Kay stood under the concrete portico of Derwent Valley Hospital and squinted through the rain as another ambulance tore past her into the emergency bays.
She turned away from the vehicle as the driver emerged, the green jumpsuit-cladded paramedic rushing to the rear and helping her colleague lower a stretcher to the ground.
The rattle of casters across concrete pavers receded into the building as Barnes hurried towards her, his coat held over his head and his shoes splashing through puddles.
‘I think I found the last space in the car park,’ he muttered, lowering his collar and following her inside.
‘And the farthest, by the looks of you.’ She smiled. ‘All set?’
‘As I ever will be. How about you – all right?’
Kay nodded. ‘Just happy to be contributing. I keep thinking Sharp’s going to sideline me from the incident room because of the robbery.’
Barnes shook his head, sending rivulets of water running down his face before he pulled out a cotton handkerchief and wiped it away. ‘He needs you, guv. You know how understaffed we are at the moment. Besides, I’d imagine until Adam gets home you need something to distract you, right?’
‘You know me too well, Ian.’
He grinned by way of reply, and held open the door leading to the morgue. ‘I’m glad Gavin’s keeping an eye on that investigation, too. It’ll do him good.’
‘It will, you’re right.’ Kay turned her attention to a lanky man standing behind a small reception desk, his attention on his computer screen. ‘Hi, Simon.’
‘Afternoon, detectives. Straight on through as soon as you’ve signed in and suited up, please,’ the pathologist’s assistant said without looking up. ‘We’re on a tight timeframe today, so Lucas has made a start I’m afraid.’
‘Thanks,’ said Barnes. ‘See you in there, guv.’
Once Kay had changed into protective overalls, gloves and booties she made her way from the ladies’ changing room through a set of double steel doors and into a cool area illuminated by overhead lights.
The smell assaulted her as the doors swished closed, and she took an involuntary step back.
Barnes shot her a sympathetic glance over his mask, then turned his attention back to the examination table where Lucas Anderson worked.
The pathologist paused, scalpel held aloft as she approached. ‘Afternoon, Kay. I was just telling Ian – your suicide victim was more than just an occasional user.’
Kay frowned and moved to where he stood beside the woman’s bare shoulders. ‘Needle tracks?’
‘No, here.’ Lucas moved out of the lights so the two detectives could better see and used his gloved little finger to point at Felicity’s nose. ‘See here? The septum is broken in places, under these sores. We see it in cases where people are frequent users of powdered drugs – over time, it burns through the skin and cartilage. In her case, we’ve found traces of ketamine in the urine samples we took earlier together with alcohol – a deadly combination.’
‘The alcohol enhanced the effect of the drug, you mean?’
‘It would’ve amplified it considerably, yes. On its own it’s a strong hallucinogenic dissociative. Mixed with the alcohol, it would have caused hallucinations, a lack of awareness about her surroundings…’
Kay’s jaw clenched. ‘So she was a regular user?’
‘I should say so.’ Lucas indicated a stainless steel bowl off to one side. ‘Her bladder shows all the signs of the sort of damage caused by ketamine. A colleague of mine in the gastrointestinal department at Maidstone says he’s doing at least six cystectomies a year now, all because of drug abuse. It used to be that most of his work came through the oncology department.’
‘Would Felicity have been in any pain with this?’ said Barnes.
‘Definitely – abdominal cramping, difficulty going to the toilet.’ Lucas sighed. ‘I think she would’ve had to seek help within months given the damage we’re seeing in her internal organs.’
‘That ties in with what her mother told us about Felicity needing a lot of time off work due to period cramps,’ said Kay.
‘It would make sense. I’d imagine the pain would have radiated through her abdomen on a regular basis, more so in the days immediately after taking the drugs.’
‘Makes me wonder what she was like to work with,’ said Barnes. ‘Perhaps we should speak to her manager at the supermarket.’
‘Good idea. Maybe some of her colleagues there might know who was supplying the stuff.’ Kay turned her attention back to Lucas. ‘Was there anything in her medical records to suggest a history of depression?’
‘None at all. The last time she visited the family doctor was three years ago for a tetanus shot.’
She heard Barnes exhale behind his mask, echoing her sadness at another wasted life.
While Lucas completed the post mortem, her thoughts drifted to the attack on Adam and the theft of ketamine from the veterinary practice.
If Gavin and his team of officers were unable to find those responsible before another wave of cheap hallucinogenics became available in the county town, there would be even more deaths.
Felicity Gregor might have been the first, but she wouldn’t be the last.