won't take long. I have rhinitis and the air conditioning
makes my sinuses -- God!'
He hastily stepped back, cupping his hand over his nose as the lid
came off and released the stench from inside. But to his credit he
recovered quickly, lowering his hand and moving forward again as
we opened the actual casket.
'Is, ah, is this normal?'
'The condition of the body, you mean?'Tom shrugged. 'Depends
what you mean by normal. The decomp is in keeping with an
interred corpse. Just not one that's only been buried six months.'
'I presume you have an explanation?'
'Not yet.'
Irving contrived to look surprised.'So we've got two bodies, both
mysteriously more decomposed than they should be. A pattern of
sorts there, I think. And I understand this isn't the grave's rightful
ownerr
'That's how it looks.This is a black male. Willis Dexter was white.'
'Someone at the funeral home taking colour blindness to new
heights, perhaps,' Irving murmured. He motioned at the filthy cotton
sheet that covered everything except the corpse's head. 'Can
you . . . ?'
'Just a moment. David, would you mind getting a few shots?'
Using Tom's camera, I took photographs of the body, then Tom
nodded for Kyle to remove the sheet. The morgue assistant carefully
took hold of the makeshift shroud. The fluids released by
decomposition had made it adhere to the body, so that it came free
only reluctantly. When he saw what was underneath he stopped,
looking uncertainly at Tom.
The corpse was naked.
'Oh, definitely a pattern here,' Irving said, sounding amused.
Tom nodded to Kyle. 'Carry on.'
The assistant pulled aside the rest of the sheet. Irving stroked his
beard as he considered the body. It seemed a deliberate affectation to
me, but perhaps I was biased.
'Well, leaving aside the, ah, unclothed aspect for the moment, a few
things are immediately obvious,' he asserted. 'The body's been carefully
arranged. Hands folded on the chest in the conventional
manner, legs straightened as though this was an ordinary burial.
Which it patently wasn't. But the body has been treated with evident
respect, which is a clear departure from the first victim. Still, all goes
to make life more interesting, doesn't it?'
Not theirs. I could see that Irving's attitude irked Tom as well.'The
body we found in the cabin wasn't the first victim,' he said.
'I'm sorry?'
'Assuming that this individual was murdered, which we can't say
for sure until we know the cause of death, then he's been dead a lot
longer than the man we found yesterday,' Tom said. 'Whoever this
was, he died first.'
'I stand corrected,' Irving said, his smile glassy. 'But that only
supports my theory. There's a definite progression. And if this Dexter
character faked his own death six months ago, as looks likely, then
that's hugely symbolic. I thought at first that the killer might be in
denial about his sexuality, sublimating his suppressed sexual urges
into violence. But this puts a different slant on things.The first victim was covered in a shroud and buried -- hidden away in shame, almost.
Now, six months later, the body in the cabin is left on display for the
world to see. It's shouting, "Look at me! Look what I've done!"
Having "buried" his old self the killer's now coming out of the
closet, if you like. And given such a huge shift in the way he treated
these two victims, I wouldn't be surprised if there are some interim
ones we don't know about.'
He sounded quite excited at the prospect.
'So you still think these are gay killings,'Tom said.
'Almost certainly. This all but confirms it.'
'You seem very confident.' I hadn't meant to get involved, but
Irving's manner set my teeth on edge.
'We've got two naked corpses, both male.That does seem to point
that way, wouldn't you say?'
'Bodies are sometimes transported nude from the morgue. If there
was no family to provide clothes then that's how they'd be buried.'
'So this second naked male body is just
makes my sinuses -- God!'
He hastily stepped back, cupping his hand over his nose as the lid
came off and released the stench from inside. But to his credit he
recovered quickly, lowering his hand and moving forward again as
we opened the actual casket.
'Is, ah, is this normal?'
'The condition of the body, you mean?'Tom shrugged. 'Depends
what you mean by normal. The decomp is in keeping with an
interred corpse. Just not one that's only been buried six months.'
'I presume you have an explanation?'
'Not yet.'
Irving contrived to look surprised.'So we've got two bodies, both
mysteriously more decomposed than they should be. A pattern of
sorts there, I think. And I understand this isn't the grave's rightful
ownerr
'That's how it looks.This is a black male. Willis Dexter was white.'
'Someone at the funeral home taking colour blindness to new
heights, perhaps,' Irving murmured. He motioned at the filthy cotton
sheet that covered everything except the corpse's head. 'Can
you . . . ?'
'Just a moment. David, would you mind getting a few shots?'
Using Tom's camera, I took photographs of the body, then Tom
nodded for Kyle to remove the sheet. The morgue assistant carefully
took hold of the makeshift shroud. The fluids released by
decomposition had made it adhere to the body, so that it came free
only reluctantly. When he saw what was underneath he stopped,
looking uncertainly at Tom.
The corpse was naked.
'Oh, definitely a pattern here,' Irving said, sounding amused.
Tom nodded to Kyle. 'Carry on.'
The assistant pulled aside the rest of the sheet. Irving stroked his
beard as he considered the body. It seemed a deliberate affectation to
me, but perhaps I was biased.
'Well, leaving aside the, ah, unclothed aspect for the moment, a few
things are immediately obvious,' he asserted. 'The body's been carefully
arranged. Hands folded on the chest in the conventional
manner, legs straightened as though this was an ordinary burial.
Which it patently wasn't. But the body has been treated with evident
respect, which is a clear departure from the first victim. Still, all goes
to make life more interesting, doesn't it?'
Not theirs. I could see that Irving's attitude irked Tom as well.'The
body we found in the cabin wasn't the first victim,' he said.
'I'm sorry?'
'Assuming that this individual was murdered, which we can't say
for sure until we know the cause of death, then he's been dead a lot
longer than the man we found yesterday,' Tom said. 'Whoever this
was, he died first.'
'I stand corrected,' Irving said, his smile glassy. 'But that only
supports my theory. There's a definite progression. And if this Dexter
character faked his own death six months ago, as looks likely, then
that's hugely symbolic. I thought at first that the killer might be in
denial about his sexuality, sublimating his suppressed sexual urges
into violence. But this puts a different slant on things.The first victim was covered in a shroud and buried -- hidden away in shame, almost.
Now, six months later, the body in the cabin is left on display for the
world to see. It's shouting, "Look at me! Look what I've done!"
Having "buried" his old self the killer's now coming out of the
closet, if you like. And given such a huge shift in the way he treated
these two victims, I wouldn't be surprised if there are some interim
ones we don't know about.'
He sounded quite excited at the prospect.
'So you still think these are gay killings,'Tom said.
'Almost certainly. This all but confirms it.'
'You seem very confident.' I hadn't meant to get involved, but
Irving's manner set my teeth on edge.
'We've got two naked corpses, both male.That does seem to point
that way, wouldn't you say?'
'Bodies are sometimes transported nude from the morgue. If there
was no family to provide clothes then that's how they'd be buried.'
'So this second naked male body is just
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