“You mentioned earlier that there are no defensive wounds.”

“That’s right. There’s no evidence of a fight, as such. I’d guess the poor lad was terrified and backed away from whoever was attacking him.”

“But one of the thrusts struck the aorta.”

“Yes.” Dr. Galway paused. “Apart from the stab wounds, he was in excellent shape. Fit as the proverbial fiddle, though there are indications of malnutrition in the recent past.”

“Malnutrition?”

“Yes. Of course, we’ll need close analysis of liver, bones, immune system, amino acids and pancreas, among other things, to determine protein deficiencies and vitamin markers, and to find out just how severe and long-lasting the condition was, but you could see even before I opened him up that he was painfully thin. It’s not the cause of death, but it may have played a part, weakened his system. One of the problems with malnutrition is that it’s hard to measure, especially if it occurred some time ago and the subject is deceased. It’s something a doctor would want to diagnose while the patient is still alive, as it can usually be reversed. The stomach contents showed he’d eaten a burger and chips shortly before death. So at least he was eating recently.”

“What kind of burger?”

“A Big Mac.” Dr. Galway laughed. “Only joking. Autopsy humor. Really, Superintendent. Your guess is as good as mine. I’ll get it analyzed, if you like. Obviously if certain ingredients are present, that would help us identify its source. I’m afraid we don’t have a burger database yet.”

“It might be something worth working on,” Banks joked. “Pizzas, too. How long before he died did he eat?”

“Not long. The food wasn’t digested. Maybe an hour or two.”

That meant Banks could send his team to question all the local burger joints and perhaps find out where the boy had been eating just before he was killed.

“But you can’t say how long ago the malnutrition took place?”

“No. Not very recently is my guess right now. Not days. More likely weeks or months ago. Perhaps with the analysis I could give a better estimate. Does it matter?”

“I’m just wondering if he could have arrived in this country recently from somewhere children don’t get enough to eat. Maybe by boat or some other means.”

“You mean smuggled in?”

“Yes.”

“I can’t possibly answer that. There are children—far too many, in my opinion—living in this country who suffer from malnutrition. I can see where you’re going with this, though, and I can see why you’re going there, but I’d still advise caution before you come to any conclusions.”

“Of course,” said Banks. “We’d certainly require corroborating evidence, no matter what your findings. Lacking any evidence of parents or other relatives nearby, I’m just trying to work out where to start searching. If he’s a recent immigrant or an asylum seeker, he’ll be registered somewhere, and there are checks we can do. If he’s illegal, we’ll probably be out of luck. It’s a start. Any signs of drug abuse? We did find cocaine in his pocket, as you know.”