Forensic Work

Chapter 7: The Work of a Forensic Pathologist

Nani (ω)?!

The expressions on everyone's faces were basically like that, just not as cute.

Aside from Kudo Shinichi, whose expression was conflicted, everyone else's faces clearly showed shock:

Hold on, a suicide Dismemberment Case?

You made that term up, didn't you?

How can it be suicide if the body's dismembered?

A murmur spread through the crowd, but Inspector Megure, after a moment of stunned silence, asked with a sudden burst of insight:

"Um, Mr. Lin Xinyi, do you mean to say...?"

"That after the deceased committed suicide, a second person dismembered and discarded the body for some reason?"

"Your guess is good."

"That is indeed one possibility for a 'suicide Dismemberment Case' to occur."

Lin Xinyi nodded seriously, agreeing with Inspector Megure's conjecture:

He had encountered such a case in his career before:

A certain woman, wanting to claim her deceased husband's pension after he committed suicide, was afraid that if she disposed of his body casually, she would be discovered. So, after finding her husband had committed suicide, she secretly dismembered his body into several pieces, bagged them, and discarded them. Afterwards, she maintained the illusion that her husband was still alive, until the bags containing the body were accidentally discovered.

This incomprehensible, outrageous act baffled all the investigators.

If Lin Xinyi, then the forensic pathologist conducting the autopsy, hadn't confirmed that the deceased had indeed died from hanging himself before death, no one would have believed such an absurd and preposterous thing could exist in the world.

So, the world is a big place.

Before rushing to condemn news headlines taken out of context, like "Body found in three pieces, police confirm suicide" or "Deceased stabbed thirty times, police confirm suicide"...

These incredible cases actually do exist. If anyone should be condemned, it's the self-media outlets that are always trying to create sensational news.

"However."

"Based on the clues the body is currently telling me..."

After praising Inspector Megure's flexible thinking, Lin Xinyi changed the subject:

"There was no second person involved in this case."

"From the suicide to the dismemberment, it was only the deceased."

"Huh?" This time, even Inspector Megure's plump face showed an expression of disbelief.

"How could that be?" Ran, suppressing her discomfort, quietly glanced at the badly mutilated body on the plastic sheet. Then, unable to hold back, she asked Kudo Shinichi, "Shinichi, could the deceased really have committed suicide?"

"..."

Kudo Shinichi fell silent.

For once, he showed Ran an expression that wasn't entirely confident:

"There are indeed many unusual things about that deceased's body..."

"But... but I haven't figured out that most crucial question yet..."

Saying this, with a hint of unspeakable reluctance and expectation, Kudo Shinichi looked at Lin Xinyi again:

"Mr. Lin Xinyi, may we begin?"

In Kudo Shinichi's eyes, this had already become an invisible competition of deduction.

It was a showdown between detectives, a battle of wits and intelligence.

But Lin Xinyi didn't see it that way.

To him, this wasn't a game, nor was it a competition.

It was a job, a responsibility.

"We can begin."

His eyes gradually grew deep and firm, like iron.

Lin Xinyi took the large aluminum alloy Forensic Investigation Kit from Officer Komatsu, then silently squatted down and gently opened the Forensic Investigation Kit:

Magnifying glass, fingerprint board, hemostatic forceps, puncture needle, scalpel, pointed scissors, blunt scissors, latex gloves, bone saw, bone hammer, bone chisel, bone shears, scoop...

All sorts of Forensic Medicine tools were neatly arranged in the box, looking very comforting to someone with OCD.

But Lin Xinyi sighed helplessly:

The tools in the investigation kit are quite complete...

So complete, it's as if they've never been used since they were bought.

After all, any professional forensic pathologist who has actually been to a scene would know that dissection tools like bone saws, bone chisels, and scoops are simply not used during preliminary on-site investigations.

What's useful at the scene are simply a few common examination tools such as masks, gloves, rulers, tape measures, puncture needles, hemostatic forceps, thermometers, and rectal thermometers.

Experienced old forensic pathologists wouldn't pack so many things in their on-site investigation kit, unless they wanted to add weight for physical exercise.

It seems Officer Komatsu truly is exceptionally incompetent.

"Sigh."

Lin Xinyi quickly reined in his internal grumbling, then skillfully put on a mask and two layers of latex gloves.

It's always best to wear a mask, since forensic doctors encounter all sorts of cadavers daily, and you never know if the deceased might have had an infectious disease.

Two layers of gloves are also necessary; one layer can easily let odors seep through.

Next, Lin Xinyi squatted beside the deceased.

Just like Officer Komatsu had done earlier, he began gently pressing various parts of the corpse with his fingers.

"Officer Komatsu's initial examination was mostly correct."

"There's already faint, systemic rigor mortis present on the body."

Lin Xinyi withdrew his hand. As he turned to retrieve tools from his Forensic Investigation Kit, he explained in detail, "But the time of death isn't necessarily more than four hours ago."

