“Won’t know for sure until I’ve taken some samples,” the coroner said as he opened his leather bag and delved inside. “Could’ve had a heart attack, but I doubt it.”
“Is it the syringe through his eye that gave that away?” Pete said, deadpan. Jeremy scowled. The coroner apparently had no sense of humour. Maybe that comes from too many years on the job.
“That syringe was inserted after death,” Jeremy said flatly, pulling on latex gloves and snapping the end against each wrist. “Or at least when he was unconscious.”
“How do you know that?” Harriet asked.
“Nothing could be inserted into the eye that accurately in a conscious person,” Jeremy explained. “There’s no other scratching on the face, no signs of struggle.”
Jeremy examined the insides of Barry’s arms and hands. “No, that syringe w
