Murder Club by Malcolm Rose

Author:Malcolm Rose [Rose, Malcolm]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Malcolm Rose
Published: 2013-03-16T07:00:00+00:00

Chapter Fifteen

With a powerful smell of cheese in his nostrils, Luke walked slowly around Hudson’s cooled corpse as it lay on the mortuary table. He didn’t touch it. He just observed. And listened.

The pathologist told him, “It’s straightforward. He was diabetic and I found all the symptoms I’d expect for a massive insulin overdose. Unusually low level of blood sugar, dilation of the eyes, reddening of the face, he’d vomited and entered a coma.”

“He must have been used to injecting himself with insulin.”

“Yes.”

“But this time, he injected far too much.”

“So it seems,” the pathologist replied. “If you ask me...”

Luke glanced at him. “What?”

“It’s the coroner’s decision but, if it was up to me, I’d call it suicide.”

“Why?”

“As you said, he was experienced with insulin. He’d been injecting himself for years. Why make a mistake now? On top of that, if it was an accident, he’d have twenty minutes or so to call for help before the onset of coma. He didn’t, so I think it was deliberate. I imagine the coroner’s trying to be sensitive to his partner by calling it an accident rather than suicide. Whatever label’s put on it, the outcome’s the same. Death by insulin shock.”

“Mmm.” Luke stopped walking and said, “Sometimes, the label makes a big difference.” He pointed to the two tiny puncture marks in Hudson’s abdomen that were slightly inflamed. “Two injections.”

“Yes. The degree of inflammation is what I’d expect for administration shortly before death.”

“But why two?” Luke asked.

The pathologist shrugged. “He used a lot of insulin. Probably two barrel loads.”

Even though the scientist was dressed in a white overall, he appeared turquoise to Luke. Not a colour that inspired confidence. “It doesn’t look like you’ve taken any tissue for analysis from the punctures.”

“Insulin clears from a body very quickly.”

“Even when there’s been a massive injection? Malc? What’s the latest research?”

“After death, the accumulation of lactic acid in a body can slow insulin breakdown. Analysis may still be useful.”

“Do it, Malc. Now. Anyway, I’m not that interested in insulin. I’m wondering if one injection was something else.” He watched Malc float carefully over the marks on the abdomen and lower fine probes into the wounds.

The pathologist asked, “What are you getting at?”

“There’s another way it could have happened deliberately. Let’s say someone came to his front door and took him by surprise, jabbing him with something that knocked him out – an anaesthetic or tranquilliser maybe. Then this person could inject him with an insulin overdose. That explains the second hole. Even if it took twenty minutes for him to go into a coma, he wouldn’t call for help. He’d be out cold.”

“It’d have to be someone with a lot of medical knowledge.”

Luke smiled. “Just what I was thinking.” He paused and then asked, “Is there a drug that’d make him faint almost immediately?”

The pathologist opened his mouth to answer but Malc got in first. “There are many drugs that induce almost immediate sedation or paralysis on injection. There are examples among barbiturates and other hypnotics, neuromuscular blocking agents.

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