met free Chapter 962 Investigation into the Deceased's Interpersonal Relationships
Chapter 962 Investigation into the Deceased's Interpersonal Relationships
When Zhang Lin opened the trachea, his movements suddenly stopped. The deceased's laryngeal cartilage was noticeably bluish-purple, and there were fine fracture marks at the cricoid cartilage. "This is a typical characteristic of strangulation." He magnified the injury site; "The fracture line is oblique, consistent with a fracture caused by external pressure from the front." Further examination revealed an incomplete fracture of the deceased's hyoid bone, and the trachea was filled with petechial hemorrhages—key evidence of mechanical asphyxiation.
While examining the deceased's hands, Zhang Lin noticed grayish-black residue under the fingernails. He immediately used a micro-evidence brush to carefully extract samples and placed them in a vacuum-sealed bag: "These may be skin flakes, fibers, or other substances left from the struggle with the murderer, requiring DNA testing and component analysis." He then turned to the deceased's ankles and found two old abrasions. The edges of the wounds were covered with adipocere, but traces of dragging force were still visible.
When the autopsy reached the stomach, Zhang Lin carefully opened the stomach wall with surgical scissors. A small amount of partially digested food residue remained inside. Under a microscope, plant fibers such as corn and vegetables, as well as incompletely decomposed meat tissue, were visible. "Based on the degree of food digestion and the property of adipocere delaying putrefaction," he quickly wrote in his notebook, "a preliminary estimate of the time of death is about three years."
Zhang Lin was particularly cautious when performing the head dissection. He first used an electric bone saw to cut along the top of the skull; the acrid smell of the saw blade rubbing against the skull, mixed with the odor of adipocere, was nauseating. After lifting the skullcap, the brain tissue had completely waxed, presenting a uniform pale yellow solid. "Adipocere prevents the brain tissue from liquefying and decomposing," he said. He gently touched the waxed brain with a scalpel; "Although it has lost its biological activity, its morphology is well preserved, which may provide evidence for certain pathological analyses."
The entire autopsy lasted nearly five hours. Zhang Lin categorized and numbered the dozens of tissue samples extracted, including blood, internal organs, bones, and residue from under the fingernails. Each sample could be key to solving the mystery: drug analysis in the blood could determine whether the deceased had been drugged, trace element analysis in the bones might reveal their living environment before death, and DNA comparison from under the fingernails might directly identify the murderer.
As the last stitch was completed, Zhang Lin removed his gloves and leaned wearily against the dissection table. Outside, the sky was gradually brightening, but the incandescent lights in the dissection room remained glaring. He gazed at the densely packed data and observations in his notebook, knowing full well that each word of these seemingly cold anatomical conclusions carried the weight of a lost life and a truth yet to be revealed.
The autopsy results were placed on Li Ming's desk the next morning.
However, there weren't many clues or discoveries. Li Ming had already given a brief report on the case to Qin Chuan at the Municipal Public Security Bureau. Qin Chuan had also looked into it. To be honest, corpses from the Schlafic phenomenon are extremely rare; this was the first time Qin Chuan had encountered such a case in all his cases.
This case happened so long ago, two or three years ago. At the time, it was reported as a missing person case, but no concrete clues were found during the process. Now that he's discovered to be dead, finding the murderer is actually very difficult. The main approach is to start by investigating the deceased's interpersonal relationships.
Criminal Investigation Division.
Lu Chuan pinned Li Qingmin's photo to the center of the whiteboard, connecting it with map markers of Yunhe County and Haizhou City using a red string. Morning light streamed through the glass window of the Criminal Investigation Detachment, casting a long, slanted shadow on the photo. "The deceased had been running a building materials business in Haizhou for three years," his fingers traced the densely packed sticky notes on the whiteboard, "focusing on his company's accounts, his business partners, and his movements in the three months leading up to his disappearance."
When Xiao Wang led his team to Haizhou City, the "Qingda Building Materials Co., Ltd.", which Li Qingmin had registered before his death, was already deserted. In the old office building, a thick layer of dust covered the glass of the reception desk, and faded brochures and half-moldy business cards were scattered in the cardboard boxes piled in the corner. "It suddenly closed down three years ago," the property manager said, flipping through the registers. "The water and electricity bills are six months overdue, and the boss's phone is unreachable."
Visiting Li Qingmin's business partners was exceptionally difficult. Mr. Chen, a former supplier, was repeatedly wiping a purple clay teapot in his office when he heard the name "Li Qingmin." His hand suddenly stopped: "We haven't been in touch for a long time. After his company's cash flow dried up, many people were scammed." When Xiao Wang pressed for details about the specific debt disputes, the other party evaded the question: "It's been so long, why bring that up?"
In Li Qingmin's former accountant's home, an old-fashioned fan creaked, causing the ledgers on the table to rustle. "He was indeed acting very strangely before he disappeared," the accountant said, adjusting her reading glasses, her cloudy eyes fixed on the yellowed ledgers. "Large sums of money were inexplicably transferred out, and he wouldn't say anything when asked. Once, I received a call from him in the middle of the night; he spoke incoherently, as if he were very frightened..." Before she could finish speaking, the old man suddenly coughed violently. When pressed further, he only shook his head, saying he couldn't remember.
The most promising lead came from Li Qingmin's driver, Lao Zhou. This taciturn man sat in the small restaurant, having drunk most of his beer, before finally speaking: "About two weeks before the incident, the boss kept going to the docks in the west of the city, saying he was discussing business, but he always came back empty-handed. Once I saw him crying in his car; that was the first time I'd seen him like that in the five years I'd worked for him..." Lao Zhou's voice choked with emotion, but when Xiao Wang pressed for details, he suddenly excused himself to go to the restroom and never returned.
The investigation in Yunhe County also reached a stalemate. Li Qingmin's old home was a dilapidated two-story house, overgrown with weeds. Neighbors had a vague memory of this "wealthy man" who was away from home for many years. "I haven't seen him come back for years," they said. "The old lady next door sits on the doorstep sewing shoe soles." "When his parents passed away, relatives helped with the funeral arrangements. Sigh, what's the use of making so much money..."
When the investigation team attempted to obtain Li Qingmin's bank statements, they discovered that multiple accounts under his name had been emptied in the week before his disappearance. Transfer records showed that large sums of money were dispersed into more than a dozen anonymous accounts, ultimately flowing overseas. "These accounts were all heavily disguised," Xiao Sun stared at the computer screen, his brow furrowed. "Tracing the source is harder than climbing to heaven."
After two weeks of investigations, his notebook was filled with densely packed clues, but none of them truly pointed to the key issue. Standing in front of the whiteboard, Lu Chuan organized all the investigation results into a timeline: broken funding chain, frequent visits to the dock, abnormal transfers, sudden disappearance... These scattered fragments were like broken puzzle pieces, unable to piece together a complete picture.
"Check his private social media accounts again," Lu Chuan suddenly spoke.