In the cases she and Ariel had worked before, the body itself held little relevance. This time it was different. If the body didn’t hold the key, it offered clues and Thea had no intention of getting her information second-hand from Ariel.
“Notice the nail …” Silver said then stopped when Thea crouched down next to the body.
“Mind starting over?” Thea asked, her eyes darting from Silver to Ariel. If Ariel was upset she didn’t show it, and when Silver looked at Ariel, she merely shrugged.
“Okay children,” Silver, the Medical Examiner started, as if lecturing a class of ten-year-olds. “We have here a female Caucasian, approximately fifteen to eighteen years of age. Note the tattoos, Detective,” he said looking at Thea, and with a penlight pointed out five. “Butterflies with broken wings on each ankle, a broken chain on one wrist, a unicorn on the same arm, a broken heart on the other arm. There’s another on the back of her neck. I was telling your partner they’re all relatively new, the oldest no more than eighteen months old. My guess is she’s a runaway,” he said and paused.
“Actually, I believe she was restrained when she was killed.” Again using the penlight, he highlighted the girl’s wrists and ankles. “She was tied. Forensics can be more specific, but it wasn’t rope. I’d say with strips of a sheet or some other such material. She struggled to get free and they left welts. As to the cause of death, for a definitive answer you’ll have to wait for the autopsy, but I believe she bled to death.”
“I don’t see any wounds,” Thea said. “Lots of blood on her body …”
“Ye of little faith,” he said, and shined his penlight on the girl’s neck. Thea saw what looked like a scratch.
“He slit her jugular,” Silver said, looking at Thea. “Contrary to what you see in the movies, blood spurts from the neck when you cut the carotid artery,” he said, pointing with his penlight. “If you slice the jugular deep enough, you will get heavy bleeding, but no stream of blood. In this case our killer with a knife or scalpel made a tiny incision in the jugular. Restrained, the young lady bled to death, very slowly.”
“Was she in pain?” Thea asked. “Not from the wound. She would feel lethargic, and at some point would cease struggling. Too much of an effort.”
He lifted one of her hands with his gloved hand. “She would feel pain, though, when he ripped off her nail. That’s what I was telling your partner when you so rudely interrupted,” he said with a wink.
“Did he rip it off post-mortem?” Ariel now asked.
“From the amount of blood on the skin I’d say she was alive at the time.”
“A totem. A trophy,” Thea said, thinking out loud.
“That’s for you to determine,” Silver said.
How can so much pain lead to so much Growth?
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