The crackdown on organized crime began with the arrest of the mother-in-law.

Chapter 1270 Analysis of Wound Clues

"The abrasions are linear, ranging in length from 0.5 to 1 cm, with irregular edges. There is slight redness and swelling in the affected area, but no obvious bleeding. However, the epidermal cells at the abrasion site still show signs of life, indicating that the injury occurred before death, possibly due to a struggle with another person or scraping against the ground when falling. In addition, the light brown powder in the fingernail should be sampled immediately for analysis to determine whether it is dust from the parking lot tiles or other substances."

Kobayashi inserted a special thermometer into the deceased's rectum and waited five minutes before taking the reading: "Rectal temperature 30°C, autopsy room ambient temperature 16°C, temperature difference 14°C. According to the post-mortem temperature drop pattern, it drops by 0.8-1°C per hour under normal temperature conditions. However, considering that the deceased was wearing a coat and the parking lot nighttime temperature was about 18°C, the actual rate of temperature drop will be slower. The preliminary estimate of the time of death is between 10 and 14 hours after death."

"Based on the assessment of rigor mortis and livor mortis, the time of death can be further narrowed down." Zhang Lin took the temperature record sheet from Xiao Lin and added annotations, "Rigoletto is in the middle stage, and livor mortis is in the spreading stage, corresponding to 10-14 hours after death; the body temperature difference of 14°C, calculated based on the slowed rate, also points to this range. However, further verification is needed based on the stomach contents—whether there was undigested food in the deceased's stomach, and the degree of digestion, which is an important auxiliary basis for determining the time of death."

During the subsequent examination of the body surface injuries, Zhang Lin made a crucial discovery. Shining a powerful forensic lamp on the deceased's neck, he found a light brown, band-like indentation about 0.3 cm wide above the left collarbone. "There's something abnormal here," Zhang Lin said, gently parting the neck skin with tweezers, carefully avoiding fine hairs. "There's a transverse band-like indentation on the left side of the neck. The edges are neat, and there's slight pigmentation in the local skin. There's no obvious bleeding, but the subcutaneous tissue beneath the indentation feels slightly hardened upon palpation. This indicates external pressure before death, possibly caused by strangulation with a rope or band-like object."

"Could it be a mark left by jewelry worn by the deceased, or friction from the collar of clothing?" Xiao Lin leaned closer to observe and raised the question. Zhang Lin shook his head, took out a ruler, and measured the indentation closely: "The direction of the indentation does not match the shape of the collar of clothing, and the width of the indentation is uniform, without the uneven texture commonly seen in jewelry; in addition, the sternocleidomastoid muscle corresponding to the indentation shows a small number of muscle fiber ruptures under the dissecting microscope. This is mechanical damage caused by external pressure, ruling out the possibility of natural formation. The preliminary judgment is that it is a mark left by strangulation or ligation, but the pressure was relatively light and did not cause immediate death."

Zhang Lin also discovered a hidden injury on the left side of the deceased's ribs. There was a slight crepitus on the surface of the 5th and 6th ribs on the left side, and palpation revealed unevenness of the cortical bone, but no obvious fracture displacement was observed. "There is a rib contusion here," Zhang Lin gently pressed on the rib area. "The contusion is approximately 2cm x 3cm, with slight swelling of the local soft tissue, indicating that the deceased suffered a blunt force trauma before death, possibly from a punch or a hard object. Although it did not cause a fracture, it may have caused internal organ damage, requiring further thoracic endotomy for confirmation."

Xiao Lin found a crumpled business card in the deceased's jeans pocket. It read, "Chen Feng, Project Manager, Science and Technology Innovation Company, 15th Floor, Oriental Building." The card had noticeable creases along the edges, and a small amount of brown powder was stuck to the back. "Could this business card belong to the deceased? The information about the science and technology innovation company needs verification, but it at least provides a clue to his identity." Xiao Lin put the card into an evidence bag and handed it to Zhang Lin. Zhang Lin took the bag and examined it under the light: "The business card is of ordinary material, and the printing is rough. The powder on the back is similar in color to the powder found under his fingernails, so it might be from the same source. Let's send it for testing together and see if we can find more related information."

To confirm the cause of death and obtain more details, Zhang Lin began an autopsy. He used a scalpel to cut along the midline of the abdomen, separating the skin, subcutaneous tissue, and muscle in sequence. Pale yellow adipose tissue was exposed, with no obvious bleeding or hematoma. "No obvious fluid accumulation was found in the abdominal cavity. The liver and spleen were of normal size, soft in texture, smooth in surface, and without rupture or damage. The stomach capacity was approximately 200ml, containing a small amount of semi-digested food residue, mainly rice, chicken, and vegetables. The food particles still retained a certain shape and were not completely emptied." Zhang Lin used tweezers to pick up a small amount of stomach contents and placed it on a glass slide. "Based on the degree of food digestion, the deceased ate within 2-3 hours before death. Combining this with the previously estimated time of death of 10-14 hours, it can be determined that the deceased's last meal was 12-17 hours before the discovery of the body, that is, between 5 pm and 10 pm the previous day—this time period overlaps with the time Xiao Wang found where the 'black sedan entered the parking lot at 9:15 pm,' which may be related."

During the thoracic dissection, Zhang Lin moved with even greater caution. As the sternum was sawed open, the internal condition of the thoracic cavity gradually became clear—there was a 2cm x 2.5cm hemorrhage in the lower lobe of the left lung; the lung tissue was dark red and firm, and a small amount of pale red fluid flowed out after it was cut open; the heart was of normal size, with a few punctate hemorrhages under the epicardium, and no obvious atherosclerosis was observed in the coronary arteries. "The hemorrhage in the lower lobe of the left lung corresponds to the location of the left rib contusion, indicating that it was a lung contusion caused by blunt force trauma," Zhang Lin said, using tweezers to pick up the damaged lung tissue and show it to Xiao Lin. "Lung contusion can cause difficulty breathing, but it is not enough to cause immediate death; the punctate hemorrhages under the epicardium are a typical manifestation of death by asphyxiation. Combined with the band-like indentation on the neck, it indicates that the final cause of death was mechanical asphyxiation, possibly due to initial impact and strangulation, leading to difficulty breathing and ultimately death from hypoxia."

"The pressure on the neck was relatively light, so why did it cause asphyxiation?" Xiaolin asked疑惑地, her pen hovering in mid-air. Zhang Lin put down the autopsy instruments, picked up a book of "Forensic Pathology," and turned to the relevant chapter: "The mechanism of death from mechanical asphyxiation depends not only on the pressure but also on the duration of pressure and the victim's physical condition. If the pressure is applied for a longer period, even a light pressure can gradually block the airway, leading to hypoxia; in addition, the deceased may have underlying cardiopulmonary problems, and the combination of lung contusion and neck compression will accelerate the asphyxiation process—we need to perform biopsies on the heart and lung tissue to see if there are any underlying diseases."

During the autopsy, Zhang Lin discovered a crucial detail. A small amount of sedative drug was detected in the victim's stomach wall tissue, but the concentration was extremely low, insufficient to cause coma or death. "This sedative drug is a common sleep aid," Zhang Lin explained, as he collected stomach wall tissue samples in test tubes.