‘Are you okay?’ The pathologist pushed his fringe to the side.
‘Guv?’
‘Yes, I’m okay. It’s just such a horrible way to die, suffocation. No, I’m fine. I suppose what Holly went through has just become more real. Thank you for demonstrating.’
‘That’s where the light scarring could have come from, anyway. Unfortunately, I can’t say when this could have occurred. Going back to other things, we found no other blood on Holly apart from her own. No semen, no other bodily fluids and no skin from a struggle under her fingernails. As for DNA, I know from the reports I’ve read that the lab has a lot to process still.’
‘I know, I think the whole party had been in the room at some point during the day, plus it hadn’t been properly cleaned between customers. It’s proving to be a nightmare. Anything else?’
The pathologist smiled. ‘This is an unusual one. I noticed a slight shadow at the back of her throat.’
‘And.’ Gina’s pulse began to race.
‘The head of a carnation with all the petals removed had been pushed right back.’
Gina shivered. ‘So we know where the petals had been torn from. That’s made me feel a little queasy. Poor Holly. Any more surprises?’
‘No, that really is it.’
‘Thank you. I suppose we best go. We have a pub to get to.’ Gina felt the urge to get out.
‘Lucky for some.’
‘If only. We have to get to the bottom of these gatecrashers, so not for pleasure unfortunately.’
‘If there’s anything else specific you need to ask, just pick up the phone. Otherwise, I’ll get started on the report. Are you sure you’re okay?’
She nodded. The pathologist had applied barely any pressure at all when he placed his hands on her neck. It was no more than a tickle and now with the news of the flower head in Holly’s throat she almost wanted to gag. She felt her face reddening as they said their goodbyes and left the building.
‘Any thoughts about all that, guv? That was a lot to take in.’ Jacob placed his notebook in his pocket and checked his phone as they hurried across the car park.
‘The person who did this was quick. They took her by surprise, startling her with a fractured nose as she opened the door. I’m just running a scenario here. Maybe her attacker then grabbed her by the wrist and thrust her onto the bed. She would have been kicking up a fuss by now or maybe she was stunned. I can imagine a blow to the nose would be instantly disabling and I’m guessing that the person who attacked her would know that. So the attacker has her on the bed and she’s starting to fight back maybe, this is when the attacker grabs the lamp and hits her over the head, stunning her again. They then take the opportunity to weigh her down with their body weight and smother her with the pillow. This is a really violent attack.’
Jacob gripped the car door handle and got in.
Gina placed her keys in the ignition. ‘Then Holly’s attacker places the pillow used to smother her back in its place. Why even do that? There is blood on the drawers, blood on the wall, blood on Holly’s head and face. Neatly placing the pillow back wouldn’t disguise what happened. They went to the effort to place it facing down so that the blood was hidden from view, then they leave without even closing the door properly. Before that, they place her neatly, put a flower head in her throat and sprinkle petals on her torso. This person was deeply affected in one way or another by Holly’s pregnancy – of that I’m sure.’ She pondered for a moment. ‘The initial attack had been thought through. Stun and go in for the kill. But the finish, it’s shoddy. This is the finishing of a panicked person, an emotional person but no one saw anyone looking panicked at the party following the time of the attack. Whoever did this must have composed themselves almost immediately.’
‘Complicated. I’ll never understand what drives someone to do something like this to another person.’ Jacob shivered as he put his seat belt on. ‘Late breakfast or pub? Which first.’
‘I’ll treat us to a pasty from the garage after we’ve been to the Angel Arms.’
‘Right you are!’
She drove out of the car park and felt a knot forming in her throat as she thought about facing Samuel Avery once again. The day was going from bad to worse.
Chapter Twenty-Three
The smell of beer-sodden carpet wafted through the doors of the Angel Arms as Gina and Jacob entered. A girl who couldn’t have been much older than the legal age to work in a pub smiled, showing off her braced teeth. Gina opened the buttons of her jacket and smiled. ‘Are Samuel Avery and Robin Dawkins here?’
The girl straightened out the stripy tank top over her crisp white balloon sleeved shirt and furrowed her brow. ‘Robin? I don’t know anyone called Robin.’ She glanced at Jacob and smiled.
‘Elvis, sorry. He’s known as Elvis.’
‘Ahh, I see. Elvis, I never did get it. He thinks he’s the karaoke king but in my opinion, he’s a bit off key. They’re in the beer garden, smoking.’ Two elderly men queued up behind Gina, waiting to be served. ‘Do you want a drink or shall I serve him?’
Gina stepped aside.
‘Your usual, Billy?’
The man nodded. ‘And his usual too.’ He pointed his walking stick at his drinking partner.
‘I’ll bring them over in a minute.’
Jacob leaned on the bar. The girl glanced over and smiled – his action man looks often made him a little bit of a hit but unlike Samuel Avery, Jacob would never take advantage of someone so young or cheat on Jennifer. ‘Were you working here on Saturday night?’
‘Yes.’
He stood up. ‘Great. We’ll be back to chat with you in a minute. Thank you.’
‘You’re welcome,’ she called as she began measuring a couple of drinks from the top shelf. ‘Who are you?’
‘DS Driscoll and DI Harte,’ he said as they walked off.
‘I pity anyone that has to work here,’ Gina said as they walked past the toilets toward the beer garden.
The slabbed patio was full of wooden tables and chairs. Moss grew through the gaps in the tiles and beer bottles and cigarette ends were scattered all over the garden.
‘Samuel Avery, Robin Dawkins,’ Gina said as she walked up to them, Jacob catching up with her.
‘Not you again. Turn the porn off, Elvis?’ Samuel Avery let out a pantomime laugh.
The younger man slammed the laptop he held closed and stood up from the table.
‘Chill, Detective Inspector, or can I call you Gina now that we’re practically family?’
‘You will never be my family.’
He shrugged and grinned as he swapped his weight between his feet. ‘What’s this all about? Come to tell me to keep away from little Hannah again? I can’t help it that I’m irresistible to women.’
He lit a cigarette, inhaled and blew out a plume of smoke. He was a smoker like the man their drug dealer spotted touching himself in the clearing on the night of Holly’s murder. Had Samuel Avery gone back to the venue after taking the van full of kegs back to the pub? He wouldn’t even need to drive. Had the location where his crime had taken place lured him back? Had being there given him a thrill? He could have taken the country walk at the back of the town that led to the woods, easily avoiding the police that were guarding the comings and goings on the road.