Chapter 9
Anatomy
Jiangcheng City Funeral Home.
At this moment, it was already past midnight, and two groups of people were still arguing incessantly in the lobby. As soon as Song Yuhang stepped inside, she heard a mournful female voice screaming and cursing loudly, mixed with the sound of shoes scraping the floor and clothes being torn.
Her heart tightened, afraid that Lin Yan might have clashed with the family members due to the autopsy of the body. She hurriedly ran in.
To her surprise, Lin Yan was standing intact against the wall, with her hands covering her ears.
Fang Xin and Duan Cheng were trying to mediate, and the two groups of women who had been tearing at each other finally stopped.
One of them, who was slightly older, said, I am the childs grandmother, so I should be the one taking care of the child. Dont you agree, young lady?!
Fang Xin: Huh?
What nonsense are you talking about! My daughters body is still cold in there. Who knows how she died? Could it be your familys doing! Yaya is my own granddaughter, and she must come with me!
What do you mean our doing? Since she married into our family, have we ever treated her poorly, given her less to eat or wear? When she said she didnt want to live with the elderly, we immediately moved out. When she said she didnt want a second child, we respected her choice! Have some conscience when you speak! Who knows what trouble your daughter got into outside, maybe she provoked some scoundrel, and thats what brought disaster upon her. Dont blame us for it!
Dont be deceived by this old ladys age; her fighting spirit is anything but weak as she points at the other person and scolds.
Moreover, there were many aunts and uncles behind them, all rushing forward to engage in a war of words and a battle of wits. It was a lively scene, with hair pulling and physical conflicts breaking out among them. The situation escalated further.
Even Duan Chengs face was scratched with two marks, forcing him to withdraw from the fight.
Amidst the center of the storm, a man sat alone on a bench, his eyes reddened, head drooping in silence.
In his arms, he held a little girl, about three or four years old, who looked around with innocent and bewildered eyes at everything happening.
A sneer formed at the corner of Lin Yans lips as he watched the spectacle, showing no intention of intervening or trying to mediate.
The woman started screaming again, rushing up to tear at the man who was sitting in a daze on the chair.
Seeing her son being attacked, the mans mother became even more furious. She joined in, grabbing and pulling at the womans legs and hair, while hurling all kinds of filthy words.
Dont you dare involve our family! Youre all cursed! My father-in-law died early, and I never wanted this marriage in the first place! Who let my son be so blind to like her! She couldnt even give birth to a boy after so many years of marriage, like a hen that doesnt lay eggs! Its good that shes dead, a clean death!
The woman continued with a series of vulgar language mixed with physical punches and kicks.
Lin Yan watched and even chuckled.
Song Yuhang shook her head, preparing to walk over and intervene.
The man scraped himself off the chair, stood up, and clenched his fist, roaring, Stop all this noise!!!
For a moment, there was silence in the scene. But once everyone regained their senses, the wailing of the deceaseds family members became even more desperate, and they pounced on him, tearing and hitting him. How dare you shout at me?! How dare you! Pay for my daughters life! Pay for it!
Amid the tussle, the little girl who had been sitting on the bench fell to the ground. Nobody paid attention to her, and she opened her mouth, looking blankly as her grandmother pushed her grandfather, and her grandfather slapped her father.
Unable to endure any longer, she burst into loud crying.
Daddy, Daddy, I want Mommy, I want to go home She stumbled and tried to reach for her fathers leg.
But the man, unknowingly pushed by someone, staggered, and was about to step on the little girls hand. Song Yuhang quickly picked her up.
If you want to keep arguing, go argue with me at the police station! Each one of you will face a public security detention, and no one can escape!
The mother of the deceased wanted to say something more but glanced at the two stripes on Song Yuhangs uniform shoulder and saw the child crying in her arms. In the end, she held back her words.
Only then did tears start to silently flow down her cheeks.
Next, they followed the procedures.
