Free Web NovelChapter 404: Chapter 383 Second Autopsy_1
November 5, 2012, 19:22
The Iveco stopped in front of the Dayao City Public Security Bureau, and a chubby old man with two police officers rushed to the vehicle as soon as it halted at the edge of the steps.
Liu Yongxin got off first, greeting the chubby old man with handshakes and pats on the back, both of them appearing very warm to each other.
"I didn’t expect you to come tonight; I thought at the earliest you would arrive tomorrow!"
"Cut the crap, if it weren’t for seeing how desperate you were, we wouldn’t have bothered. We almost got played by the Provincial Department."
Doctor Cao kept nodding, looking extremely touched.
"I spoke to Mr. Huang, and he was as worked up as you, even worrying that you wouldn’t be able to make it because of all this. Thankfully you did, and now I’ve got some confidence. Look, I’m so happy I’m almost silly, let me hurry up and introduce you. This is Huang Youdao from our city bureau, and Wu Chunming, Mr. Wu, the team leader."
The two following behind quickly stepped forward to shake hands, and they, not forgetting the rest of the team, engaged in pleasantries with Liu Yongxin and Zhou Ning, their eager demeanor showing how serious they were about this matter; the prior red tape with the transfer orders seemed to have nothing to do with them.
Liu Yongxin felt honored and didn’t say much else, following the three men into the office building.
Cao Pingzhang, the forensic doctor, asked Liu Yongxin three times on the way to the office.
"I’m asking you, old classmate, did you really have dinner? Although we don’t have anything fancy here, the cafeteria did prepare plenty of food."
Liu Yongxin waved his hand dismissively.
"It’s been years, how are you still nagging like that? I’ve said we had dinner on the way out of Qindao and rushed here; just be at ease, stop worrying about trivial stuff. Let’s take a look at the progress of the case, then continue everything tomorrow. Otherwise, I won’t feel at ease, you know?"
Cao Pingzhang exhaled deeply, finally letting go of his concern, and enthusiastically led them directly to an office next to the forensic room, which was a small conference room.
Everyone settled down, and Huang Youdao spoke directly:
"I’m a straightforward man, not one for excessive pleasantries. I can’t tell you how happy I am to have you here. Dayao City can’t compare to Qindao in terms of facilities and capabilities. In the past, whenever we had a challenging case or needed an examination, we’d have to request support from the province.
But you’re well aware of the situation this time, so I won’t beat around the bush. It’s getting late; I’ll quickly give you an overview of the case so you can rest early."
Zhou Ning found this blunt manner quite comfortable; after all, he was here to assist Cao Pingzhang with the autopsy to identify the deceased.
Huang Youdao stood up and divided several photos into two sets, passing them around for Zhou Ning and the others to inspect, then he began to explain:
"The 10.27 dismemberment case: we found ten body parts separated and placed in seven red plastic bags, discarded in the city moat. The bags were found here, near the southeast corner of the municipal government’s plaza.
They were fished out early in the morning, not even eight o’clock yet, with many people out for morning exercises and heading to work. By the time we got there, the news had leaked, causing panic in Dayao. The municipal leaders gave us a firm directive to solve the case within half a month.
We transported the body parts back; while Dr. Cao performed the autopsy, we started investigating the missing persons in the area. After days of searching with no progress, we found no missing female pregnant women in the surrounding villages or urban areas. As for the autopsy, not much information was available either. Let Dr. Cao talk about the details."
Cao Pingzhang nodded, put on his reading glasses, and hurriedly picked up his notebook to start explaining:
"The conditions of the body parts were quite detailed in the video; those are all our findings. So far, we have recovered ten parts without the head and limbs, probably to prevent identification of the victim.
What’s shocking is the lower abdomen below the victim’s ribs, including all the internal organs that were excised in one piece. We found an enlarged uterus with a fetus inside. Based on a 30 cm head circumference, the fetus was estimated to be 30-34 weeks, which is around eight or nine months pregnant.
I’ve hit a dead end here, with no skull, fingerprints, or feet. Without that, I can’t even discern the victim’s identity. I wonder if the software introduced last time could provide a new angle to analyze and identify the victim?"
Zhou Ning carefully examined the various photographs, noting that the wrists and ankles of the victim were severed at the joints with clean cuts, showing no jagged marks as one would expect from using a saw. The victim’s neck was the same, with clean cuts, but there was an irregular mark on the surface of the neck vertebrae not caused by cutting.
Zhou Ning held up a photo, scrutinizing the irregular area—the surface was rough, located right on the edge of a vertebral ring, resembling damage caused by breaking it open, and it seemed there were fragments on the surface.
The strength required to sever the hands and feet at the joints was within the capability of an average person, but decapitating the head with one slice would be difficult.
With the type of cut observed, Zhou Ning thought of the Hai’an headless murder case. The three victims in that case were decapitated, and indeed the vertebrae showed similar marks, as though an ax had been mostly driven into the neck and then the head was forcibly twisted to break the vertebrae.
This discovery gave Zhou Ning pause. In the Hai’an headless murder case, Ai Qingsong was a long-term cancer patient, and the other two were women, so their strength was lacking, hence the more pronounced marks.
