Police officer Chen Shu

Chapter 758 This is not superstition

The central air conditioning in the forensic lab made a loud hissing sound, but actually delivered very little heat. It still pretended to be working hard, much like Ma Rongcheng's son doing his homework at home when he was a child—appearing busy on the surface, but actually having a lot to say about.

If it weren't for his son's truly poor grades, which had made Ma Rongcheng give up on the idea of ​​attending police academy years ago, he couldn't help but feel a little excited just imagining the scene of father and son wearing police uniforms and working together on cases.

Ma Rongcheng unconsciously looked at Chen Shu.

Chen Shu, who was already a captain at a young age, was still in the police station even when he was on annual leave and traveling. His eyes were fixed on the operating table, and he was full of energy.

Young Ma Rongcheng felt a pang of nostalgia for himself twenty years ago, when he had just witnessed firsthand the vigorous fighting spirit and remarkable abilities of this young detective from out of town during the brainstorming session in the conference room.

This made Ma Rongcheng, who was only thinking about being transferred to the provincial department and preparing to lie down, feel a little interested and his enthusiasm was unexpectedly awakened.

Ma Wing-shing couldn't help but feel deeply moved, thinking that he had also had such brilliance when he was young, except that back then he was still struggling to find his own shadow in "Police Story".

He's naive, but which policeman didn't start out like this?

This stirred a ripple in Ma Rongcheng's heart, who had originally planned to enjoy his remaining years in the provincial department. It was as if the enthusiasm of the young people had ignited a new version of his "inner universe" in his old age.

As people get older, they become more inclined to teach others and need some guidance. Unwilling to accept his age, Ma Rongcheng secretly harbored the idea of ​​teaching.

puff.

After changing their clothes, Jiang Hai and Huang Mao volunteered to help out, carrying the body bag onto the operating table, pulling it open, and taking out the female corpse inside.

Immediately, a strong smell of moldy wine mixed with sour stench wafted out, but fortunately everyone was wearing masks, so while there was some impact, it wasn't particularly serious.

Old Tang first examined the deceased's fingernails, which were obviously clean. Then he removed the deceased's clothes, cleaned the surface slightly with a brush, and began to carefully examine the body.

After carefully examining the dark purple patches of livor mortis on the corpse's feet and lower abdomen, Old Tang glanced at the clock on the wall and concluded: "The time of death should be between eight and fourteen hours ago, that is, between eight o'clock in the evening and two o'clock in the morning. With livor mortis, it shouldn't be a staged hanging after death."

"The surveillance footage shows that the person entered the room at 11 o'clock, so shouldn't it be more precise to the four hours from 11 o'clock to 2 o'clock?" Jiang Hai added.

"That's your business as investigators, don't get involved with us." Old Tang was slightly angry.

Old Tang was the only forensic doctor present, so he didn't explain the cause of the time of death in detail. He simply carried out the iron box containing the scalpels and took out the shiny scalpels one by one to disinfect them.

Chen Shu put his hand on Jiang Hai's shoulder and whispered, "Can you be sure that the person in the surveillance footage is the deceased?"

Jiang Hai turned around and said without hesitation, "Of course! You can see the face quite clearly, right? The clothes are almost the same too."

Chen Shu nodded in agreement, saying, "You're right, but we can't dismiss the forensic report because of that. As investigators, we have to be inclusive and consider all possibilities. Remember, it's better to be safe than sorry."

Jiang Hai nodded vaguely, as if he understood.

Remembering the couple who had already made the hasty conclusion that their daughter had committed suicide in the hotel, Chen Shu pulled the police officer in charge of the case, Huang Mao, aside and whispered, "You don't even need the family's signature for autopsies? Have you gone through all the formalities? From what I understand, the deceased's parents are convinced that their daughter committed suicide, so they probably won't let the police do an autopsy."

The couple had already received tens of thousands of yuan in compensation from the hotel manager, so it wouldn't be easy for them to give it back.

The blond-haired man was taken aback, then chuckled sheepishly a few times: "Brother, to be honest, I don't know this procedure either. How about we ask Forensic Doctor Tang?"

Hearing the two talking, Old Tang, while fiddling with his equipment, replied, "We've contacted his family back in Ontario. They insisted on an autopsy, saying they don't believe their daughter committed suicide."

According to regulations, an autopsy for a natural death requires the consent of the deceased's family. However, if the police determine that the death is not natural, they only need to notify the family, and the autopsy does not require the family's consent.

