“And I’d like to add,” Dr. Glendenning went on, “that I also agree about cause of death. We’ve sent blood samples to toxicology, of course, and we’ll be sending stomach contents and anything else we can find once we’ve got her opened up. I imagine we’ll find a nasty mess inside, but it’s my opinion that the blows—kicks, judging by the patterns—were the direct cause of death. The girl was severely beaten. Severely. I’ve not seen such a vicious attack in a long time. The damage to the head alone could have caused death, but it also appears that several of her ribs were broken, and one of them could easily have pierced her heart or lung.”

“Footwear patterns?” Annie asked. “From the shoes or boots.”

“A definite possibility,” Dr. Glendenning granted. “But don’t hold your breath. Such impressions would be vague and hardly likely to ensure a conviction. Unless there are unique elements, of course.”

“Hate crime?” suggested Annie.

“Someone certainly hated her.”

“Or hated women,” said Karen.

“Whether that was the actual motive,” Dr. Glendenning went on, “I can’t honestly say.”

Annie knew that Dr. Glendenning wouldn’t be drawn on motive. In her experience, the presence of such a high degree of violence was linked to hate crimes or crimes involving partners. “You always hurt the one you love” was a lot truer than the songwriters could have guessed. Such overkill could also be linked to crimes in which someone had been taught a lesson. Excessive violence served as an example and a warning to others and was common in gang-related crimes. It was unlikely, in Annie’s experience, that the girl had been killed by a passing stranger, unless they were dealing with a violent psychopath, and such creatures were thankfully rare. An artist’s impression of the girl without facial injuries would be appearing in the newspapers and on TV soon. Once they knew who she was, they could start questioning her family, friends and acquaintances, and Annie was willing to bet it wouldn’t take long to find out who had done this. But they had to identify her first.

Dr. Glendenning finished examining the girl’s fingernails. “She bit them to the quicks,” he said. “Not a trace of anything.”

“How old would you say she was?” Annie asked.

“Fifteen or sixteen,” Karen answered. “We can perform some more scientific checks later—testing the carbon levels in her eyes, for example—but going by height, shape, skin, bone structure and general appearance, I’d be surprised if she were older than sixteen.”