by Hill, Casey
‘Pig’s blood?’ Reilly repeated in some disbelief as the following morning, she read through the lab report Lucy had just given her.
‘Don’t forget soot,’ Lucy reminded her. ‘Pig’s blood, soot and some form of pure alcohol.’
From her rudimentary knowledge of tattoos Reilly knew that most professional tattoo artists used inks that were pre-made – pre-dispersed they called it. Whereas this one seemed like a homemade concoction. With luck, an artist that took a more organic approach might stand out and be remembered within the tattooist community.
‘And seeing as different types of pure alcohol are difficult to individuate,’ Lucy went on, ‘we’re going to test that further in order to narrow it down.’
In any case, what was it that had forced a pregnant young girl out onto a solitary country road so late at night?
Later that morning, Reilly received a call from Chris.
‘Looks like we might have struck lucky on the van for the hit and run,’ he said. ‘Body shop in Ballymount, a company van brought in for work after a supposed “animal strike”. Our media release set off some alarm bells and the owner called it in. We’re on our way now, but could do with one of your crew to give it the once-over.’
‘No problem, I’ll send Gary,’ she said, and he noticed the same coolness in her tone that had been there for the last few weeks. He was tempted to just come right out and ask if she was going to squeal on him, but it wasn’t the time or the place. And to be truthful, Chris wasn’t sure he wanted to know the answer.
‘Thanks,’ he said, his tone equally clipped. ‘Will let you know how it goes.’
The auto-repair shop was tucked away on an anonymous industrial estate on the outskirts of the city along with a couple of lockups, a delivery company, furniture shop, the usual fare.
The premises was easy to spot; the tarmac out front had taken on a pale color from the fine mist of dust and spray paint, and several cars with various windows and lights covered with newspaper and tape awaited a new paint job.
Chris and Kennedy sought out the owner in the main building. Kennedy got straight to the point. ‘You called in with the van tip-off, Mr Danson?’
Danson nodded. ‘Yeah, a guy brought it in this morning, wanted a quote to fix up the front end and put a new windshield in. I remembered the news report about that hit and run, so I thought, better be safe than sorry.’ He filled them in on the details of the van’s owner, a courier. ‘I’ve got a mobile number somewhere.’
Back in the car, Chris punched in the number and held the receiver to his ear.
‘Hello, Connolly and Sons; Shane speaking,’ a man answered in a business-like tone.
‘Mr Connolly, my name is Detective Chris Delaney. I wonder if you could confirm that are you the registered owner of a white Ford Transit van, registration number 08-MH-3457?’ He used a direct yes or no question, to not give Connolly any time to think.
‘Yes, yes, that’s my van,’ was the nervous reply.
‘Mr Connolly,’ Chris said, his tone ominous, ‘I think you and I need to have a little chat.’
Chapter 9
Rory sat hunched over his computer screen. There was a vast amount of information in the Central Database. New cases existed in both physical and digital form, which made searching for information or cross referencing with older cases much easier, especially for somebody with his analytical brain.
His friends nicknamed him ‘Data’, after the android on Star Trek TNG, one of his all-time favorite TV shows, due to the fact that he shared the uncanny ability to sift through and locate information, and also had a terrific memory for detail.
He quickly scanned through the older digital case file, hoping for something to jump out.
And when two hours later it did just that, Rory smiled.
‘Bingo,’ he grinned, getting to his feet.
State Pathologist
DATE and HOUR AUTOPSY PERFORMED: 24/10/1993; 10:00 A.M. by
John Harris, ME
Assistant: James O’Neill, MD
Full Autopsy Performed
SUMMARY REPORT OF AUTOPSY
Name: Jane Doe
Coroner's Case #: 7634-311
Date of Birth: N/A
Age: N/A
Race: White
Sex: Female
Date of Death: Unknown
Body Identified by: N/A
Case # 000453-4S-1993
Investigative Agency: SCU
EXTERNAL EXAMINATION:
Autopsy at 10:00 A.M. on October 24, 1993. The body is presented in standard body bag. The victim is wearing a light cotton jacket, polyester blend shirt and denim jeans with worn leather shoes.
