'Certainly.' Alison stepped forward and handed him a clean copy. He cleared his throat, paused, then read aloud: 'While I agree with the findings of my colleague, Dr Peterson of the Severn Vale District Hospital, that the immediate cause of death was a massive overdose of diamorphine (heroin), in the course of my examination I have found substantial and compelling evidence of serious and violent physical assault. . .'

  There was a sound in the public gallery, somewhere between a faint gasp and a dull moan. Jenny looked up to see Andy Taylor clasping Claire's hand between both of his. Dr Peterson tugged nervously at his cuff. His solicitor was urgently noting every word.

  'This evidence is in three parts. Firstly, the glenohumeral ligaments of the right shoulder had been wrenched from the bone, indicating that the right arm had been pushed with some force up the deceased's back. This would have been extremely painful and it is hard to conceive of an innocent explanation. Secondly, a clump of hair, approximately one inch in diameter, had been traumatically wrenched from the rear left occipital area of the scalp - ' he pointed to an area between the top of his neck and the back of his left ear - 'leading to the reasonable conclusion that it was pulled out during a physical altercation. It is notable that the missing hair was not discovered with the body.'

  Jenny saw the look of suppressed desperation cross Peterson's face. She longed to know what was in his mind, whether he had simply missed or deliberately overlooked the evidence of violent death.

  'Thirdly, there was a small chip out of the left of the two front teeth. The edges were jagged, suggesting a recent trauma. I recovered the chip itself from between the deceased's cheek and gum. In my opinion she received a powerful blow to the front of the face. The fact she had not swallowed or spat out the chip indicates that she was unconscious or insensible either before or as a result of the blow.'

  Claire Taylor sobbed. A woman who looked like she might be her sister passed tissues down the line. The faces of the friends and family were pictures of grief, bewilderment and betrayal. Peterson stared, expressionless, at the floor in front of his chair.

  The hall listened in sombre silence - interrupted only by Claire Taylor's sniffles - as Jenny led Professor Lloyd through the fine detail of his findings. He described how the dose of heroin had been so massive that had Katy tried to inject it herself, she would have been dead or unconscious before the syringe was half empty. He was convinced that a third party had administered it, perhaps even two people: one forcing her arm and grabbing hold of her hair while the other stuck in the needle.

  Jenny asked, 'What do you make of the photographs the police photographer took of her body where it was found?'

  'She must have been placed in that position. As I have said, it would have been impossible for her to inject that much heroin, then set the syringe down by her side. I would have expected to find the needle still in her arm, the syringe half full.'

  'Is there anything else about the photograph that strikes you?'

  'Her clothing seems remarkably ordered given the level of violence to which she had been subjected. I can assume the attack on her was very swift and vicious. And well planned.'

  'You think this was premeditated?'

  'Acquiring and preparing that amount of heroin takes some doing. I think it fair to say that anyone with that degree of know-how would have been well aware that such a large dose would kill her.'

  She then took him through the results of the hair analysis test. It confirmed beyond doubt that this was the only dose of heroin Katy had received, at least in the ninety days before her death. He agreed with Dr Peterson's finding that she had probably been dead for five to seven days or thereabouts when she was found and that, because of the onset of rigor mortis, it was more than likely that she was placed under the bush in a seated position very soon after she died.

  Jenny noted that this meant Katy had probably died on Tuesday 24 April, two days after going missing from home. She needed to know where Katy had been on the night of Sunday 22 and Monday 23 April and who she had been with. The two days she spent missing were critical.

  Jenny finished her examination of Professor Lloyd by asking how it could be that he and Dr Peterson had arrived at such different conclusions. He thought for a moment, then, after a further studied pause, said, 'Initially I was inclined to take a charitable view. The standard blood tests he ordered were less precise than the analysis I have carried out, so he wouldn't have known with as much accuracy how much heroin was in her system - that I can understand. He is a man under great pressure of work who probably conducts half a dozen postmortems each day, but in my opinion, in a case where a violent death was even a remote possibility, a reasonably competent pathologist should have carried out a more detailed examination than he did.'

  'You're surprised that he didn't find the chipped tooth?'

  'Moderately.'

  'And the missing hair?'

  'Perhaps a more understandable oversight.'

  He glanced across at Peterson without a hint of remorse or embarrassment. Jenny knew what this meant: his words may have been calculated to sound reasonable, but what he was really telling her was that his colleague had been careless at best, negligent or even complicit in the deliberate concealing of evidence at worst.

  'Thank you, Professor. If you would be kind enough to wait there, Mr Hartley may wish to ask you some questions.'

  Hartley, who was still writing a longhand note of Professor Lloyd's closing remarks, took his time to finish, glanced over the page as if reassuring himself of an obvious conclusion, and rose, with no particular sense of urgency, to his feet.

  'Professor,' Hartley began, 'is it correct that you carried a full forensic examination of the body of Katy Taylor at the request of the coroner, Mrs Cooper?'

