"Hi Tamara," she said with a warm smile. "I appreciate the extra work and all but I do have patients I'm supposed to be looking after as well, you know."
Tamara smiled. "I know. We'll have to check if someone has put something in the water around here. What can you tell me?"
Dr Fiona Williams turned her attention back to the deceased. "Cassie has identified him, so she can fill you on his age, so I won't bother with the guesswork. As tempting as it is to pretend I don't already know, and then judge his age perfectly."
"Stabbing?" Tamara asked, glancing at Cassie beside her.
"Yes. Three clear wounds to the torso," Dr Williams said, lowering herself carefully, so she could indicate the wounds.
To avoid contaminating the scene by risking stepping in the blood, the CSI team had placed upturned plastic milk crates on the floor for the officers to use as steppingstones to get around the kitchen. Dr Williams was currently perched upon two of these.
"As I said, three wounds. One to the stomach and two to the upper torso. I suspect one of those pierced the poor soul's heart, which would have led to him bleeding out before he could summon help."
"Thoughts on the weapon?"
"Nothing more complicated than a knife," Dr Williams said. She glanced up at the work surface, pointing to the knife block. "Cassie noticed a blade is missing. Judging from the width of the empty slot, I wouldn't be surprised if that turned out to be the murder weapon. The width of the stab wounds is consistent, so you can rule out a screwdriver or anything narrower."
Cassie pointed to the open dishwasher. "That's not been run and it's full. No sign of the missing knife in there or any of the drawers. It's a strong possibility."
"Okay. Organise the uniforms outside to sweep the immediate area. If the killer took it with them, they may have discarded it nearby."
"Will do," Cassie said, turning and leaving the room.
"May I?" Tamara asked and Dr Williams gingerly stepped down from the crates, allowing her to step up. She made a cursory inspection of the body, focussing on his hands. The doctor noticed.
"No indication of defensive wounds."
Tamara glanced up, acknowledging the point. She looked at his fingers, seeing he had long nails, long for a man at any rate. She pointed to them.
"Yes, I noticed that too. He appears to be quite a clean man, not a lot of dirt under those nails, but he's not too concerned about ragged edges. There is some material there worth a more detailed examination by the lab. It looks like some blue fibres got caught up in the nails under his thumb and forefinger. If I had to guess I'd say it was wool or something similar."
"He's not wearing anything woollen," Tamara said aloud, scanning the body as she stood up. "In a struggle perhaps?"
Dr Williams cocked her head. "If it was then it would have been brief. I suspect that wound to his heart would have ended things pretty quickly."
Tamara acknowledged the point and made her way over to the other side of the kitchen, stepping down on the far side of the body. In the corner was a small table with two chairs. It was a tight fit, snug for two and unsuitable for any more than that. A small glass tea-light holder was in the middle of the table but pushed towards the wall and beside that was a wine bottle. Tamara leaned over, seeing it was almost empty. It was a Rioja, one that was available from supermarkets and one she'd tried herself. Already wearing her nitrile gloves, she turned back to the dishwasher, lowering the door to inspect the contents. The bottom rack had three dirty plates in it, each one evenly spaced out with an unused place setting in between, probably to ensure the water was able to get to them. One of the plates, the one at the rear, had breadcrumbs stuck to it whereas the other two both appeared to have had the same meal served on them. She could tell by the residue of the sauce. Pulling out the top rack, she noted two wine glasses were present. Looking closer, one of these had lipstick on the rim. It was a deep shade of pink. She called through to the other room and one of the technicians appeared in the doorway. She pointed the glasses out to him. They may have already been noted, but she wanted to be sure it wasn't missed.
"Tamara?"
She turned to see Cassie in the doorway.
"What is it?"
Cassie beckoned her to follow and Tamara made her way back towards the front of the house, tentatively stepping over the deceased by way of the crates once again. She followed Cassie into the front sitting room. The cottage was evidently very small, with only the two rooms downstairs. If the footprint of the upstairs was the same, then there would only be two bedrooms and a bathroom. If Gage was a freelance journalist, he was unlikely to have an office and would probably work from home. Her theory was confirmed when Cassie pointed out the cables she'd found in the room, nestling between the arm of the sofa and the wall, almost out of sight.
Tamara dropped to her haunches and followed the path of the cable around to a plug socket in the corner of the room. It was a power pack for a laptop. Imagining herself sitting on this end of the sofa, she looked across the room to the television in the corner. This was the prime viewing spot, confirmed by the extra wear on the fabric of the cushion. Gage probably spent a