"Because when someone drowns, they struggle and convulse, causing intense muscle activity. Coupled with the low water temperature, rigor mortis sets in much earlier than usual."

"Uh…" Officer Komatsu's expression became incredibly awkward.

That was the only thing he'd managed to discern from the corpse, and it turned out to be flawed.

"My apologies, I was mistaken."

"Indeed, I remember reading that drowned individuals do exhibit rigor mortis earlier… Oh, wait!"

"Mr. Lin, are you saying the deceased drowned?" Officer Komatsu asked loudly, as if suddenly awakened.

"That's right."

"And it's something any professional should be able to tell at a glance."

Lin Xinyi helplessly glanced at Officer Komatsu, whose professional capabilities were clearly lacking, then cast a slightly admiring look at Kudo Shinichi standing nearby.

"I imagine this famous detective has already spotted the problem here, too?"

"Indeed."

Kudo Shinichi nodded, echoing, "Although the body is severely mutilated, it's not hard to see that:"

"The deceased's skin is overall pale, and there are goosebump-like protrusions on the outer skin of both arms and legs. These are characteristics of a drowned person's skin reacting to cold water, causing blood vessels and arrector pili muscles to contract, and hair follicles to protrude."

"Furthermore, the deceased's fingers and toes show signs of maceration, whitening, and swelling of the stratum corneum."

"Considering the systemic rigor mortis Mr. Lin Xinyi just identified…"

He paused slightly, his tone becoming somewhat complex. "These body parts must have been submerged in water for about three hours."

"My previous deduction about the killer's disposal time was likely wrong."

Initially, Kudo Shinichi had concluded, upon seeing the bloody water, that the body had been in the water for only a short time, meaning the killer had just disposed of it.

It was precisely because of this that Lin Xinyi, who happened to be observing at the scene, was considered the prime suspect.

But now, all the signs on the body clearly told him…

His deduction was wrong.

He had trusted his detective's intuition too much, leading him to make a premature judgment when the clues were extremely limited.

Thinking of this, Kudo Shinichi, who rarely made oversights in his deductions, couldn't help but fall silent.

However, Lin Xinyi was completely oblivious to the great detective's self-reproach, which was practically written all over his face.

He seemed to have unconsciously become Kudo Shinichi's partner, and began methodically adding details to Kudo's deduction:

"Kudo is absolutely right."

"Pale skin, goosebump-like changes, and the epidermal stratum corneum changes, known in Forensic Medicine as 'Washerwoman's Hands,' are all basic characteristics of a body submerged in water."

"However, these characteristics only prove that the deceased was submerged in water for a certain period."

"To prove that the deceased died from drowning while alive, you typically need to check here first…"

As he spoke, Lin Xinyi revealed the tool he had just taken from his Forensic Investigation Kit.

"This is a Finger Straightener, used to straighten the clutched fingers of the deceased."

"Drowned individuals struggle violently before death, causing muscle spasms in their hands, so their palms often remain tightly clenched after death."

"Therefore, by opening the deceased's hand like this…"

Under the complex gazes of the crowd—shocked, fearful, yet unable to suppress their curiosity—

Lin Xinyi picked up the single severed arm from the plastic sheet, then slowly and steadily inserted the Finger Straightener into the fingers, straightening each one on the detached hand.

The tightly clenched palm was opened.

In the palm that was finally splayed open, everyone could see:

"Is that aquatic plants?"

"Yes, it's aquatic plants."

Lin Xinyi set down the severed arm and said in a low voice:

"Not only are there aquatic plants, but I also noticed some mud and sand in the victim's fingernails before I even opened their hand."

"These are all signs that the victim drowned while still alive—"

"Because only someone who drowned while alive would instinctively grasp at aquatic plants, mud, and sand in the water while struggling."

"If the body was dumped after death, there's no way these things would be in the corpse's palm and fingernails."

"And by analyzing the type of aquatic plants, and further comparing the aquatic microorganisms in the victim's lung fluid with samples from the river here, it shouldn't be difficult to confirm that the victim drowned in this very river."

"Furthermore, the time of drowning, as Kudo Shinichi just analyzed, was approximately three hours ago."

His voice was incredibly serious, and his eyes held a unique intensity.

This focused gaze was enough to win people over.

Unconsciously, everyone forgot that Lin Xinyi had originally been a suspect in the Dismemberment Case.

There was even admiration in their eyes:

"This 'Shinichi' is also so good at deductions?!"

Someone exclaimed, almost without realizing it.

But Lin Xinyi wasn't about to get conceited over the basic forensic knowledge he had just displayed.

What was a sensational show in the eyes of the audience was simply his everyday routine.

"Deduction? No."

Lin Xinyi said calmly:

"Deduction is a detective's job."

"My job is simply to speak for the dead."