Free Web NovelChapter 51: Chapter 51 Doctor Shen_1
Such a sudden statement left Zhou Ning stunned.
"That’s some quirky thinking—oh, someone died, let’s pin the blame on the hospital first, without even asking what actually happened?"
"With so many police officers here, what’s going on?"
"Looking for compensation, are you?"
Xu Dayuan’s expression darkened.
"Are you Zhang Jiahui’s father?"
The man was taken aback, his crying stopped abruptly, and he nodded somewhat confusedly.
"Yeah, I am Zhang Jiahui’s father."
"Alright, then I’ll ask you a few questions. When did Zhang Jiahui leave home, and has she been in contact with you these past few days? Or where was she staying?"
Zhang Jiahui’s father looked slightly embarrassed, wiped his face, and, seeing the attitude of the police, he didn’t dare to act out.
"The child lived by herself, she rented an apartment next to the Number Eight Hospital; my wife knows exactly where, I’ve never been there. She usually comes home to stay for two days every half a month or a month. She’s always busy with work, always working overtime and complaining about being tired. I thought... I thought..."
He dared not continue speaking, but Xu Dayuan went on to ask:
"The body was found on the east side of Baima River Reservoir, bound with tires and with head injuries. According to our preliminary analysis, she was killed six days ago, so try to recall, when was the last time you contacted Zhang Jiahui? Did she have a boyfriend, or was there anyone who bore a grudge against her?"
Zhang Jiahui’s father looked bewildered, his face went through a range of expressions, and he kept fidgeting with his fingers, a sign of nervousness and an attempt to hide something.
Zhou Ning was somewhat surprised. Wouldn’t a father usually disclose everything he knows immediately after learning of his daughter’s death?
"I don’t really know about that; she always kept in touch with her mother. It seems like the last time she came home was during the New Year. But she said someone in her department was on maternity leave, it would be very busy until the Spring Festival, and she wouldn’t come home for the time being. As for a boyfriend, it seems like she had one."
This series of uncertain answers did not encourage further questioning from Zhou Ning, who simply handed over the consent form for the autopsy. Xu Dayuan clearly understood what that meant and subtly gestured towards Zhang Jiahui’s father.
"The deceased had a head injury and was bound with tires. We can proceed directly with the autopsy, but since the identity was unclear we did a check, and we also wanted you to confirm the identity of the deceased. Take a look, and if everything is correct, please sign."
The man didn’t waste words and quickly signed the consent form.
At that moment, the door to the autopsy room was opened again, and the woman who had fainted from crying earlier walked in. She seemed more composed now, the scent of the life-saving pills incredibly pungent.
The woman rushed to the autopsy table, pulled the man aside, and faced Xu Dayuan herself.
"You have to find the murderer. Ask me anything you need to know. I heard part of the conversation outside. You can conduct the investigation however you see fit. We understand. As for my child’s matters, I know them, he’s just a worthless man."
The others glanced at Zhang Jiahui’s father, who didn’t seem to feel embarrassed at all; he merely stepped back. The woman fumbled in her pocket for a long time before producing a single key. frёewebηovel.cѳm
"This is the key to the apartment my daughter was renting, in Shuiqingxin Residence, Building Number Three, located to the northeast of the Number Eight Hospital. There were many men pursuing our Jiahui. I guess she rented the place for that reason, but I don’t know any names. I just remember there was a Doctor Shen, who seems to be from this hospital."
Xu Dayuan and Zhou Ning turned to look at the head nurse, Chen Xiaohong, who paused for a moment, then as if realizing something, she raised her head. However, with this action, she inadvertently glanced at the man from the hospital office.
"In the entire hospital, there is only one Doctor Shen in the anesthesiology department, his name is Shen Guanlin. But you may be mistaken, as Doctor Shen is the head of the anesthesiology department, and he’s fifty-eight this year, probably a few years older than Zhang Jiahui’s father.
I’m not aware of their private relationship, nor is it appropriate for me to speculate, after all, it’s their private life. I wonder if Mr. Zeng knows anything?"
Chen Xiaohong’s wording was very tactful; in front of the deceased’s parents, it was best not to blame the deceased for anything. Zhou Ning understood the implication; it was a prompt for Xu Da, the one Mr. Zeng knew, to express his stance.
Indeed, Mr. Zeng looked down slightly and then looked up with an expressionless face.
"Outside of work, we aren’t privy to their activities and have no right to interfere. If necessary, we can help contact Shen Guanlin to come over and assist with the investigation."
Xu Dayuan nodded.
