” Well, firstly, the huge loss of blood was ultimately the cause of Mr Donaldson’s death, and I’m staggered he managed to stay on his feet for as long as he did. Most people, once the aorta has been cut, followed by the sudden huge blood loss, would be dead within two or three seconds; and yes there is a suggestion that the murderer did indeed, as you suggest, stab the unfortunate Mr Donaldson twice.”

” You were right, Parker, well done.” congratulated Swann.

” But I found something else too.” Interrupted Doctor Buchanan who, with a broad smile, looked at Swann and Parker without saying a word.

” Well, Archie, are you going to tell us or just stand there all night with that stupid grin on your face?”

” He was also an opium addict, I found massive traces of it in his blood, what was left of it, plus he also had early stages of cancer of the Oesophagus. Now, either that, or the addiction, would have killed him pretty soon anyway.”

” Oesophagus?” enquired Swann.

” The gullet, sir.”

” Thank you, Doctor Parker.”

” A pleasure, sir.”

” Now, Archie, what about the other one, our hooded assassin?”

” Come and have a look, he’s an interesting character.”

The naked body of the hooded assassin revealed a much younger man than Donaldson, in fact a man, as Parker had suggested, who was perhaps no older than twenty-two and with the physique of an athlete. His smooth body was deeply suntanned and his hair dark and short. And there was something about his face Swann couldn’t quite figure, something familiar.

” You’ll see,” began Buchanan, ” that he is young, with a muscular body that is, was, well cared for, and a complexion that suggests he has recently been in a hot climate, with his body exposed to the sun for quite long periods. You can clearly see he was hit twice by high velocity bullets.”

” Point four-five calibre,” butted in Parker.

” Quite, and as you can see they passed clean through the body. Perhaps you would help me turn him over, Sergeant Parker?”

” Certainly, doctor.”

The two men gently turned the body of the young man over with a sound that reminded Swann of the cold slap of a fish upon a fishmonger’s marble slab.

” Now, gentlemen,” continued Buchanan, ” one can clearly see where the bullets entered the body: one just to the left of the right shoulder blade that passed clean through his heart, which I have over there in a large glass jar if you would care to examine it?” Swann and Parker remained silent. “Obviously not. Now, as I was saying the bullet passed clean through the heart rupturing the right auriele causing almost instantaneous death I should say. The other bullet shattered his right collar bone and ripped his great pectoral muscle damn near in half. The damage caused by modern munitions is quite horrifying, don’t you think?”