Chapter 348: On The Basis Of Psychology (1/2)

Bingxin was jotting her findings at the desk next to the body, with a half-eaten doughnut and hot jasmine tea in her thermos lid.

”Miss Sun, how can you eat while working?” Xiaotao chided. “Are you here to have fun or work?”

I didn't think that was the point, but rather the fact that Bingxin could actually stomach food in such an environment...

Bingxin swivelled her chair and shrugged, ”I’m so bored. It turns out that all a coroner does is write reports. Had I known this is what it was like, I would’ve chosen to be a Traditional Coroner instead.”

”I’m sorry to disappoint you. There are no female Traditional Coroners!” I laughed.

Bingxin ran over and grabbed a pair of non-prescription glasses from her pocket and put them on. The glasses were huge and covered almost half of her face. ”Song Yang-gege, everyone says I have a baby face. Does this make me look more mature?” she asked.

”You look like a whole new person!” I chuckled.

Bingxin laughed heartily but Xiaotao gibed, ”Nothing can hide your childish face.”

”You’re the childish one!” Bingxin snorted.

”How am I childish?” Xiaotao retorted.

”Well, people who call others childish are the most childish!” Bingxin quipped.

”Those who don’t know how childish they are, are the most childish!”

Like cats and dogs, the two were at loggerheads every time they met.

“Aren’t you two ashamed to behave like this in public?” I reproached. “By the way, I’m going to take a look at the body.”

”But I’ve already dissected the corpse!” Bingxin blurted.

”It doesn't matter,” I waved my hand. “I’ll just take a look.”

Bingxin uncovered the white cloth, revealing a woman's body with her open chest cavity. Perhaps it had been some time since Xiaotao last saw a dissected corpse, but she covered her mouth with some discomfort.

”Xiaotao-jiejie, would you like some tea?” Bingxin smirked.

Xiaotao glared at Bingxin, fully aware of her deliberate provocation.

”What have you found?” I interrupted.

Bingxin walked around the autopsy table with her hands in her pockets and said, ”The time of death was about 7:30 to 8:00 last night. And the cause of death was asphyxiation and shock brought about by blood reflux when the laryngeal vein ruptured. There were no signs of struggle, no drugs found, and no injuries other than the bruises she sustained during her attempt to reach for the phone.”

”So what you’re saying is the victim must have died before 8 o'clock, am I right?” I surmised.

Bingxin nodded.

I put on a pair of rubber gloves and checked the wound. The incision was neat, inflicted from the right to left and from an oblique angle, which suggested that the murderer's dominant hand was his left. I recalled that the suspect was also left-handed.

Bingxin handed over a fruit knife in an evidence bag. It was very sharp and stained with some solidified blood. ”This is the murder weapon found at the scene. The knife edge is consistent with the wound.”

There was no doubt about the murder weapon so I turned my attention to the wound. ”There’s some blood in her vocal cords.”

”What?” Bingxin leaned in to have a look. ”Oh my God, you’re right!”

Human vocal cords were located in the middle of the throat and consisted of vocal cord muscles, ligaments and mucous membranes. These vocal folds opened and closed very quickly. Have you ever heard of anyone choking on water in their vocal cords? Almost no one!