Page 66 of Guilty Mothers
‘Okay, if you can just give me the serial number?’
Stacey had seen no such number on the photos.
‘Where might I find that?’
‘It’s underneath at the back.’
Stacey went through every photo she had. ‘There’s no number.’
‘Ah, then we have a problem.’
‘Could the serial number have worn off?’ Stacey asked, wondering if there was some kind of forensic procedure Mitch could employ to make it visible.
‘Unlikely. It would take an excessive amount of wear for that to happen. Most likely it predates 2019.’
‘Go on,’ Stacey said.
‘We only started engraving and recording numbers a few years ago. All those records are computerised and searchable.’
‘And do you have records for ones you made before that year?’
‘Well, kind of. We have paper records in the basement.’
Stacey was trying to hang on to the last shred of hope. ‘But there are records?’
‘Officer, we produce thousands of flippers every year. Our records prior to 2019 would number somewhere around twenty to twenty-five thousand. Even if you had dental records, you’d still have to search to find a match.’
Stacey thanked her for her time and ended the call.
When trying to match up the glass slipper, Prince Charming had at least had a place to start.
FORTY-THREE
‘Is this your first?’ Penn asked Tiff as they headed to the morgue.
She nodded. ‘I’ve obviously seen bodies, but never a live post-mortem.’
‘You’ll be fine,’ he reassured her. ‘Keats is a legend.’
Even more so because he had made the request for the transfer of the body and had also been in contact with Esther Nixon for permission to investigate further.
Penn had taken the opportunity of Lynne being on a late shift to educate himself on what happened in a digital post-mortem. He now knew that it was a non-invasive process using CT and MRI scans to develop three-dimensional images that allowed a virtual exploration of the body.
One of the first documented studies had been conducted at the department of neuroradiology in Germany in 1980, where stillborn and live-birth infants had been studied. The technology had advanced since the eighties to include multiplanar reconstructions and high-definition 3D rendering. These days, digital autopsies tried to answer the same investigative questions without actual dissection.
Taking everything into account, it was a shift he supported.
‘Hey, Jimmy,’ Penn greeted Keats’s assistant as he passed through the first set of doors.
Jimmy nodded towards the counter and two piles of protective equipment. They worked silently to put the gear on until Jimmy indicated that they were suitable for entry.
‘Ahh, Penn,’ Keats greeted them, turning towards the door. ‘What a strange choice you’ve made for a first date.’
‘I’m Tiff. I’m?—’
‘He knows,’ Penn said. ‘He’s just messing. No one gets in here without Keats knowing who they are.’
‘Oh, okay.’