"All right, then contact him. Mr. Zeng, please find us several offices, preferably away from your work area. I want to get an understanding of the situation here, but it must not interfere with the forensic doctor’s autopsy,"
Mr. Zeng pointed to the right. freёwebnoѵel.com
"There’s no problem. Just go to the police office at the south gate. There are seven or eight offices just cleared out behind the police office, ready for renovation. They’re going to be used for the fever clinic later on."
Xu Dayuan was naturally not dissatisfied with such arrangements. He gestured towards the door, signaling everyone to leave, then looked at Chen Xiaohong. The head of the nursing department was a clever one.
"Director Chen, could you please notify the operating room staff to go to the police office in batches? Remember not to gossip. Even if you have been interviewed, do not disclose anything before the case details are made public. As for Doctor Shen, how about Mr. Zeng goes to inform him?"
The two nodded. Except for Zhao Xinli, everyone else followed suit and left bustlingly. In an instant, the large autopsy room quieted down. Zhao Xinli, who had been enjoying the commotion, now had his smile fade away, looking at Zhou Ning with a bitter expression.
"Do you still need my help?"
Zhou Ning glanced at him.
"If you don’t want to get yelled at, hurry up and come over with the camera. As usual, you’ll help me take photos and record."
Zhao Xinli was internally resistant, but his body cooperated fairly honestly. Holding the camera, he walked in front of Zhou Ning. Seeing that Zhou Ning had already removed the deceased’s clothing, he obediently began to take photos in the direction Zhou Ning pointed.
Zhou Ning scraped the wounds on the deceased’s head once for sampling, then carefully examined the body parts beneath the clothing. The deceased had slight abrasions on the eyebrow bone and the tip of the nose with evident life reactions, and there was an abrasion on the outer side of the left foot, also an antemortem wound with very little bleeding.
Opening the deceased’s mouth, one could see a pale pink frothy drowning fluid in the pharynx. Zhou Ning’s hand paused momentarily. The deceased had drowned, and when she was thrown into the Baima River Reservoir, she was still alive.
As for the drowning fluid and froth, it was formed by protein-rich fluid during respiration. The pale pink color came from ruptured capillaries. Of course, the rapid freezing after the deceased fell into the water preserved this evidence intact.
Zhou Ning collected a sample of the froth, and at that moment, he discovered a strand of hair next to the deceased’s right bottom last molar, and another one in the crevice of a canine tooth. Both hairs were black and spiral-shaped; Zhou Ning could not determine their origin immediately.
"Huh?"
Zhou Ning’s subconscious motion halted, and Zhao Xinli quickly brought the camera closer, clicking away. He saw the two strands of hair, and as Zhou Ning used tweezers to retrieve them, Zhao Xinli shook his head and commented.
"Man, these young nurses are wild these days. Is this from playing poker with their mouths with a man?"
Zhou Ning glanced at Zhao Xinli. Zhao Xinli waggled his eyebrows twice, a mischievous grin on his face.
"Don’t look at me like that. One of these days I’ll give you a couple of files for you to study. Don’t always just know how to use a scalpel or study those tire prints and software. This age is restless, and you live like a monk. That won’t do, as the Buddha says, ’What’s full overflows.’"
Zhou Ning gave him a glare and gestured towards the recorder with a nod of his chin.
"The recorder is on. Keep talking, I’ll tell you—the province issued an order that starting March 1st, all autopsy procedures must be recorded on video. Our city began the trial run of recording everything from January 1st."
Zhao Xinli froze in place, pointed at the recorder with a blank face, and couldn’t produce the next sentence as he stared at Zhou Ning.
After Zhou Ning finished examining the deceased’s oral cavity, he pressed the recorder, introduced the deceased’s condition, and then started the autopsy. Zhao Xinli visibly heaved a sigh of relief, but he was noticeably more subdued from then on.
Zhou Ning cut open the chest and abdomen to proceed with the separation. His first step was to examine the deceased’s trachea and lungs, which still contained a large amount of drowning fluid and froth.
The deceased’s stomach contained some chyme in a mostly undigested state; this excited Zhou Ning.
Upon closer look, there were carrots, celery, black fungus, broccoli, kelp, tofu, and shrimp: a rich meal indeed. But other than the shrimp, it was all vegetarian, and there wasn’t a single drop of oil.
Subsequently, Zhou Ning dissected the deceased’s pelvis. The size of the uterus was normal.
Finally, Zhou Ning moved to the perineum, adjusted the corpse’s position, and set the lighting before looking down to observe the external genitalia.
At that glance, Zhou Ning’s actions froze. This time Zhao Xinli didn’t dare to ramble, but he too looked over.
"What’s wrong?"
