happened yet,' Brendan said curtly. 'Who'd be stupid enough to go walking on that type of night, anyway?' He put down the phone.
Next Libby rang the Irish Sailing Association as the pathologist had suggested. 'Ballyhasset had no extremely high tide that night, Sunday, the eleventh of June,' the receptionist informed her.
Later on, Dawn brought Libby in a cup of tea, pulled up a chair and sat down beside her.
'We've no proof for the accidental drowning theory as yet,' Libby said with a sigh. She sipped her tea slowly. 'Thanks, I needed this badly.'
Dawn said quietly, 'Drowning must be a painless way to die. Perhaps Pamela didn't suffer much.'
'I'm sorry Dawn, I can't agree. It's surely not painless. I'd imagine struggling for air is a horrible experience.' Libby shuddered.
Chapter 1 6
The following day Libby drove to the St Gabriel's mortuary to talk to Dr Gallagher again. A metal trolley in the centre of the room held Pamela's corpse, covered by a sheet.
She gazed at Dr Gallagher as he finished his writing. 'Is it hard to drown a person?' she asked, after a while.
He lifted his head. 'Not if you can overpower your victim. If you can manage to hold someone underwater, you can drown him or her in a minute.'
Libby's eyes widened. 'I never realised it.'
The doctor peered at her through his glasses. 'Realised what?'
'That drowning happens so fast.'
He nodded and then added, 'I finished the post-mortem on Pamela Kelly an hour ago.'
'Right, that's what I came to see you about.'
Libby was struck by how quickly the dead are tidied away once their corpse has been discovered. They are moved from the public view and examined on a mortuary trolley within the space of a few hours.
Dr Gallagher produced the graphic post-mortem photos and placed them on the bench in front of her. He then took out his notes from a drawer underneath the bench. 'The skin on the dead woman's fingers and palms shows the typical effect of prolonged immersion in water.' He rummaged through the photos and took out one. It showed a close-up of Pamela's hands. Libby noted that the skin on them was swollen and dimpled.
He produced another photo for her. 'Here you can see a laceration at the base of the skull.'
'So, perhaps a bang to the back of the head killed her?' Libby suggested.
'No, she died from drowning,' he replied. Libby digested this news.
Dr Gallagher pointed to a photo of the lungs. 'See, they are swollen with water, as you would expect. Pamela's chest expanded, and inhaled water, which entered her windpipe and travelled to the lungs.' He paused for breath. 'If she had been dead on entry to the sea, she wouldn't have inhaled so much fluid.'
'Oh, I see,' Libby said, as she examined the images carefully. 'So was her death an accident or suicide?'
'Probably suicide,' Dr Gallagher replied. 'I mean, who goes swimming in the middle of the night?'
Libby felt confused. The woman she had met was full of life and not in the least suicidal. Therefore, the only other explanation was that she fell in. 'You said yourself someone could have held Pamela under the water and forced her to drown.'
'That's possible,' the doctor agreed, 'but she would strongly resist. She was a healthy young woman.'
'What about the laceration, when did Pamela get that?' Libby asked, her brow creasing.
'Just before she died, or at the time of death.'
Libby glanced sharply at him. 'How do you know that?'
'I see no sign of tissue healing here, so death occurred only a few minutes or less after this injury.'
Libby frowned. 'But you say this blow was not due to being hit by someone?'
He nodded. 'Pamela probably fell against an underwater rock, and scraped her head at the time she drowned. It's only a superficial wound, it didn't kill her.'
Libby said, 'Two doctors dead within a short time of each other, and they worked together. There must be a link. I don't buy this suicide theory at all.'
Dr Gallagher shrugged. 'That's not my worry, anyway. Ask the police, maybe
Next Libby rang the Irish Sailing Association as the pathologist had suggested. 'Ballyhasset had no extremely high tide that night, Sunday, the eleventh of June,' the receptionist informed her.
Later on, Dawn brought Libby in a cup of tea, pulled up a chair and sat down beside her.
'We've no proof for the accidental drowning theory as yet,' Libby said with a sigh. She sipped her tea slowly. 'Thanks, I needed this badly.'
Dawn said quietly, 'Drowning must be a painless way to die. Perhaps Pamela didn't suffer much.'
'I'm sorry Dawn, I can't agree. It's surely not painless. I'd imagine struggling for air is a horrible experience.' Libby shuddered.
Chapter 1 6
The following day Libby drove to the St Gabriel's mortuary to talk to Dr Gallagher again. A metal trolley in the centre of the room held Pamela's corpse, covered by a sheet.
She gazed at Dr Gallagher as he finished his writing. 'Is it hard to drown a person?' she asked, after a while.
He lifted his head. 'Not if you can overpower your victim. If you can manage to hold someone underwater, you can drown him or her in a minute.'
Libby's eyes widened. 'I never realised it.'
The doctor peered at her through his glasses. 'Realised what?'
'That drowning happens so fast.'
He nodded and then added, 'I finished the post-mortem on Pamela Kelly an hour ago.'
'Right, that's what I came to see you about.'
Libby was struck by how quickly the dead are tidied away once their corpse has been discovered. They are moved from the public view and examined on a mortuary trolley within the space of a few hours.
Dr Gallagher produced the graphic post-mortem photos and placed them on the bench in front of her. He then took out his notes from a drawer underneath the bench. 'The skin on the dead woman's fingers and palms shows the typical effect of prolonged immersion in water.' He rummaged through the photos and took out one. It showed a close-up of Pamela's hands. Libby noted that the skin on them was swollen and dimpled.
He produced another photo for her. 'Here you can see a laceration at the base of the skull.'
'So, perhaps a bang to the back of the head killed her?' Libby suggested.
'No, she died from drowning,' he replied. Libby digested this news.
Dr Gallagher pointed to a photo of the lungs. 'See, they are swollen with water, as you would expect. Pamela's chest expanded, and inhaled water, which entered her windpipe and travelled to the lungs.' He paused for breath. 'If she had been dead on entry to the sea, she wouldn't have inhaled so much fluid.'
'Oh, I see,' Libby said, as she examined the images carefully. 'So was her death an accident or suicide?'
'Probably suicide,' Dr Gallagher replied. 'I mean, who goes swimming in the middle of the night?'
Libby felt confused. The woman she had met was full of life and not in the least suicidal. Therefore, the only other explanation was that she fell in. 'You said yourself someone could have held Pamela under the water and forced her to drown.'
'That's possible,' the doctor agreed, 'but she would strongly resist. She was a healthy young woman.'
'What about the laceration, when did Pamela get that?' Libby asked, her brow creasing.
'Just before she died, or at the time of death.'
Libby glanced sharply at him. 'How do you know that?'
'I see no sign of tissue healing here, so death occurred only a few minutes or less after this injury.'
Libby frowned. 'But you say this blow was not due to being hit by someone?'
He nodded. 'Pamela probably fell against an underwater rock, and scraped her head at the time she drowned. It's only a superficial wound, it didn't kill her.'
Libby said, 'Two doctors dead within a short time of each other, and they worked together. There must be a link. I don't buy this suicide theory at all.'
Dr Gallagher shrugged. 'That's not my worry, anyway. Ask the police, maybe
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