Doctor Who_ Bunker Soldiers - Martin Day [21]
‘A shame,’ the Doctor muttered as he stared at the man’s mutilated face and neck.
‘Any death is a pity,’ agreed Isaac. He squatted at the Doctor’s side, watching attentively.
‘I meant that the body had been moved – though you are right, of course,’ said the Doctor. ‘But it means it will be more difficult to prove Steven’s innocence.’ He looked over his shoulder to Dmitri, Yevhen and the small group of soldiers who were keeping a discreet distance.
‘The men would have wanted to move the body away from the church itself,’ said Isaac.
‘Ironic for a building surrounded by, perhaps even built on, corpses,’ noted the Doctor.
‘And for a religion that tells of a dead man returning to life.’
The Doctor glanced at Isaac. ‘I am surprised you show such an interest in a dead body. Doesn’t your Law warn of –’
‘I believe in a god of the living and the dead,’ interrupted Isaac. ‘Few around here seem to. You were lucky the governor allowed you to examine the body. I am sure Taras’s family will not approve.’
‘I am sorry this man has died,’ said the Doctor, ‘but that does not alter my obligation to the truth.’
Isaac nodded.
‘Look here.’ The Doctor indicated the man’s forehead, brown with dried blood. ‘This clearly indicates that death took place quite some time ago. It also masks the fact that the attack was centred around the neck and throat.’ He pulled at the man’s jerkin. ‘And look at these.’
Isaac bent forward. ‘They look almost like... needle points.’
There were three or four puncture marks on the man’s neck, and another just in front of his ear. Isaac sighed. ‘When the people get to hear of this –’
‘Then perhaps they should not,’ said Dmitri, who had suddenly appeared behind them. He bent over a little to see the body. ‘Better that they continue to think about the enemy without than any demons within.’
‘It is clear Steven is innocent,’ said the Doctor. ‘I’d say this poor fellow was killed as long as a day ago. None of the wounds are consistent with a human attack, even if the murderer was using a large stone or some such. The bone has not been fractured anywhere. Instead, these puncture marks seem to be the cause of death. The tearing around the throat might have become infected, but would not have killed the man so swiftly. It is a peripheral injury.’
‘So who killed Taras?’ asked Isaac.
‘As I said, nothing human,’ said the Doctor, pressing his fingers carefully against one of the pinholes in the man’s neck.
He took a tiny twin-pronged metal object from his pocket, and slowly worked at the wound. ‘Unless you are in the habit of killing people with hypodermic needles...’ He withdrew a small white sliver from the man’s neck, and held it up triumphantly.
‘Made of...’ He stared more closely, his brow furrowed. ‘Bone?’
‘You are saying that Taras was killed by an animal?’
‘If you use “animal” to encompass everything that is not human. . then, yes, an animal is what we should be concentrating on. Not Steven.’
The Doctor got to his feet.
‘In any event, look at the man’s body – it is covered in dust and dirt from the stones where Steven was working. If the soldier is trying to imply that Steven and this man had an argument, which was resolved by Steven clubbing him with a rock...’ The Doctor shook his head. ‘No, that’s simply not what happened.’
‘We should double the city guard,’ said Dmitri. ‘If a beast is trapped within the city walls, then it must be stopped.’
‘That may help,’ said the Doctor distantly.
‘Do you know what manner of creature attacks in this way?’
asked Isaac cautiously.
The Doctor shook his head.
‘What is happening to our city?’ asked Dmitri. ‘What does this attack mean?’
The Doctor began to walk away. ‘It means that things are more complicated than I thought,’ he said quietly.
Nahum sat at the table and extended his fingers towards Lesia.
She gripped his hands, and smiled. ‘I have longed to see you again,’ she said.
‘And I you.’
Lesia couldn’t help but laugh. ‘But why an alehouse?’
Nahum looked around him. ‘A place of ill repute,’ he said, grinning broadly. ‘Your father is unlikely to come