After their daughter's death, the first thing those two men did upon arriving at the hotel was demand compensation, citing a "flawed bathroom door frame design that created an opportunity for suicide." Chen Shu couldn't help but consider the worst possible angle of their insistence on an autopsy. These days, if someone dies suddenly outside the home, their family almost always suspects homicide; the fault is never theirs. Besides, police investigations don't cost them money, or rather, if they find anything, they might get more compensation. So, they generally support police autopsies.

It may be harsh to tell the truth, but that's the reality.

Unlike in the past, although there is a stronger superstitious element, people are still generally reluctant to let their own family members die and then be stabbed several times. They feel that having holes in their bodies and going down to the underworld is a sin. Therefore, even if there are many suspicions, they are unwilling for the police to dissect the body.

Thinking of the kind girl described by the hotel general manager, Chen Shu felt a pang of pity and asked, "Forensic Doctor Tang, can you determine the cause of the girl's death?"

Old Tang took a steel ruler out of his pocket and placed it on the ligature mark on the corpse's neck. He glanced at the measurements from all angles and said, "The width matches the rolled-up rope."

The situation here is similar to finding a body in a river; before determining the cause of death, two aspects are involved: First, the victim died before entering the water (died before hanging); second, the victim died after entering the water (died by hanging).

The suspect's purpose was to create the illusion that he had jumped into the river to commit suicide (hanging himself).

Old Tang then turned the body over, examined it again, and said, "There are no external injuries on the body, which means there was no resistance when it died. Hmm, there are signs of intoxication."

Glancing at the corpse's feet, Old Tang quickly said, "Toes pointing to the ground, hmm, it's very likely he hanged himself."

After saying that, Old Tang picked up the scalpel and prepared to open the wound.

Chen Shu felt a pang of pity. Call it superstition or pity, whatever, he raised his hand and placed it on the forensic doctor's arm to stop him.
"Forensic Doctor Tang, should we wait a little longer?"

"What are you waiting for? The parents have already agreed to the autopsy, why are you still waiting?" Old Tang was a little puzzled.

Chen Shu explained, "Because I initially assumed it was a suicide case, I didn't conduct a particularly thorough on-site investigation. I also didn't expect that Expert Ma from the provincial department would come. Well, what I mean is to have Expert Ma conduct a second on-site investigation. We will continue to follow up on surveillance and investigations and the investigation of social relationships. There are still many things to do, and we are not in a hurry to take action immediately."

Seeing that the other party seemed to be convinced, Chen Shu concluded, "After all, it's terrible to be disemboweled after death; even in the afterlife, one can't rest in peace. Hmm, I heard she was a very nice girl; it's quite pitiful that she ended up like this."

Old Tang laughed, pointed the scalpel at Chen Shu, and lectured, "You, a dignified people's police officer, still care about this? Our most important task right now is to clear her name, and I believe that's what she needs most. You want to have someone else investigate? Young man, sometimes the body of the deceased is more reliable than the words of the living!"

Chen Shu shook his head and said sincerely, "Forensic Doctor Tang, you're right, it's just that this girl is a bit pitiful."

Old Tang shrugged and backed down, saying, "How about we check the hyoid bone first? It won't have much of an impact."

Chen Shu gestured for him to proceed.

Now that things have come to this point, Chen Shu was actually a little puzzled. According to the forensic doctors he was used to seeing in Dongzhou City, they would avoid dissections if possible and always try to push them away. He had never seen many like Lao Tang who were so eager to perform the procedure.

Oh no, there seems to be another one, Julie, forensic doctor Zhu.

The autopsy is indeed a very complex matter.

Seeing that the two men held their own opinions, Ma Rongcheng, hoping to mediate, said, "Old Tang, why don't you check your body again? After you're done, take a rest. Anyway, we old men have plenty of time. I'll have them take me to the scene."

Old Tang chuckled and gently placed the scalpel on the metal tray beside him: "Officer Chen, I didn't expect a veteran criminal investigator like you to be so superstitious. Alright, then let's hand the time over to our expert, Ma."

Feeling bad that the expert had to make the trip, Chen Shu took the initiative to lift the heavy survey box that Ma Rongcheng had brought, thinking that it would make things easier for the other party, since he was a valuable technical expert.

As everyone took off their white coats and hung them by the door, waiting to leave, Chen Shu turned his head and saw Ma Rongcheng looking down at the marks on the deceased's neck, so close that his nose was almost touching it.

Judging from this situation, they must have discovered something!
(End of this chapter)