Chapter 242: The Second Report

Mu Min waited at the counter for a moment. The morgue attendant, a sleazy-looking, middle-aged man with a wrinkled black uniform jacket and an open collar, reluctantly put down his book and slowly checked her credentials according to regulations.

Clearly, Mu Min’s sudden visit had disturbed his leisure time.

When he realized the visitor was a high-ranking officer of the National Police, and a transmigrator at that, he quickly buttoned his collar and stood at attention with a clumsy click of his heels.

“Chief…”

“Let’s get down to business.” Mu Min realized that although she was in uniform, the man was clearly oblivious to her rank insignia. Of course, it was unrealistic to expect too much from a “helper” who had spent most of his life in a county yamen as a coroner’s assistant.

The attendant wrote down the visitor’s name in the register.

“Which body do you want to see?”

“The maid school student who was brought in on the morning of September 1st.”

The attendant’s expression froze for a moment. This fleeting change did not escape Mu Min’s eyes.

“Is there a problem?”

“Chief. There’s a small problem.” The attendant was a little nervous. Although he had been working for the “Australians” for a few years, he was still not quite used to it: work in the Ming county yamen was much simpler, with far fewer complicated rules and regulations than the Australians had. As long as you kept your superiors happy, it didn’t matter what you did. In the Australians’ yamen, there was always a dangerous and tense atmosphere.

“What is it?”

“Chief Su has given instructions that no one is allowed to view body number 1633090107001 without her permission…” A flash of inspiration struck the attendant. “Please allow me to make a phone call to ask for instructions.”

A few minutes later, he put down the phone with a terrified expression:

“I’ll show you the way. Please understand…”

“Cut the pleasantries,” Mu Min said sternly. “Lead the way.”

The attendant picked a key from a large bunch and led the way.

Behind the last iron door was a monotonous corridor. The attendant turned on the electric light, illuminating a dark, brick-lined spiral staircase at the end of the corridor that looked like it led to hell. Next to the spiral staircase was a square elevator shaft enclosed by four iron pillars and a wire mesh platform. A black iron plate hung in the air by chains; this was the manual elevator to the basement, specifically for transporting bodies.

Mu Min followed the attendant down the spiral staircase, illuminated by a faint electric light. The stairs were very high. When they reached the lobby, the attendant turned on the lights. The cold white light of the fluorescent lamps instantly illuminated the room, which was tiled with white ceramic tiles.

There were three closed, iron-clad doors in the lobby, all with large padlocks. The doors were painted with Arabic numerals in black paint.

The attendant lit a cigarette. This was not to cover the smell of decaying bodies—the temperature in the morgue was very low, and the bodies would not smell—but to block the pungent smell of preservatives.

“Is it 1633090107001, the maid school student?”

“Yes.”

“In morgue number one.”

The attendant opened the padlock on one of the large doors and pulled open the heavy door. A blast of cold air hit them. Mu Min couldn’t help but shiver. The attendant turned on the light switch, and the two walked into the icehouse-like morgue. The pale fluorescent lights on the ceiling made the room seem even colder. The white-tiled floor sloped slightly towards the center of the room, where there was a drain cover. The sound of melting ice flowing in the drain could be heard. To control the humidity, rough paper bags filled with furnace ash, acting as dehumidifiers, were hung on special racks on both sides of the walls.

On the other two walls were large wooden drawers covered with galvanized iron sheets. The bodies were kept in them. The attendant took a binder from the wall and flipped through it.

“This one.” He tucked the binder under his arm, walked to a large drawer, and pulled it open. Mu Min walked over and lifted the white cloth covering the body.

The frozen-stiff body looked very different from when she had inspected the scene on the day of the incident. It was clear that the deceased had been autopsied. Mu Min blew on her cold hands, reached into the inner pocket of her coat, and took out a pair of disposable cotton gloves coated with a layer of tung oil, a simple substitute for latex gloves.

She put on the gloves, picked up the deceased’s arm, and carefully examined the body’s hands and arms. After a long time, she let out a breath and said to the attendant:

“That’s enough.”

It took a while for Mu Min to feel the cold that had enveloped her body recede after she returned to the ground floor. Just as she was about to leave the forensic center, she saw a pale, tall figure waiting for her in the lobby.

“Can I talk to you?”

“Of course.” Mu Min seemed to have anticipated this meeting.

The conversation took place in Su Wan’s office. Since it was not official business, she lit the gas lamp and asked the night-shift secretary to pour two cups of tea. Then she closed the door and asked:

“Are you in charge of this case?”

