Читать книгу Payback - Harvey Cleggett - Страница 18

‘The man’, Gerald Matthews, was one of the Institute’s most experienced forensic medical examiners, as well as a member of the Royal College of Pathologists. Both men knew that with him performing the autopsy no detail would be missed. Everything would be documented meticulously, photographed from every angle and analysed as it should be; it was a comforting feeling.

John grimaced as he looked reflectively at Ballard. “Remember our first autopsy? If the general public knew what went on they’d do anything to ensure they died in their beds of natural causes.”

Both men recalled in vivid detail the first all body cavity autopsy they were required to witness as young detectives. The deceased was a middle aged male, believed to have been poisoned by his wife of thirty years. The internal examination had commenced with the medical examiner making a Y shaped incision from shoulder to shoulder, meeting at the breast bone then extending down to the pubic area. The next process involved using a scalpel to peel back skin, muscle and soft tissue. Once this stage was complete, the chest flap was pulled up over the face, exposing the ribcage and neck muscles. Cuts were made to the ribcage on each side, then it was removed from the skeleton after severing the tissue behind it with the scalpel.

Even at this juncture Ballard and John had felt light headed, with a sense of disbelief at what they were witnessing. With the organs exposed, a series of cuts were made that detached the larynx, oesophagus, various arteries and ligaments. Next, the examiner severed where the organs were attached to the spinal cord as well as their connection to the bladder and rectum. Once this was done, the entire organ mass was lifted out to be dissected for further investigation.

It was here the two detectives had excused themselves, rushing over to a wash trough and parting with the lunch they had foolishly eaten prior to the viewing, despite having been warned by more experienced fellow officers.

Embarrassed and very contrite they returned, witnessing the continuing dissection of the organs, including the weighing and sampling of various tissue masses. These samples took the form of slices that could be viewed under a microscope. Major blood vessels were also dissected and studied.

The examiner then opened the stomach, inspecting and weighing the contents. This, he informed both men, who were now as pale as the cadaver itself, was helpful in determining the time of death.

A plastic body block was placed behind the neck of the deceased, like a pillow, raising the head to facilitate the removal of the brain. The examiner then made a cut with a scalpel from behind one ear, across the forehead to the other ear, then around the back of the head, enabling the scalp to be pulled away from the skull in two flaps. Again both men made a hurried journey to the wash trough, repeating their previous actions, this time with much louder, more painful dry retching.

On returning to the scene of their torment they witnessed an electric saw cutting into the skull, as if by magic not damaging the brain. Following this, the skull was removed and the brain’s connection to the spinal cord and tentorium, the membrane that connected and covered the cerebellum and occipital lobes of the cerebrum, was severed and the brain lifted out of the skull for examination.

The examiner, straight faced, despite the obvious discomfort the detectives were experiencing, explained how he would look for evidence of trauma or other causes of death besides poisoning. Toxicology tests on blood and urine would indicate any presence of drugs, including their type and quantity.

At this point the degree of comprehension the two policemen displayed was zero, the sound of blood rushing in their ears almost drowned out the examiner’s words. Both men admitted defeat, stating they had to leave or they would pass out and be the laughing stock of their squad if ever word got back.

The examiner took pity, stating they had stood up very well and had they fainted they would have been in illustrious company, including a number of high profile, senior police who had been subjected to the same confronting scenes when they were novices in the job. Grateful for the comments, but feeling no less squeamish, the detectives thanked the examiner, departing as fast as their unsteady legs would carry them.

Ballard and John snorted out loud at the memory. After parking in the ‘Police Vehicles Only’ restricted area of Coronial Services, both men walked into the multi-storey, light grey building. Approaching the counter they presented their police identification.

Ballard smiled at the receptionist. “Would you please page the medical examiner on duty, Mr Gerald Matthews. He’s expecting us.” They signed the attendance register then waited by the security door.

Within minutes Gerald Matthews emerged and energetically shook their hands. His white lab coat covered a light pastel green, open necked shirt and faded blue jeans. Piercing hazel eyes matched the colour of his shirt, with greying hair slicked back from his forehead. An educated guess would place him near sixty.

