Professor Jordan greeted them at the door to the morgue, situated under the Lister Hospital in Stevenage, where the pathologists office was located. The two officers had already slipped protective clothing over their street clothes when Warrens phone vibrated.
Good to see you again, Constable Ruskin. Shall we begin? said Jordan.
Warren motioned for them to carry on without him.
The text from Susan was brief and to the point.
Scan fine, everything looking good. Just waiting for blood test. Sxx
Warren responded with a simple Wxx, before going to re-join Ruskin, who by now was peering eagerly at the body, which lay on its left side in a similar position to how it had been found at the scene. A discreetly placed metal wastepaper bin stood to the left of the table, in case the sight and smell were too much. That didnt look as if it would be a problem, at least not for Ruskin. Warren had been breathing through his mouth since entering the cooled room.
Tell me what you see, Constable, invited Jordan.
The skin on the upper torso is badly charred, probably third-degree burns. Skin that isnt charred is swollen and split. The crown of the head is so badly burnt its unclear if the victim had hair or was bald.
Ruskin did a complete circuit of the body, before bending over to look more closely.
The skin on the front of the thighs is very badly burnt, with little evidence of the clothes that he was wearing, whereas the clothing on the backs of the thighs is scorched but intact.
Suggesting what? asked Jordan.
That the deceased was sitting down initially if an accelerant was used it was probably poured over the top of his head, splashing down to cover his torso and upper thighs.
Good. What about the position of the body? Describe its position.
Classic pugilistic or boxers pose, hands up as if defending his face from attack.
Which implies what?
Ruskin eyes crinkled, betraying the smile beneath his mask.
Nothing. The positioning is caused by the heat shortening the ligaments and tendons.
Good.
Lesson over for the time being, Jordan summarised his findings.
DC Ruskin is correct; the deceased was likely sat down on the chair when the accelerant probably petrol was poured over his head. That could have been self-inflicted or by persons unknown. The deceased remained seated for at least some time, whilst the fire took hold; the accelerant will have burnt off fairly quickly but remained long enough to ignite his clothing. In the final stages the clothing and accelerant had gone, but the deceaseds skin and tissues continued to burn until he was extinguished. At some point he toppled off the chair onto his left side.
Was he alive?
Jordan nodded. I believe that the witnesses reported screams, which only lasted a few seconds. If accurate, then assuming that they came from the deceased, he was almost certainly alive for at least some time presumably until the fire took hold. Pathologically, Ive found traces of soot below the larynx which indicates that he was breathing in the smoke.
Christ, muttered Warren. Do you have a cause of death?
Fire is the best I can do at this stage, said Jordan flatly.
Ruskin frowned.
Its impossible to be more precise. I measured his carbon monoxide concentration at 42 per cent. Thats on the low end of fatal. Similarly, the intense temperature of the fire did serious damage to his internal organs and ultimately clotted his blood. Unfortunately, I cant tell you if that killed him, or if he died of other causes before the damage reached a fatal level.
What other causes? asked Ruskin.
He had moderate cardiovascular disease. Its possible that the stress of the situation triggered a cardiac event. Its difficult to tell what damage to the heart was pre-mortem and what was post-mortem regardless Id still regard that as being caused by the fire.
Ive sent off for toxicology reports. There was a significant volume of alcohol in his stomach and there was an empty container of medication near to his body. Doxepin has sedative properties, enhanced by alcohol. Its always possible that he succumbed to their combined toxicity before the fire killed him.
Ruskin shook his head slowly. All the other evidence suggests that it was suicide. But how is that possible? The burns on his thighs make it look as though he remained sitting for at least some time before falling off his chair. The witnesses I spoke to are clear that they heard screaming, so he must have been conscious at some point. Ive seen the videos on YouTube of those monks setting themselves on fire. They shrieked and ran around.
Could the alcohol and doxepin have numbed him? asked Warren.
Possible, and he could have passed out quickly from the initial pain, said Jordan. The witnesses did claim that the screams only lasted for a few moments. Much of the burning is also third-degree, full-depth, which destroys the nerve endings. Falling out of the chair may have happened after he died, from the post-mortem muscle contraction caused by the fire.