The body is that of a young adult female of small build measuring 63 inches and weighing 98 pounds, estimated age of 16-18. Blue eyes. Long red hair 30 inches approx.
Rigor mortis has passed and liver mortis is fully developed.
Visual examination of the body shows no sign of trauma.
Alger mortis test carried out rectally which results slightly above ambient temp proving inconclusive for TOD.
Victim’s clothing and footwear removed and stored for evidence.
The victim has an elaborate and extensive tattoo across a large portion of her back, which should aid with identification. Six (6) photographs taken.
Abdomen is slightly inflated suggesting decay. Multiple blowfly larvae present.
Swabs and scrapings taken from fingernails.
Genital exam reveals no sign of sexual activity or trauma.
INTERNAL EXAMINATION:
Skeletal system is fully intact and normal.
Brain showing signs of decomposition - weight 978 grams, samples taken.
Respiratory system and throat system are normal but also showing initial signs of decay, larvae collected for dating. Lungs samples taken, signs of tissue damage as well as decay.
Heart of normal size, no signs of coronary disease.
Stomach contains high levels of gases indicating decay, no semi-digested food present.
The Urinary and female Genital system are normal but showing signs of decay. Swabs and tissue samples removed for analysis.
TOXICOLOGY: Sample blood and bile submitted for toxicologic analysis.
Drug Screen Results:
Urine screen {Immunoassay} NEGATIVE. Ethanol: 0 gm/dl, Blood (Heart) Ethanol: 0 gm/dl, Vitreous
EVIDENCE COLLECTED:
1. One (1) cotton jacket, pale colored, size Small.
2. One (1) denim jeans, size 10.
3. One (1) T-shirt (brand unknown).
4. One (1) pair of worn leather lace-up shoes.
5. Blood samples (type A+); Tissue samples - brain, heart, lungs, liver, kidney.
6. Eighteen (18) swabs to be tested.
OPINION
Time of Death: Body temperature, livor mortis, gastric bloating and the presence of blowfly larvae approximate time of death at more than four days (but less than seven) taking into account recorded weather conditions in localized area.
Cause of Death: Exposure to low temperatures below the metabolic rate.
Remarks: The victim was healthy and without signs of trauma or disease. The prevailing frost and absence of warm clothing may have led to death.
‘The wings design has cropped up before?’ Reilly scanned through the cold case file Rory had just handed her.
Right off the bat there were a few similarities between their case and this older one – both girls had been redheads, both were unidentified, and most strikingly, both had remarkably similar tattoos on their backs.
She then compared the photographs of the tattoo from the cold case to the ones they’d taken of the hit-and-run victim.
‘I’m no expert,’ Rory said, looking at both sets of photos, ‘but the tattoos look very similar to me.’
Reilly exhaled. ‘Well, they’re similar but not identical, though we’re not comparing like with like either,’ she pointed out.
‘What do you mean?’
‘According to the autopsy report, the girl in this older case died of exposure; she’d been out in the open for at least four days before she was discovered. That’s clear from the photos, and while the tattoo looks the same from the outset, I can see some differences in the detail.’
She arranged the photos side by side. ‘This tattoo is missing some of the finer detail of our more recent one.’ Using a pen, she circled an area near the shoulder blade of the hit-and-run victim’s photo. There did indeed seem more detail in the individual feather renderings of the latter tattoo.
‘There are plenty of things that could cause that,’ Rory offered. ‘The age of the tattoos for one, not to mention the age of the girls themselves when they were inked.’
She shook her head. ‘Neither tattoo looks that fresh though. They both look faded on the skin, so could have been done a while ago, leading to a loss of definition.’
