A novella in 21 chapters

The Plot: Chapter 20

The Net Closes

‘Dragnet’ by Steve Fendt

Mel

DS Mel Hanrahan read over the report she was about to send to Homicide:

… Forensic analysis of the incident scene establishes that the original impact site of the branch upon becoming detached from the tree and falling to the ground, was 2 metres northwest of where the deceased lay when the fatal blunt force trauma was received. (See attachment 1.)

We can therefore rule out the possibility that the deceased was killed accidentally by the branch falling from the tree.

Our hypothesis is that the perpetrator picked up the branch (there were no drag marks) and threw it down on the prone deceased, crushing his skull. The branch weighs 125 kg so considerable upper body strength would have been required. The deceased had likely been incapacitated by a previous blow, up to 5 minutes before the fatal blow.

This previous blow is believed to have been dealt with another weapon, possibly the wooden handle of a gardening implement such as a pickaxe or mattock.

We conjecture that the perpetrator intended to cover their tracks and make the death of the deceased appear to be an accident.