To The Shades Descend by Allan Gaw

Author:Allan Gaw [Gaw, Allan]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2024-06-05T16:00:00+00:00

NINE

Glasgow: 15th February 1931

Cuthbert telephoned his department at St Thomas’s and was quickly put through to Simon Morganthal. Since their last call five days before, the young pathologist had heard nothing further from his boss and was delighted now to hear his voice and his request.

‘I need your help, Simon.’

‘Anything, sir.’

‘I’m arranging for a bullet and casing to be sent to you, and I would like you to do what you can in identifying it. I know what you’re going to say, “why can’t they do that up in Scotland?” Well, I’m very disappointed to say that Glasgow has yet to discover the benefits of forensic ballistics. Can you do this for me?’

‘Of course, sir. But I thought it was a bombing. Is this another case?’

‘One and the same, Simon. It just keeps getting stranger. I won’t prejudice your analysis by giving you any other details at this stage, but I’ll call again. You should receive the bullet by tomorrow afternoon. Could you have it analysed by the following day?’

‘It’ll be a priority, sir. And if there’s anything else you need, please don’t hesitate to ask.’

‘There is one thing — I need you to keep the department running for a little longer without me.’

When Cuthbert hung up, he was confident that he could count on Simon Morganthal’s competence and his loyalty. The latter was almost more important to Cuthbert, for the former could be taught but loyalty he knew was always earned.

He looked at the growing number of files on his desk. As each victim was tentatively and then positively identified, the team of pathologists would complete a report of their findings and append it to original identification sheets provided by Hogg and his team. From that original file of some 67 pages, there had grown over 40 files, one for each of those identified so far.

One name that was not yet amongst those was Alexander Henderson. Cuthbert had made a start on his case shortly before the human remains had been transferred from the bomb site to the mortuary, but his attentions had been diverted to performing the post mortem examinations on the largely intact corpses. Now those were completed, he returned to Henderson.

He looked again at the photograph of the would-be politician that was pinned to the board behind his desk and tried to find some sort of communion with the man that might guide his next steps. He went back to the description of his clothing and to the roster of body parts and clothing fragments prepared by Currie and Mathieson and came again to the same conclusion, that his suit might be the best and perhaps only way of identifying him.

This time he did not have to rely solely on the written descriptions, he could directly examine the remains with any shreds of clothing still attached. The laboratory area was still being used to house those body parts that had not yet been identified. Many of the larger pieces, and therefore the ones easier to assign, had been removed, leaving an assortment of smaller body parts.

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