Human Frailty, a Detective Mike Bridger novel by Mark Bredenbeck

making her face look like a
hideous Halloween mask. The mortuary attendants had done what they
could, but it would never be enough for a family member to look
at.
    Maybe this had not been a very good idea, he
thought.
    Mrs. Watson was struggling to get her
glasses off in an attempt to blur the image laid out in front of
her. Bridger knew from experience that the image would sear itself
into her memory for a long while to come, glasses or no glasses. A
person recently deceased from an accident involving injury very
rarely looked at peace.
    "As hard as this is Mrs. Watson, can you
think of anything that might identify Marion, a birthmark, a scar
perhaps"?
    "No Sergeant, she had nothing like that, I
could not even tell you if she had a tattoo, she was such a private
person lately, even when she lived at home. I have not seen her
anywhere near undressed recently to even tell you what her body
shape was. She was always going on about her weight, I was always
telling her she looked fine, but she insisted on telling me
otherwise and covering up with baggy clothes". Her voice cracked as
she broke down, her tears turned to hopeless anguish. She clutched
at Bridger as he maneuvered her out of the room and into the
hallway.
     
    "I'm sorry you had to go through that Mrs.
Watson". Bridger was crouching next to her while she was sitting on
a soft covered seat. He had fetched a small cup of milky tea from
the machine down the corridor and he handed this to her gently.
"There are a few more bits of information I need that may be able
to help us".
    "I don't know what more I can do Sergeant; I
don't even recognize my own daughter. Do you know how distressing
that is?"
    "I can't imagine how you are feeling Mrs.
Watson, I am really sorry to ask this, but can you give me the name
of her dentist, they may be able to provide dental records to
compare". A long shot, Bridger was thinking, remembering the
severely damaged face and mouth.
    "Maybe you could also provide us with
something of Marion's we could get some DNA off of; in case we need
to compare it".
    Mrs. Watson looked shocked at the
suggestion. "I don't know about that Sergeant, DNA just sounds so
intrusive. Don't you think she has been through enough"?
    Bridger explained that the procedure was
routine and would only involve taking a swab or a small amount of
blood, which seemed to placate her. She would not like to think too
much about the post-mortem which would follow, that was a much more
intrusive procedure. There was no dignity in death with your
insides on the outside for all to see.
    "Okay Sergeant, I need to know if this
really is my daughter here in this frigid place. I know it seems
crazy after seeing her in there like that, but I do not think its
Marion. I still think she is out there; she needs me to find
her … , to
keep her safe …. I'll do whatever you need me to".
    "Just a hair brush or toothbrush, something
like that will do", Bridger told her.
    "You might have to go to her flat for that,
I don't think I have anything of hers at home, except a few
pictures".
    "If it comes to it would you be willing to
supply us with a sample of your DNA, a familial sample is almost as
good".
    "If I have to Sergeant, but I would rather
not".
    "Okay Mrs. Watson, I will go and have
a look in the flat first, in the meantime let ’ s take you home". A positive
ID would have to wait.
     
     
     

Chapter Eleven
     
    He had taken her to the place he had chosen,
she was safe from prying eyes. It was hard work, to manhandle her
to where she now was. Her unconscious body had the weight of the
dead. He did not think anyone would find her before he could carry
out the next part, before he would cast the next aspiring actor in
the macabre drama he had planned, before that person would join her
in the encore to the play he had been audience to long ago.
    The difference now, he thought, was that
instead of sitting helplessly in the audience waiting for whatever
the director decided past for modern