“Yes.”

“Does the Executive Committee have any instructions on this case?”

“No instructions.” Mu Min smiled strangely. “Why do you think the Executive Committee would have instructions on this case?”

“A maid school student, not staying in her own dormitory, dies inexplicably in the transmigrator residential area, and you are in charge of the case. I would be surprised if the Executive Committee had no instructions.”

“You are very sensitive. But besides Xiao Zishan calling to ask, no other Executive Committee member has inquired about this matter,” Mu Min said. “What do you want to talk to me about?”

“What did Director Xiao say?”

“Investigate the truth as soon as possible and report it.”

Su Wan seemed relieved: “Have you seen my autopsy report?”

“I have.” Mu Min nodded. “This report is very incomplete. It doesn’t even have a conclusion on whether it was suicide.”

Su Wan’s report was a typical case of stating facts without drawing conclusions. It only described the injuries and cause of death, without even concluding whether it was a homicide. Mu Min had worked in criminal investigation for five years and had handled more than a dozen cases of falling from a height. In her experience, this was a typical homicide case.

According to the report, the deceased had clearly been beaten with a heavy object and violently, then pushed from a high building to her death.

Generally speaking, jumping from a building would not cause multiple spinal fractures and massive bleeding in the chest and abdomen. Massive head bleeding was possible, but it was not accompanied by a skull fracture.

A frontal fall would cause sternum and rib fractures and frontal bleeding, but not multiple spinal fractures. A backward fall would cause multiple spinal fractures, but not frontal fractures. The deceased had both frontal and backward fractures, which was unlikely from the height of the three-story building in the residential area.

“This is a homicide case,” Su Wan said with a relaxed expression. “Because Ran Yao was in a hurry, I only submitted the first forensic report.”

“I understand that you want to wait for the Executive Committee’s stance. But for us, finding out the truth is the most important thing. Who owns the truth is not our business.”

“I have a second examination report.”

“Just tell me the contents of your second report first,” Mu Min said. “My time is tight.”

“Simply put, an accidental fall is usually head over heels, and there are usually severe leg fractures, but the head may not be injured. A frontal fall is common in suicides, and there are usually frontal fractures and head bleeding, but even with severe spinal fractures, the abdomen will not bleed. A frontal fall with abdominal bleeding basically means the abdomen hit a rock or something on the ground.”

Mu Min listened very carefully, jotting down key points in her notebook.

“Although I didn’t go to the crime scene, my students brought me a complete scene investigation report, and photos. There were no rocks or anything like that on the ground at the scene of the fall.”

“So?”

“So Lin Xiaoya actually fell backward, and before she fell, she was beaten. The abdominal bleeding was an internal injury from the beating.”

A backward fall is usually a homicide, meaning she was pushed by the murderer or fell due to other factors. Because it was a backward fall, it would be accompanied by severe spinal fractures.

Mu Min nodded: “So it’s confirmed to be a homicide.”

“That’s right. You just saw the body. You must have noticed the defensive wounds on her arms.”

“Yes, I saw them.”

“Although I’m not a trace expert, I can probably tell it was caused by a fairly sturdy club, most likely hardwood. If there’s a physical evidence report from the scene, you’ll probably find this weapon. Of course, the level of the naturalized citizen identification personnel is too low, it’s also possible they missed it.”

“I will personally conduct a scene investigation,” Mu Min scribbled a few notes in her notebook. “Did you do a sexual assault test?”

“Of course, I’m a licensed forensic doctor.” Su Wan puffed out her flat chest. “Strangely, no.”

“Why do you say ‘strangely’?”

“The transmigrator residential area is full of otaku with all sorts of strange ideas, and our maids are absolute slaves with no right to life or personal freedom. You should understand why I have such a thought.”

“Okay, you continue,” Mu Min said helplessly.

“Because the transmigrators’ hobbies vary, although I have already checked that Lin Xiaoya’s hymen is intact, I still did all kinds of sexual assault tests I could think of. The results of all the tests showed that Lin Xiaoya was not sexually assaulted before her death. In addition, there were no traces of being tied up, whipped, lightly burned, or other similar injuries on her body. I found no traces of semen on her clothes or skin.”

Su Wan’s tone revealed obvious disappointment, which made Mu Min shiver again.

“However, there was a discovery in the examination of the stomach contents.” Su Wan took a piece of paper from the drawer. “I don’t know what they feed them at the maid school, but it seems they eat too well.”