‘My guess is that she was probably unconscious when she was tied to the armchair,’ Doctor Winston explained. ‘But there are no bumps on her head.’
‘Drugged?’
‘That’s the logical conclusion. I’m still waiting for the results from the lab, but I’m certain the killer didn’t use a hard intravenous drug.’
‘Why not?’ Garcia questioned.
‘It’d be overkill. The killer needed only to knock her out for a few minutes so he could undress her and tie her down. Any longer than that and he’d be losing precious time.’
‘The killer wanted her to be conscious so she could suffer,’ Hunter concluded, walking around to her left side.
‘It all points that way,’ the doctor agreed. ‘The killer knew that by Monday he had to be out of that house. He knew exactly how long he had to torture her, and I bet he used every second of it.’
‘Drugged cloth over the nose and mouth?’ Hunter asked.
‘Most probably.’ The answer came with a sequence of quick nods. ‘A common volatile agent, almost certainly ether based.’
‘Any names?’
‘Huh,’ Doctor Winston chuckled. ‘Anything like Enflurane, Desflurane, Sevoflurane, Insoflurane. I can get you a list if you like.’
‘That easy to come by?’ Garcia this time.
‘Easy enough. And those are the most common, non-irritant when inhaled ones. I don’t think the killer was really concerned if the skin around her mouth got little acid burns from the wet cloth. He could’ve used almost anything.’
‘Great!’
‘Due to the state her body’s in, we won’t be able to tell if she was sexually assaulted, but I don’t believe she was.’
‘Neither do I,’ Hunter agreed. ‘Whatever satisfaction this killer is after, it isn’t sexual.’
‘The main torture here is unseen, Robert,’ the doctor said, lifting his eyebrows.
‘What do you mean?’ Garcia looked intrigued.
‘She suffered a lot from the skin and subsequent flesh burns, but what the killer was really doing was roasting her alive.’ Doctor Winston paused, allowing the full extent of what he was saying to be absorbed. ‘If you put someone in front of an intense fire for long enough without allowing them to move, without giving them water, consequently their internal organs will start to cook.’
‘Oh Jesus Christ.’ Garcia ran both hands through his hair and interlaced his fingers at the back of his head.
‘That’s right. Liver, kidneys, pancreas, stomach, lungs, heart, every organ in her body would’ve responded to dehydration and the constant increase in temperature.’ The doctor bit his lip and shook his head in disgust. ‘Her blood literally boiled.’
Hunter closed his eyes for an instant.
‘Her liver and kidneys were still hot when I pulled them out of her body during the autopsy. And every organ I looked at had some severe damage caused by heat and dehydration. It was like a race to see which organ would give in and burst first.’
Silence settled, and Hunter allowed his eyes to drift back to the woman’s face.
‘Now that was ingenious,’ Doctor Winston said, following Hunter’s stare. ‘Evil, but ingenious nonetheless.’
‘You mean, causing her face to melt?’ Garcia asked and felt his stomach go rigid again.
‘Achieving that effect, really. Skin won’t melt.’
‘Yeah, I was told.’ Garcia nodded. ‘So how the hell did the killer get her face to look like that?’
‘He used an accelerant.’ Doctor Winston paused and raised his right index finger to emphasize a point. ‘Actually, it looks like he used a combination. And that’s where the ingenious part comes from.’
Hunter made a face, as if he couldn’t wait to hear it.
‘Again, I need confirmation from the lab, but a quick first test showed the killer could’ve used something as common as lard.’
‘You’re kidding?’
‘Nope. Your everyday supermarket lard.’
‘That would’ve…’
‘Fried her face.’ The doctor completed Hunter’s sentence.
‘OK, but that wouldn’t have caused the melting effect.’ Hunter bent over to get a closer look at her disfigured face.
‘No, it wouldn’t.’
‘So?’ He stood back up as the stinging smell made his eyes water.
‘So we definitely need the lab to confirm it, but it looks like the killer could’ve used a combination of something like lard together with a rubber compound.’
‘Rubber?’ Garcia repeated, frowning.
A confident nod from the doctor. ‘Maybe even foam latex prosthetics. Just like they use in films. It’s actually quite clever. The rubber compound attaches itself to the skin like glue.’ The doctor ran the tips of his fingers down his face as if applying a moisturizing cream. ‘With the heat, it melts, running down the victim’s face, creating the desired candle wax clump effect. The skin just behind the rubber compound is covered in the accelerant, which would’ve drastically sped up the burning process, completely destroying the skin on her face, causing unimaginable pain. The final effect…’ He pointed to the body, ‘… the melted face.’ Doctor Winston took a step back and faced both detectives. ‘And that’s not all.’
Forty-Eight
Hunter braced himself. What else could this killer have done?
‘I have indications that the injuries to her face were caused while she was still alive,’ Doctor Winston continued. ‘He tortured her by melting her face first.’
Hunter frowned. ‘How?’
‘A guess – heat lamps. The victim was tied to an armchair, right? Now imagine the killer had one or even two heat lamps mounted onto a pedestal or a tripod or something, very close to and pointing directly at her face – old interrogation style.’
It suddenly seemed as if there wasn’t enough oxygen in the room.
‘The UVB rays together with the accelerant and the rubber compound used would’ve caused her face to fry and melt, but the injuries wouldn’t be enough to kill her. Unbelievably painful, but not life threatening. Not for hours.’
Garcia coughed twice, trying to clear something from his throat. ‘So you’re saying the killer allowed her to suffer grotesque pain for many hours before finally turning on the fireplace and cooking her alive.’
The doctor used his thumb and index finger to rub his eyes and he nodded slowly. ‘That’s my theory anyway.’
Hunter circled the autopsy table.
‘What about her back, doc?’
‘Yes. She’s no stranger to fire.’ The doctor stepped away from the body, approached a metal cabinet by the west wall and retrieved a paper envelope from the top drawer. ‘Her body’s in a very fragile state and I don’t wanna keep on moving it. So let me show you on these pictures.’ He pulled four photographs out of the envelope and arranged them neatly over his desk. ‘She’s been severely burned before. As you can see, most of her back and neck are scarred.’ The doctor pointed to the first two photographs.
‘Any idea of how long ago?’
‘Very hard to be precise, but she was probably a young girl or a teenager.’
‘That long?’
Doctor Winston nodded. ‘The skin has stretched quite a bit since it’s healed. Meaning she’s grown. I’m certain those burn marks aren’t from her adult life.’
‘The number drawn on her back.’ Hunter pointed to the third picture. ‘Did the killer use blood again?’
‘Definitely. It’s already been sent to the lab, and I’ll have a result sometime today.’
Both detectives looked at all four photographs.
‘How long would you say she was exposed to the heat, doc?’ Hunter asked.
‘Probably from Saturday night all the way until when she was found. I heard the fire was still on when the police came into the house yesterday.’
Hunter bit his lip and nodded.
‘The killer didn’t stop cooking her after she died, Robert. This was more than torturing a victim. This was a demonstration of his resolve. He knew we’d find her. And he wanted us to find her looking like this. He’s showing off how evil and brutal he can be. I’m just not sure why.’