  'Yes.'

  'And you were therefore mindful of the fact that you were looking for, and might well find, evidence leading to the conclusion that Katy's death was suspicious.'

  'I'll agree only with the first part of your question.'

  Hartley smiled. 'And if I understand you correctly, you have concluded that it is more likely than not that her death was suspicious.'

  'I have.'

  'Thank you, Professor.' Hartley turned to Jenny. 'Ma'am, I'm sure I do not have to remind you of rule z6, subsection (i) of the Coroner's Rules 1984.'

  Still a little shaky on the fine detail of the Coroner's Rules, Jenny opened her copy of Jervis with a sense of foreboding.

  'It states that if the chief officer of police requests the coroner to adjourn an inquest on the ground that a person may be charged with murder or manslaughter in relation to the death, the coroner must adjourn the inquest for a period of twenty-eight days. As the chief constable's representative, I hereby request such an adjournment with immediate effect.'

  Jenny glanced at the rule, checking that it read as she thought it did. 'Mr Hartley, this rule applies only where the chief officer of police envisages charging a specific individual. It is designed to prevent two judicial processes occurring at the same time. As there is no suspect, I presume, who is about to be charged with Katy Taylor's murder or manslaughter, I am fully entitled to continue with this inquest.'

  'I have been instructed that in the light of this evidence, the CID wish to reopen their investigation. It is customary in those circumstances for the coroner to adjourn and await the outcome of criminal investigations and proceedings, if there are any.'

  'Mr Hartley—'

  'If you'll allow me to finish, ma'am.'

  Jenny conceded and let him continue.

  'The function of the adjournment serves a dual purpose. Not only does it prevent the police investigation suffering in any way from the publicity this inquest may attract, it will also ensure that when this inquest resumes, both you and the jury will have the benefit of any evidence obtained by the police. I have a number of authorities here to support my argument if you wish to see them - ' he waved in the direction of a hefty pile of photocopied documents - 'but I think you'll agree, this is primarily a matter of where the interests of justice lie. Surely that must be with the resumption of the police investigation.'

  'I'll adjourn to consider your submission, Mr Hartley.'

  Jenny rose and retreated, with her copy of Jervis, to her office. She turned up the Coroner's Rules again with a sinking sensation. Hartley was correct. The police had the right to request an adjournment where there was a chance that a person - who need not be specified - might be charged with an offence relating to the death. If she were to refuse the police could ask the Director of Public Prosecutions to intervene and request one. Again, she didn't have to comply, but she risked creating a major diplomatic incident.

  The rules and procedure had a straightforward and simple purpose: to ensure that the police investigated crimes and coroners investigated causes of death. Where a coroner's investigation turned up evidence of a crime, the spirit of the regulations, if not a strict interpretation of them, required her to stand aside while the police took over. Her inquest would resume either when the police decided that no crime had been committed or that no one was to be charged, or if a suspect was charged, at the conclusion of the criminal trial.

  The problem was, what happened when the coroner didn't trust the police? If, for whatever reason, they failed to do their job properly, she was the only backstop. No one else had the necessary capacity or resources to demand answers.

  There was a tap on the door and Alison entered. 'Are you all right? You looked like you'd seen a ghost when he asked for the adjournment.'

  'I knew he was planning something. He didn't lug that many books to court for show.'

  'He's right, though, isn't he? You can't carry on if CID have got an active inquiry.'

  'I could, but it wouldn't make me very popular with the Ministry of Justice.' She sighed. 'What do you think's going on?'

  'You've shown them up, Mrs Cooper. Nobody likes that.'

  'What about your theory - that Detective Superintendent Swainton was being pressured?'

  'I don't know ... I was probably just being emotional. I know a lot of the boys in CID. I can't see any of them going easy on a case like this, especially after the second postmortem. What you need to know is what Katy was up to in the couple of days before she died, that's what they'll be trying to find out.'

  'You honestly believe we can trust them, even after whatever happened to Harry Marshall?'

  Alison glanced over her shoulder at the door, checking it was shut fast. 'The way I see it, you could turn them down, but apart from Professor Lloyd's findings you've nothing to go on. The jury might come back with a verdict of unlawful killing, but where does that get you - you still need the police to find the perp.'

  'What do you suggest?'

  'Give them their adjournment and use the time to sniff around, take a few more statements - they can't stop you doing that.'

  'And meanwhile the truth gets buried deeper?'

  'There are a couple of blokes in CID, old friends of Harry's. I'll have a word, see what they've heard.'

  Jenny considered the alternatives. Apart from potentially scuppering her career, refusing the adjournment might lead her nowhere fast. What she wanted was the unvarnished truth, and Alison was right, there was little chance of hearing it in open court during the next two days. And if the police really were involved in a cover-up of some sort, the chances of her unearthing the facts by herself were non-existent.

  Jenny resumed her seat at the head of the hall. Hartley looked at her expectantly, a battery of legal authorities at the ready in the event her decision didn't go his way.