The family members of the deceased went in one by one to see the deceased for the last time. When they came out, the deceaseds mother almost collapsed on the ground, and several police officers had to help her out.
Considering the elderly family members physical condition and after roughly understanding the situation, Song Yuhang arranged for them to be sent back home, leaving only the deceaseds husband to give a statement at the police station.
According to Article 131 of the Criminal Procedure Law, we have decided to conduct a judicial autopsy of your wifes body. Please sign here.
A Notice of Body Autopsy was placed on the desk and pushed slowly towards him.
Lin Yan sat across from her, straightening her back as she observed the man, who was of short stature and rather reticent.
You want to find out the truth, dont you? You dont want your wifes death to remain a mystery, do you? Hurry up and sign it. The sooner we perform the autopsy, the closer we get to the truth.
With the passage of time, certain characteristics on the body will gradually disappear, which is why she was eager to perform the autopsy.
The mans child, unable to stop crying, followed her father to the police station. Song Yuhang had just managed to put the child to sleep when she heard this statement upon entering the neighboring duty room. She responded with a disapproving look.
Lin Yan opened her mouth but remained silent, as if asking: Isnt what I said right?
Song Yuhang: You can be a bit more subtle.
Duan Cheng nudged Zheng Chengrui, Hey, what are they saying?
The IT guy lifted his head from the computer, Who? Whos talking?
Duan Cheng:
No one was talking; they were communicating through eye contact.
Song Yuhang cleared her throat gently, Well, the thing is, during the autopsy process, well be recording everything, as required. And, according to the regulations, you are allowed to be present
What?
Lin Yan shot a sharp glare, as she had no intention of allowing unrelated people to witness her autopsy process.
Upon hearing this, the mans lips trembled, his voice hoarse, and his face full of despair, No I cant
After managing to utter those two words, his eyes welled up with tears again, Comrade, please, I beg you.
He pulled the paper towards him, uncapped the pen, and wrote his name with tears streaming down his face.
Lin Yan stretched lazily and stood up, taking the paper to change her clothes in preparation for the autopsy.
The forensic autopsy room was well-lit, and the ventilation fan started working.
Dressed in a white protective suit, Lin Yan was fully armed from head to toe. Expressionless, she took a surgical knife from the tray.
Duan Cheng didnt get many opportunities to be on the autopsy table, and he was eager to try. He also picked up a surgical knife in his hand, saying, Let me assist you. Leave the skin cutting and bone incisions to me.
What are you doing? Just as he was about to make the incision, Lin Yan grabbed his hand, her tone chilly.
My autopsy table is not for others to interfere. Go and handle the video recording equipment.
Oh Duan Cheng reluctantly put down the surgical knife and went to the side, silently picking up the camera.
Lin
He was about to say something but saw her holding the surgical knife vertically against her chest, bowing her head slightly as if observing a moment of silence.
Deceased, Ding Xue, autopsy commencing on May 17, 2008, at 12:45 AM for the first time.
It was the first time he saw something resembling devoutness on Lin Yans face.
Unlike performing surgery as a doctor, the autopsy table could be quite gruesome and explicit.
With one clean incision from top to bottom on the chest and abdomen, Lin Yans hand was steady. After wiping away the blood that oozed out with a piece of gauze, she casually picked up curved tissue scissors from the tray and skillfully separated the muscles. She made precise cuts along the ribs, swift and precise.
The other assisting forensic examiners looked at her with a real sense of seriousness in their eyes.
Bone cutter.
Without emptying her hand, she requested the instrument.
One of the forensic examiners quickly handed it to her.
When she cut through the deceaseds ribs, she exerted some force, and Lin Yan slightly tiptoed. Only a few crisp sounds of crack were heard.
She placed the blood-stained instrument on a sterile cloth.
Come, help me with the bone extraction.
Rib by rib, they were removed from the chest cavity and placed on a weighing scale.