“As you can see by my attire I’ve finished the autopsy. In fact I was sorting through some of the photographs and X rays while catching up on the forms.” He shook his head. “You’ve no idea the number of reports we have to fill out for each autopsy these days, but I guess I’m not going to receive any sympathy talking to policemen about filling out forms, am I?”

Turning about-face he called over his shoulder, “Follow me gentlemen.” Everyone strode along the corridor’s continuous yellow line which ran parallel with the left wall, their shoes squeaking on the polished vinyl. “I must say I was glad to hear you were both on the case. Whoever did the shooting is not a nice person. The sooner he’s behind bars the better. I’m surprised the press haven’t made more of it.”

Ballard replied. “It won’t be long Gerald. A day or two at the most before the story takes on a life of its own.”

John joined in. “That’s why we’re here. So your CSI skills can point us to the single strand of hair the killer left behind on the deceased with the resultant DNA match concluding as we speak.”

Gerald stopped, looking closely at both men. “If only life were that simple guys. The shooter was very careful not to leave any trace of himself on the victim.”

Pushing open a door, he ushered them into a small conference room with an oval table and six chairs. Pinned on the walls were a series of colour photos and X-rays. Sensing the detectives wanted to begin inspecting he pulled back a chair and sat down. “Before we look at the details, I want to give you both some contextual background.” John shuffled into a seat alongside Ballard, both registering mild disappointment they would have to endure an informative but complex main meal before they could move onto the dessert.

Ignoring their impatience, Gerald clasped both hands together before continuing. “The victim was in good physical condition. From the internal examination and X-rays there were no injuries on his body other than those caused by the rope around his neck, the nylon ties binding his wrists, plus of course the .45 calibre slug. I’ve already spoken to Robert at forensics, he’s confirmed it was a hollow point.”

He gave a shake of his head. “The exit hole was one of the largest I’ve ever seen, but more on that later. Let’s talk about the rope. The victim was swinging for a considerable time before he was shot.”

Ballard and John knew from experience Gerald chose not to refer to his subjects by name. Considering what his job entailed, it was understandable a degree of detachment was essential, having to perform the invasive investigations daily.

“The height of the chair was not sufficient for the fall to break his neck, so he was for all intents and purposes choking to death, which may have taken up to…”

John put his hand up like a schoolboy in class, blurting out, “Fifteen minutes or more.”

Gerald looked impressed. “Correct.” Ballard kicked his partner under the table.

Gerald pressed on. “In this instance, death would have occurred due to occlusion of the blood vessels rather than asphyxiation. Obstruction of venous drainage of the brain via occlusion of the internal jugular veins leads to cerebral oedema and then cerebral ischemia. The face becomes engorged and cyanotic, that is, it turns blue through lack of oxygen. The victim in this case had the classic signs of strangulation, petechiae, which are little blood marks on the face and in the eyes from burst capillaries. Also his tongue was swollen and protruding.”

John shuffled in his seat, looking uncomfortable. “Yeah. We saw that on the video. So you’re saying the victim was dead before he was shot.”

Gerald shook his head. “Not necessarily. The symptoms I’ve mentioned are accumulative, they would have been evident before death to some degree. That said, the victim may have been dead before being shot, or near death, then shot. I wish I could be more definitive.

“What I can say is the victim both urinated and defecated which as you know is often a symptom of hanging. However, if I was standing on a chair with a rope around my neck and had someone waving a .45 calibre in my face, I’m damn sure I’d have a sphincter malfunction well before I died from hanging.”

The detectives chuckled, grinning at the macabre mental image while Gerald smiled at his own joke. “The injury to the victim’s neck is consistent with rope, not manual strangulation. Often the hyoid bone is broken when the victim is being choked by someone using their bare hands. It’s the single bone in the throat… horseshoe-shaped and situated in the anterior midline of the neck, between the chin and the thyroid. Acts a bit like scaffolding. It wasn’t fractured or broken in this instance.

