Chapter 6

Brad was looking over the coronerʼs shoulder as Linda entered. The morgue was actually a back room of the small medical clinic where David, a general practitioner and the only doctor in town, (or the county) practiced.

“What have you got?” she asked.

“As I suspected there are no external wounds which would cause death. She actually died of a myocardial infarction.”

“A heart attack?” asked Linda.

“Why she canʼt be more than...”

“Mid to late twenties,” he finished it for her.


“But what caused the heart attack?” injected Brad.


“Iʼd say this woman was scared to death.”

“Youʼve got to be kidding,” smiled Brad.

“I didnʼt know there even was such a thing -- outside of Hollywood slasher movies.”

“Oh, yeah, fear is one of the most powerful of emotions. It can cause hyperventilation, adrenaline over-secretion, raise blood pressure -- in short it can give you a heart attack. The torture wounds would have all been excruciatingly painful but not deadly in themselves. When this woman saw what else was in store for her she was so terrified her heart just gave out.”

“Damn, who would have thought?” breathed Brad.

“More importantly, who would have done this?” responded Linda.

“What else can you tell us, Doc?”

“The torture wounds are primarily burns, looks like from a cigarette, bruises of the face from slaps and punches, the nipples on her breasts are distended, probably some type of sadistic nipple clamps, slashes, a box cutter Iʼd say. You can see what he did to her face. Her fingers and toes have been crushed, heavy electricianʼs pliers would be my guess and...”

“And?”


“And sheʼs been sexually assaulted both vaginally and anally.”

“Semen?”


“Not a trace. If the killer used his penis he must have used a condom, and heʼs either hung like a mule, excuse my French, or he used something as big as a baseball bat.”

“Geeeze!” hissed the deputy as Linda, no longer able to look at the disfigured victim turned away in disgust and anger.

“Not a whole lot more I can tell you except the obvious. This wasnʼt just some wacko who graduated from tearing the wings off flies or dousing the neighborhood cat with gasoline. This was a crime of rage. This is someone who, for whatever the reason, wanted to punish this girl mercilessly before he killed her.”

“So chances are he knew her?” asked Brad.

“Probably. She, of course, might just have reminded him of someone who had done him some terrible injustice earlier in life and he snapped, but my guess would be that there is some kind of connection between the two.”

“Anything else?”

“Thatʼs about it, at least for the moment. If I discover anything new of importance Iʼll give you a call.”

“Okay, thanks Doc.”

“Letʼs check back in with Sheila. Maybe sheʼs gotten that info from Tahoula County,” said Linda as she and Brad left the morgue, only too happy to be headed somewhere, anywhere, else.