Attending ex-girlfriend's wedding, arresting the groom's officer on the spot

A man of medium height, familiar with fishing or construction tools, and possibly riding a tricycle, is hiding in some unknown corner, waiting to be identified by these subtle traces. As for the deceased curled up at the bottom of the cellar, his identity remains a mystery, as thick and impenetrable as the fog over Wangjiagou.

Meanwhile, in the autopsy room of the Criminal Investigation Division, an autopsy was underway.

The moment Zhang Kai's latex gloves touched the corpse's ankle, a smell mixed with dirt and decay wafted out from the folds of his dark blue overalls. His assistant, Xiao Lin, was adjusting the temperature of the incubator; a 3°C environment could slow down tissue autolysis. The sweet potato vines that had covered the corpse when it was brought in were still clinging to his trousers, the serrations on the edges of the leaves glowing a pale green fluorescence under the ultraviolet light.

“Male corpse, 168cm tall, apparent age 30-35,” Zhang Kai’s voice sounded muffled through his mask. He used a ruler to measure the putrefactive venous network on the corpse; the bluish-purple veins in the chest and abdomen resembled tributaries on a map. “Rigoletto is distributed in the jaw, neck, shoulders, and elbows, with a joint range of motion of 20-30 degrees, indicating the development stage; livor mortis is located on the back and the back of the limbs, and the discoloration does not completely fade upon pressure, indicating the early diffusion stage.” Xiao Lin took notes beside him, the sound of his pen scratching across the paper particularly clear in the silence: “Based on the characteristics of rigor mortis and livor mortis, the preliminary assessment of the time of death is between 48 and 72 hours?”

Zhang Kai shook his head, his scalpel tracing a precise arc on the corpse's left chest: "Ambient temperature is a key variable. The cellar temperature is 15℃, humidity 85%, the rate of decomposition is 30% slower than at room temperature." He lifted the skin tissue; the fat layer appeared a pale pink, fresh state. "The subcutaneous fat shows slight rancidity, with a fatty acid value of 18 meq/kg, indicating the time of death is no more than 60 hours." When the probe was inserted into the abdominal wall muscles, the resistance was significantly greater than that of a corpse at room temperature: "The degree of muscle rigor mortis is consistent with the characteristics of 40-50 hours after death, and further correction needs to be made based on rectal temperature."

The electronic thermometer probe was inserted 15cm into the rectum, and the reading stabilized at 18.2℃. "Rectal temperature 18.2℃, ambient temperature 15℃, temperature difference 3.2℃," Zhang Kai calculated using the post-mortem cooling formula. "At a rate of 0.5℃ decrease per hour, the time of death should be around 52 hours, with an error margin of ±4 hours." Xiao Lin suddenly pointed to the corpse's fingertips: "The fingernails are noticeably cyanotic, and the nail beds are bluish-purple—are these characteristics of death by asphyxiation?"

The neck examination became the focus. Zhang Kai gently turned back the skin of the neck with hemostats, and the ring-shaped imprint was still clearly visible among the necrotic venous network. "A single closed ligament groove, 2.1 cm wide and 0.3 cm deep," he measured the direction of the groove, "extending from the left angle of the mandible to the right mastoid process at an angle of 30 degrees. The lowest point of the groove is 1 cm below the anterior midline of the neck, consistent with the force characteristics of a head-down position." There was slight epidermal abrasion at the edge of the groove, and pinpoint bleeding was visible in the dermis: "There was a vital response, indicating mechanical injury that occurred before death."

"Are there any special fibers in the skin tissue inside the rope trench?" Xiao Lin handed over a magnifying glass, and Zhang Kai found several dark green fibers deep in the trench: "Polyester material, 15μm in diameter, consistent with the fiber composition of the hemp rope found in the cellar." He used tweezers to extract the fiber sample. "The skin at the knot has bruises, 0.8×0.5cm in area, formed by pressure at the knot of the rope, which matches the shape of the fisherman's knot."

