AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“You don’t say?”
“It looks like our killer buried Barbara near a relative’s grave.”
“And you want me to see if there’s a Prescott somewhere in the cemetery here.”
Faith’s admiration for the amiable detective grew. “You got it.”
“Right on. I’ll make some calls and let you know what I dig up.”
“Thank you,” she replied. “In the meantime, I’d like to talk to the coroner.”
“I’ll text you the address.”
***
“Both victims were buried alive and died of asphyxiation within four hours of burial,” the coroner explained. “Aside from the petechial hemorrhaging and darkening of the skin consistent with such a death, there are defensive wounds on both victims’ hands and legs, particularly the fingers and palms. Most of the defensive injuries were sustained in the moments prior to death.”
“They panicked,” Michael summarized.
“Yes,” the coroner replied.
Dr. Frank Richmond was a softspoken bookish man of maybe forty-five with wire-rimmed glasses and a short goatee. Faith thought he looked like a villain from an old spy movie, but he had a ready smile and kind eyes, and she decided she liked him well enough.
“Have the families been notified?” Faith asked.
“Yes,” Dr. Richmond replied. “They were notified yesterday and informed that they should expect a call from investigators.”
“We’ll talk to them,” Michael said. “Any sign of intoxication? Any needle or ligature marks?”
Faith knew Michael was thinking about how the victims were transported to the graves. If the killer was working alone, and Faith believed he was, then the victims would have had to be unconscious until they were brought to the grave.
“There were traces of gamma hydroxybutyrate and flunitrazepam in both their systems. GHB and Rohypnol in English.”
“Date-rape drugs,” Faith commented.
“Yes.”
“Administered orally, I’m guessing?” Michael asked.
Dr. Richmond nodded. “That’s correct. Of note is the fact that the dosing appeared to be tailored to the victims’ weight.”
“He wanted them to remain alive until he could bury them,” Faith surmised.
“Could he have a medical background?” Michael asked.
“Possibly,” Dr. Richmond said, “but I personally feel he would have chosen one drug or the other in that case, not both.”
“I agree,” Faith said. “He used both drugs as a failsafe in case one didn’t work the way he intended.”
“How would he know the dosage though?” Michael asked. “That’s not common knowledge.”
“You can find anything out on the Internet,” Faith countered, “but the victims are both medical professionals, so we’ll explore that angle too.” To Dr. Richmond, she said, “Anything else we should know about the victims?”
He lifted his hands and let them drop. “Not really. You have their vital info already. I’m sure the families can tell you more, but medically, this is as easy a pair of autopsies as I’ve ever had.” He chuckled mirthlessly. “Not a good thing in this case, I suppose.”
“Keep us posted if you find anything, Doc,” Michael said.
“Will do.” Dr. Richmond stooped and ruffled Turk’s fur. “Go catch us some bad guys, eh, boy?”
