In US TV crime dramas, male pathologists are short and fat while female ones have long legs and are as immaculately groomed as only newly divorced women can be. Both sexes have complicated private lives, but as far as Henning knows Dr Karoline Omdahl fits none of the above categories. When he wrote a story about a day in the life of a forensic pathologist some years ago and used Dr Omdahl as his subject, he learned that she is married with three grown-up children and has a passion for golden retrievers. The numerous photos of dogs, children and grandchildren Dr Omdahl displayed in her office made it easy for Henning to bust every myth and cliche about the profession of forensic medicine. Even so, he couldn’t stop himself from spicing up his feature with references to smelly corpses, stomach contents and open chest cavities.
Dr Omdahl replies after several long rings. Henning introduces himself and asks if she remembers him.
‘Oh, hi,’ she says, surprised. ‘Yes, of course I do.’
‘Good to talk to you again.’
‘Likewise.’
‘How are the dogs?’
Henning hears her drink from a cup and swallow. ‘Why, thank you, they’re fine. Yash had an infected paw last week, but it seems to have cleared up now, fortunately.’
‘Glad to hear it. Do you have a couple of minutes?’
A few seconds of silence follow. ‘That depends on what it’s about.’
‘It’s about Tore Pulli.’
She falls silent again. ‘I can’t discuss him with you, Juul.’
‘No, I know. But have you finished his autopsy?’
‘The police have requested a forensic autopsy, yes, and we’ve made it our top priority. That’s all I can say.’
Henning nods. ‘How long will it be, do you think, before the preliminary autopsy report will be available?’
‘It’ll be ready later today.’
‘Can I ask… What exactly goes into a preliminary report? What do you look for?’
‘We open up the body and carry out a macroscopic assessment of the organs. We check for internal damage, possible stab injuries, gunshot wounds and so on.’
‘And what about the final report?’
‘That contains toxicology information and analyses of blood and other fluids, possibly a DNA analysis. In addition, we always take tissue samples from various organs. These samples are collected as a matter of routine, but we will also take samples of any discoveries we make during the autopsy. All of this goes into the final report.’
‘I understand. How long will it be before the final report is ready?’
‘It can take up to a couple of months.’
Months, Henning thinks. He can’t wait that long.
‘Speaking generally, what would cause an otherwise healthy forty-two-year-old man to suddenly drop dead?’
‘It depends on what you mean by “otherwise healthy”. You can carry many potentially fatal conditions without being aware of it. An electrical defect in your heart, for example. If that happens, you’ll need highly sophisticated medical intervention within minutes or you’ll die. These conditions can strike without warning.’
‘Sounds sinister.’
‘An artery in your brain might burst, or an artery in your chest or abdomen might rupture. This can sometimes be caused by a vessel degenerating through disease while in other cases the blood vessel may look healthy and still burst. Or you could suffer a blood clot in a central artery in your brain or your heart or a sudden bleed in your brain tissue.’
‘I think I get the picture,’ Henning says. ‘In this case, it looks as if Tore Pulli suddenly begins to experience breathing difficulties. Does that fit in with any of the causes you’ve just mentioned?’
‘It might.’
‘If I were to tell you that he didn’t appear to be in control of himself or his muscles, either, what would you say?’
‘That his death could still be attributed to any number of reasons. It’s possible that he was poisoned though in this case it would be highly unlikely.’
‘Why?’
‘Because he died in a prison.’
‘Yes,’ Henning hears himself say. ‘But if it turns out that he was poisoned, how will you know?’
‘I’m not sure that we would.’
‘But if you suspected it?’
‘Then we would ask the Institute of Forensic Toxicology to carry out further investigations. They never attend the actual autopsy, they just get the samples. But if this turns out to be a case of poisoning, and I want to emphasise that I’m merely speculating here, then I would assume that we’re talking about some sort of nerve toxin.’
‘He couldn’t breathe or move just before he died.’
‘Quite so,’ Dr Omdahl replies, slowly.
‘What are you thinking?’
‘No, it’s just that if — and I want to stress again that if — it were a case of poisoning, then we might be talking about a combined neuro- and cardiotoxic substance, but speculating is a waste of time. We need to examine him first.’
‘I appreciate that, and I have no intention of speculating in my newspaper either. But how many types of such poison exist?’
‘Oh, several. Dozens. Hundreds. The Institute of Forensic Toxicology is much better placed to answer that question. They report to the Institute of Public Health now. Their full name is the Department for Forensic Toxicology and Intoxicating Substances Research.’
‘Okay, I think I might give them a call.’
‘You do that.’
‘How will the body look if it was poisoned?’
‘A pure nerve toxin that paralyses the respiratory system will cause you to suffocate while your heart is still beating. Your skin and mucous membranes will probably turn slightly blue. If we are talking about a combined neuro- and cardiotoxin, it’s likely to cause heart and respiratory failure, and then there will be no external signs whatsoever. All you’re likely to see are possible signs of suffocation if the respiratory system is affected before the heart stops.’
‘Okay,’ Henning says. ‘It sounds as if we’ll just have to wait and see.’
‘Yes, you’ve got it.’
‘Thank you so much for your help.’
‘You’re very welcome.’
Henning ends the call and looks up. At the monitor in front of him Pulli is staring at Brenden. There is something wounded in his eyes.
Henning starts rubbing his arms. He doesn’t know why, but the image makes him shudder.