Till Death Do Us Part

Chapter Three - Zander

The rest of us walked over to the corpses. We stood in silence for a few seconds as we took in our surroundings. "Can I make a deduction?" inquired Xavier.
"Go on." said Sherlock in a monotone fashion.
"Well… there are no visual markings to show that the victims were rendered unconscious before they were shot so they were probably asleep." "How many hours do you think the bodies have been here?" he asked me.
"Ummmm I would say about 6-9 hours so they were killed between 1 and 4am-ish." I replied.
"Ah yeah, so they were probably asleep. Also I can see that a blunt knife has been used to cut the flesh. If you look closely, you can see how jagged the edges are and it looks like there's been more ripping of the skin rather than slicing. So from that, we can also suggest that the murderer wasn't used to handling knives or cutting meat. So we could be looking for a vegetarian or a vegan."
"Are we just supposed to hunt down every vegetarian and vegan in the area now then?" I asked bluntly as I raised one of my eyebrows.
"No, look, it's just cuz if you were used to cutting meat, cutting flesh can't be that much harder. Right?"
I agreed with him. After listening to Xavier's deduction I walked over to the male corpse. "Here," said Lestrade as he passed me a pair of gloves.
"Don't worry, they're latex free." added Sherlock as he looked at Xavier. Xavier was going to ask how he knew he had a latex allergy but gave up as he knew the absolute word vomit of deductions that would come his way. I put on the gloves and kneeled next to the body. "Can I touch?" I asked.
"Sure, go ahead!" replied Lestrade. I put one hand on the  stout male corpse's chest to steady myself as I leaned over to look at the bullet wound. The stench coming from the bodies was absolutely rancid but I powered through as I knew Sherlock would be lovingly criticising my every move. I did a quick visual scan of the corpse then reached my free hand out behind me out behind me and asked Sherlock for his pocket sized magnifying glass. He placed the small, rectangular object into my hand. I opened the case and hovered it over the small wound. I turned around to face Sherlock and Lestrade. "On the odd chance that either of you happen to be carrying a ruler, could I please borrow it?" Lestrade and Sherlock said they didn't have one. Siril tapped me on the shoulder and handed me a 15cm ruler. I was too busy to question why anyone carries a ruler at a crime scene. I measured the wound. I asked Lestrade, Sherlock and John to help me roll the body onto its side so I could measure the exit wound. The entry and exit wounds were consistent with one of a 22 caliber pistol. I also looked at the blood drip pattern. The way the blood had run from the bullet hole indicated that the victims had been shot prior to being left on the Thames. "What you got then?" inquired Lestrade.
I started to explain, "Well from what I can see, the shot was fired from point blank but possibly with something in its way, most likely something like a pillow to muffle the sound of the shot being fired. I need you to find what was in the way and I need to see it. Also from the size and characteristics of the entry and exit wound, I'm going to say that it was a 22 caliber pistol. Also all four victims were shot before being abandoned on the bank. Lestrade, if you haven't already had a ballistics report done I suggest you get one done to see, or rather prove, that I am correct. Also if you find that pillow before any of us do I need you to show me before you send it off. That pillow could be the crucial bit of evidence we need." As I took off my gloves and handed back the ruler and magnifying glass, I noticed Sherlock, Lestrade and John staring at me. Lestrade and John looked both shocked and impressed whilst Sherlock stood and smiled. Lestrade finally broke the silence. "You are exactly like your father!" he exclaimed. I got up and bowed.