Free Web NovelChapter 164: Chapter 163 Where did the blood sample go?_1
Mr. Zhao raised his camera, taking photo after photo with the constant click of the shutter. By now, no explanation was necessary; everyone had guessed it was the cake.
"It hasn’t digested?"
Zhou Ning shook his head, turning to Zhu Xingxing, who had asked the question.
"Cream cakes generally take 4-6 hours to fully digest. Just now, there was black material in the esophagus, which I think was a portion of the stomach contents being squeezed out during stomach contractions. The amount of cake the victim ate that night must have been far more than this."
Liu Yongxin nodded continually on the side.
"Let’s take samples—stomach contents, esophageal residues, blood from the heart. Given this state of digestion, the victim died about an hour after eating."
Zhou Ning nodded, his face growing more serious.
"It seems Dong Chengwen is lying. He didn’t go out at eleven to buy wontons. They ate the cake around ten, and one wouldn’t be hungry an hour later."
Everyone naturally agreed with this deduction. How could one get hungry at eleven after eating an eight-inch cake at ten?
This excuse was really clumsy, but why did Dong Chengwen say this?
What was he trying to hide?
Liu Yongxin waved his hand, and Sun Gaotie had already taken the various samples and gone straight to submit them for inspection.
With Dong Xiaomi’s autopsy completed on Zhou Ning’s side, he stepped aside and jerked his chin towards Zhu Xingxing.
"You try suturing. With fire case victims, a simple continuous stitch won’t do. You need to find the softer tissues and perform single-needle suturing."
Zhu Xingxing nodded firmly, excited by the trust placed in him. He rubbed his gloves together and began to look for the needle holder and suturing needles, meticulously stitching the body back together.
Mr. Zhao turned off the recording equipment and finally let out a sigh of relief.
"It’s hard to see such a young deceased. I’ll go find someone to transport the body back, then bring Fang Hua’s body."
With that, he turned to arrange the transport. Soon after, the cart brought over Fang Hua’s body, and Dong Xiaomi’s body was taken away. From external appearances, Fang Hua’s burn marks seemed more severe.
Zhou Ning changed his gloves and dialed He Shancun’s number.
"What’s up with you this time?"
"I know you’re busy, so I’ll just ask you something. Fang Hua’s blood samples for emergency treatment and blood collection—are they preserved, or have they been handed over? I remember in such cases, you guys always keep part of the blood samples."
"Let me ask about it."
He Shancun asked the head nurse, then told Zhou Ning:
"When blood was drawn, Jingkou Branch Bureau took a sample. As for where it went, we don’t know. What exactly do you want to know?"
"A cake box was found at the deceased’s home, and after analyzing the residues on it, it was discovered they contained the components of diazepam injection. So, I wanted to ask if blood samples were retained from the deceased because someone who wasn’t asleep wouldn’t just fail to escape a fire; they would be burned lying obediently in bed."
He Shancun was stunned by the analysis and hesitated, followed by the sound of metal clips shuffling through papers on the other end of the line.
"Hold on for a moment. Doctor Chen treated Fang Hua that night, and I remember he wrote something about this in the medical records. Let me check the records and get back to you."
After hanging up, it seemed that Doctor Chen had found something, but it was unclear if there were any relevant records.
Zhou Ning glanced at the body on the autopsy table. Fang Hua’s cause of death was issued by the hospital: massive skin burns leading to failure of various organs and hence death.
Zhou Ning took a deep breath and began the autopsy on Fang Hua’s body. This time, he worked very quickly. The deceased’s dura mater was contracted, with subdural heat hematomas, the respiratory tract mucous membranes were swollen, parts of the respiratory tract were obstructed, and ash was visible in the stomach and duodenum.
Samples of the deceased’s nails, hair, vaginal contents, and slices of various organs were all sent for testing.
After Zhou Ning finished the concluding speech, Zhu Xingxing also completed the suturing, skillful and efficient, and to perform such work on fire case victims was indeed commendable.
With Mr. Zhao having turned off the recording equipment, Zhou Ning gave Zhu Xingxing a thumbs up.
"You did very well. From now on, during autopsies, you can assist me."
Zhu Xingxing was extremely excited, struggling to control his facial expression as his small fangs appeared and disappeared. Mr. Zhao cleared his throat twice.
"It’s noon already. Shall we go to the cafeteria or take out?"
Sun Gaotie retched, casting a resentful glance at Mr. Zhao.
"Mr. Li, you’ve gone too far. I’ve barely recovered a bit. Can we not think about food in the autopsy room?"
Mr. Zhao waved his hand dismissively.
"Quit complaining. You’ll get used to it after a few times. Since nobody else has any objections, I’ll assign you and Zhu Xingxing to go fetch food from the canteen. We need the autopsy report out as soon as possible. I’ll head to the inspection department.