The camera flashed continuously as Duan Cheng took photographs. Lin Yan was providing the data, and a police officer responsible for recording was constantly writing on a whiteboard.
The opened chest cavity revealed two visibly inflated lungs. Lin Yan gently pressed on them with her fingertips, feeling the depression. Carefully, she used another pair of straight tissue scissors to peel them away.
The swollen lungs were eventually successfully removed, and their weight was approximately twice that of normal lungs.
In the airtight environment, even with the air conditioning set to a low temperature, wearing the heavy protective suit of several tens of pounds caused them to be drenched in foul-smelling sweat. Combined with the intense stench of the corpse, it became even more overpowering when all the organs were removed.
It smelled worse than rotten eggs, spoiled meat, stinky tofu, and a cesspool combined.
Not only was it nauseating, but it also irritated their eyes.
When the pungent odor rushed into their eyes, it caused a sharp pain, and Duan Cheng couldnt help but use the clean part of his shoulder to rub and wipe his eyes, which turned bright red.
Furthermore, taking close-up photos near the corpse meant visual and sensory stimulation, and Duan Cheng couldnt hold it back and retched.
Lin Yan didnt even lift her head and sliced through the lung tissue with a dirty scalpel. Get out and vomit. Dont contaminate the environment.
As she cut open the lung tissue, a large amount of foamy liquid in a reddish color oozed out. Duan Cheng couldnt bear it any longer and threw the equipment away, running out to vomit.
Lin Yan remained composed as she stated the autopsy result, Pulmonary edema.
She watched as the police officer responsible for recording wrote it down on the whiteboard. But when her gaze returned to the deceaseds face, her eyebrows furrowed slightly.
Pulmonary edema was a vital clue, in other words, it indicated that the person had drowned while still alive, rather than being disposed of in water after death.
Could it really be true, as that police officer said, that she committed suicide by putting a plastic bag over her head?
She shook her head slightly, dismissing the thought.
Meanwhile, Song Yuhang had also completed about half of the record.
The mans name was Sun Xiangming, 32 years old, an employee at a local bank. He had been married to the deceased, Ding Xue, for seven years, and they had a daughter together.
The deceased was 30 years old and worked as a regular teacher at Jiangcheng First High School. Sun Xiangming took out a photo from his phone, tears in his eyes, and handed it to her.
This is my wife. The woman in the photo had an ordinary appearance, wearing a simple and elegant checkered sweater. She appeared to be a gentle and intellectual woman.
Weve been married for almost ten years, and we rarely argued. Ive never heard her raise her voice at anyone, and we have no grudges with relatives or friends. I cant understand who would harm her
Song Yuhang avoided that topic and asked, Tell me about the day your wife went missing.
Sun Xiangming thought for a moment, recalling the events of that day.
There was nothing unusual. In the morning, she made breakfast, and after I finished eating, I took our daughter, Yaya, to kindergarten. She was getting ready to go to work too.
Who usually takes care of the child?
Its me, Ive always been the one. She was teaching the graduating class of high school, so she was quite busy.
Song Yuhang gestured to the police officer who was listening to take note of this information.
Do you remember what you had for breakfast?
Sun Xiangming furrowed his brows and thought for a moment. It seems like it was millet porridge, buns, and steamed buns
When did you realize she was missing?
At night, at night. When it came to his wifes disappearance, he clearly became somewhat agitated.
Though Song Yuhangs gaze seemed gentle and calm, he closely observed every tiny facial expression and subtle movement.
Tell me the specific details.
After dinner in the evening, I was washing dishes, and she said she wanted to go out.
Song Yuhang interrupted him, Around what time?
I dont remember, probably around eight or nine.
Why did she go out so late?
She said there was a little incident at the school, a few kids got into a fight, and she went over to handle it.
And then she never came back?
Yes, Sun Xiangming licked his lips, and at this point, he was visibly choked up. He lowered his head slightly, and a criminal investigator beside him handed him a tissue.
