Stop Dead (DI Geraldine Steel)

to carry on like this, unless you want another death on your hands, because I might just die of boredom writing these pathology reports. Maybe you can put out an appeal on the TV, asking the killer to vary his methods.’
    Geraldine sighed.
    ‘We’re doing our best, Miles, we’re doing our best. It’s a tricky one.’
    ‘At the rate he’s killing people, he can’t be that difficult to find, surely?’

     
    Geraldine looked down at the victim.
    ‘I take it this was the same cause of death?’
    Miles shook his head.
    ‘Well, no, as it happens it’s not quite the same, although the injuries are identical.’
    Geraldine frowned.
    ‘What was the cause of death this time then?’
    ‘He died from a massive coronary while the previous three victims all died from blood loss. It was a close run thing, but it was the heart attack that killed him.’
    ‘So you’re saying he died from a coronary that was brought on by the attack?’
    The pathologist shrugged.
    ‘It’s impossible to say for certain what caused the coronary. Who can say? It could have been going to happen anyway, couldn’t it?’

     
    Geraldine considered.
    ‘Had he suffered previous heart trouble?’
    ‘No. He had a clean bill of health before this.’
    With John Birch’s injuries, there was no possibility his killer could get away with a charge of manslaughter. In any case the direct cause of death was irrelevant, if the murderer was implicated in the deaths of the other three victims. Once they had arrested the killer, a life sentence was inevitable. But first they had to find whoever was responsible.
    ‘Still no leads then?’ Miles asked, watching her expression closely.
    Unsure whether his enquiry was sympathetic or censorious, Geraldine faced him squarely across the table. John Birch’s cadaver lay between them, white and staring.
    ‘Whatever makes you say that?’ she asked. ‘Of course we’ve got leads. That’s what we’re doing, all the time, following up leads. Why do you think Sam isn’t here with me today? She’s back at the station following up a suspect right now. We’ll have this wrapped up soon.’

     
    Miles nodded.
    ‘Glad to hear it,’ he replied, turning away, but Geraldine hadn’t finished yet.
    ‘I need to get back to the station, but before I go, is there anything else you can tell us, anything at all?’
    Miles gave her a quizzical look. She repeated her question. Any small snippet of information the pathologist could supply might help. She wanted to beg him to give her some clue to work on, anything that might blow the case wide open. It was all right for him to stand there, smugly patronising. While he dealt with tangible evidence, Geraldine was struggling with obscure intimations.

     
    ‘What kind of detail are you looking for?’ he asked. ‘Are we talking about DNA? There’s nothing yet. Nothing that matches anything we found at the other scenes. And I’m afraid the killer didn’t leave a calling card.’
    She refused to be rattled by his goading. He was probably intending to be light-hearted, but she was too stressed to be amused. She wanted to know if there was anything different about this victim.
    ‘Apart from the cause of death? Well, yes, there is one other thing.’
    He looked down at the body.

     
    ‘This chap was standing up when he received the initial blow. As you’ve seen, he was hit on the back of the head. The other three victims were all hit on the temple, assaulted from the front. In this case, the assailant approached him from behind.’
    Geraldine asked to see the bruise on the back of Birch’s head again. The body was carefully turned and they examined a large gash on the back of his head, surrounded by bruising. The dead man’s hair had been shaved to disclose the damaged skin.

     
    ‘What was it done with?’
    Miles shook his head.
    ‘It’s impossible to say what the weapon was, and in any case a different weapon was used in the attack on Henshaw. But they were all forceful blows, hard enough to bruise and break the skin. It must have stunned him, maybe even knocked him out. He suffered a coronary almost immediately afterwards which would have caused him to fall to the ground –’
    He indicated bruising on the dead man’s knees.
    ‘The other injuries were inflicted after his collapse, the first impact while he was still alive, the others post-mortem.’

     
    Geraldine focused on the blow to the victim’s head.
    ‘So he was standing up when he was first