Page 159 - Labelle Gramercy, Detective

Slow Burn

on his height, given the fact we are on planet Earth. We also know
the thickness of the victim’s skull and the angle at which the blow
was received. All these factors permit us to compute the damage a
fall of those parameters would inflict.”
She paused, looking at a sheet of figures. “Well, does it compute?”
Math was not my strong suit.
“That depends on the margin of error you care to allow. A smart
defense lawyer could tear this line of reasoning to shreds. Too many
assumptions for a court of law. But in my mind this blow was struck
by a blunt object, not the floor. It’s just too localized. Not like being
hit by a hammer, for instance, which would leave a characteristic
imprint; more like the side of a bottle or a saucepan.”
“Both of which were in the kitchen.”
“Very good, Duncan. Unfortunately, no trace of the victim’s hair
or blood could be found on either. We cannot tell if the impact
produced a laceration or not, although we can guess that it should
have. If it had occurred as a result of striking the floor, we could
reasonably expect to find some trace, some small crust of organic
matter cooked into the tiles. But there was none.”
I sat on the edge of her desk, a familiarity I did not often attempt.
“So what do you conclude?”
“My working hypothesis is that Alberto Carbone was struck down
from behind, probably in the kitchen. The blow may or may not have
killed him. The assailant then set up the ‘spontaneous combustion’
scene, hoping the fire would burn long enough to obliterate any
evidence. He or she could not know if the skull would be consumed,
so the blow to the head had to be delivered with some finesse. Thus,
two mistakes by the murderer: planting the body at an unlikely angle
and leaving a wound we could analyze. Either of those errors alone
might not be enough to create a case, but both together are
unmistakable: it’s murder, and it had to be premeditated. The killer
had to have known the stuffy little kitchen would be the perfect
setting for creating a scene of accidental death, no matter how
bizarre.”
“But how many people know that spontaneous combustion really
works like that?”
“This information has been published, Duncan. It’s not a secret,
unless you consider the literate a sinister cabal.”

158