The Case of Sampson's Leap by Alison Golden & Grace Dagnall

Author:Alison Golden & Grace Dagnall
Language: eng
Format: azw3
Publisher: Mesa Verde Publishing
Published: 2021-10-23T23:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER FORTY-ONE

HAVING SEEN NOZZ off the premises, Graham saw he’d missed a call from Tomlinson. “News?” he barked when Tomlinson picked up. Graham paced the constabulary car park despite the falling temperature. After the day’s activities, he was ready for some air. And some good news.

“I have DNA and toxicology results,” Tomlinson reported. “And one is a bit complicated.”

Graham took a deep breath. “Okay, let’s have it.”

“She’d had a drink, but not more than one. Beer.”

“Probably an Australian brand, but let’s not assume.”

“Let’s not,” Tomlinson agreed. “Seems the last thing she ate was a hot dog. Mustard, but no pickles,” he added.

The detective inspector whistled. “That new lab of yours is sending back some cracking stuff.”

“It’s like working with Dr. McCoy aboard the Starship Enterprise,” Tomlinson said. “If you’d told me back when I left medical school in nineteen-never-you-mind . . .”

“Anything under her fingernails?”

“Just a trace of the aforementioned mustard,” Tomlinson reported. “No sign of any foreign DNA, either defensively or intimately.”

“Interesting,” Graham said thoughtfully, “but not exactly helpful.”

“The lack of clear evidence with respect to defence wounds—remember most of her injuries would have been caused by her fall—and the lack of DNA means we still have to keep an open mind as to the reason for her fall. There’s nothing to point conclusively to another party being involved or to her being alone. I’m sorry I can’t be more helpful. No sign of her phone, I suppose?”

Graham sighed and looked up at the sky in disappointment. “No, not yet.” He rocked back on his heels. “I thought you said something was complicated.”

“We found trace amounts of anti-depressants in her body.”

“Her friends did say she was prone to mood changes. They’d become worse recently. Her mother had a history of mental illness.”

“Thing is, you see, I made some calls to her university doctor and hometown GP. Neither was particularly candid, patient confidentiality and all that, but I got the impression that she wasn’t being prescribed anything.”

“Hmm, so what do you think? She was buying them? Or someone was sharing theirs with her?”

“Yes, that’s exactly what I think. One of those two things. It’s not uncommon among young people, especially at university. It’s illegal, and potentially very problematic,” said Tomlinson.

“But what does it mean that there were only traces?”

“It means she hadn’t taken any for several days, a very dangerous thing to do if she was taking high doses and stopped them suddenly.”

“How would she have been feeling?”

“Well, if she had stopped a high dose abruptly, she’d have gone downhill, fast,” the medical examiner said. “She’d have gone into withdrawal—listless, low on energy, anxious. If she was depressed before she started taking them, she’d have felt worse,; if she wasn’t, she soon would be.”

“Enough to feel suicidal?”

“Possibly.”

“Hmm.” Graham’s mind started doing somersaults as he sought to think through the implications. “This is the first break in the case. Thanks, Marcus!”

“Make sure you make the most of it, young man. Right, I’m done for the day. What’s next for you?” Tomlinson said.

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