Chapter 237: The Unfilial Man (1/2)

After a thorough external examination of the corpse, the dissection of the corpse officially began. ”What do you think of his technique?” asked Xiaotao.

”He’s quite professional,” I admitted. “The rib removal and evisceration were smoothly done. He looks like a coroner with at least 10 years of experience.”

”Really, Great Detective Song?!” teased Xiaotao.

”Stop being so dramatic!” I laughed.

Coroners had to examine many corpses and eventually formed a fixed pattern. First, they examined the eyes, the mouth, the body, then the internal organs. This made for a neat and methodical process, but it was easy to overlook certain details.

Corpses weren’t cars on an assembly line, so how could they all follow a similar pattern? After examining corpses for some time, most coroners became numb to it and conveniently conformed to this sequence.

“You hit the nail on the head!” nodded Xiaotao. “When this case is over, I think we should hold a special seminar to improve the coroners’ autopsy methods.”

”Are you being sarcastic?” I joked.

”No, I really think so!” Xiaotao shook her head vehemently.

I stared at the screen, watching the internal organs being removed from the corpse. But it wasn’t a live autopsy so many details were unclear after all. Even under careful scrutiny, no information was obtained. I rewinded the video and meticulously observed the victim’s original appearance once more.

When the coroner turned the body over, I was so absorbed in the video I shouted without a second thought. ”Dali, bring me my Autopsy Umbrella!”

As soon as I turned around and saw a smirking Xiaotao, I realized my mistake. ”Sorry,” I fumbled. “I was too focused.”

”You look handsome when you’re concentrating,” she laughed.

Her compliment brought a shy smile to my face but I quickly went back to the video, rewinding to the same point over and over again. Noticing my actions, Xiaotao asked me what I was looking at.

”There’s an injury on his scapula,” I explained. “Look, when the coroner moves his arm, there’s an almost imperceptible protrusion on the skin of his shoulder which might be indicative of a bone fracture! I suspect the murderer must have hit the victim with a heavy object!”

”Your eyes are amazing!” exclaimed Xiaotao. “You can even see a bone fracture from across the screen.”

Eyes riveted to the video, I sighed. My inner thoughts at the moment were the same as that of countless perverts who watched porn in the middle of the night–”My turn! My turn!”

The fatal wound was a downward puncture wound on the victim’s back. ”The wound seems to have been caused by an awl-shaped weapon,” the coroner hypothesized. “From the angle of the puncture wound, the murderer is taller than the victim.”

I replayed this passage five or six times before repeatedly shaking my head. ”What a big mistake! The murderer is definitely shorter than the victim and the murder weapon isn’t an awl!”

”What is it then?” asked Xiaotao.

”It's a hook!” I declared. “The murderer pierced the victim's back with a hook from the bottom. If he wasn’t kneeling, then he must be rather short–about 1.6 meters tall. The puncture wound a hook makes is somewhat similar to that of an awl. But because a hook is curved, the sharp end will break the skin when pulled out. Do you see a flap on the left and right side of the wound?”

Xiaotao stuck her face to the screen and took a good look. After a long time, she finally concurred, ”You’re right!”

When I asked Xiaotao to fetch a scalpel, she turned to me, puzzled. ”What do you want a scalpel for?” she asked.

”You’ll find out soon!” I mysteriously replied.

Xiaotao soon returned from the forensic laboratory with a scalpel. When I compared it to the screen, she suddenly realized, ”I see! You’re using the scalpel as a reference. What a good idea!”

The scalpels used by the police were the same standard model. Using the scalpel as a reference would allow me to confirm the length of the wound and determine the size of the murder weapon.

After a quick calculation, I drew a curve on a piece of paper and said, ”The murder weapon is about this big!”

”Such a big hook is rather uncommon. Unless… it’s the kind of hook used for hanging meat in a slaughterhouse.” she said, resting her chin on her hand.