I assume that asking for a time of death is pointless, Ryan.
Im afraid so, Inspector. Time of death is a mugs game at the best of times, but fire messes up everything. I cant assess rigor mortis since his muscles are already contracted, and the damage to his skin makes it impossible to look for staining due to blood pooling. Youll have to settle for witness reports.
What about positive identification?
My investigations so far are consistent with a man of Father Nolans age and build. Ive sent off for dental records and taken a DNA sample if you need it.
Warren looked closely at the mans hands, the skin was charred and split.
Im not even going to ask about fingerprints.
Sunday 22nd FebruaryChapter 6
Bad news on the CCTV front, sir.
Mags Richardson screwed the lid back on her ever-present bottle of water. It was first thing Sunday morning, and most of the team were already hard at work. Richardson was Warrens first visitor that morning.
Broken? asked Warren.
Worse. Almost all the cameras inside the abbey grounds are fake, just a deterrent. There are cameras above the main entrance, so we have a record of paying visitors, but once youre in the grounds, theres pretty much nothing. According to Deacon Baines, they recently installed covert cameras in the gift shop and the café, but they are focused on the tills they dont pick up anything outside.
Above the tills? Do they suspect the staff of theft?
He was reluctant to use that word, but he reckons there is a mismatch between the takings recorded at the various till points and the money deposited in the bank. The cameras are there to help them figure out if anyone is making a mistake. His words, not mine.
How much? asked Warren.
Not much. He reckons its twenty quid after each daily take, as its a hundred and forty on each weekly bank run, but that soon adds up. Deacon Baines figured it was probably some sort of systematic error, since the figure was always exactly one hundred and forty pounds, and made all the till staff undergo fresh training. When that didnt work, he installed the cameras. So far he hasnt spotted anything obvious, like people slipping their hand in the till. He still thinks its likely to be a mistake. The money is kept in a locked safe, before delivery to the bank, so he thinks its at the point of sale.
Above the tills? Do they suspect the staff of theft?
He was reluctant to use that word, but he reckons there is a mismatch between the takings recorded at the various till points and the money deposited in the bank. The cameras are there to help them figure out if anyone is making a mistake. His words, not mine.
How much? asked Warren.
Not much. He reckons its twenty quid after each daily take, as its a hundred and forty on each weekly bank run, but that soon adds up. Deacon Baines figured it was probably some sort of systematic error, since the figure was always exactly one hundred and forty pounds, and made all the till staff undergo fresh training. When that didnt work, he installed the cameras. So far he hasnt spotted anything obvious, like people slipping their hand in the till. He still thinks its likely to be a mistake. The money is kept in a locked safe, before delivery to the bank, so he thinks its at the point of sale.
Have they reported the thefts?
Like I said, he didnt want to use that word.
Twenty quid every day could be systematic error, I suppose, mused Warren. Maybe they are inputting the wrong figure for the daily float? But it sounds like hes being naïve. If there is a thief, either theyre in every day and stealing from the till, or the money is going missing between cashing up and going to the bank, which is surely a much shorter list of suspects.
I think Baines is in denial. And if there is a thief, I suspect that they will want to deal with it themselves, rather than bring in the police.
What does the missing total stand at now?
Six hundred and eighty pounds.
Warren let out a whistle, Thats not insignificant. Why havent English Heritage called in the police?
I get the impression that the loss is being deducted from the gift shop takings that go to the abbey, not the money deposited into English Heritages account from the entry charges.
So they are keeping them in the dark?
Sounds like it.
Well, if they arent willing to report it to the police, then there isnt a lot we can do about it. Im not sure what the link is to our death, but keep me posted. How much footage have you secured from the wider neighbourhood?
Ive got teams knocking on doors. Theres a row of shops nearby that looks promising, and its a rough neighbourhood, so some of the houses have cameras outside; well seize what we can. There are a number of junctions with ANPR cameras in the vicinity of the abbey and a petrol station.
Stay on it, instructed Warren.
