Once Val finished with Gabrielle’s organ sections, she pushed the exam table to the side and went to get Adam from the cooler. When she returned to the autopsy suite, they started the examination. The procedure was exactly as that for his mother, with one exception. Adam Morgan was X-rayed, full body. With the possibility of a history of child abuse in this case, there was a need to check for healed fractures. Since the radiographs were digital, images immediately appeared on a computer screen. Dr. Maddox placed his face close to the monitor, examining them in detail. “No broken bones in this kid’s lifetime.”

“That doesn’t rule out abuse,” Warren said.

“No, it certainly doesn’t.” Dr. Maddox stepped back from the screen.

After the external exam was completed, the boy was undressed. Val used a hose to clean the body of the copious amount of blood covering it. As the blood washed away, and flushed down the drains, Val was able to finally see the damage to Adam Morgan’s throat. He was nearly decapitated.

Gavin circled the table as Val finished rinsing the body. “We need to find out if there are any death rituals that involve tree branches, seeds, and—”

“Throat slashing?” Warren finished the sentence.

“I just can’t imagine a mother killing her son like that,” Val said. “It’s way too aggressive.”

“Aggressive or necessary. Depends on the mind of the killer,” Warren said.

“Some make hesitation cuts, to build up the courage to carry out the act. Others just get the job done,” Gavin added.

“This killer didn’t hesitate,” Dr. Maddox said. “Whoever did this, made one confident cut and that cut was deep and effective.”

Dr. Maddox inspected the body and then took hold of the boy’s head, tipping it back so that he could examine the wounds. “I don’t see any other obvious cause of death than the cut throat. Both left and right carotids are lacerated. Cut clean through. He bled out. There are no defensive wounds on his hands. So, while still alive, he didn’t fight back.”

Gavin took a step forward. “Didn’t or couldn’t. That’s important to know.”

“Val will have Zoe check his tissue samples too for any drugs that might have been in his system. I’m guessing he was sedated. He had to have been.”

“Or restrained and then the restraints removed,” Warren said.

Dr. Maddox picked up the boy’s hands. “I see no ligature marks on his wrists, so if he was restrained, he didn’t fight against them. And that would be expected if someone was coming at you with a large knife. You’d be wringing your hands together to loosen the binds, creating deep gashes and brush burns. He had to have been sedated.”