round.’ It seemed that Dr Pervoyedov had misunderstood Porfiry’s objection. He bowed to his diener , who began cutting away the dead man’s clothes.
‘But you must have already noticed the wound on the side of the head?’ Porfiry’s voice was imploring. ‘That’s all I meant to suggest.’
‘As you know, Porfiry Petrovich, I follow the Virchow method.’ Dr Pervoyedov angled his head almost tenderly as he watched the diener work. ‘In the Virchow method, the organs are removed and examined separately. In due order. However, adipocere has a rather interesting attribute that does somewhat compromise any forensic examination, whether by the Virchow method or any other.’
‘And what is that?’
‘All tissue, including organs, skin, musculature and fat – even blood and blood vessels – all is equally capable of conversion to adipocere. Indeed, in a body that has undergone complete saponification, it is impossible to distinguish the internal organs at all. One is simply confronted by a mass of soapy material. Similarly, it becomes impossible to distinguish flesh that has been subject to trauma from flesh that has not. Damaged tissue simply melts away and becomes one with the undamaged tissue. All is . . .’
‘Soap,’ completed Virginsky, wonderingly.
‘Yes. And the more of his body that has turned to adipocere, the harder it will be to make any firm conclusions about the cause of death.’
The body now lay unclothed, the considerable bulk of the belly sprawling out on either side. Further patches of white were visible in certain places, noticeably at the chest, thighs and upper arms. Porfiry noticed that the man was circumcised.
Dr Pervoyedov looked down at the body wistfully. ‘Even so, one must adhere to the method. If we abandoned the method, where would we be? And the first thing that the method calls for is that the physician conduct a thorough visual examination of the exterior of the body.’ Dr Pervoyedov proceeded to put his words into practice, in a series of exaggerated swoops. He was like a hen pecking at grain, ducking his head sharply down towards the body on the table and back up again. All the time, he continued his explanation: ‘ Thorough , Porfiry Petrovich. That’s the watchword. I should be a poor pathologist if I confined my observations to the head and offered an opinion based only on what I saw there. What if a further trauma were subsequently revealed, upon removal of the clothing?’
Porfiry waited impatiently for Dr Pervoyedov to cease his examination. ‘Well then, can you see any other wound, liable to have resulted in the victim’s death?’
‘There are a number of abrasions, particularly around the wrists and ankles.’ Dr Pervoyedov pointed out the marks.
‘He was tethered to some stones,’ remarked Porfiry. ‘I take it these abrasions could not in themselves have proved fatal.’
‘They may even have been inflicted post-mortem. However, I have yet to examine the victim’s back.’ The doctor signalled to his diener , who hefted the body over with a savage grunt. Further white patches showed on the back, at the buttocks and kidneys.
‘And yet . . .’ There was a note of exasperation in Porfiry’s voice. ‘And yet, we do have evidence of a major trauma to the head, do we not? The only significant wound visible, as far as I can see. To your expert eye, does that wound appear sufficient to have caused this man’s death?’
Dr Pervoyedov broke off from his swooping examination of the body and turned to Porfiry. His look was one of wounded disappointment, like a child who had been deprived of a favourite toy. ‘Well, yes, it is difficult to imagine how anyone could survive such a trauma.’
‘Thank you. And the blackening around the wound? Consistent with gunshot? A larger exit wound on the other side of the head, also consistent?’
‘Porfiry Petrovich, would you prefer to conduct the examination yourself?’
‘Not at all. I am not qualified.
‘But you must have already noticed the wound on the side of the head?’ Porfiry’s voice was imploring. ‘That’s all I meant to suggest.’
‘As you know, Porfiry Petrovich, I follow the Virchow method.’ Dr Pervoyedov angled his head almost tenderly as he watched the diener work. ‘In the Virchow method, the organs are removed and examined separately. In due order. However, adipocere has a rather interesting attribute that does somewhat compromise any forensic examination, whether by the Virchow method or any other.’
‘And what is that?’
‘All tissue, including organs, skin, musculature and fat – even blood and blood vessels – all is equally capable of conversion to adipocere. Indeed, in a body that has undergone complete saponification, it is impossible to distinguish the internal organs at all. One is simply confronted by a mass of soapy material. Similarly, it becomes impossible to distinguish flesh that has been subject to trauma from flesh that has not. Damaged tissue simply melts away and becomes one with the undamaged tissue. All is . . .’
‘Soap,’ completed Virginsky, wonderingly.
‘Yes. And the more of his body that has turned to adipocere, the harder it will be to make any firm conclusions about the cause of death.’
The body now lay unclothed, the considerable bulk of the belly sprawling out on either side. Further patches of white were visible in certain places, noticeably at the chest, thighs and upper arms. Porfiry noticed that the man was circumcised.
Dr Pervoyedov looked down at the body wistfully. ‘Even so, one must adhere to the method. If we abandoned the method, where would we be? And the first thing that the method calls for is that the physician conduct a thorough visual examination of the exterior of the body.’ Dr Pervoyedov proceeded to put his words into practice, in a series of exaggerated swoops. He was like a hen pecking at grain, ducking his head sharply down towards the body on the table and back up again. All the time, he continued his explanation: ‘ Thorough , Porfiry Petrovich. That’s the watchword. I should be a poor pathologist if I confined my observations to the head and offered an opinion based only on what I saw there. What if a further trauma were subsequently revealed, upon removal of the clothing?’
Porfiry waited impatiently for Dr Pervoyedov to cease his examination. ‘Well then, can you see any other wound, liable to have resulted in the victim’s death?’
‘There are a number of abrasions, particularly around the wrists and ankles.’ Dr Pervoyedov pointed out the marks.
‘He was tethered to some stones,’ remarked Porfiry. ‘I take it these abrasions could not in themselves have proved fatal.’
‘They may even have been inflicted post-mortem. However, I have yet to examine the victim’s back.’ The doctor signalled to his diener , who hefted the body over with a savage grunt. Further white patches showed on the back, at the buttocks and kidneys.
‘And yet . . .’ There was a note of exasperation in Porfiry’s voice. ‘And yet, we do have evidence of a major trauma to the head, do we not? The only significant wound visible, as far as I can see. To your expert eye, does that wound appear sufficient to have caused this man’s death?’
Dr Pervoyedov broke off from his swooping examination of the body and turned to Porfiry. His look was one of wounded disappointment, like a child who had been deprived of a favourite toy. ‘Well, yes, it is difficult to imagine how anyone could survive such a trauma.’
‘Thank you. And the blackening around the wound? Consistent with gunshot? A larger exit wound on the other side of the head, also consistent?’
‘Porfiry Petrovich, would you prefer to conduct the examination yourself?’
‘Not at all. I am not qualified.
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