The Crucifix Killer

and analyzed the slide for a moment.

‘What the hell am I looking for here, doc? All I can see is a whole bunch of . . . little worm-like things moving around like headless chickens.’

‘Let me have a look,’ Garcia said like an excited college student and gesturing for Hunter to move out of the way. ‘Yep, I see the same thing,’ he commented after looking through the viewer.

‘Those little worm-like things are streptococcus pyogenes, my dear students,’ Doctor Winston said assuming a professor’s tone. ‘Now, have a look at this one.’ He retrieved another slide from the portable archive and replaced the one on the microscope stage.

This time Hunter saw green circular shapes that moved at a much slower pace than the previous worm-like ones. Garcia had a quick look right after Hunter.

‘Yes so? Green round things this time.’

‘OK, those are staphylococcus aureus.’

‘Do we look like biology students to you, doc? Give it to us in English.’ Garcia wasn’t in the mood for playing games.

Doctor Winston rubbed his eyes with the back of his right hand. He pulled a chair and sat down resting his right elbow on the microscope desk.

‘The first slide that you looked at – streptococcus pyogenes, the worm-like bacteria, once inside the human body it releases several destructive toxins. One of these toxins is the one responsible for scarlet fever.’

‘He didn’t die of scarlet fever, doc. The symptoms are all wrong,’ Hunter shot back.

‘Patience, Robert.’

Hunter threw both hands up in an ‘I give up’ gesture.

‘Another toxin that can be released by the bacteria causes necrotizing fasciitis.’

‘And that is?’ Garcia now.

‘That’s the disease from hell,’ Hunter said as his brow creased with worry. ‘Flesh-eating disease.’

‘That’s what it’s commonly known as,’ Doctor Winston agreed.

‘Wait, wait, wait,’ Garcia said making a ‘T’ sign using both of his hands. ‘Did I hear you guys right? Did you just say flesh-eating disease?’

The doctor nodded, but before he was able to say anything Hunter started to explain.

‘The term is widely used but not actually correct as the bacterium that causes it doesn’t really eat the flesh. It’s a rare infection of the deeper layers of the skin and subcutaneous tissues. It causes the destruction of skin and muscle by releasing toxins, but the overall effect makes it seem as if the victim is being eaten from the inside out.’

Garcia shivered and stepped away from the microscope. ‘How do you know that?’ he asked Hunter.

‘I read a lot.’ The answer came with a shrug.

‘Very good, Robert,’ Doctor Winston said with a smile before picking up from where Hunter left off. ‘The victim starts to show flu-like symptoms, quickly moving to very strong headaches, a drop in blood pressure and tachycardia. The skin then starts to develop extremely painful, large, mucus-filled blisters and sunburn-type rashes. The victim will then go into toxic shock losing and regaining consciousness periodically. Health deteriorates lightning fast and then . . . death.’

Garcia and Hunter both looked at the corpse. The blisters had all burst, revealing dried and scabby flesh sores.

‘In 2004 a rare but even more serious form of the disease started to appear with increasing frequency, and the majority of those cases were found here, in California,’ the doctor continued. ‘In those cases, it was discovered that the bacterium causing the disease was a strain of the staphylococcus aureus – a much stronger strain of it.’

‘That’s the second slide we looked at, the green round things?’

Doctor Winston nodded.

‘I remember that story,’ Hunter said. ‘It didn’t really get the attention of the media. Just a sideline in the papers.’

Doctor Winston stood up and walked over to the autopsy table. Garcia and Hunter followed him with their eyes.

‘The way the disease works is as follows – the bacterium enters the body and reproduces itself. The more bacteria there are, the more toxins they release. The more toxins they release, the quicker and more painful the death. Unfortunately for our victim, these little bastards reproduce like crazed rabbits. They can double their number in the space of a few hours.’

‘Can it be treated?’ Garcia this time.

‘Yes, if found early enough, but that rarely happens due to how fast the bacteria spread.’

‘And how do you get it? How does the bacterium enter the body?’

‘Funnily enough, the bacterium is frequently found living on the skin or inside the nose of a healthy person.’

Garcia placed both of his hands over his nose as if he was about to blow it. Hunter couldn’t help but laugh.

‘It’s in a dormant state,’ Doctor Winston said with a smile. ‘But the bacterium can easily infect an open flesh wound. Sometimes it’s picked up in hospitals from infected surgery incisions.’

‘Wow, that’s reassuring,’ Garcia joked.

‘Necrotizing fasciitis is one of the fastest-spreading infections known to man. In regular cases it takes only three to five days for a patient to go from early symptoms to death. In the case of our victim, and I’m sure you both have probably guessed it, the killer has injected him with the staphylococcus aureus bacterium.’

A morbid silence took over the room. What else could this killer come up with?

‘But the dog race was only two days ago, how can a disease have such a quick reaction time?’ Garcia asked shaking his head.

‘Dog race?’ Doctor Winston frowned.

Garcia waved his hand in a dismissive gesture. ‘Too complicated to explain it now, doc.’

‘Anyway, as I’ve said, the bacterium multiplies fast and the more there is the more damage it causes. Our victim was injected with a phenomenal amount of it and straight into the bloodstream. Within ten to twelve hours he would’ve gone from healthy to knocking on death’s door.’

Doctor Winston approached the organ tray. ‘His liver and kidneys were thirty-five percent destroyed. There was also great deterioration of the heart, the intestines and esophagus, and that would explain the blood when he coughed, he was hemorrhaging internally very badly when we got to him at the park. It was probably his body’s last struggle before death.’

Garcia contorted his face remembering the images from the park.

‘And there’s one more thing,’ the doctor continued.

‘And what’s that?’

‘The victim’s nails on both hands are all broken, as if he’d tried to scrape his way out of somewhere. A wooden box probably.’

‘Wood splinters under the nails?’ Hunter concluded.

‘Yep. Under what’s left of them and on his fingertips.’

‘Wood analysis?’ Garcia asked excitedly.

‘Common pine wood. Very easy to come across. The killer could’ve nailed him shut inside a regular wardrobe.’

‘Why would the killer do that if he’d already injected the victim with the bacteria and death was a certainty?’ Garcia asked intrigued.

‘To speed up the process as much as possible,’ Hunter answered first.

Garcia frowned.

‘The heart speeds up when a person panics. Blood is pumped faster, so the bacteria spread faster.’

‘Correct,’ Doctor Winston said with a nod.

‘And what easier way to make someone panic than nailing him shut inside a wooden coffin.’