Страница 49 из 98
“Aha,” he said. “I thought so. Look, Banks, do you see that damage there, to the frontal lobes?”
Banks saw it. And he knew what it meant. “Contre coup?”
“Exactly. Which might explain the unusual angle.”
If a blow is delivered while the victim’s head is stationary, then the damage is limited to the point of impact – bones splintered into the brain – but if the victim’s head is in motion, then the result is a contre coup injury: additional damage opposite the point of impact. Contre coup injuries are almost always the result of a fall.
“Luke fell?”
“Or he was pushed,” said Glende
“Can you give me any idea about time of death? It’s important.”
“Aye, well… I’ve looked over Dr. Burns’s measurements at the scene. Very meticulous. He’ll go far. Rigor’s been and gone, which indicates over two days at the temperatures noted.”
“What about the wrinkling and whitening?”
“Cutis anserina? Three to five hours. Water preserves, delays putrefaction, so it makes our job a little harder. There’s no lividity, and I’m afraid it’ll be almost impossible to tell whether there was any other bruising. The water takes care of that.” He paused and frowned. “But there’s the discoloration around the neck.”
“What about it?”
“That indicates the begi
“After how long?”
“That’s just it,” Dr. Glende
Banks made a mental calculation. “Bloody hell,” he said. “Even at the outside, that means Luke had to have been killed just after he went missing.”
“Sometime that very night, by my calculations. Taking everything into account, between about eight P.M. and eight A.M.”
And Dr. Glende
Before she went off duty – though such a thing was somewhat of an illusion in the thick of a major murder investigation – A
Banks was already waiting for her at a corner table, and she saw him before he saw her. He looked tired, A
“Nothing mysterious about it at all,” Banks said, brightening up a little. “I just wanted to deliver a message myself, in person.”
“I’m all ears.”
“It looks as if you’re off the hook as far as Luke Armitage’s death is concerned.”
A
“Dr. Glende
“Before-”
“Yes. Before the kidnap call even came in.”
A
Banks smiled at her. “Thought you’d be pleased.”
“How? He didn’t drown, did he?”
Banks sipped some beer. “No,” he said. “Pending tox results, it looks as if cause of death was a blow to the cerebellum, quite possibly the result of a fall.”
“A struggle of some sort, then?”
“Exactly what I thought. Perhaps with the kidnapper, very early on. Or whoever he was with.”
“And that person decided to try and collect anyway?”
“Yes. But that’s pure speculation.”
“So Luke died somewhere else and was dumped in the tarn?”
“Yes. Probably wherever he was being held – if he was being held. Anyway, there’d have been a fair bit of blood, the doc says, so there’s every chance of our still finding evidence at the original scene.”
“If we can find the scene.”
“Exactly.”
“So we are making progress?”
“Slowly. What about the girl?”
“Nothing yet.” A
She noticed Banks was watching her as she spoke. She could almost see his mind moving, making the co
“More speculation?”
“Yes,” Banks admitted. “Let’s assume they got into a fight over something or other and Luke ended up dead. Maybe not intentionally, but dead is dead. They panicked, thought of a suitable spot and drove out and dumped him into Hallam Tarn later that night, under cover of darkness.”
“They’d need a motor, remember, which might be a bit of a problem if they were broke.”
“Maybe they ‘borrowed’ one?”
“We can check car-theft reports for the night in question. No matter how much they covered up the body, there might still be traces of Luke’s blood.”
“Good idea. Anyway, they know who Luke’s parents are, think they might be able to make a few bob out of them.”
“Which would explain the low demand.”
“Yes. They’re not pros. They’ve no idea how much to ask. And ten grand is a bloody fortune to them.”
“But they were watching Martin Armitage make the drop, and they saw me.”
“More than likely. Sorry, A
A
“Yes,” said Banks. “But too many things about this seem hurried, spontaneous, ill-thought-out. No, A