An attempt had been made to torch his car but it had been only partly successful, and the condition of the body allowed the pathologist to make several conclusions. McKinley had died of cardiac arrest. There were ligature marks on his wrists and ankles and bruises to his chest and legs. ‘The … injuries were extensive,’ Dickersen said, ‘but the pathologist said his heart was dodgy—a couple of blockages. It’s possible the beating, or a number of beatings, could have triggered the heart attack. Or just stress from the … circumstances he was in. He’d been gagged. I’d be stressed, from the sound of it.’ There was an eerie quiet in the room as Dickersen went into the details. When you hear of a thing like that you can’t help mentally putting yourself in the victim’s place and feeling the chill of fear—me particularly, after my recent experience. You don’t say anything; you just wait for the feeling to pass. Gunnarson broke the silence. ‘Some firemen found the car and got straight onto the police.