By this analysis, the perpetrator of the 10.27 case must have been stronger than Ai Qingsong.
Liu Yongxin nudged Zhou Ning, who looked up at Cao Pingzhang.
"Dr. Cao, may I ask, when the body parts were discovered, were they already in a highly decomposed state? Are you keeping the body parts frozen at this moment, or have you preserved only the skeletal remains?"
"After examining the exterior of the body and taking samples from various parts, we froze the body parts. Given the advanced decomposition, the parts could only withstand one thawing. I thought it best to wait for... you to examine them before extracting the skeleton."
Zhou Ning breathed a sigh of relief, just as Dr. Cao handed over all the test reports.
"I’ve collected samples from the victim’s wounds, body surface, the vaginal area, the handles of several bags, as well as samples from inside and outside the bags for analysis. No DNA was found other than that of the victim and her child. Thirteen fingerprints were found on the bags, all belonging to sanitation workers at the scene."
Zhou Ning nodded and gave Cao Pingzhang a reassuring smile.
He understood Cao Pingzhang’s feelings very well. The pressure on Dayao City’s Criminal Police Brigade was tremendous. The city leaders had only given them fifteen days, and today was already the ninth day. The provincial department couldn’t find any assistance, so they had started to use personal relationships to work the case.
If it had been Zhou Ning from two years ago, he probably would have been in a state of confusion, too.
"Doctor Cao, don’t worry. Thawing the body also takes time. Let’s rest for a bit and notify them to start the autopsy at eight o’clock tomorrow morning. Tell them to thaw it according to this schedule and try to keep the body blocks dry to facilitate observation," Zhou Ning said.
Cao Pingzhang nodded vigorously.
"Alright, I’ll go notify them in a bit."
After exchanging pleasantries with Mr. Wu and the others, the group went directly to the hotel. After washing up, Liu Yongxin came to Zhou Ning’s room with a worried expression.
"Apprentice, I regret letting you get involved in this case. He didn’t mention there was a deadline before. There are only six days left, and we haven’t even identified the victim’s identity. There’s not a single clue in this case!"
Zhou Ning poured a glass of water for Liu Yongxin and sat beside him, while Mr. Zhao, wiping his hair, also sat on the bed and leaned in.
"Mr. Liu is thinking of beating a retreat now, but I think even if we have to force a duck onto a perch, we need to see it through. Doctor Cao and the others, their lips are blistered from all the hot air, they seem really anxious. I think the provincial department isn’t sending anyone because the case isn’t easy to crack," Mr. Zhao said.
Zhou Ning nodded.
"Actually, it might not be that difficult."
Liu Yongxin and Mr. Zhao looked at each other, and both paused what they were doing to stare directly at Zhou Ning.
"What do you mean? You have a lead?"
Zhou Ning hummed in affirmation but then shook his head. Mr. Zhao got anxious and slapped Zhou Ning’s thigh.
"What are you humming about? Tell us, what direction is it?"
Zhou Ning gave him a glance and stood up.
"You’ll find out during tomorrow’s autopsy. Talking too much now is pointless."
Seeing that Mr. Zhao was about to ask more, he was stopped by Liu Yongxin this time, who then looked at Zhou Ning and smiled.
"I won’t ask anymore. With my apprentice’s word, I can at least get a good night’s sleep. Like he said, everything else can wait until tomorrow."
...
The next day.
Early in the morning, after finishing their breakfast, everyone arrived at the autopsy room. The hardware conditions of this autopsy room were average; it wasn’t for highly decomposed bodies and lacked an odor-eliminating circulating air protection system. Mr. Zhao surveyed the area and simply turned off the room’s air conditioning.
Trainee Zou Jialong approached Mr. Zhao. He had been with Zhou Ning’s team for two months and felt closest to Mr. Zhao. After all, Mr. Zhao was the most approachable and not standoffish, so Zou would dare to speak to Mr. Zhao about things he was afraid to ask Zhou Ning.
"Mr. Zhao, why did you turn off the air conditioning? Won’t it be very cold during the autopsy?"
Mr. Zhao waved his hand dismissively.
"Quit your yapping. Even if a highly decomposed body has been frozen, the smell is still particularly strong. Hurry up and take all the protective measures. Didn’t Doctor Zhu train you on how to wear the gear, how many layers of gloves, and all that? Do I need to say more?"
All three nodded their understanding, and Mr. Wang, who was attending an autopsy for the first time, looked both excited and a bit nervous.
"Mr. Zhao, should we also gear up?"
"Obviously. Don’t you see Mr. Qu is already wearing it? Do you really not care about those clothes you are wearing? Hurry up and get dressed properly. The body or body blocks will be brought over soon." freewebnovel.cσ๓
Hearing this, everyone hurriedly got moving. They were quick, each one donning the heavy protective garb for decomposing bodies in the changing room and securing three layers of gloves before following Mr. Zhao back into the autopsy room.
They stood behind Zhou Ning when the doors of the autopsy room opened, and Doctor Cao, along with an older man, pushed in a gurney. Before they even got close, the pungent scent of decay assailed their nostrils.
Zhou Ning appeared unfazed as those behind him started to retch.
"If you can’t handle it, go outside to throw up, then come back," he said.
