Let Her Go by Blake Pierce

Author:Blake Pierce [Pierce, Blake]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2023-02-02T16:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER FOURTEEN

As morbid as it was--Fiona was glad to be back in the lab, as opposed to sitting at home and eating eggs. With the victim's body on the examination table before her, Fiona was in her full lab attire, with her gloves, mask, and safety googles on so she could perform the examination. Sometimes, in situations like this, it was best to not think about how the person on the table was once a real person with a life and hope and dreams. She had to view her as a body, something to be examined, not empathized with. This way, Fiona could focus more on her job--which would ultimately bring more justice to the victim.

That didn't mean it was an easy thing to do, but considering her parents owned a funeral home, Fiona had seen many dead bodies in her life. In many ways, she was desensitized, but still, as she examined the thawing body in front of her, she did wonder what had happened in this woman's life.

The track marks were a clear sign of drug use. As Fiona continued her examination, she found more evidence of this; needle marks between her toes, all suggesting that the drugs were indeed part of the woman's lifestyle, and likely not inflicted by the man who had killed her.

What was the cause of death, though? The last two bodies had been so decomposed it had been hard to tell, but this one was very well-preserved. That needed to be Fiona's first order of business: to determine how this woman died.

She started with the head, examining the skull for any fractures or other signs of trauma. Nothing. She then moved to the neck, checking for bruising and other signs of strangling.

Finally, Fiona examined the woman's eyes and nose--looking for any sign of petechial hemorrhaging--and sure enough, there it was; tiny red dots around the eyes and nose that indicated that pressure had been applied. It wasn't strangulation that had killed her--it was smothering.

Maybe by a pillow. Maybe something else. She didn't show any sign of broken facial bones, so Fiona assumed it was with something soft.

With a cause of death determined, she needed to work on extracting the forensic data from the body--as much as possible. Even a shred of DNA could help them identify the killer.

Fiona worked meticulously, taking samples from the woman's hair, skin, and nails. She used a scalpel to scrape for evidence underneath the fingernails--potentially in the form of skin or fabric fragments--and then utilized her tweezers to pluck out any hairs she found that might match with the killer. She also took swabs from inside the victim's mouth, nose, and ears, looking for any saliva or mucus that may have been left behind by their assailant.

Fiona then used a vacuum-like tool to extract dirt particles from around the body, as well as any fibers that may have been left behind.

Finally, she took photos with a special magnifying lens to document any bruising or other marks on certain parts of the body.

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