But a killer might know that, Joona says.
But its practically impossible to reconstruct you know, with a successful hanging, the line around the neck is like the point of an arrow with the edge on the upward side, right at the knot-
Because the weight of the body tightens the loop.
Exactly. And for the same reason the deepest part must be precisely across from the edge.
So hanging was the cause of death.
No doubt about it.
The tall, thin pathologist gently gnaws his lower lip.
But could he have been forced to kill himself? Joona asks.
There are no signs of it on the body.
Joona shuts the file, drums on it with both hands, and thinks about the housekeepers statement that other people had been involved in Palmcronas death. Was it just confused rattling on? But what about the two sets of shoe prints Tommy Kofoed had found?
So youre absolutely sure of the cause of death? Joona stares into The Needles eyes.
What did you expect?
I expected this, Joona says slowly, tapping the autopsy. Exactly this. But still, somethings not right.
The Needle smiles thinly.
Take it and use it as bedtime reading.
Fine, Joona agrees.
Still, Im sure you can just let go of this one its nothing more dramatic than a suicide.
The Needles smile disappears and he drops his gaze. Joonas eyes are still sharp and focused.
Youre probably right.
Of course Im right, The Needle replies. And I can speculate a little more if you want Palmcrona was probably depressed. His fingernails were ragged and dirty. He hadnt brushed his teeth for several days and he hadnt shaved.
I see.
You can take a look at him if youd like, The Needle prompts.
No, thats not necessary, Joona answers and slowly stands up.
The Needle leans forward, a note of expectancy in his voice as if hed been waiting for this moment.
Something more exciting came in this morning. Do you have a few minutes?
The Needle stands up as well, and gestures Joona to follow him along the hall. A light blue butterfly has managed to get into the building and it flutters in front of them.
Has the other guy quit?
Who?
The other guy who worked here, the one with the ponytail
Frippe? No way in hell wed let him quit. He has a few days off. Megadeth was playing the Globe yesterday. Entombed was the lead-in act.
They walk through a dark room between autopsy tables of stainless steel, hardly noticing the strong smell of disinfectant. They continue walking to a much cooler room where bodies are being stored in chilled lockers, waiting to be examined by the department of forensic medicine.
The Needle opens the door and turns on the ceiling lamp. The fluorescent light flickers once or twice before its fully on and can illuminate the white-tiled room and the long autopsy table covered in plastic. The table has double sinks and gutters for drainage.
The Needle uncovers the body lying on the table.
It is a beautiful young woman.
Her skin is tanned and her long hair winds in a thick, shimmering mass across her forehead and shoulders. She seems to look into the room with an expression of both doubt and amazement. Theres an almost mischievous tilt to the corners of her mouth, as if she had been a person who easily smiles and laughs. However, any light in those large, dark eyes has long gone. Small brownish yellow specks are starting to appear.
Joona moves closer for a better perspective. She cant be more than nineteen or twenty years old. Not that long ago, shed been a child still sleeping in bed with her parents. Then she was an adolescent schoolgirl and now shes dead.
A line, like a smile painted in gray, curves for about thirty centimeters across the womans collarbone.
Whats this? Joona points at it.
No idea. Maybe from a necklace or the top of a blouse. Ill take a closer look later.
Joona peers more closely at the quiet body. He sighs at the familiar wave of melancholy he feels when he faces death, the colorless vacuum.
Her fingers and toes had been painted with a light, almost beige, rose.
So whats the story? Joona finally asks after a minute of silence.
The Needle gives him a serious look and light reflects from his glasses as he turns back to the body.
The Coast Guard brought her in, he relates. They found her sitting on the bunk down in the forward cabin of a large motorboat. It was abandoned and drifting in the archipelago.
She was already dead?
The Needle looks at him and his voice becomes almost melodic.
She drowned, Joona.
Drowned?
The Needle nods, and his smile almost vibrates.
She drowned on a boat that was still afloat, he says.
I assume someone found her in the water and brought her on board.
If that was the case, I wouldnt waste your time.
So whats going on?
There are no marks of water on the body itself-Ive sent her clothes to be analyzed, but I know the National Forensic Laboratory wont find a thing.
The Needle falls silent and flips through his preliminary report. He sneaks a look at Joona to see if hes at all curious. Joona stands completely still and then his expression shifts. Now he looks at the corpse with an expression that is awake and alert. He takes up a pair of latex gloves and pulls them on. The Needle is happily content to see Joona leaning over the body to lift her arms, first one, then the other, for closer examination.