It had been an anonymous tip-off: they hadn't wanted to give their name – even when reporting an apparently natural death. Quite how this information had been acquired would have to remain unknown for now, although these and many other curious details would later feature strongly in the report to the coroner.
Battering down the rear door of the semi-detached Manchester house was a simple enough task. It had not been bolted and so the mortise lock took a mere heavy shove. Once inside, there could be no doubt. It was the smell; terribly sickly, rank, overpowering. It remained on their attending officer's clothes until they went home and gave them a thoroughly good wash. But in addition, there had also been flies – thousands of them. What seemed like many hundreds were still buzzing angrily within each room.
He was found lying face-up on the floor of the rear bedroom: a probable heart attack, although it would of course be a little while before a proper determination by forensics. The gaseous swelling and putrefaction of the body had begun. Estimation of death was put at about ten days. The facial grimace, greasy swellings of the eyes and lips, and puffed fingers made for grim viewing indeed. From a utility bill it was determined that the name corresponded with that given by control; Mr Jezi Brewer. This seemed logical enough, there being no apparent foul play, but final identification of the dentures through dental records would give a final confirmation.
But although the finding of a body, any body, is of paramount interest in determining the circumstances surrounding the death, close observations made at the scene are also essential in order that an accurate picture of the last movements can be built up. In matters of crime these can be crucial factors, for an incorrect reading of a scene can result in miscarriages of justice and of question marks raised over the careers of the officers attending. Doing things 'by the book', therefore, is not just a cliché. But in this particular situation, and from the start, the scene appeared to make no sense. Once pictures and a few nearby telltale samples had been taken, and the body had been removed, the detectives detected – as best they could. For there was little to go on. The food in the fridge indicated Mr Brewer had been a frugal eater, apparently surviving on little more than cheap crackers, chicken meat and milk. There were no vegetables in the drawer, nor fruit in the bowl. Tests would reveal that the man was malnourished and suffering from vitamin deficiencies, particularly that of vitamin C. It was later deduced that the poor diet was an important aspect in determining the dead man's mental state.
Before the front door a small pile of post and assorted bumph had been scattered. The other rooms of the house – living room, downstairs bedroom, dining room, upstairs dormer bedrooms and bathroom – were in order, if a little messy, and had probably last been decorated in flowery Laura Ashley print more than twenty years previous, but there was nothing particularly untoward about this. Apart from the fact that Mr Brewer was a recent immigrant from Haiti. This did not seem to fit with the decor, of him being in a house of this kind or his strange diet.
What had been somewhat startling, that is, as soon as Mr Brewer's body had been discovered, was his presumed activity at the time of death. For on the carpet beside him lay a large carved calabash rattle, on the other side lay a metre-long section of 2X4 that had apparently broken in two, and before him in the otherwise empty room stood a large sideboard that appeared to be an altar complete with carved figurines, religious statuary, mirrors and assorted relics, although this 'altar' had been spectacularly vandalised, presumably with the 2X4 wielded by Jezi Brewer in the moments before his death. The remnants of these gods lay scattered about the room. In addition, Mr Brewer was found wearing what was described as a very colourful 'ethnic' suit that appeared to be religious in nature.
Because of the state of this room, the status of the deceased and the manner of his death being reported, the two attending senior officers on duty that day, Detectives Vince Rite and James Stiss, had been selected by the Chief Super to try to clear up what in hell's name had been going on. They stood, fists on hips, trying to take it all in.
Comments