The sound of the scalpel blade scraping against the bone as it cut through the sternum was piercing. Zhang Kai separated the junction of the sternum and costal cartilage; the 4th and 5th ribs on the right side had incomplete fractures, sharp ends but no signs of life. "Postmortem fractures," he judged, "likely caused by the suspect dragging the body and hitting a hard object, which matches the height of the cellar steps." After exposing the chest cavity, the condition of the lungs caught his attention—not significantly expanded, sharp edges, dark red cut surfaces, and no foamy fluid oozing out when squeezed.

“The lung tissue is dry,” Zhang Kai said, cutting open the lower lobe of the left lung. “No edema fluid was found in the alveolar cavities, which is not typical of death by asphyxiation.” He extracted a blood sample; the blood in the test tube was dark red and well-coagulated. “Non-clotting blood is an important characteristic of death by asphyxiation, but the blood in this body is normally coagulated. The fibrinogen content is 2.3 g/L, and the prothrombin time is 12.5 seconds, all within the normal range.” Xiao Lin asked, puzzled, “Then how do you explain the chords on the neck? Were they faked after death?”

A cardiac examination revealed crucial clues. Zhang Kai cut open the pericardium; the heart was of normal size, weighing 310g, and three pinpoint hemorrhages were found in the subendocardium of the right atrium. "The number of Tardieu plaques is small and their distribution is well-defined," he said, opening the left ventricular wall. "The myocardial fibers are neatly arranged, with no rupture or necrosis, and no subepicardial hemorrhages." The cardiac blood hemoglobin oxygen saturation test showed 65%: "Oxygen saturation of 65% is below normal, ruling out hypoxic changes caused by asphyxia."

As the scalpel made its way into the abdomen, a sudden, sour odor wafted out. The stomach contents, approximately 150ml, were porridge-like, containing undigested rice grains, vegetable fibers, and minced meat. The degree of digestion indicated that the last meal was 4-6 hours before death. "The food residue had no unusual odor," Zhang Kai said, testing with pH paper. "The pH was 3.5, consistent with a normal gastric acid environment, and no toxic substances were detected." A small amount of chyme was found in the duodenum, indicating that digestion was proceeding normally. "Death occurred approximately 4 hours after eating. Based on the time of death, the last meal was 52-4=48 hours ago, which is dinner time three days ago."

When extracting liver samples, Zhang Kai found mild fatty degeneration in the hepatocytes, but no obvious necrosis. "Liver function indicators are basically normal," he noted, "ruling out death caused by acute liver injury." The renal cortex was pale, the medulla was congested, and the glomerular structure was intact: "Renal function is normal, with no organic lesions." When the scalpel touched the pancreas, Zhang Kai suddenly stopped—there was a large area of ​​hemorrhage and necrosis in the head of the pancreas, which was grayish-black and had indistinct boundaries with the surrounding tissue.

"Acute hemorrhagic necrotizing pancreatitis!" Zhang Kai's voice was firm. "The pancreas weighed 120g, was enlarged, and the cut surface showed grayish-yellow necrotic foci accompanied by dark red hemorrhage. This is the true cause of death." He extracted a pancreatic tissue sample. "Microscopically, pancreatic acini necrosis, interstitial hemorrhage, and extensive neutrophil infiltration are visible, consistent with the pathological characteristics of acute severe pancreatitis." Xiao Lin suddenly realized: "Then what about the choroid groove on the neck?"

“It forms during the near-death period,” Zhang Kai explained. “During an acute pancreatitis attack, the patient experiences severe abdominal pain and confusion. The suspect might mistakenly believe he is still alive and use rope to restrain or drag him. At this time, the skin tissue still has weak vital responses, so ligature marks are left.” He pointed to the stomach contents, “The chyme contains a large amount of high-fat food, which is a common trigger for acute pancreatitis, especially after drinking alcohol—although no alcohol was detected in the stomach contents, the possibility of complete metabolism cannot be ruled out.” (End of Chapter)