“Now for the damage the bullet caused. I’ve been in this game for… well never mind, a long time and I’ve never seen an exit wound like it.” As if admonishing himself for emotional indulgence, he shrugged before regaining his composure.

“A bullet is a high-velocity missile. The injuries to the victim’s head occurred from the initial laceration and crushing of brain tissue by the projectile, as well as the subsequent cavitation. High-velocity objects create rotations, generating shock waves that result in stretch injuries. In many instances the cavity may be three to four times greater in diameter than the missile itself. When the missile is a hollow point, the resultant cavity is much larger. Despite the gyroscopic spin of the bullet along its axis being sufficient to stabilize it in the air, the spin is insufficient to keep it on track when it enters the denser medium of body tissue.

“In this instance as soon as the bullet passed into the victim’s head, it began to wobble. Its cross-sectional area became larger, the drag force increased and because it was hollow point it rapidly expanded. This all contributed to the damage within the victim’s brain. As a consequence, due to the considerable build up of pressure within the skull, brain tissue ejected from both the entrance and exit wounds.

“Robert told me he believes the killer used a Glock.” Gerald clasped his hands together, often a sign he was about to wrap up with a summary. “So, what we have here gentlemen is the bullet entering the skull, causing a shitload of damage to the brain tissue on the way through and leaving a barn door cavity on the way out.”

Both detectives looked at each other, acknowledging this was the only detail they had come for, but refrained from saying so. Despite the mountain of technical detail, they were grateful for his efforts.

Changing subjects Gerald said, “Now to the victim’s blood alcohol content.” Ballard and John sat upright in their chairs. “It was high.”

John repeated his impersonation of a schoolboy answering a question by raising and lowering his hand. “We saw in the crime scene video five or so empty cans and a bottle of Johnnie on the office desk. If he’d drunk most of it himself, I’d suggest there’s a point three in front of the reading.”

Gerald looked impressed. “Zero point three two to be exact John. Stomach contents are yet to be fully analysed, but it was a mixture of beer and spirits with very little food. However, I would suggest he was not a heavy drinker as his liver was in good condition. Either way I’m waiting on the toxicology and serology results.”

Ballard decided to challenge his own theory. “Could the victim have been so drunk the only thing holding him up when he was on the chair was the rope around his neck?”

Gerald, unaware of Ballard’s theory about Mario twisting away from the killer through fear, looked puzzled.

“Yes. By no means impossible. It would’ve been very painful, but yes he could have wobbled about on the chair still upright, whereas if not suspended by the rope, he may have fallen down. Having said that I’ve seen plenty of individuals displaying sobriety with a .32 reading.”

Ballard nodded, but was satisfied his psychological torture theory was sound.

Gerald stood up without warning. “Time for the picture show gentlemen. Let’s start over here shall we?” He led them to the first series of photographs in which Mario was fully clothed. From there X-rays of the body were taken, as well as a series of photos of the head, with one showing the angle of the bullet as it travelled through the skull.

Gerald depicted this by inserting a thin piece of plastic, similar to a long knitting needle, through the entry point above the right eye, extending it out the cavity at the back of the skull. The subsequent profile photos showed the bullet’s trajectory; simple but effective, a signature of Gerald’s work.

Both men commented on this fact; Gerald suppressed a satisfied smile. “All part of the service. You’ll also note the powder burns on the victim’s forehead. The shooter was up close and personal. Now do either of you have any questions before I go?”

Ballard placed a hand on Gerald’s shoulder. “No. You’ve provided us with everything except the identity of the killer. If you come up with that any time soon, be sure to give us a call.”

This time Gerald did smile, but without real humour. “Make sure you get him as soon as you can. None of us like animals like that roaming loose in our streets.”

Both detectives agreed as they led him out of the room and back along the corridor. At the security door they turned and shook his hand. With that Gerald hurried away to what would be another complex autopsy and for the relatives and victims involved, a traumatic chapter in their lives.