Page 19 of Making a Killing

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Back in the car fifteen minutes later, Holloway turns to Bradley. ‘You knew about that brank’s thing, didn’t you? I could tell, as soon as she mentioned it, you knew what it was.’

Bradley gives a wry smile. ‘There was a novel, years ago now, calledThe Scold’s Bridle.Quite a hit at the time. Old lady found dead in a bath with one of those contraptions on her head, full of thistles and weeds, as befitting the spiteful old harridan she had apparently been. An arresting image, one might say.’

Holloway yanks across his seat belt. ‘I get enough sodding crime without reading made-up versions in my spare time.’

Bradley is looking at her phone. ‘All the same, it can come in useful. On occasion.’ She glances up. ‘Looks like the woman in the tree wasn’t the only one. It says here they used to try witches in that lake – they’d tie them up and throw them off that cliff near the tree.’

‘What was the bloody point in that?’

‘The theory was that if you floated it proved you were a witch, but if you sank you were exonerated, which wouldn’t be much consolation if you drowned before anyone bothered to fish you out. And a lot of them apparently did.’

He stares at her.‘People actually did that shit?Seriously?’

‘Seriously,’ she says, but half distractedly: an email has just pinged in on her phone. She scans it and a moment later turns to him, her face distraught. ‘It’s the initial PM report. They put a rush on it.’

She passes him the phone.

‘Jesus Christ,’ he says under his breath. ‘That’s all we fucking need.’

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Importance: High

Date:Weds 24/07/2024, 13.55

From:[email protected]

To:[email protected]

CC:[email protected]

Subject: Case no LBS734/14G

Being aware of the urgency on this one I’m attaching an initial PM report. Bloodwork and toxicology are, of course, still pending, and we have also submitted samples for DNA testing. Establishing time of death with a cadaver of this kind is far from an exact science, but my guess would be in the region of six weeks.

Most of the attached is self-explanatory, but in my view the stand-out points are:

• The metal itemfound wedged in the mouth. It appears to be a common or garden shelf bracket such as you could buy at any B&Q, so will be next to impossible to track down. It is not related to the cause of death, so must therefore have some significance for the killer, or relate in some way to the victim and/or motive for the crime. There are no prints on this item.

• The tattoo.I’ve attached a sketch, as the photograph taken in autopsy is not clear, given the decomposition damage to the skin.

• Dentition.As you know, despite damage to the skull, there were sufficient teeth remaining to rule out Ellie Harben (who, for the record, did not have any tattoos). There is also a dental implant present, which may help with identification. Please confirm if you would like me to progress with this, though bear in mind it will be neither an easy nor a swift process.

• Duct tapeon the wrists. One would assume this was attached pre-mortem, but this cannot be established with any certainty. We did, however, locate a red-coloured human hair which was caught in the tape. It is definitely not the victim’s. Initial examination under microscope indicates that the colour is artificial and was originally a light brown or dark blonde. I have sent it to the lab for further analysis and (given that there is a root) DNA testing.

SP

Suk Pannu MD FRCPath

Consultant Pathologist, Gloucester Hospitals NHS Trust

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‘Shit,’ says Bradley, staring at her phone. ‘The soddingDaily Mailhas already got on to the witchcraft angle and the whole thing is blowing up likeOppenheimer. Fifteen hundred comments and counting.’

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