Chapter 30: Can we still do this?
Pinching the metal strip on the mask, Zhou Ning walked towards the north bedroom.
Two people have been living in this room in recent days. Besides, people from the Port Police Station have also come in. Collecting fingerprints and footprints on the ground is not very meaningful. We still have to look at the body first.
The second bedroom in the north is not big. There is only a 1.5-meter double bed and a bedside table in the room. There is no wardrobe or anything else. There is a small plastic bag next to the door with a few clothes in it. I guess they are Song Luqing's things.
At this time, the mattress on the bed had been pulled to one side and stood against the wall.
There were old urine stains on the mattress, and several maps of different sizes, emitting a strong smell, and there were worn-out areas in the corners. Considering that this was a rented house, it was probably provided by the landlord.
The wooden board on the bed was a slatted frame, that is, a bed board with gaps. Through the gaps, you could see a bundle of things stuffed near the end of the bed. You could tell that the wrapping was a green bed sheet with large flowers. An arm slipped out from the bed sheet, revealing a bare hand that was purple-black, with the nail crevices being pitch black.
Zhao Xinli came over and took a look from Zhou Ning's side. Having seen the giant before, he was not uncomfortable with the corpse in this state.
"Oh, it really is stuffed under the bed. Is this person not very tall?"
Zhou Ning shook his head. He knew what Zhao Xinli meant. The bed was 1.5 meters wide and was bundled horizontally with no exposed ends on either side.
"From the looks of it, the person was packed up in a curled-up state. Can you help me move the bed board and the four frames beside the bed?"
Zhao Xinli patted his chest.
"I'll find someone else to do the physical work, you just wait and you don't have to do it yourself."
He turned and went out, and after a moment called two policemen in, who gently lifted the bed board, then moved the bed frame, leaving the head of the bed untouched.
Forensic Doctor Liu walked in at this moment, leaned down at the door, saw the bundle against the north wall, and walked straight over.
"Don't look at it, take a picture to fix the shape."
Zhou Ning hurried forward. With Forensic Doctor Liu around , he was not panicked or hurried. He quickly cooperated and took pictures according to the position of Forensic Doctor Liu's fingers.
After some observation, I found that the sheet wrapped around the body was tied with ropes in three parts: upper, middle and lower. The arm slipped out from between the first and second knots.
Forensic Doctor Liu touched the deceased's arm. The arm was not stiff and moved slightly. Then he waved his hand.
"Get the body bag ready. Lift the body and put it in the bag. I'll cut the rope and take a look at the face of the deceased first."
After a while, a body bag was brought in with a flatbed underneath. Zhao Xinli squeezed over and cooperated with Zhou Ning to lift the corpse and put it in the body bag. During the lifting process, there was a crackling sound near the head.
Zhou Ning put the body down and looked down. There was a fist-sized, dried bloodstain on the floor. The area was not large, and this discovery surprised Forensic Doctor Liu.
"I was careless. I wanted to keep it intact. I took it back to the anatomy room. I asked Zhou Ning to use scissors to cut the rope, but I had to avoid the knot."
Zhou Ning took out a pair of scissors and cut the rope around his neck. The green nylon rope didn't look thick, but it was very difficult to cut, which showed how strong it was.
After loosening the rope, the bed sheet wrapped outside had been fixed in shape. He gently lifted a corner and found that the sheet was wrapped very tightly. Forensic Doctor Liu took the scissors and cut the sheet into several layers.
As the sheet was lifted to the left and right, the scene underneath was revealed in front of the two of them.
Zhou Ning took a deep breath and Forensic Doctor Liu shuddered.
"Is it that exciting?"
I saw that there was a plastic bag wrapped under the sheet. It was the kind of plastic bag used in supermarkets. It had many layers and was padded with newspapers. However, the blood was soaked through and was showing through the gaps. Zhou Ning had a bad feeling in his heart.
Forensic Doctor Liu paused. Xu Dayuan was in such a hurry, so after the investigation here he could at least give him a direction so that he could start the investigation.
"Keep cutting open the bag, and be careful!"
Zhou Ning held up the scissors and began to cut the plastic bag along the edges. There were three layers in total, which were cut together. He stopped at the top. Forensic Doctor Liu and Zhou Ning each pulled one side and gently lifted it up. A bloody face covered with cuts appeared before their eyes.
One third of the body's lips were missing, and the left teeth were exposed. It could be seen that the first and second molars on the lower left side were metal silver denture crowns, and there were brown smoke and tea stains in the gaps between the teeth.
There was a green nylon rope wrapped around the neck, three of which had sunk deeply into the neck flesh, with dark brown leather-like grooves [1] clearly visible.
"His face was destroyed, and judging by the wounds, they were caused by multiple cuts with a knife. Either the perpetrator was an acquaintance, or there was a deep hatred."