I waited until after ten oclock, and she still hadnt returned, so I called her.
Did she answer the call?
No.
Song Yuhang raised an eyebrow slightly.
After I hung up, she sent me a text message, asking me not to worry and to go ahead and put Yaya to bed.
Let us see the message.
Sun Xiangming quickly took out his phone and showed them the message from his message history.
Xiangming, I might be a little late coming back. You go to bed first, dont wait for me.
Just an ordinary message, but it might have been the last words left by this female teacher in the world.
Sorry, according to the regulations, we need to temporarily keep your phone for a detailed examination.
The man forced a bitter smile, the consecutive blows leaving him looking haggard and worn out. I understand. Now Im also considered a suspect, right?
Song Yuhang didnt respond; indeed, that was the case. The police wouldnt overlook anyone with the potential to be involved in the crime, especially close relatives who were often the primary investigative targets.
Then what happened next? You didnt make any more calls to inquire?
At this point, pain showed on the mans face. No it was it was my fault If I had called her again or gone out to look for her, maybe maybe this wouldnt have happened.
What were you doing at that time?
Sun Xiangming grabbed his hair, his face filled with shame and regret. I I had worked a long day at the bank, I was exhausted, and then I had to take care of my daughter. My boss assigned me some extra work to do at home. I was working overtime
The investigator stopped him from being too hard on himself. It has come to this point, mourn and accept the changes. We will definitely catch the murderer.
After calming down for a moment, Sun Xiangming continued, It wasnt until the next morning when the school called to inform that she hadnt shown up for work, I realized something might be wrong. I immediately reported to the police
Later, she was declared a missing person by the police, and they collected DNA samples from close relatives. Three days later, her body was found in Lianchi Park.
Shes gone, leaving me and our child behind. How am I supposed to go on The man covered his face with his hands, struggling to hold back his tears in front of the police.
Song Yuhang pulled out a tissue and handed it to him. Please accept my condolences.
Thank you. The man took the tissue and wiped his tears. I beg you to catch the culprit and bring justice for my wife.
Song Yuhang nodded and took out an evidence bag from his pocket. Take a look at this. Is it your wifes?
Inside the bag was the ring she had dug out from the mud.
As soon as the man saw the ring, his eyes lit up instantly, Yes its my wifes its our wedding ring she never took it off.
He instinctively reached out to touch it, but Song Yuhang pulled it back, Im sorry, I cant return it to you yet. On the day the case is closed, all your wifes belongings will be returned to you.
She emphasized the words belongings and returned, but the man didnt show any special emotional response. His gaze seemed vacant and hollow as he nodded in cooperation with the polices questioning.
Having encountered many people who lost their loved ones overnight, she found Sun Xiangmings behavior quite normal.
At least, thats how it seemed for now.
Just as dawn was breaking, the criminal investigation officers, who had stayed up all night watching surveillance footage, could no longer hold on and slumped on their desks for a short rest.
Snoring filled the office.
Song Yuhang opened a box of instant noodles, sat at her desk facing the whiteboard, where she had just organized the clues.
Centered around the deceased Ding Xue, several arrows radiated outwards.
Was it a crime of passion, a murder for money, or a revenge killing?
Crime of passion, so far, Sun Xiangming appears to be normal, but suspicion cannot be ruled out, further investigation is needed.
Murder for money, currently the most likely possibility. This type of perpetrator is likely to sell the stolen items in the second-hand market or flea markets. Further investigation is required.
Revenge killing, most premeditated revenge killers tend to be more brutal, but Ding Xues case is an exception. There were no signs of external violence, and no evidence of sexual assault.
This possibility is still uncertain, and it requires further interviews with the deceaseds acquaintances.
By the way, autopsy results may provide new clues, so Ill check with Lin Yan.
Song Yuhang quickly finished the instant noodles and decided to go to the technical investigation department.
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