  'I have considered your application on behalf of the chief constable, Mr Hartley, and I'm prepared to adjourn for fourteen days.'

  Hartley rose with a satisfied smile. 'Thank you, ma'am.'

  'However, before I do so, I would like to hear again from Dr Peterson. Would you come forward, please?'

  She gave Hartley no time to object. He exchanged a look with Mallinson, who shrugged, as if to say they had nothing to fear.

  Peterson's solicitor leaned forward and whispered words of instruction to him. He got up, walked to the front of the hall and sat in the witness chair, fixing his eyes on Jenny.

  'Dr Peterson, you have heard Professor Lloyd's evidence. Do you have any explanation for why you failed to note the three factors which led him to conclude that Katy Taylor died a violent death?'

  In a calm, even voice with a well-judged hint of apology, he said, 'Professor Lloyd was quite correct to say that I was handling, and still am handling, an enormous caseload. Now and again things are missed which shouldn't be. The police informed me that Katy Taylor had died from a suspected drugs overdose and my findings confirmed that. It was not suggested to me that her death was violent, therefore I didn't carry out the detailed investigations Professor Lloyd was briefed to do. Dissection of the shoulder, for example, is not a common procedure in a post-mortem.' He glanced over at Professor Lloyd, who was seated in the front row of the public seats. 'I am grateful to my colleague for sharing his findings and to you, ma'am, for requesting a second examination. And for the sake of Miss Taylor and her family, I sincerely hope the police investigation is successful. They have my deepest sympathy.'

  Back in the small side office, Jenny packed her books and papers into her briefcase with a sense of anti-climax. After all the anxiety and anticipation she had managed only one and a half days in court. She felt for Claire and Andy Taylor. First the shock of an exhumation, then hearing that their daughter had probably died a violent death and now an adjournment. Their agony must seem endless.

  When her outrage at what had felt at the time like a cynical ambush by Hartley began to subside, she concluded that she had probably made the right decision. She had a breathing space in which to interview witnesses in her own time and to try to gain an understanding of what Marshall's reasons were, if any, for not holding an inquest in the first place. Perhaps she had been too swift to imagine a conspiracy, too easily swept up in the emotion of a teenager's shocking death. Snapping her briefcase shut, she made a decision to go about her investigation in as detached and professional a manner as she could. She was the coroner, an impartial, clear-headed, determined investigator of the truth.

  Pulling on her raincoat, which, judging by the increasingly frequent spits of rain against the window, she was likely to be glad of, there was a knock on the door behind her. 'Come in, Alison.' She glanced out of the window, drawn by a flash of lightning in the distance. 'Everything sorted out?'

  A voice answered, 'It's Tara Collins.'

  Jenny wheeled round to see a woman in her upper thirties, a little over five feet tall, with fierce, determined eyes and short dark hair. She was smartly but not expensively dressed in a trouser suit. Jenny recalled seeing her sitting in court that morning and had assumed she was a lawyer of some sort - the journalists had distinguished themselves by their scruffiness and frequent yawns.

  'Have you got a moment?'

  'I can't discuss the case—'

  'It's not about the case, not directly at least. I spoke to your officer and she said it would be all right.'

  Jenny was cautious. 'It'll have to be brief .. .'

  Tara stepped fully inside and closed the door behind her. 'I was at home writing a piece on Katy's exhumation and this inquest when I called you on Saturday. Ten minutes after we finished the police turned up and arrested me on suspicion of credit card fraud. It's a complete joke. I've been framed. I spent the weekend in a police cell. They bailed me at six this morning. I'm in court first thing tomorrow - I'm supposed to have defrauded Western Union of $25,000.'

  'Have they got evidence?'

  'Apparently my laptop has been used to wire money to someone in New York I've never heard of. The cash was purchased with stolen credit card details which I'm meant to have entered on the Western Union website. The really sweet bit is that the US authorities could apply to have me extradited. Whoever thought this one up really put some effort in.'

  'Who was the complainant?'

  'Tip-off, that's all they'll say. And they took my computer and back-up drives. All my work's on there, research notes, interview transcripts. Everything.'

  Jenny felt a numb sensation spreading from the tips of her fingers. 'Is there any particular reason you think this is related to Katy's case?'

  'I've been making a few calls, trying to work out how well Katy and Danny knew each other. I told you they'd been to the same drug awareness class run by the Youth Offending Team back in December.'

  'Where did you get that?'

  'A girl called Hayley Johnson. She was a friend of Katy's, similar lifestyle but a touch older - she's eighteen.'

  'She sounds interesting.'

  'I'll see if I can find her again - she's a bit hard to pin down, moves around a lot.' Tara ran a hand through her tight hair and let out a sigh of frustration. 'Look, I want you to know I'm not usually one to get paranoid. If you think I'm crazy, I'd rather you just told me straight so I can give you some more detail.'

 

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