Zhou Ning didn't say anything. He looked carefully at the top of the deceased's head. There were only a few gray hairs in the center of the head, and the hair around the head seemed a little long.
There are many brown spots near the ears and neck, the skin is rough and flaky, and very dark, but the area below the collar is very white. Could it be that the deceased was working outdoors?
As I was watching, the transparent display screen in front of me started moving.
Zhou Ning knew that as long as there was a case, the system would start to work, and sure enough, familiar multiple-choice questions appeared on it.
Ding, the system has released a task. Please bind the person to choose the difficulty of the task.
A. Primary tasks;
B. Intermediate tasks;
C. Advanced tasks.
Zhou Ning ignored it. His mind was on the corpse at the moment, and he planned to make a choice later.
At this moment, Forensic Doctor Liu spoke.
"What are you standing there for? Measure the length of the body, paying attention to the curling of the legs. Just get an approximate value. Once you're done, move the body away. We can't do an external examination of the body in this state."
Zhou Ning nodded and quickly measured the height of the deceased, which was approximately 170 cm. Forensic Doctor Liu made a record and waved his hand.
"Alright, retreat, retreat."
Zhou Ning covered the bloody face of the deceased with a plastic bag and closed the body bag. Zhao Xinli pulled the cart away. Just as Zhou Ning was about to turn around, the system started beeping.
Ding, warning!
Ding, warning!
Ding, warning!
If the bound person does not make a choice within the specified time, the system will default to the highest level task mode.
Zhou Ning paused.
Damn, you have no moral principles, how can you do this?
The difficulty of the last intermediate task increased. This advanced task, I am not sure whether I can survive or not. I am a novice forensic doctor!
By default, the bound person has selected the advanced task and is now publishing the task.
Advanced task content:
1. Find out the cause of death of the deceased. The task time is 6 hours;
2. Identify the deceased. Task time: 48 hours.
3. Find the murderer and find out the motive for the murder. The task time is 10 days.
Zhou Ning was speechless for a while. He didn't even have the energy to curse. The last time he dealt with such a difficult case, the task time given was 72 hours, but this time he was directly given ten days, which showed the difficulty of this case.
Just as he was thinking about it, he felt a pain in his foot and Forensic Doctor Liu looked over at him.
"What are you standing there for? This is not the first scene. Apart from the little blood that seeped out, there are no other traces. Let's go back and do an autopsy. It will be difficult to identify the deceased after his face was chopped like this."
Zhou Ning nodded, carrying the survey box and walked out of the apartment building. Xu Dayuan also happened to walk over.
"What did you find from the autopsy?"
Zhou Ning shook his head, frowning.
"The deceased's face was deliberately chopped up, so his features could not be seen. There is little information available. The deceased was slightly bald and had graying hair, age spots behind his ears and neck. He was about 170 centimeters tall and was estimated to be over 50 years old."
Just as he was talking about this, forensic doctor Liu came over from behind, took off his gloves and mask, and motioned Zhou Ning to turn on the camera. Zhou Ning knew what Liu Yongxin meant. He wanted Xu Dayuan to see the deceased's skin color and fingers. This color was so representative.
"I found a photo of the neck and hands. Yes, this is the photo. The skin on the face, neck and arms of the deceased is very dark, with traces of years of sun exposure. The nails are also very black, and there seems to be dirt in the gaps between the fingerprints.
Detailed sampling and analysis needs to be done in the autopsy laboratory, but I speculate that the deceased might be a worker at a construction site. The first and second molars on the lower left side of the deceased had metal crowns, which are rarely used nowadays. After all, they are not as safe as porcelain, but they are very cheap.
That's all we can analyze. Let's go back and do the autopsy first. Be prepared. It's not easy to find the identity of the deceased."
Xu Dayuan nodded and placed his hand on Forensic Doctor Liu's shoulder.
"Go back and give me the autopsy information as soon as possible. I have no idea where to go. I've had someone copy the surveillance footage of the community, but the north wall of the community is not closed, so the surveillance footage is not clear. I've asked someone to check the surrounding construction sites."
Forensic Doctor Liu sighed.
"It's difficult, let's take it one step at a time!"
…
【1】Leather-like:
When the human body is alive, all organs and tissues contain a certain amount of water. After death, the body loses the ability to absorb water, blood circulation stops, and the water lost by evaporation cannot be replenished. Water evaporates quickly from the thinner skin parts and the areas where the epidermis is peeling, causing local drying and waxy yellow, yellow-brown or dark brown, with a hard texture. This is called leather-like transformation, also known as local desiccation.
Leatherization can make abrasions more obvious. Wounds, grooves, and epidermal exfoliation that occurred during life will dry out soon after death, making them more obvious. Epidermal exfoliation that occurs soon after death can also cause similar dryness. However, the leatherization that appears after death is lighter in color and lacks life reactions such as bleeding.