She placed the photos back on the desk. ‘Let’s not over-analyze the obvious here. Anything else stand out about this cold case?’
Rory picked another file out of the box. ‘No dental work for this girl either. I don’t know about you, but pretty much everyone in Ireland these days has at least a filling.’
‘Well, not to brag, but where I come from fillings aren’t so common.’ Reilly grimaced, revealing her perfectly maintained orthodontics.
‘Fair enough, but these two Celtic redheads were a million miles from Californian girls,’ he replied archly.
Notwithstanding the tattoos and both girls’ appearance, the similarities were starting to become uncomfortable and she knew she needed to advise the detectives about this new slant to the investigation.
But this second unidentified girl had been found nine years before. What possible connection could she have to their ‘Angel’?
‘Can’t deny the similarites, that’s for sure,’ said Kennedy when they called in to the GFU on their return from the auto-repair shop.
‘I don’t think we should rule out the fact that these two girls may have originated if not from the same place then certainly from a similar background,’ Reilly said.
Chris frowned. ‘I don’t follow …’
She tried to explain her train of thought. ‘I can’t quite put my finger on it yet, call it instinct if you like, but it certainly feels like each of these girls were somewhat at odds with the real world. My guess is that wherever they came from they were cut off from reality, and never had to face any dangers, anything that might hurt them.’
‘Overprotective parents?’ Chris suggested with obvious scepticism. ‘Then why have both remained unidentifed for so long, the cold case especially?’
‘No. I don’t think it’s overprotective parents. Problem is I’m not sure what I think. It’s just a feeling.’
‘Ah, here we go …’ Kennedy said, and while usually Reilly never minded him teasing her about her famed ‘instincts’, for some reason she felt embarrassed in the face of Chris’s blatant cynicism. The last thing she needed was for him to stop trusting her judgement. It made her question herself. The tattoo aside, was she reaching for related similarities in these two cases, grasping at straws?
‘Look, it might well be nothing, but in any case, I thought I’d go and take a closer look around the discovery site. I know it’s been nine years since she was found but—’
‘Well, if there is anything there, no doubt that magic nose of yours will sniff it out,’ Kennedy chuckled. ‘No harm in our getting the lowdown from this … MacDonald,’ he said, reading the name of the cold-case investigating officer from the file. He stretched and groaned. ‘I thought we’d caught a break with finding the driver. So much for wrapping this one up quickly. Now, it looks like we’ve got not just one fallen angel, but two.’
Chapter 10
The following morning, Gary hurried into the lab with his sample bag over his shoulder and kit under his arm.
‘What are you doing in on a Sunday – hungry for overtime?’ Lucy teased as she turned away from the microscope.
‘I could say the same for you, thought you were away with the girls this weekend?’
‘Nah, cancelled due to terminal old age; Debs has no babysitter and Nic would rather stay in with her new man,’ she said.
In truth Lucy hadn’t been too bothered. Lately it always seemed that when she met up with her friends, she had less and less in common with them. Conversation usually turned to something funny someone had said or done years ago, and she was starting to feel jaded by the endless reminiscing. Spending hours alone in a cold, lonely lab didn’t faze her. This was what she’d wanted from the beginning, after all – a chance to make a difference, and get closer to finding answers.
‘What about you?’ she asked Gary. ‘No plans at all for the weekend?’
‘Nah. Since I started working here I’ve lost touch with about half my old mates, they move in different circles. It’s funny though, I always thought it would really bother me … you know, being like Reilly,’ he added, taking off his jacket. ‘But the longer I work here the more I appreciate it for what it is.’
‘And what’s that?’
‘The perfect job. We don’t have to clock in, we don’t have some troll of a boss breathing down our necks, our “clients” don’t – or can’t – answer back and most of the time, as long as we get results we get to do things our way.’
