‘She’s been stabbed twice,’ Ledford said, ‘and given the blood loss and what I can see of the wounds, one of those blows severed an artery – the abdominal aorta, most likely. Though it could have damaged the inferior vena cava too, which is actually a vein, rather than an artery. It’s a damn big vein though, so even though blood runs through it with a lot less pressure, if you damage it you’ve still got a big problem. I’m sure you know that already, though.’

Yes Dani did know, but she said nothing.

‘It seems highly likely therefore that blood loss was the cause of death,’ Ledford concluded.

‘Any idea about the weapon?’ Dani asked.

‘Nothing’s been recovered,’ Easton interjected.

‘A smooth blade,’ Ledford said.

He bent back down and lifted the blood-covered fabric of the dead woman’s strappy top up over her midriff to reveal the fatal wounds.

‘You can see from the incisions to the skin…’ Ledford pointed to the largest of the wounds, a gaping hole in the woman’s mid-section, ‘…that the wounds are neat, with little tearing. Which would be consistent with a smooth blade. A carving knife, something like that. About one and a half to two inches wide, at least five inches long.’

‘Any defensive wounds?’

‘It’s hard to say at this point. There are lots of wounds. A gash on her head. Grazes, scratches. Dirt under the fingernails. Possibly from being dragged on the pavement, but we’ll need to wait to match skin, blood and participle samples to conclude that. You’ll also note the marks on her wrists and ankles.’

‘She’d been tied up,’ Dani said. A statement. She’d already known about those marks which were the key reason why she’d asked for a pathologist in the first place. She held back the rising nausea at the thought of the poor woman’s ordeal.

‘Very likely,’ Ledford said. ‘Again, we’ll test for fibres on her skin and clothes, under her nails, see if it gives any clues. I’d say, given those surface wounds, that she’d been bound for only a short period. One to two days. And she also appears quite well nourished.’

‘But that doesn’t really tell the whole story,’ Dani said.

‘No, it doesn’t. She could have been held, unbound, for who knows how long, and it’s also possible that those marks have nothing whatsoever to do with her death. Forensics can only give you so much. You’re the detectives, DI Stephens and DS Easton; it’s for you to properly evidence the many whys and wherefores.’

‘Of course, Jack. You’ll let me know when the post-mortem results are ready?’

‘You’ll be among the first to know. I believe DI Fletcher is joint SIO too, though, isn’t she?’

‘She is?’ Dani said, looking to Easton as if for his reassurance but he simply shrugged.