Janet Grey grinned masochistically as she tied her long blonde hair back into a bun, the hygienic cap sitting snugly over it. Culverhouse suspected that she got a kick out of seeing coppers baulk and retch at the sight and smell of a dissected cadaver. Pathologists got used to it eventually, but even the hardest and most experienced of coppers still had trouble. Pathologists could detach themselves from the body. They had facts, statistics and science. It was the family the coppers had to deal with. The friends of the deceased. A life and a death.
‘So, as I was telling you at the scene of the crime, this is a male body, not a female. The fact that the skull contained three pounds of sawdust where the brain should be was the major give-away.’ She shot a wry smile at Culverhouse.
‘Very good, Miss Grey. And there was me thinking this pathology bollocks was a skilled profession.’
‘Oh, it is. In fact, you'll be pleased to know that the real give-away was that his brain was actually larger than a woman's would be. Most men's brains are. We just use ours more effectively,’ she added, before Culverhouse could speak.
‘Is there anything we could use to try and identify the body? Dental records? You said it should be easy enough.’
‘Oh, it should be. But there’s not much left of the teeth, I'm afraid. They've been bashed around a fair bit.’
‘What about DNA? Skin swabs? Hair follicles?’
‘Nothing that matches the police database.’
‘Great. So how the bloody hell are we meant to identify who he was?’
‘Well, I can tell you, Jack. A Mr Robert Arthurs, of 9 Vicarage Road, Mildenheath. Born 16th July 1953. And an organ donor.’
‘That's very precise.’
‘Yes, well it does help when the deceased remembers to keep his driving licence in his wallet.’ Janet Grey grinned as she held up the pristine pink card. ‘Although, I would have thought you'd have checked that already.’
‘Well, I must admit that when you've got a body with half its face and flesh missing, you don't tend to expect to need to go hunting for his library card.’
‘First rule of policing, DCI Culverhouse. Remember the basics!’
‘Thank you, Doctor. I'll bear that in mind next time I'm telling you how to spend your day prodding dead bodies.’
Janet Grey smiled and ignored the comment. ‘Your problem now, Jack, is to find out who Mr Arthurs was and why he was in the unit in the first place.’
‘Well, presuming he's the same Bob Arthurs who was a partner in Radley Stationery, I don't think that will be too difficult.’