Lucy smiled. ‘Which is why you’re in here bright and early on a Sunday morning instead of sleeping off a Saturday night …’
‘Yep. I’ve just been down to the compound at the Phoenix Park to give that van a proper comb-over. I might be getting old and boring, but nailing the evidence on this guy is a much better use of a day than fighting off a hangover,’ Gary said as he placed the two bags on top of his workstation.
‘Find anything interesting?’
‘A couple of samples for DNA to see if I can get a match on that coffee cup from the ditch. There were two other older cups in the door pocket, same MegaCoffee branding on the side, so I bagged those too.’
‘Should stand up well in the prosecution – the detectives will be happy.’
‘Yep, we caught a break, getting a hit on the vehicle like that. Lots to compare with what we found at the scene.’ He indicated the full sample bag on his desk. ‘At this stage it’s looking like this courier guy is toast – I just need to make sure I cover all the angles so that the evidence is water tight.’
‘Or “Walter tight” as Reilly would say,’ Lucy said with a grin, referring to Reilly’s motto about well-known Dublin defense solicitor Jeffery Walters. He had got a particularly nasty individual off on a forensic technicality once, a loophole that Reilly had not foreseen and which had caused a massive storm in the GFU. Since then, none of them took any chances.
‘Yep, so that’s about the sum of it. What are you cooking in Pegasus?’ Gary nodded towards an elaborate unit that looked part-microwave, part life-support machine. On the left of the device was a large keypad and digital readout that displayed various alpha-numerical keys as well as the periodic symbols. Attached to the top of the unit was a standard LCD computer screen that sat beside a tall attachment with pressure dials and gas hoses coming out of either side. This was one of the GFU’s greatest weapons, the gas chromatography-mass spectrometry station. Affectionately nicknamed Pegasus, Gary had once joked that if there was ever a fire in the GFU, the first thing Reilly would do was unplug the machine and drag it out the door.
‘Just running the tox from the post mortem on the same case. I’m nearly finished if you need to get in here,’ Lucy said as she straightened up a bottle in a sample holder sitting on top of the machine. Several bottles were labeled: Femoral Blood (s1), Heart Blood (s1), Vitreous Humor Fluid (s1), Liver (s1), Brain (s1), as well as other pathological trace contained in small bottles relating to their hit-and-run victim.
‘Find anything interesting?’
‘Nope, I swear I’ve never seen such a clean set of results. Not that I was expecting to find anything
hardcore like drugs or even alcohol. Even the hair analysis shows up negative for pretty much everything you’d expect – no heavy metals or other airborne pollutants. It’s like a corpse from the seventeenth century.’
‘What about that stuff in the lungs?’
‘There’s only trace amounts of silica, and I’m guessing she must have been living or working in a dusty environment.’
‘Or in a museum,’ Gary said dryly.
Lucy tapped some keys on Pegasus and a humming sound kicked in.
‘I don’t know,’ she sighed, ‘usually the more analysis we do the closer we get to an answer, but seems to me that we’re getting further away.’
‘Patience, Luce, one step at a time. Something is sure to turn up that will flick a switch on this. Like this maybe…’ He took out a sealed container from his sample bag and held it up for her to see.
‘What is it?’ she asked.
‘Killer snot.’ When she gave him a baffled look, he smiled and continued. ‘Seems our courier likes nothing better that a good nasal rummage when he’s out on the road,’ he said gleefully. ‘Followed by wiping his mucus-adorned finger on the edge of his seat – remember that the next time you get a delivery from Amazon.’ Gary waved the sample close to her face making her reel back.
‘Ewww …’ Lucy exclaimed, enjoying the banter. While she enjoyed and embraced the solitude of the job, it was nice to have a little company on a weekend morning when most of her peers were enjoying time off.
Gary walked back to his desk like a triumphant eight-year-old who’d just dangled a worm in front of his little sister. ‘No shortage of DNA in the cab of that van either. Like I said, it will be interesting to hear from Batman and Robin about the owner and what his excuse is.’
Lucy giggled at his description of the detectives but a noise from nearby caused them both to turn around.
