whilst Jane showed Stanley the X-rays and pointed out the injuries.

Stanley shook his head in disbelief. ‘After the attempted strangulation, the poor woman must have been terrified when she woke up in the coffin.’

Jane sighed. ‘As awful as it sounds, I’d like to think the stabbing killed her instantly. To be totally paralysed, unable to do anything as you watch your killer slowly close the coffin lid, is unimaginable.’

Stanley nodded. ‘Whoever did this was clearly determined to kill her.’

‘Will you be forming a murder squad?’ Boon asked brightly.

‘It’s not up to me, Boony. DCS Barnes will decide if a squad should be formed and who will be on it.’

‘When will you be speaking with him?’ Boon asked.

‘I already have. He wants to wait until the full post-mortem is completed and speak with the coroner before making a decision.’

‘From the injuries detected on the X-rays it’s pretty clear we’re talking murder here,’ Pullen remarked.

‘If DCS Barnes does form a squad, I think me and DC Boon should be on it,’ Jane said.

‘I don’t have a problem with that,’ Stanley said. ‘But Barnes might.’

‘Have I done something to upset him?’ Boon asked with a worried frown.

‘Not to my knowledge.’ Stanley took Jane to one side. ‘Tony Barnes wasn’t very complimentary when I mentioned your name.’

‘I’ve never even met the man,’ Jane responded. ‘Hang on, is Barnes another DCI Murphy sympathiser.’

‘No. He said he’d been told you weren’t a good team player and liked to do things your own way, that’s all.’

‘You know that’s not true. I’ve always shared any leads or information I get with my colleagues.’

‘Be honest, Jane, sometimes you keep things to yourself.’

‘Only until I get further evidence to corroborate my suspicions, which, as you know, is because my male counterparts often doubt my abilities.’

Lloyd, who was eavesdropping on the conversation, joined them. ‘Barnes and Murphy used to work together on the Flying Squad, but it was a good few years before you were on it. Barnes was the DI then and Murphy a DS.’

‘Thick as thieves, were they?’ Jane asked pointedly, looking at Stanley.

‘I think you’re jumping to conclusions Jane,’ Stanley said curtly.

‘No, I’m not! Murphy knew I was good detective. He had me kicked off the Flying Squad because I was a threat to him. And now his pal Barnes wants to stop me investigating murders.’

‘To be fair, Jane, I’ve never heard any mention of Barnes being corrupt,’ Lloyd said.

‘Nor me,’ Stanley added. ‘If he were, then Countryman would have been after him as well. As for Murphy, all the evidence at his trial indicated he became a bent copper when he was a DI — which was a few years after he worked with Tony Barnes.’

‘Maybe Barnes lured Murphy into a world of corruption,’ Jane said bluntly.

‘You’re becoming paranoid, Jane,’ Stanley said firmly. ‘Me and Lloyd worked with Murphy... does that make us corrupt?’

Jane could feel herself getting angrier. ‘You know that’s not what I meant.’

‘Well, it’s what you’re inferring.’

Jane turned away. ‘This is ridiculous... I need to get some fresh air.’

‘You feeling sick as well?’ Boon asked.

‘Only with the way I’m being treated!’

Stanley sighed. ‘If it makes you feel any better, I’ll insist you continue to be involved in the investigation, whatever Barnes says.’

Jane let out a heavy sigh. ‘It would have been nice if you’d done that when you first spoke to him.’

Dr Pullen could see that things were getting heated. She deliberately spoke loudly. ‘If you’d all like to gather round, I can show you the neck injuries and retrieve the object stuck in the vertebrae.’

She instantly got everyone’s attention. The head of the nun lay on a separate examination table. Her dark blonde hair was well preserved under the wimple. It was cut to just above the earlobes, untidy and not very straight.

‘I had to cut through the nun’s wimple so I could dissect the skin and muscle around the neck.’ Pullen handed the wimple to Lloyd.

He laid it out on a large brown exhibits bag and proceeded to tape it for any fibres which might have come from the ligature. Pullen used tweezers to pluck some of the hairs from the scalp, then put them in a plastic exhibits bag which she handed to Lloyd.

‘To be tested by toxicology for any drugs, I take it?’ Lloyd asked.

Pullen nodded. ‘Just in case she was poisoned as well, I’ll remove her stomach and contents for testing when I examine the internal organs.’

‘Has my little mishap with her head caused any problems?’ Boon asked tentatively.

‘Thankfully, there’s no further damage to the vertebrae,’ Pullen told him. ‘As I suspected, the spinal cord has been severed between the C3 and C4 sections and the hyoid bone is fractured.’ She looked at the notes she’d made prior to dissecting the throat. ‘The width of the entry wound in the neck is two and a half centimetres and the penetration depth five centimetres. However, the knife could have had a longer blade than the penetration depth. There were no signs of serration on the vertebrae which suggests the knife had a smooth blade.’