“They wouldn’t have known about the decomposition process,” Harry said. Autolysis, the first stage, lasted two or three days. The tissues broke down and carbon dioxide built as the bacteria the immune system had kept in check took over. It was a gruesomely exquisite reclamation of organic matter. But barring a significant injury, all the blood would remain in the body, and the green and black of necrosis would not yet appear. Pre-bloat, to an untrained eye, would look as though the victim were merely sleeping, cold and plump.
