Sweet Things Dying - Chapter XXV

In this instalment, Cole and Quinn make further horrific discoveries...

XXV

The police seemed to know nothing of Cole’s encounter with Bloom the previous night and he let it stay as such. He avoided touching the sore lump on his head, not wanting to draw attention to it, even though it meant wearing his hat crookedly.

He walked with Inspector Quinn. Their boots left a trail through the inch of white slush that had coated London overnight. The wet flakes continued to drop from low, slate-coloured clouds, dusting the two men as they made their way from Brick Lane to the mortuary on Eagle Place.

“I asked that the body be transported here from London Hospital,” Quinn said as they approached the squat brick shed. “Had the police surgeon take a look at her this morning. Sorry to rouse you Cole, but it’s my hope you will recognise her.”

“She’s not otherwise been identified?”

“Not yet. Maybe never will be. She stumbled into hospital just yesterday. The attending doctor claims she said little before losing consciousness. Heavy blood loss. She died last light. It’s thought she’s of the unfortunate class, so she may never be missed.”

Quinn tossed aside the stub of his cigar and followed Cole into the mortuary. An attendant swept bloodstained sawdust into a corner, away from the slab on which a petite, frail-framed woman lay. She was naked, her skin as brittle as dried parchment.

Doctor Philips looked up from his paperwork and nodded. His gaze lingered a moment on Cole.

Cole recognised the quizzical eyes and smiled: “It’s Cole,” he said. “I was here two days ago to examine the Bloom girl’s effects.”

“Ah,” the surgeon exclaimed. “I recall, yes. Knew I recognised your face. Most of the faces I meet here leave and never return, bound for the ground as it were. Worried me when, suddenly, one of them was back, standing before me.” He laughed. “So, you are both here for this poor creature?”

“We are.” Quinn stepped forward, glancing over the corpse. His eyes settled on the rusty blood that encrusted her thighs.

“Just about to wash her,” Philips said, “and send her off for burial.”

“Doctor Heslop at London Hospital said she died of extraordinary blood loss,” Quinn explained. “For all intents and purposes, she was dead when she walked in.”