‘What do you think?’ She wanted to hear Matteo’s assessment before she voiced her own.
Matteo stared at the screen, his face becoming fixed and grave. ‘This bone’s been broken. There’s clear evidence of healing, so it happened pre-mortem.’
‘How long?’
He puffed out a breath. ‘Six weeks maybe. It’s obviously been set, a break like that wouldn’t have healed so well otherwise, so there was some medical help available. And look, there. There’s a clear notch, which looks as if it was done about the same time as the bone was broken.’
Rose felt a thump of dismay in her chest. She’d seen bones with those kinds of marks on them before, but this one was partially healed and she hadn’t been sure. The CT scanner had picked up the new growth in the bone and shown the shape much more clearly.
‘I think that’s from a sword or an axe. The blow was what would have broken her leg.’
‘Poor kid.’ Suddenly Matteo’s detached professionalism was gone. ‘She was lucky to have survived it, there are quite a few main arteries...’ He shook his head as if trying to expel the thought.
‘What’s that whitish area?’
‘Some kind of metallic deposit.’ He adjusted the scanner and the image became clearer. ‘Yeah, I think that’s rust. As if there was a small chip of metal left in the wound, and over the years it’s degraded down.’
He looked round as a long beep sounded from the intercom between the viewing gallery and the lab. Rose remembered suddenly that everything they were saying was being relayed through to the people watching.
‘Shall I answer that?’
Matteo nodded. ‘Yeah, you’d better. Sounds as if someone has something urgent to say.’
She listened carefully to Professor Paulozzi’s instructions and turned back again to Matteo. ‘Can you get a sample? With the minimum of damage to the bone?’
‘How big a sample do you need?’
‘Just a very small amount. If we can test the rust deposits, we may get a clearer idea of what did the damage.’
‘I can’t make any promises, the bone’s very fragile. But I’ll give it my best shot.’
One word from Professor Paulozzi, and Rose nodded. ‘Go for it.’
Matteo worked quietly, his concentration seeming to block everything else out. The sample was obtained and sealed in a collection vial, leaving the bone almost untouched. Rose had never seen such precise work before, but Matteo’s surgical skills, and the fact that he could see exactly where the small instruments should pierce the bone, made what had seemed impossible a reality.
He stepped back from the couch, stretching his arms. ‘Are we done with the bones?’
‘Yes. Unless you saw any other irregularities?’
He shook his head. ‘So we’re onto the mystery object now.’
She placed the clay egg onto the scanning area. Matteo started with a low-level scan, cautious at first. ‘It’s hollow. Looks quite crudely made, and there is something inside. Do you see that fault line around the edge, where the seal must have been made?’
Rose nodded. ‘Can you get a better image of what’s inside?’
‘I think so.’ Suddenly the white mass at the centre of the image resolved a little and Rose gasped.
‘It’s metal?’ Her hands began to shake.
‘Yep, that’s why we were getting a flare pattern on the first image. Is that what I think it is?’ He indicated a slim curve, with a kink at one end, slightly to one side of the main mass of jumbled shapes.
‘Yes... Yes, it’s the wire from an earring.’ Rose stared at the screen, catching her breath. ‘And do you see there? It’s a fibula...a brooch for securing clothing... That crossbow shape is typical.’
They turned to each other. There was no question in Rose’s mind, or on Matteo’s face. They had to open the clay vessel.
The intercom buzzer sounded, insistently. ‘Answer it.’ Matteo voice was husky, as if he had a lump in his throat.
Rose hurried across the room, listening carefully to Professor Paulozzi’s instructions. ‘Can you gauge the fault line and prise it open there?’