Soot around the bullet wound signified discharge of the weapon at close range. Dawson pictured it. Maybe the murderer had made Charles kneel, gun muzzle pressed to his temple as Charles begged for mercy. It was a disturbing image, but the decapitation was even more disturbing. Dawson tried to read the graphic details of the severed arteries in the neck and the hacked cervical vertebrae, but he began to feel sick and stopped.
Warily, he turned to Fiona’s details. She, too, was bound at the wrists behind her back. Her outfit was purple and pink with pink undergarments. Beach sand had soiled the clothing of both victims, suggesting that the perpetrator(s) had dragged both of them along the sand for some unknown distance. The pathologist’s report also noted: A large silver hoop earring hangs from the lobe of the right ear, but no corresponding earring on the left is present.
She had sustained a gunshot wound to the right temple. The bullet had tracked across her brain to shatter the left cheekbone, where it had emerged. No bullet or fragments were present, nor did the report mention whether or not gunpowder stippling accompanied the entry wound. Had there been none, or had Dr. Cudjoe inadvertently omitted that detail? He had indicated the wounds on the standard schematic drawings always provided on a postmortem form. Photographs were not included with the documents, which was common. Most of the time, no camera was available, and in any case, the mortuary personnel, including the forensic pathologist, often took photos at a bad angle or in poor light.
Next to the name George Findlay, Offshore Oil Installation Manager, a telephone number had been circled, with a red arrow pointing to it. Dawson had no idea what an oil installation manager was. He was about to find out.
GEORGE FINDLAY PICKED up the call almost immediately. Dawson introduced himself and told him he was taking on the Smith-Aidoo case.
“I’m very glad to hear that,” Findlay said. He had a light Scottish accent and a pleasant voice. “We need someone to solve it once and for all.”
“Do you have a moment to answer some questions?”
“No more than about ten minutes. I’m at Kotoka Airport getting ready to leave for Glasgow.”
“I’ll be quick, then. By the way, what does your job entail as an oil installation manager?”
“I’m the most senior manager on the rig, ultimately responsible for day-to-day operations and safety of everyone on board. For example, that morning the canoe with the dead bodies drifted into the rig area, it broke everyone’s focus on their jobs, and it was my responsibility to marshal everyone back to work. There could have been a breach of safety and security.”