"Mr. Xu is rather impatient. If he finds out the autopsy is over, he’ll bound over here immediately, demanding the test results, including the autopsy results. What are you winking at me for? Trying to dodge work?" freewebnσvel.cѳm
Sun Gaotie stared at Mr. Zhao, continuously winking at him.
But Mr. Zhao, immersed in his own sentiments, didn’t notice Sun Gaotie’s gestures. By the time he finished speaking, he realized that Zhou Ning and the others had instinctively stepped back.
"What? What’s with that look? Is there something on me?"
A slap sounded, interrupting Mr. Zhao’s words.
"Ouch, who’s looking for S... Mr. Xu... hehe, you arrived just in time!"
Xu Dayuan gave Mr. Zhao a stern look, then glanced at the already cleaned autopsy table.
"You little brat deserve a beating, showing no respect for your elders. Just wait until I report this misbehavior. Zhou Xiaozhou, is the autopsy finished? Are the test results out yet?"
At that, both Sun Gaotie and Zhu Xingxing couldn’t help but lower their heads and chuckle, admitting Mr. Zhao’s imitation was quite accurate.
Liu Yongxin gave Xu Dayuan a disdainful look. Now that he was no longer in Qidong, Liu Yongxin felt more confident. Previously, he hadn’t minded Xu Dayuan urging him, but now he wouldn’t stand for Xu Dayuan rushing his apprentice.
With his chin up, he said to Xu Dayuan:
"Don’t just come in demanding things; I know you’re anxious. But if you want a horse to run, you have to let it graze, right? First, let’s go upstairs. Mr. Sun and Zhu are fetching food from the canteen. We’ll eat in the lab and go over the details of the autopsy while we’re at it. Mr. Zhao, you go to the lab and push for the results."
Xu Dayuan rubbed his nose, revealing a smiling face.
"Okay!"
With that, the group headed upstairs. Zhou Ning quickly organized the autopsy report and then went to the lab. Mr. Zhao chased after, surprisingly, he really had gotten hold of a few reports.
"That was quick?"
Mr. Zhao grinned, showing his teeth.
"Mrs. Cui personally did the toxicology test. Plus, we had a direction, which made the process naturally faster, didn’t it?"
Zhou Ning, holding the reports, quickly entered the lab and flipped to the last page. Zhou Ning’s movements stiffened for a moment, which Xu Dayuan noticed and hurriedly came over.
"Hurry up and talk. What’s the situation? Don’t keep me in suspense, okay?"
Zhou Ning slightly lifted his head and handed the reports to Liu Yongxin before speaking:
"Fang Hua’s fingernail scrapings contained remnants of cake, and within these remnants, traces of diazepam were found, albeit in extremely minute quantities. Her stomach was empty, which is consistent with having been sustained on liquids for several days due to emergency treatment, hence undetectable.
"As for the cake in Dong Xiaomi’s stomach, diazepam was detected, and the concentration of diazepam in the heart blood was exceedingly high, at 70μg/ml.
"Even in adults, this dosage could induce toxicosleepy, with milder cases resulting in coma and severe cases leading to sudden cardiac arrest. Thus, Dong Xiaomi would have died of drug poisoning even if not for asphyxiation caused by the fire."
Xu Dayuan’s brow furrowed, but before he could speak, Zhou Ning’s phone rang. It was He Shancun calling, and Zhou Ning quickly answered.
"I’ve found Fang Hua’s medical records, which document the resuscitation process. Upon arrival, she showed signs including bradycardia, delirium, tremors, and vomiting. The treatment was initially focused on these symptoms, and although the delirium and tremors quickly subsided, the bradycardia wasn’t corrected until 24 hours later.
"If we go by what you said, and Fang Hua took a large dose of diazepam before being burned, then these symptoms make sense. Fortunately, she began vomiting in the ambulance, expelling most of the gastric content, or she might not have made it to the hospital.
"Furthermore, about the blood sample you mentioned, I found the person who signed for the sample. His name is Zhang Pengfei, a forensic doctor from the Jingkou Branch Bureau. You don’t need his phone number, do you?"
Zhou Ning glanced at Xu Dayuan, who was shaking his head and pulling out his phone, before replying:
"No need, thanks!"
After hanging up, Xu Dayuan had already dialed a number on his phone. The ringing lasted for a full minute without an answer. Determined, he dialed the number again, and this time it was answered immediately.
"Captain Xu, we’ve just checked with the Central Hospital. When the victim Fang Hua was being resuscitated, one of your bureau’s forensic doctors, Zhang Pengfei, took a sample of the victim’s blood. I’ve asked the city’s inspection department, and there’s no record of your submission. I want to know where the blood sample went?"
