Page 19 of The Girls in the Lake
‘I thought you weren’t on call tonight.’
‘I’m not, but something came up with Charles so here I am.’
‘Good, not good about Charles, but I’m glad you are here.’
‘What have we got?’
‘I’ll let you see for yourself. That poor lad was fishing and thought he saw a discarded sleeping bag floating in the lake and did his civic duty by wading in to pull it out. Got the fright of his life when he saw two empty eye sockets staring back at him. Whoever it is has been in the water for some time.’
As they moved closer to the corpse, the stench overwhelmed them. Beth took the torch from Josh and shone it down onto the distorted, bloated face. It was hard to tell whether it was a man or a woman; any distinguishing features had gone. As she moved the torch down the torso she shuddered. It looked as if the body was still breathing although she knew it was impossible. Bending down, she lifted the black jumper to reveal a writhing mass of tiny crabs and fish that were feasting on the rotten flesh. Josh groaned, and she tugged the material back down, not needing to see any more.
‘There’s a lot of skin slippage. I’m sorry but you’re going to have to wait until we get the body back to the mortuary before I can tell you what sex it is. I don’t want to risk damaging any evidence out here. We’re better off waiting until it can be properly undressed, hosed off and safely contained on the table.’
‘It’s horrific. I didn’t think this sort of thing happened in real life. You know, maybe in a movie, but for the life of me…’ Josh shuddered.
‘We need to get them to the mortuary, Josh. There’s really nothing I can do or tell you in these conditions. I’m sorry.’
He looked at her, concern etched across his face. ‘You have nothing to be sorry for, Beth. I know you’re a doctor but you’re not a miracle worker. I just feel bad for whoever this is. When we do identify them, their family isn’t going to be able to view them or to say goodbye. I can’t think of anything worse.’
‘I’ll go straight there. I’m sure Abe will be happy to meet me. Until I know for sure what’s happened, I want everything treated as evidence. Tell the undertakers I want full forensic removal. Have you had any missing persons reports for the area?’
‘Paton is on the case with that. Thanks, I’ll get the attending officers to meet you there. I have a couple of loose ends that need sorting out here. I’ll see you later, OK?’
Picking up her case, she made her way back to the car alone. The body would be wrapped in a nylon sheet then bagged ready for her and Abe to do their best to find out who this was and how they had ended up in such a terrible state.
Twenty-Two
Beth sped through winding lanes to the hospital at Barrow to wait for the body. There was talk about moving all forensic post-mortems to the Royal Lancaster Infirmary, but she was holding out as long as she could. Lancaster was nearer than Barrow, but Abe worked in the Barrow mortuary and although she had no doubt the staff were as competent at Royal Lancaster as he was, she didn’t want to risk losing him. He made her dark and disturbing job easier to bear, always pre-empting her needs and never questioning her painstaking attention to detail. Mortuary assistants like him were hard to find; she supposed it didn’t matter what career he turned his hand to – he would be outstanding because that’s the kind of person he was.
The drive to Barrow was pleasant, the roads almost deserted. Knowing she would arrive before the body, she decided to treat herself and Abe to a coffee from the drive-thru Costa on the way into town. Although it would take her past the hospital to get there and she’d have to double back on herself, it was worth the extra ten minutes. Her mind was getting tired again; she needed caffeine if she wanted to be alert.
Armed with two large lattes, both with an extra shot, and two lemon tarts, she drove back to the hospital. The only good thing about being called out at this time of night was she could park almost next to the entrance. For a moment she wondered if she should have offered to pick Abe up as it was late and he always cycled everywhere. But spotting his bike leaning against the wall she realised he was already here. Grabbing the coffees and bag of cakes, she approached the double doors and hesitated over how she was going to ring the bell with her hands full. As if by magic, one of them opened and she grinned at Abe.
‘You’re a mind-reader and a life-saver.’
‘I think you might be the life-saver, Beth, I was almost asleep. That coffee smells good.’
‘Bribery and a thank you.’
‘For what? It’s my job. If you need me, I’m always available. Don’t tell Dr Wilson that, though, I’m not available for him out of hours unless I’m on call.’ He winked.
‘You are far too good to me, Abe, but I appreciate it.’
She followed him inside the spotless mortuary, and the smell of disinfectant hung in the air. Clean and sterile, but not for long. They went into the small staff room and sat either side of the table, and she passed over a coffee and the paper bag towards Abe. He looked inside and nodded enthusiastically at her choice of pastry. Sliding it back over, she took hers out and began to eat, not realising how hungry she was. Abe chatted happily about his new favourite crime novel by Angela Marsons until they both fell into an easy silence, preparing themselves for the horror of what they were about to face.
When the buzzer on the back doors echoed throughout the mortuary, the pair of them jumped, and Abe laughed; the infectious sound filled the air and she joined in. He stood up and saluted her, then went to open the double doors for whoever had escorted their body here. Beth wondered if the undertakers had bowed out, leaving it to the fire service. As she walked into the mortuary, she smiled at the two solemn-looking men both dressed in overalls, looking more like sheet metal workers than undertakers. The older of the two nodded at her.
‘I thought our job was bad enough. You’ve got your work cut out for you with this one, Doctor.’
She nodded, thinking that this wasn’t the worst body she’d ever seen by far. The guy who’d decided to climb a rickety wooden ladder one winter evening after six cans of cider to cut some branches for his woodburner was one of the top three. He’d carried the chainsaw up the ladder in the dark with only a head torch for light. Then he’d started the chainsaw, lost his balance and managed to almost decapitate himself. He hadn’t been found for two days; by then his almost severed head had been frozen solid as his body dangled from the tree like a frozen, life-sized marionette. When they’d tried to get him down his head had come clean off, the few tendons that had held it together tearing apart, making a sound that she could still hear today if she closed her eyes. His head had bounced off a hedge and the nearest fireman who’d been assisting. It had landed on the floor, rolling until it came to a standstill almost at Beth’s feet.
She smiled at the undertaker. ‘It’s bad, but not the worst. Although I’m not too keen on the marine life still nibbling at the intestines, but what can you do?’
He lost what little colour there was in his cheeks just as the officer who had led Beth to the lake walked in behind them. ‘What are we going to do?’
Everyone turned to look at him. It was Beth who answered.
‘We’re going to put the body onto the table and open the bag, as we need to remove the outer clothing and see if there is anything that could give us a clue to the identity. We’ll remove any personal possessions for you to bag up and take back with you to book into the property store. Abe will wash down and remove the creatures in the torso.’
