Killer of Souls by Brian O'Hare

Author:Brian O'Hare [O'Hare, Brian]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2023-05-15T16:00:00+00:00

TWENTY-TWO

Monday 25th July, 2016: Morning

After the heavy rains of the weekend, Monday dawned bright with true summer colour, and evidence already piling up that today was going to be ‘a scorcher’. People on the streets were clad in skimpy summer clothes and, observing them as he drove to work, Andrew regretted donning the woollen sports jacket that already was beginning to make him perspire, but there was nowhere convenient for him to pull over and take it off. When he arrived at the Royal Victoria mortuary some ten minutes before opening time, he was surprised to find Dr. Campbell already there, studying a computer screen.

“Good morning, Doctor,” he said, relieving himself of the offending jacket and hanging it up.“You’re in early.”

“Good morning, Andrew.” While the pathologist’s tone was cordial, his expression was grim.

Jones was immediately aware of a tension in the older man’s bearing and said, “Something wrong, Doctor?”

Campbell sat back from the computer screen, scratched his head vigorously, obviously agitated, and hissed a perturbed breath through clenched teeth. “Yes. Something was keeping me awake last night and I couldn’t wait to get in this morning to check my suspicions.”

Jones’s eyebrows constricted. “Suspicions?”

“Yes. I’ve got some strange news for you, Andrew. My head was filled last night with those DNA tests we did—sequencing, markers, alleles—you know how it is. For some reason, my subconscious seemed to be telling me that there was a match I had seen but had missed during our testing. I fell asleep, but woke suddenly in the middle of the night with a sense of what to look for.”

“Sorry, Doctor, it may make sense to you, but I honestly have no idea where you are going with this.”

Campbell held up a finger. “Just wait. I was prompted to selectfor comparison, two of the DNA samples we have on file...one that I had not considered relevant, and one that we have been looking at recently. DNA markers, as you are aware, contain two alleles, one inherited from the biological mother and the other from the biological father. The thing is, Andrew, the tests I have been carrying out this morninghave led to the discovery that one of the alleles on the DNA marker I considered irrelevant, is a match for one of the alleles on the other DNA marker.”

Jones’s face showed the dawning of comprehension and, with it, something approaching fear. He said nothing, but apprehension was evident in his entire bearing.

Campbell continued his explanation. “To double check, I carried out a series of variable number tandem repeats. I calculated the Combined Paternity Index or, in this instance, the Combined Maternity Index, and found a 99.9 per cent conclusive probability of maternity.” He shrugged and looked sympathetically at his young colleague. “You’ve been trying to protect this young girl from the horrors of the past few days, but I don’t know how you are going to protect her from this.”

Jones was shaking his head, unable to accept the conclusion his brain was forming. “You’re not trying to tell me that.

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