Written in 365 Parts: 13: Blood Patterns

Drick looked over the crash report for a second time trying to fix, from the very brief details that had been gathered, some of the events that led to the death.

Perp had been in the vehicle with a dead body when the bots arrived on the scene. They were moments ahead of a security team from Volstron who maintain the section on behalf of the city governors and corps. Judiciary bots had been close by, about four levels down patrolling a tunnel section which had reports of drug activity and gang crime, usual for the lower levels, but a good enough reason as to why they were first on the scene.

Vehicle was a hover car, saloon styled and suitable for up to five passengers. Not capable of full flight but used the highway magnetic repulsion coupled with emergency grav. lifters which were also used for steering. It was a pretty standard design for vehicles that would never leave the city and would never travel except from garage to garage. Some of the more luxury vehicles had full flight capabilities, but those were the reserve of citizens of less limited means.

Drick pulled up an image of the crime scene on the holo-display of the headset they wore. The judiciary bots had done a standard three hundred and sixty degree rotation before even attempting to recover anyone so the foam was untouched.

Drick noted that the vehicle looked like a fleet car. Standard grey with a serial number on one side, looked like a logo above the serial but there was too much damage for instant recognition. There was extensive damage to the body with the vehicle missing all of its plexiglass panels, the hood and at least one door as the left drivers door was absent. Drick chewed on a lip, then enlarged the view of the drivers door hinge. They couldn’t be sure but the hinge looked as it was tore outwards, so maybe the door hooked on something, Drick would have to check that.

Drick paused and realised that there was a stain on the foam near the door. It was blood, so it was the left-hand drivers seat ejector that had failed. The vehicle wasn’t new but it was well maintained which added further issue to the foam ejector failure, unless the ejector had been in the door. That might account for why the foam didn’t shroud the victim. Drick tried to get a viewpoint to see more but the initial three sixty hadn’t angled enough to zoom in closer on the foam.

Drick pulled up another view this one showing the foam and doorway from a different side, lower down as the bots examined the scene. There was a lot of blood over the foam, some of it mixed in which was intriguing. Drick moved and rotated the view to capture the failed ejection nozzle and that’s when they noticed the blood pattern on the ceiling. There was a spray of blood along the interior leading towards the door and window.

Drick had the system calculate patterns and direction of blood flow and compute a model for what might have caused it. The system gave a fast response. Wounds were consistent with arterial spray caused by massive head trauma. What was interesting was that there were two spray patterns with something that separated them. Almost as if the murder weapon was wedged into the head and neck.

Drick would know more when the autopsy arrived but it was more of a puzzle. One thing was certain they were alive when that incident happened as the blood spray was impressive. Which means that the cause of death was possibly not by beam weapon, and since Marsh wasn’t covered in blood, they were not in close proximity to that trauma when it occurred.