He leant back in his chair, and sucked on the tip of his pen, contemplating what Richardson had just told him.
The note in Father Nolans room had read, Forgive me Father, for I have sinned.
Stealing was a sin
* * *
I appreciate that our Scenes of Crime teams can be unsettling, but we will try to keep the disruption to a minimum, Your Grace. Hopefully, it wont take much longer. Well restrict our access to the side entrance, where possible.
Two days after the fire and dental records had confirmed Father Nolan as the victim. The final cause of death would be determined by the coroner at inquest, but Warren was already under pressure to dismiss it as a suicide. The sooner Warren advised DSI Grayson that the death was non-suspicious, the sooner the priests body could be released and arrangements made for his funeral, and the sooner St Cecils retirement home could return to its usual, peaceful routine, and Middlesburys main tourist attraction could reopen.
Before that happened though, Warren was still treating Father Nolans room as a potential crime scene, and he had decided to visit the home in person again to reassure Bishop Fisher that they were progressing as quickly as possible.
Father Nolans room had been on the ground floor, furthest from the main entrance. The room next to him was occupied by Father Carlos, a frail, stooped, octogenarian with poor eyesight and poorer hearing. The room directly above was an empty guestroom. Not only did this mean that nobody was likely to have heard anything, it also meant that anyone coming or going via the fire exit at the end of the corridor was unlikely to have been spotted. Nor, for that matter, were the CSIs dusting for prints and looking for other evidence likely to be disturbed.
Father Nolans room had been simply furnished, but clean and tidy. He shared a bathroom with the other occupants in his wing of the house, but had his own small sink and mirrored medicine cabinet. A tall bookcase filled with a mixture of weighty academic tomes and fiction paperbacks, was one of the few furnishings that hadnt been removed by the CSIs. A quick perusal revealed that the late priests recreational tastes ran toward classic science fiction, with well-thumbed copies of Arthur C. Clarke and Isaac Asimov vying for space with Kurt Vonnegut and Philip K. Dick.
On top of the bookcase, a number of framed pictures were neatly arranged. A faded black and white wedding photo was probably of the late priests parents. Next to that, a less faded image contained the same couple; recognisable but significantly older, flanking a younger man dressed as a priest. Father Nolans ordination, Warren assumed. A few other photographs, these newer and in colour, depicted Father Nolan surrounded by different groups of people. In one, he was blowing candles from a cake decorated with a 25 pattern. Judging by his age in the photograph, Warren guessed that it was the twenty-fifth anniversary of his ordination.
The single bed had been neatly made, the pillows plumped up and it had clearly been unslept in when the priests disappearance had been discovered. However, a dent at the foot of the bed suggested that somebody may have sat there, facing the rooms single wooden chair, and so the bed had been stripped and the bedding taken away for forensic analysis. A wooden chair had also been removed, after being dusted for fingerprints.
According to Deacon Baines, the rooms were cleaned once a week by one of the sisters that helped at the home and so he was assisting the forensic team in obtaining exclusionary prints. Sister Clara who had reported that Father Nolan was missing had already been questioned by Tony Sutton, but had been unable to give any more details.
The small wooden table underneath the window had been dusted, and two glass tumblers, that appeared to have been recently rinsed out, had been sealed in plastic evidence bags and removed for processing.
Professor Jordan had suggested that the victim had taken prescription drugs and drunk whiskey before the fire. If the pills were dissolved in the drink, that potentially shone a whole different light on things. For completeness, the sink trap was in the process of being dismantled to see if anything had been discarded down there.
Hopefully the findings would come back soon, and Warren could sign the death off as a tragic suicide and everyone could move on.
Chapter 7
Ive completed those PNC checks. Pymm drained her glass tea cup. Sutton looked at the dregs with dismay.
Are those twigs in there? Comic Relief raises millions so that people in Africa dont have to drink water that looks like that. Would you like me to email Lenny Henry for you?
Piss off, its chamomile and rosehip. Caffeine-free, organic and 50 per cent off this week. Its a hell of a lot better for you than that over-priced coffee that you and the rest of the team guzzle all day.