Chapter Twenty-Two
Hearing Tobias call her a consultant on the murder case sounded extremely odd to Jack’s own ears. It would certainly be a first for her and her agency, actively being involved in anything to do with the police, apart from trying to avoid them.
The doctor, on the other hand, seemed amused by the idea.
“My goodness, I’ve heard of the Hart agency!
It’s rumored you get remarkable, almost magical results, and now I see why.
” He laughed, and then his eyes widened.
“You’re the woman who locked Tobias to his own filing cabinet the other day, aren’t you? How very ingenious of you.”
“Why thank you, Doctor,” she replied with a smile before glancing over to Tobias. “I see my reputation is preceding me, as is your time in your cuffs.”
“Something I’ll never live down, thank you very much,” Tobias murmured, then he shook his head. “And yes, this is the woman in question. Now, rather than talk of her skills, can we discuss what you’ve found in both autopsies? I assume you’ve conducted the second victim’s autopsy by now?”
“Of course,” the doctor replied, getting right back to business.
“Before we start, though…” Tobias turned and looked at Jack. “Miss Hart, are you certain you don’t wish to wait in the outer room while we discuss this aspect of the case?”
A part of her desperately wanted to, having no desire to hear the intricacies of Jeremiah’s death, but to see true justice for him, she needed to know all she could to find his killer. “I’ll be fine, Inspector.” She raised her chin, determined not to show either man her reticence.
“Miss Hart knew the second victim, Charles,” Tobias said by way of an explanation.
“My condolences, Miss Hart,” Dr. Morton said in sympathy. “Perhaps, though, you would like to sit in the outer room, then. I hate to say it, but it was not a nice way for your friend to have died.”
“He was murdered, Doctor,” Jack corrected. “And I saw what that monster did to him. So hearing about it is not going to be a problem, especially not when it might help me catch this madman.”
“Very well, then,” the doctor said slowly. “Although clinically speaking, it’s unlikely the killer is actually a madman, or criminally insane, as we in the medical profession would term it.”
“You’re saying someone sane committed these heinous crimes, Charles?” Tobias asked, his cynical expression mirroring Jack’s thoughts on the matter.
“Those classed as criminally insane are found to have not had rational thoughts at the time of committing the crime. They’re often crimes of passion with a break in sanity.
” The doctor scratched at his beard. “This killer has been meticulous in the execution of these two murders, leaving no clues or anything at the scenes that leads back to him. That in and of itself suggests a highly intelligent, organized, and skilled individual. Ingenious and evil, one could certainly argue, but unlikely to be found criminally insane or a madman, as you called it, Miss Hart. Though I’m sure if he’s ever caught and found guilty, the courts will send him to Broadmoor nonetheless. ”
“Speaking of Broadmoor, Doctor,” Tobias said, “you’ve done some work there over the years, haven’t you?”
“Infrequently, but yes, I have,” the doctor confirmed.
“Would you be able to write us a letter of introduction to the superintendent there?” Tobias asked. “There’s a patient we need to speak to about all of this.”
“Yes, of course I can,” he replied. “Though Doctor Patterson is one of their regular consultants and he travels to the asylum a few days per week to provide treatment to their patients. I’m sure he wouldn’t mind you accompanying him, and he might also be able to provide you with some insight into the patient you wish to speak to there.
” He walked over to his desk and quickly picked up his pen, scribbling a note on a piece of paper.
“Here, this is his office address, where you can reach him. I’ll also send him a note about it for you. ”
“Thank you, that will assist,” Tobias replied, taking the paper from the doctor’s outstretched hand. “Now back to the autopsies. Is there anything you found from either that might be able to help us?”
“Not a great deal, unfortunately,” the doctor said cautiously.
“The second victim’s cause of death was decapitation resulting in cerebral ischemia, which is a lack of blood flow and oxygen to the brain, resulting from the immediate severance of the major blood vessels in his neck.
His limbs, though, appear to have been removed prior to the decapitation.
What was interesting too, and was absent with the first victim, was that I found two small puncture wounds on the second victim.
One on his upper right thigh, just above where the limb was removed, and the same on his upper right arm area. ”
“‘Puncture wounds’?” Tobias asked.
“From a hypodermic syringe, if I had to guess,” the doctor replied.
“To incapacitate Jeremiah?” Jack said.
“Possibly,” the doctor replied, lifting his shoulder in a half shrug. “But perhaps not… The substance could have been used to numb both areas.”
“Are you saying he was alive when his leg and arm were removed?” Jack had to choke back the anger and grief that was threatening to overwhelm her.
“I don’t know yet,” the doctor replied. “I’ve taken some samples of the organs, and I will analyze them this evening to better determine what the substance was.
However, if I had to hazard a guess, I’d say it was liquid cocaine hydrochloride used.
And if it was that, then yes, your friend would have been alive when that was all done to him.
At least he wouldn’t have felt the pain from it, though. ”
“But wouldn’t he have bled out quickly, then?” Tobias asked.
“Normally, yes,” the doctor confirmed. “However, there were pressure marks on his leg and arm above the puncture marks, suggesting a belt had been used to assist in slowing the blood loss after both limbs were removed.”
“So the killer purposefully wanted Jeremiah to see the horror of having his own limbs removed,” Jack said, every muscle in her body tensing as her blood ran cold. Evil was too tame of a word to describe the killer who had done this.
“Can we trace back this substance to a source or a manufacturer?” Tobias asked.
The doctor shook his head. “Unfortunately, no, it’s far too readily available and requires no prescription, either.
Most medical practices, hospitals, and apothecaries all stock some.
What you might have better luck in tracing is the syringe itself; however, even that is a long shot, given anyone with enough pounds can usually convince an apothecary to sell them one. ”
“Have you received the toxicology results from the first victim yet?” Tobias asked.
“Yes, and nothing was found.”
“They should call him ‘the Ghost,’ not ‘the Conjurer.’” Tobias drew a hand through his hair and let out a frustrated sigh. “Is there anything else you found, Charles? Anything that might assist us to catch him?”
“Well, I don’t know if it’s anything, but underneath the basket at the scene today, there was a partial boot print on the cobblestones. It could well have nothing to do with the murder. However, given the victim wasn’t wearing shoes, it could be a partial footprint of the killer’s.”
“Could you tell his foot size from it? Or the type of boot?” Tobias asked.
“No, to both,” the doctor replied. “However, there was one odd thing about it. Within the black grease of the half footprint, there was also what seemed to be gold flecks too. I have no idea what it means, given there were no other gold specks anywhere else at the scene, or on the victim.”
“It means he’s been rehearsing his next trick,” Jack said, her eyes latching on to Tobias’s. “He is going to do the Vanishing Lady next.”
“I’m guessing by the expressions in both of your eyes,” the doctor began, “that this illusion is not as benign as it sounds?”
“Not even close, Charles,” Tobias warned. “And the clock is ticking.”