Safely to the Grave by Margaret Yorke

Author:Margaret Yorke
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: House of Stratus
Published: 2017-04-15T00:00:00+00:00

The pathologist’s investigation had confirmed his early opinion that Laura had died less than an hour before her body was found. The stomach contents had been sent for analysis; shreds of lettuce had been found, and other indications that she had eaten a light meal which included grapes and an apple some hours before death. The lab would confirm this and routinely test for drugs in case the coroner wanted to know if Laura Burdock had been under the influence of any particular substance.

She had sustained multiple injuries, some of which were compatible with her fall from the bridge, but it seemed that she had lain across the line in such a way that the train wheels had missed her torso, running over her neck and her right leg. There was a great deal of internal bleeding which must have been in progress for a considerable time before death, and the chest was badly crushed; the pathologist deduced these wounds were received in an earlier episode, possibly as the result of collision with a car. The ultimate cause of death was, however, the severe skull fracture which had occurred when the deceased struck the railway line. Small fragments of grit from the track were embedded in the depressed wound above the hairline. These pieces were quite unlike those used for road surfaces but the laboratory would confirm the match. Marks already noted on the dead woman’s coat could have been made by a tyre, and there were stains that looked like oil. Paint particles had also been found. Analysing all these substances might give a lead to the truth.

‘So we are after a murderer,’ Grainger said. ‘She might – just might – have survived if she’d been treated after the original incident.’

Masters was glad to learn that this was not, after all, a case of suicide, though it was still a terrible business.

‘It could have happened in Didbury, then,’ he said. ‘Someone ran her down and panicked. Decided to dump her.’

‘Looks like it,’ said Grainger. ‘And coolly waited to do it till things were quiet.’

Both officers were briefly silent as they reflected on the callous conduct of an individual who could run someone down and then summarily dispose of their victim in a manner which turned manslaughter into murder.

‘No sign of her hat or the watch, I suppose?’ Masters asked. ‘Or the button?’

‘Not a thing. We’ll have to look for them in the village now,’ said Grainger. ‘And skid marks – broken glass – the usual. But the accident may not have happened there.’

Grainger had dispatched a constable to tell the train driver that the woman was already dead before the train struck her. He had been deeply distressed at the incident. Grainger knew that drivers involved in fatal rail accidents sometimes never recovered, even when they were quite without blame.

‘We must look for a vehicle seen in the area between that train and the one before,’ said Grainger. ‘Anything suspicious during that hour. And better check round the cars in Didbury – look for bumps and scratches.

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