A Saxon Shadow by H L Marsay

Author:H L Marsay
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Fiction, Mystery
ISBN: 9781964703374
Publisher: Tule Publishing Group, LLC
Published: 2024-07-25T00:00:00+00:00

Chapter Six

Across 4 (6 letters)

Canute and Hilda double up with Unwin and Ric in this place of worship

Thanks to getting stuck behind several packs of cyclists, it was quarter to three when they arrived back in York. As always, Shadow took a deep breath to steady himself before entering the morgue. His years of police work had done nothing to combat his squeamishness and he was beginning to think the fish and chips might not have been such a great idea. Donaldson was waiting for them. Without bothering to issue a greeting, he pulled back the sheet covering the body as soon as they entered the room.

“Well now you are here, I won’t waste any time,” he began. Shadow, who had been planning to apologise for being late, decided not to bother. “As I said yesterday,” the doctor continued, “he was killed by a single stab wound. The blade used was five inches long. It entered the thoracic cavity between the ribs here and the upward thrust meant it went into the heart. He would have bled out in a matter of minutes.” He used the end of his fountain pen to point to the entry wound then moved to the marks on Kenelm’s neck. “The strangulation occurred before his death and as I suggested the pattern of bruising matches the metal dog’s lead that was in the room. Several of his fingernails are broken. It looks like he may have tried to fight back and there are no signs of any sexual activity so I think we can rule out any sort of erotic asphyxiation that the newspapers seem so preoccupied with these days.”

“Perhaps you should change your choice of reading material,” replied Shadow. “That wasn’t a line of inquiry we had considered.”

Donaldson scowled. “I’ve always found you lacking in imagination, Shadow,” he sniped.

“Poor guy,” said Jimmy shaking his head. “I guess he wasn’t strong enough to fight off his killer.”

“It may have been a blessing in disguise, Sergeant,” replied the doctor with his usual amount of compassion.

“Why? Was he ill?” asked Shadow. Perhaps Kenelm wasn’t a hypochondriac after all.

“He was being poisoned,” declared Donaldson with a slight smile. He was clearly enjoying the look of surprise on both detectives’ faces.

“With what?” asked Shadow.

“Mentha pulegium,” replied the doctor.

Shadow waited a beat to see if he would elaborate. He didn’t.

“Which is?” he asked.

Donaldson gave them both a superior look. “To the common man, it is known as pennyroyal or pudding grass. It’s a weed that grows in damp areas. Although it was believed there may be some medicinal benefits from drinking tea brewed from its leaves, it can also be highly toxic. Historically, it was used to induce miscarriages. An old wives’ form of abortion, if you will.”

“And if a man took it?”

“Symptoms would include dizziness, abdominal cramps, generally feeling unwell. Over time, especially if the dose was increased, it would have killed him. Multi-organ failure.”

“Would he have known he was being poisoned?”

“As I’m sure I’ve told you before, Chief Inspector, I am a doctor not a clairvoyant.

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