"Wait, his clothes? Why?" I asked.
"I'll explain everything soon."
As soon as we arrived at the police station, Adrian headed to Cuthbert's office.
"I need your permission to get into the autopsy department," Adrian declared upon entering.
"Huh? You need my what for what?" Cuth asked, startled by our sudden presence and Adrian's request.
"He wants to check the victim's clothing - Don't ask why. I don't know and he won't tell," I explained.
"I need your permission to enter the autopsy room at the hospital," Adrian added.
"Okay then. You fellas go on ahead to the hospital. I'll give them a call and let them know that you are coming."
I tried calling Antei again on our way to the hospital but his mobile was still switched off.
"Who're you calling?" Adrian asked, never taking his eyes off the road.
"Antei."
"He dropped his cell down into a sewer two days ago," Adrian answered with a chuckle.
"That clumsy idiot," I said and proceeded to call his home.
"If you're calling his home then you might as well give up. He dropped his cell in a sewer in another state," Adrian remarked.
"What? When did he leave town?"
"Same day he dropped his phone. I was talking to him when I heard him curse, followed by a few thuds and clanks and a gargling noise before the cell went dead."
"How do you know he dropped it in a sewer?"
"I had built a custom gps program for his cell remember? One that had a hardware attached to his cell but functioned individually? Well, I tracked the phone down and found it in the river of that state."
"Wow," I said, totally amazed. "Just ... wow."
We arrived at the hospital a short while later. The autopsy room was underground which really unnerved me since I was a bit claustrophobic. A man dressed in white greeted us as we entered.
"You must be Mr. Adrian and Mr. Peter," he said.
"Indeed we are," Adrian said, flashing his ID. I didn't bother to do the same.
"Ah. I am Dr. Reed. So it's Damon Hunting's corpse you want to take a look at?"
"Yes. And also his clothes."
"This way then." The stench on the room was horrible; I had to make a conscious effort to prevent myself from throwing up. I was amazed at how undisturbed Adrian was by the small. He hadn’t even flinched when we entered the room. Reed led us to a table where Damon's naked body lay, covered by a white sheet.
"His body arrived early yesterday morning. Quite a nasty way to go," Reed commented.
"Actually, I've seen worse," I replied.
"How worse?"
"Head chopped off by a piano string," Adrian answered for me.
"Accident or ..."
"Murder. And it was a well-planned one too."
Adrian bent in closer to the body's neck to examine the wound. "Tell me about the wound doctor."
"Well, it was made by a relatively short knife. About three-fourth my palm length in size."
Adrian straightened up and turned to Reed. "How had he been stabbed? Was the knife straight through his neck, perpendicular to his body or bent upwards?"
"Well, it was tilted slightly upwards towards his head a bit. As if he had been stabbed by a person shorter than him. The knife severed the artery and his throat pipe. He choked and bled to death."
"Any unusual findings?"
"Nothing. Although we did find cake all the way inside his wound. The knife was covered to the tip with it."
"That explains ... And his clothes. Where are they?"
"Over there, in the drawer labelled with his name," Reed said, heading over to it. "We keep all the items found on the victim's body in a safe place so the police can use it later if needed." He opened a drawer and pulled out a t-shirt stained with blood and smeared with cake, an underwear (it was stained yellow; when you are dying, you don't have much control over your bladder) and a pair of jeans.
"No items in the pockets whatsoever?" Adrian asked.
"These are all there was inside."
"I need to take a look at the jeans only."
Reed handed over the garment to Adrian, who proceeded to turn it upside down and inspect the bottom part of the jeans.
"Just as I suspected," Adrian said and tossed the jeans to me. "Look at the bottom."
I did as he asked. However, I could find nothing unusual. There was a little bit of mud on the bottom of the right side of the jean but that was it. Nothing else. Adrian was excited by some dirt? I couldn't see it's significance.
"You don't get it do you? Your face says everything," Adrian remarked. "But I'll explain everything shortly." He turned to Reed. "We would like to take the jeans with us."
"I can’t let you do that," Reed answered.
There was a short beep. Reed fished into his pocket for his phone and then read the message he’d just received.
“Actually … I guess you can,” he said slowly.
“Thank you,” Adrian said. Before I could say anything, he had turned and was walking towards the door.
I waited until we were out of the room to ask him: “Was that text message your doing?”
“Yes. While you were getting the car at the police station, I told Cuth to make sure that I was allowed to take any item belonging to the victim from the hospital. That text was most probably from the hospital higher-ups. Cuth must have spoken to them.”
As we exited the hospital building with the jeans in hand, I asked Adrian, "So, where are we going?"
"Back to the house.” He turned and faced me, flashing me a broad smile. “The case is solved."
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