service,’ said Habib. ‘Those gentlemen, and ladies perhaps,’ he added with a simper at Dr Petty, ‘are charged with bringing the dead back to life, at least while the coffin is open to relatives.’
‘That would explain the haircut and shave,’ said Brook.
‘We noticed that,’ said Dr Petty. ‘And did you see the fingernails have been scraped and clipped too. Also the bodywas washed, with an antibacterial agent, possibly alcohol. It’s difficult to tell after the body was in the water.’
‘Maybe why he was dumped in the river,’ observed Noble.
‘More than likely.’ Petty nodded.
‘I hate to bring it up, but is there any sexual angle here?’ asked Brook.
‘There’s no sign of any sexual activity, forced or otherwise,’ answered Petty.
‘And could the deceased have been through here already and been misplaced?’ asked Noble.
‘Indeed not,’ said Habib sternly. ‘We don’t lose corpses – our procedures are too thorough. And if we had processed him he would have been cut open from the thorax, as you see.’
‘What about the scientific organisations that use dead bodies?’ asked Brook.
‘I can’t speak as to their procedures, Inspector,’ replied Habib. ‘But they’d only accept intact bodies. And they’d also open up the chest in the traditional manner.’
‘So he hasn’t been seen by any agency that does official autopsies or post mortems,’ concluded Noble, scribbling in his notebook.
‘We don’t think so,’ said Petty. ‘Besides, any doctor attending this man could certify COD. But I’m guessing a doctor hasn’t seen him or issued a Death Certificate. Being homeless, it’s also unlikely the deceased has given informed consent for his body to be left to science.’
‘And without consent, a medical school couldn’t have his remains,’ said Brook.
‘Exactly. In the absence of next-of-kin, he would be routinely interred,’ said Petty.
‘So his death is completely off the books until now.’
‘Itwould seem so.’
Brook rubbed his chin. ‘So if the internal organs were removed . . .’
Habib nodded in encouragement. ‘The intestines too.’
‘. . . the intestines too,’ echoed Brook. ‘How did you manage to get blood from the heart?’
Habib grinned. ‘The heart was put back.’
‘Put back?’
‘Exactly.’
‘Why?’
‘No idea.’
‘You mean, whoever did this took out the organs and intestines but left the heart in,’ suggested Noble.
‘No,’ said Dr Petty. ‘The heart was severed from the arteries and removed with everything else, but some time later it was put back. There were even a couple of rough stitches attaching it to other tissue, presumably to ensure it didn’t fall out of the cavity.’
Brook’s brow furrowed. ‘What condition was it in?’
‘Very poor – the same as the brain. If he hadn’t died of alcohol poisoning, I suspect his heart would have failed within the year,’ said Habib.
‘Could someone be farming these bodies for profit?’ asked Noble.
‘And put back the heart because it was diseased and unusable?’ said Petty. ‘No chance. Given the condition of both the heart and the brain, I’d say none of the other internal organs would have been suitable for transplant.’
‘I see.’ Brook prepared to leave.
‘There’s one more interesting thing, Inspector.’ Habib walked over to a stainless-steel sink and picked up a small steelbowl to show Brook and Noble the two small pinkish-grey objects slithering inside. ‘This is what’s left of the brain. It’s in two parts because it’s going to be sectioned for analysis. As you can see, it’s fatally compressed.’
‘Unmistakable,’ agreed Brook, glancing sideways at Noble – but for once his Sergeant didn’t respond, preferring to stare steadfastly at the white wall behind Habib’s head. Now Brook could detect the sheen of sweat on his brow and upper lip. Once, Brook would’ve felt the same. He looked at his watch. ‘John, go and find us both
‘That would explain the haircut and shave,’ said Brook.
‘We noticed that,’ said Dr Petty. ‘And did you see the fingernails have been scraped and clipped too. Also the bodywas washed, with an antibacterial agent, possibly alcohol. It’s difficult to tell after the body was in the water.’
‘Maybe why he was dumped in the river,’ observed Noble.
‘More than likely.’ Petty nodded.
‘I hate to bring it up, but is there any sexual angle here?’ asked Brook.
‘There’s no sign of any sexual activity, forced or otherwise,’ answered Petty.
‘And could the deceased have been through here already and been misplaced?’ asked Noble.
‘Indeed not,’ said Habib sternly. ‘We don’t lose corpses – our procedures are too thorough. And if we had processed him he would have been cut open from the thorax, as you see.’
‘What about the scientific organisations that use dead bodies?’ asked Brook.
‘I can’t speak as to their procedures, Inspector,’ replied Habib. ‘But they’d only accept intact bodies. And they’d also open up the chest in the traditional manner.’
‘So he hasn’t been seen by any agency that does official autopsies or post mortems,’ concluded Noble, scribbling in his notebook.
‘We don’t think so,’ said Petty. ‘Besides, any doctor attending this man could certify COD. But I’m guessing a doctor hasn’t seen him or issued a Death Certificate. Being homeless, it’s also unlikely the deceased has given informed consent for his body to be left to science.’
‘And without consent, a medical school couldn’t have his remains,’ said Brook.
‘Exactly. In the absence of next-of-kin, he would be routinely interred,’ said Petty.
‘So his death is completely off the books until now.’
‘Itwould seem so.’
Brook rubbed his chin. ‘So if the internal organs were removed . . .’
Habib nodded in encouragement. ‘The intestines too.’
‘. . . the intestines too,’ echoed Brook. ‘How did you manage to get blood from the heart?’
Habib grinned. ‘The heart was put back.’
‘Put back?’
‘Exactly.’
‘Why?’
‘No idea.’
‘You mean, whoever did this took out the organs and intestines but left the heart in,’ suggested Noble.
‘No,’ said Dr Petty. ‘The heart was severed from the arteries and removed with everything else, but some time later it was put back. There were even a couple of rough stitches attaching it to other tissue, presumably to ensure it didn’t fall out of the cavity.’
Brook’s brow furrowed. ‘What condition was it in?’
‘Very poor – the same as the brain. If he hadn’t died of alcohol poisoning, I suspect his heart would have failed within the year,’ said Habib.
‘Could someone be farming these bodies for profit?’ asked Noble.
‘And put back the heart because it was diseased and unusable?’ said Petty. ‘No chance. Given the condition of both the heart and the brain, I’d say none of the other internal organs would have been suitable for transplant.’
‘I see.’ Brook prepared to leave.
‘There’s one more interesting thing, Inspector.’ Habib walked over to a stainless-steel sink and picked up a small steelbowl to show Brook and Noble the two small pinkish-grey objects slithering inside. ‘This is what’s left of the brain. It’s in two parts because it’s going to be sectioned for analysis. As you can see, it’s fatally compressed.’
‘Unmistakable,’ agreed Brook, glancing sideways at Noble – but for once his Sergeant didn’t respond, preferring to stare steadfastly at the white wall behind Habib’s head. Now Brook could detect the sheen of sweat on his brow and upper lip. Once, Brook would’ve felt the same. He looked at his watch. ‘John, go and find us both
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