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Three of her ribs are broken - she would have been in a great deal of pain before she died.” Lizzie shook her head in disgust. “Duncan should be able to get at least one good sample of a shoe print from the girl’s thigh area. She also has defence wounds to her hands and arms. Several of her nails have been chipped and broken and I have managed to swab them for perpetrator DNA. There is also bruising to the inside of her thighs and genitalia. In other words she was raped prior to death as well.” She shook her head again. “I have examined the girl’s trachea and lungs and there is no airway froth or sediment indicative of drowning. And there is no fluid in the paranasal sinuses or stomach. Therefore she was already dead before she went into the water. In conclusion death was the result of the severe haemorrhaging of the carotid artery in the neck caused by a sharp edged instrument. Forensics will no doubt match the wound to that knife found with the girl.” She paused dropping her latex gloves into a biohazard bin and then continued. “The incision across the throat is left to right and the penetration angle of the cut suggests that the killer was above or on top of her to carry out this action. That leaves me to believe your killer is left handed.”
    “What about identification of the girl?” enquired Grace.
    “Other than what I have already said, height weight, of Asian appearance etc, that’s all I am able to give. The bloating and decomposition has put paid to physical identification. She has also lost a number of teeth from the blows she received but dental records might be still of use, and of course I have taken a blood sample for DNA purposes, but that of course is if she or her family are on the database.”
    “I will sort out the dental impressions and fingerprints,” interjected Duncan Wroe. “I’ve had a look at the ridges and they are in a bit of a mess. There is a lot of skin slippage because of the length of time the body has been submerged. What I can do however is cut around the top section of each finger and peel off the flesh and then put them over my gloved fingers and roll an impression. I have done that once before and it worked.”
    Grace felt her skin suddenly go all goosey.
    “I can show you how to do it and then let you have a go if you want.”
    “Duncan that is gross.”
    “Needs must Grace, needs must!”
     
    * * * * *
     
    Feeling mentally and physically drained it was well after seven pm before Grace eventually got home.
    She had spent the last two hours updating DC Isobel Stevens so that she could input the HOLMES system ready for the following day’s briefing. She had also begun the timeline sequence on the incident boards, finishing the task by blue-tacking photo images of the crime scene, which included a sequence of mortuary shots; rug wrapped body, unwrapped body and the unusual looking weapon which had been used to slay the Asian woman. She’d then had to sit down with DI Scaife so that he could fill in the gaps in his journal ready for the next morning’s eight am briefing. It was only when she had finished all that did it hit home to her what the responsibility of acting Detective Sergeant meant. Never before had she ever given it any thought how much additional work Hunter put in after they had all called it a day and headed off home or down to the pub. She made herself a mental note that from now on she would always ask him at the end of a busy day if he needed any help.
    Unlocking the front door she called out.  There was no reply. She made her way through to the kitchen. On the table she found a note.  She picked it up and headed back into the hallway. Climbing the stairs slowly Grace read.  The message contained a mixture of scribbles made by David, her husband, and Robyn and Jade her daughters. It told her they had gone to a fast-food restaurant and then onto the cinema; to see a ‘chick-flick – she recognised that word as Robyn’s handwriting. The