The Death Sculptor

Forty-Three

Doctor Hove redirected Hunter and Garcia’s attention back to the first autopsy table and Nashorn’s body parts.

‘The head was the last part to be severed from his body,’ she said, stepping closer, twisting Nashorn’s head around and exposing the large wound to the left side of the face. ‘But this was the initial manner in which the killer subdued his victim. A very powerful, single blow to the face. Probably using some sort of heavy metal, or thick wooden weapon, like a pipe, a bat or something.’

Garcia rotated his neck uncomfortably from side to side, as if his collar was bothering him.

‘His jaw was fractured in three places,’ Doctor Hove continued, indicating the exposed mandibula – the same quarter-inch-wide piece of jawbone protruding through the skin that Hunter had identified back in the boat cabin. ‘Bone splinters cut into the inside of his mouth. Some perforated his gums like nails. He lost three of his teeth.’

Without anyone noticing, Garcia ran his tongue over his own teeth and fought off a shudder.

‘Forensics did find all three in the boat cabin,’ the doctor noted.

‘So the blow to the face was what knocked him unconscious?’ Hunter asked.

‘No doubt about that. But unlike the first victim, who was practically bedbound and could offer no resistance to the killer’s sadistic wishes, if awake, this victim could’ve easily fought back. He was in good physical health, considering his age and the fact that one of his lungs worked on a reduced capacity.’ Doctor Hove indicated the disjointed body parts on the table. ‘The muscles in his arms and legs were strong enough, consistent with regular physical exercise. He kept active.’

‘But there are no visible restraining marks on his wrists, or anywhere on his arms,’ Hunter said, bending over and studying the body parts on the table a little more closely.

‘That’s right,’ the doctor agreed. ‘Forensics also found nothing that suggested the victim was tied to the chair in which he was found, or to anywhere else for that matter.’

‘So what you are saying is . . .’ Garcia jumped in, ‘. . . that the victim was unconscious throughout the entire procedure.’

‘That would’ve been the logical conclusion.’

Hunter sensed hesitation in the doctor’s voice. ‘Would’ve been?’

‘The blow to the face undoubtedly knocked him out, but without being sedated, as soon as the killer started cutting away, the pain would’ve woken him up.’

‘So he was sedated,’ Garcia concluded.

‘I would’ve gone with that until we got the toxicology results, if not for this . . .’ She pointed to a small piece of bone of about three inches long, which had been placed on the table next to Nashorn’s feet.

Hunter looked at it and cocked his head back, a little worried. ‘Vertebrae?’

‘Cervical vertebrae,’ Doctor Hove clarified.

‘What?’ Garcia bent over to have a closer look.

‘Part of the cervical curve,’ Hunter said.

‘And that means what?’

The doctor faced Garcia. ‘OK, let me try to explain this without launching into a long lecture about the cervical or spinal cord. These are vertebrae C5 through to C7.’ She indicated the bone fragments on the table again. ‘The cervical cord is made up by vertebrae C1 to C7, and it sits right on the top of the spinal column.’ She touched the back of Garcia’s neck to show its actual position on the human body. ‘C1 being the topmost vertebra, up against your skull, and C7 being at the base of the neck – the beginning of the upper back. It’s a very sensitive part of the spinal column, and any damage to it can cause paralysis. But that also greatly depends on which vertebra the damage is located around. The closer to the skull you get, the more sensitive, and the more severe the paralysis. Are you with me so far?’

Garcia nodded like a school kid.

‘If the damage is right at the top, around vertebra C1, C2, or C3, it can cause tetraplegia – paralysis from the neck down, and a halt of the nervous system – no feeling below the neck. But it can also easily cause impaired breathing, and without the help of a ventilator, death will come very quickly.’

Hunter felt his heart beat faster as he realized what Doctor Hove was about to reveal next.

‘Damage around the C4 vertebra, halfway down the cervical cord,’ she touched the back of Garcia’s neck again, indicating the location, ‘can cause tetraplegia and numbness of the nervous system, but it rarely causes impaired breathing.’ She paused, measuring the gravity of her words. ‘The reason why we have this small section of his spinal cord is because when the victim was decapitated, the incision was made just after vertebra C7 – base of the neck. When I examined the head and neck, I found out that his cervical cord had been ruptured just below vertebra C4. He had been intentionally paralyzed from the neck down. No feeling throughout most of his body.’

Garcia could feel cold sweat starting to run down his back. ‘Hold on, Doc. Are you saying the killer paralyzed him?’

‘That’s exactly what he did.’

‘How?’

‘Let me show you.’

Doctor Hove reached for Nashorn’s decapitated head and turned it around, bringing everyone’s attention to its nape. About three and a half inches from the base of the skull was a fresh sideways cut of around one inch long.

‘The killer severed his cervical cord with a sharp knife, inserted at the back of his neck.’

‘You are joking.’ Something tightened in Garcia’s stomach.

‘I’m afraid not even a little bit. As I said, to me this killer is evil personified – a man-demon. Who in this world would’ve thought of something like this?’

‘A stickman,’ Hunter said.

Everyone looked at him as if he was from outer space.

‘It’s called a stickman,’ Hunter carried on. ‘It was a technique used by sadistic troops during the Vietnam War. It wasn’t as precise as this. During the war, soldiers would simply drive a knife through a victim’s back and sever the spine at any position. Sometimes the paralysis was from the neck down, sometimes only of the legs, it didn’t matter. It meant the victim couldn’t fight back.’

‘You’re not suggesting this killer is a Vietnam veteran, are you?’ Garcia asked.

‘I’m just saying that the technique isn’t new.’

‘Due to the proximity of the spinal cord to the skin surface,’ Doctor Hove proceeded, ‘the cut doesn’t need to be very deep. In the case of our victim, if the knife had penetrated an inch or so deeper, it could’ve cut through his windpipe, and death would’ve come almost instantaneously.’

‘Wow, so there’s no doubt this killer really has medical knowledge,’ Garcia said, taking a step back.

‘In my opinion, no doubt at all,’ the doctor confirmed. ‘He knew he had to sever the cervical cord at the C4 vertebra to obtain a neck-down paralysis without compromising the respiratory system. And that was precisely what was done. Add that to the almost perfect Syme’s ankle-disarticulation procedure, the ligation of the proper veins after the amputations, and the careful dressing of the leg stumps, and this guy could be a surgeon in a hospital.’