‘What was that term you used…for him, Dr D’Acre?’

‘For him, he died of a subarachnoid haemorrhage. What happened to him is that he sustained multiple blows to the head but he has quite a thick skull. His skull didn’t fracture at all, but the blows caused subcranial lacerations and the blood collected in the subarachnoid space. What happened then is that the blood was prevented from coagulating because it mixed with the cerebrospinal fluid which dilutes it and it then slides down inside the skull to cover the brain and enter the basal skull fossae, and death follows.’ She peeled off her latex gloves from her hands. ‘The process is not fully understood, but when the brain stem comes into contact with blood, death occurs.’

The mortuary assistant covered the bodies with sheets.

‘Thank you, Mr Filey.’ D’Acre smiled at the small bespectacled man, who smiled his acknowledgement. The fact that he had been drinking, he has a high blood/alcohol level, the alcohol would have eased the bursting of aneurisms, the blood vessels.’

‘I see.’

‘So that is he. Now she, on the other hand, did suffer a fractured skull. A single blow cracked her skull open from front to back, sending brain splinters into the skull, killing her instantly. A blunt instrument was used in both cases.’

‘Time of death?’

‘Found this morning…I noted a slight discolouration of the abdominal skin, that is the usual sign for the onset of putrefaction, which normally takes place within two to three days after death. They probably were not killed last night, probably any time from Sunday to Monday evening…but they would have been deceased by yesterday morning. I think of interest to you is the hypostasis, that was the redness about the buttocks, the shoulders and the calves and ankles.’

‘I remember.’

‘That fully established itself in six to twelve hours after death and is basically a settling of blood in the body due to gravity, especially where the body has been exposed to a cold surface. When they had died, they were both laid on the ground face up and remained there for about twenty four hours, during which rigor mortis set in. Then they were moved, the rigor was broken, and they were then taken to the shallow grave and placed on their sides. If they had been buried soon after death in the manner in which they were found, then rigor would be present and the hypostasis would be present down one or the other side, not on the posterior aspect of their bodies.’

‘Moved after death,’ Yellich said. ‘Alive on Sunday, deceased by Tuesday, moved after death.’

‘They were probably buried on the Tuesday evening, that is yesterday and today’s hours of darkness. Found this on her clothes.’ D’Acre held a small glass test tube and handed it to Yellich.

‘A butterfly?’

‘A moth.’ D’Acre looked at the test tube. ‘What great monument of purpose you were destined for and never knew it, eh, little one? You see, Sergeant, it’s my guess that in the burial of the two bodies in a shallow grave, there would be a lot of movement, bodies being carried and dumped, soil being heaved…would there not?’

‘Yes, I would imagine so.’

‘It’s my further guess that this wee beastie—it’s a common moth, nothing out of the ordinary about it—came fluttering along, possibly attracted by a light from a lantern or car headlights, and by some means got caught up in the movements, had a spadeful of soil chucked over him. Got in the way of a spadeful of soil, was brought down as he fluttered by, didn’t recover before the next spadeful of soil landed on him and his goose was cooked. But his presence meant that he was in the vicinity at the time of the burial, that means it was a night burial. Allowing for time for rigor to establish itself, because it was broken, then they could not have been buried Monday night/Tuesday morning, they had to have been buried last night. And murdered at least twelve hours before that.’

‘So…they were seen alive on Sunday in the afternoon. . ‘

‘Any time from then until yesterday morning was the time of their death, if you’re certain they were alive on Sunday afternoon.’

‘Their children saw and spoke with them.’

‘Good enough, I suppose, but clinically speaking, I’d be prepared to push the time envelope back twenty-four hours, but that’s at the extreme. If you think that the witnesses to their being alive on Sunday are reliable, then that would meet with my clinical findings that death was likely to have occurred between’—she glanced at the clock on the wall ‘between about twenty-four and fifty-two hours ago.’

‘Between Sunday night and Tuesday morning?’

‘If you like, but I can narrow it down further.’

‘You can?’

‘Stomach contents reveal a partially digested heavy meal.’

‘They were known to have been at a restaurant on Saturday evening, returning home about midnight.’

‘Well, it takes about twenty-four hours for a meal to be digested and the waste vacated per rectum and heavy, fatty meals remain longer than light meals, as you’d expect, and digestion does continue after death. But the presence of the Saturday-evening meal in their system points to death nearer to the fifty hours end of the time window.’

‘Closer to the Sunday?’

‘Yes. Much closer to the Sunday.’

‘She didn’t say what sort of weapon was used, boss,’ Yellich said in Hennessey’s office. ‘Apart from a blunt instrument.’

‘Plenty of those. Do you think it could be a scaffolding pole, that it to say a short length of same?’

‘Have to ask her that, boss.’

‘I will.’ Then, by means of explanation Hennessey told Yellich about Richardson, his visit to the Williamses’, his threat and the two-foot-long length of scaffolding pole. ‘What did Williams say about anybody wanting to murder his parents?’

‘Not a lot. He’s a queer fish, boss, no mistake. You’d think he’d be upset about going to identify his parents, but on the journey he was obsessed by that sailor.’

‘What sailor?’

‘The lad on the platform outside the provost marshal’s office.’

‘Oh yes,’ Hennessey spoke softly. ‘I did wonder what his story was.’

Yellich told him.

‘Seemed to take it personally, then?’

‘Seemed so.’

‘What about his reaction when he saw his parents’ bodies?’

‘That was more natural. A bit restrained, but sorrowful, subdued. Daresay he is a human being after all.’

When Yellich had gone, Hennessey suddenly remembered another name: Bestwood. Bestwood, that’s another name for the list, one perfunctory, lacklustre, flat-personality lump of a lad, he, little wonder he hadn’t been one of the first to spring to mind. But that’s another name for the list, but he was betting there. He was confident that soon he’d have all thirty-two names. He couldn’t remember Bestwood’s Christian name though. He thought it was probably Michael, but only probably.

Wednesday afternoon and evening

…in which Chief Inspector Hennessey meets a ruined man, is annoyed and impressed by a scientist, and both he and Sergeant Yellich each make their favourite journey: home.

Rufus Williams sat impassively in the interview room.

Hennessey was puzzled by his calmness, but then, he thought, this was probably his way of reacting to misfortune, a state of denial, he believed it to be called—‘It’s not really happening, it isn’t really, it’ll sort itself out, he’s not really dead, it just looks that way.’

‘Would you like us to contact the Metropolitan Police to ask them to break the news to your sister?’

‘No. I’ll do that. Thanks, anyway.’

‘As you wish. We only have to inform one next of kin. The rest is up to the family.’

‘I am aware of that.’

‘Difficult as it must be for you, sir,’ Hennessey pressed forward. ‘I’m afraid we have to ask you some questions.’

‘Of course.’