Chapter 115 - I'll Drop You Home

"So, the three people who were trying to extinguish the fire were telling the truth?"

"I checked with the forensic team and the few threads I found on the body indeed matches the threads of cloth with the actual shirt and bed sheet which is with the forensics team, the time taken between the body covered by the shirt and the bed sheet implies that there was not much difference between the two, which means the man used his shirt to extinguish the fire as soon as the body was on fire and that means there is no possibility for them to burn the body and cover it immediately as the body was 30% burnt, it is faster to burn dead bodies than the ones living. So it is not possible for these three people to be your murderers, you can eliminate the young couple and the man as your prime suspects"

Emily talked to the forensic team and knew all the details.

Patrick waited for her to continue.

"The cause of death is extreme loss of blood, I found a deep cut near his neck, one part of his neck was burnt but the other wasn't so I managed to find some details, the cut was smooth and the throat was slit in one slick motion, it looked like an expert's job"

"Some assassin type?"

"Not exactly, if it would have been an assassin's job then you would never even had found the victim's body"

"Then?"

"It is an expert's job for sure, which means your murderer has committed a murder before this, killing someone by slitting one's throat in one slick motion is not an amateur's job, so I would suggest you check the records of all the criminals in your database, hopefully we will find a match, I have talked to the forensics team, there was some article that was found in the pocket of the victim's pants right?"

"Yes"

"Two sets of fingerprints were found on that article, one matched with victim's the other one didn't match with the three people who quenched the fire, it is mostly your murderer's fingerprints"

"Wow that's a breakthrough" 

"Yeah but there is a problem"

"What?"

"The fingerprints were run through the database but it didn't match with anyone. The problem is, my theory based on the autopsy just conducted says your murderer is someone who has already committed a felony but it didn't match with any of the criminals you already have in your database, so it implies two things…"

"One, the fingerprints found on the article don't belong to the murderer or Two, this criminal committed many murders probably but was never caught" Patrick completed her statement.

"Exactly"

"Any other information?"

"Yes, the victim's body was kept in a fetus position for hours, when the body turned roger mortis it remained in that position and burnt that way, so it implies the murder happened somewhere else and the murderer used something to keep the body in there and carried the body like this and this something is probably a suitcase or a bag or maybe the body was kept in that position in some very small enclosed space like a small car trunk."

"So either way the murderer used a car to transport the victim's body from the location of the murder to the spot where they tried to get rid of the body?"

"Yes and since London is the only nearest city to this spot, the murder happened in London, the next town from the spot where the body was found is six hours away and there were much better spots on the way to dispose of the body but since it was found in X area it only means the murder happened in London."

Patrick nodded his head.

"Were there any fingerprints found on the body?" Patrick asked after processing the information.

"No, the murderer used gloves"

"How can you be so sure?"

"I found threads of cloth on the body, the cloth material is that used in gloves, and I found two different colors of threads which implies…"

"At least two people were involved in it." Patrick completed her statement.

"Yes"

"Anything else?"

"Nothing for now, I'll visit the forensic lab soon for better coordination"

Patrick nodded his head in agreement and stood up to leave.

Emily suddenly remembered something else, "Oh no I forgot something important"

Patrick waited for her, so she continued, "I think your murderer is a woman"

"Explain how you came to that conclusion." Patrick is professional and only believes in evidence.

"It seems the victim was in a sleeping position and the murderer leaned on him and cut his throat, the height and the depth of the cut indicates a small wrist cut his neck, which means it is a woman's work, if it would have been a man the cut would have been more deeper as men in general have wider wrist or your murderer is a man with an extremely small wrist like that of woman but my experience says that it is a woman as victim was defenseless when he was attacked, there were no signs of struggle which means he trusts the murderer and probably they were getting intimate when she killed him, this is purely my speculation, I have no concrete proof"

"I'll keep this in mind, Also Emily there is something you might need to know" He seriously informed her.

"What?"

"The paper cutting that was found on the victim's body is a magazine article on Rachel"

Emily was shocked, "That's very weird"

"Yes"

As Emily would be visiting the forensic lab she would anyway find this out so Patrick thought it would be better if he informs her in advance and prepares her for the future shock.

"I am not sure how to interpret it." Emily honestly shared her thoughts.

"I am also not sure, if it is a coincidence or is it somehow related to Rachel"

Emily was silent, she got really worried for her friend.

"Patrick"

"Yes?"

"Is Rachel's life under some threat?"

Patrick didn't say anything so Emily continued, "During our high school someone disguised himself as a watchman to attack on her, at that time you told me her life is in danger, is the danger still hovering over her?"

Patrick nodded his head as Emily is a smart woman, there is no point in lying to her, she will catch him on it.

"Shouldn't we tell her about this murder then?"

"I will once I get more solid evidence"

"Okay"

"I'll take my leave now"

Emily just nodded her head and prepared herself to leave too as she was done with her work.

Then Patrick left the building and entered his car, he was worried as to what was happening and there were lot of things going on in his mind, he has to solve this case as soon as possible to reach the bottom of it, he then saw Emily who was few meters away from him waiting for a taxi, it was late at night and he didn't feel comfortable with her leaving with a stranger. 

He stopped his car right in front of her, he rolled down the car window.

"Come in I'll drop you home" It seemed like Patrick was instructing her but it was an order.

Emily bent down to answer him, "No need I'll hail a taxi"

"Don't make me repeat it"

Emily ignored him.

"Please" Patrick knows if he will keep on ordering around she would never agree, he therefore changed his tone into a pleading one.

Emily checked the time and it was already late and since he was pleading she agreed.

She sat in the car and was waiting for him to drive but Patrick kept looking at her as if he was waiting for something.

"What?" Emily finally asked.

"Seat belt"

Emily tried to wear the seat belt but it was stuck and she couldn't pull it, "It is stuck it seems" she informed him.

Patrick leaned towards her and tried to pull the belt, it was indeed stuck so he tried pulling it a few times, their faces were very close and Emily could feel his breath on her face, it reminded her of the passionate kiss they shared during their reunion, they didn't talk about it at all after that and pretended like nothing ever happened.

Patrick successfully pulled the belt and he stretched it out and buckled it for her, he moved back to his seat and started driving the car.

...

This scene was witnessed by Steve and Lisa who were standing in the hospital's gallery, after working for a long time they came to the gallery for some fresh air and witnessed Emily waiting for a cab and Patrick offering lift.

His car had a London Metropolis police department's sticker on it so it was obvious who it was.

Then they saw Emily entering the car and after a minute they left.

Steve tightly clenched his fist after witnessing the scene