Chapter 632: Mysterious Death

Geng Qing hesitated for a moment and said, “We don’t have any enemies, but my father did have some acquaintances he didn’t get along with. Still, it wouldn’t be enough to kill him, right?”

Peng Sijue asked, “Did your father have any medical history?”

“Just shoulder inflammation and rheumatism, otherwise he was very healthy.”

“Even though there are no obvious external injuries on your father’s body, I think an autopsy is necessary. I’d like to get your consent.”

Geng Qing frowned, clearly uncomfortable with the idea of an autopsy, but she nodded in agreement.

Peng Sijue went to prepare the body for transport. Chen Shi stayed to ask Geng Qing a few more questions, but her tears kept interrupting the conversation. Such a tragedy would be unbearable for anyone.

After finishing the questions, Chen Shi took down Geng Qing’s contact information and headed back to the station with the police.

Half an hour later, Geng Changle’s body was lying on the autopsy table. His clothes had been cut away, and since the joints were already stiff, the assistants had to use warm towels to loosen them up and lay the body flat after measuring the liver and rectal temperatures.

Chen Shi immediately noticed the faded tiger tattoo on Geng Changle’s chest. The tattoo, now wrinkled and discolored, hinted at his bold youth.

There were also old scars on his abdomen, likely from knife wounds received when he was younger.

“This uncle must have been part of that active group of young people in the 80s!” Chen Shi remarked.

Peng Sijue ignored him and began examining the body with an assistant. The assistant pointed to a spot and said, “Captain, there’s a new scar here.”

Upon closer inspection, there was a circular red mark on the deceased’s shoulder, a subcutaneous bruise that didn’t look like livor mortis, and the surrounding skin was intact.

Other than that, there were no external injuries, which raised suspicions.

Peng Sijue stared at the body for a few seconds and said, “Autopsy!”

“I can’t handle this. I’m out!” Chen Shi said, unable to stomach the sight.

The medical examiners opened the body, revealing the liver, which showed signs of congestion and edema, possibly indicating poisoning, although rheumatism couldn’t be ruled out. The kidneys showed slight failure, a detail that seemed familiar to Peng Sijue.

As the autopsy progressed, his sense of foreboding grew. The signs pointed to poisoning, but they couldn’t identify the substance. They only found traces of cocaine in the urine.

Unwilling to give up, he continued with a brain autopsy, ruling out subarachnoid hemorrhage and myocardial infarction as causes of sudden death.

“Stop! Don’t stitch him up yet. Preserve the organs,” Peng Sijue ordered.

The assistants exchanged puzzled looks but followed his instructions. Peng Sijue went outside and found Chen Shi in the lab, holding a small stool from the crime scene, the one the deceased had been sitting on. “Old Peng, I’ve found something. This stool was tampered with. It collapses with the slightest touch.”

“…”

“Why so silent?”

“It’s that same poison again. The pathological features are identical, and this time there’s not even an injection mark. We won’t be able to file this case.”

“Let’s talk to Captain Lin.”

“I don’t know how to explain this to him.”

“Let’s go, let’s go!” Chen Shi dragged Peng Sijue to Lin Qiupu’s office. After hearing Chen Shi’s account of the incident, Lin Qiupu’s first reaction was, “Are you sure it’s not sudden death?”

“Definitely not,” Peng Sijue replied.

“Without identifying the poison, how can we be sure it’s murder?”

Chen Shi explained, “The scene tells us! I noticed the stool the deceased was sitting on had a sawed-off support. The deceased was sitting just five centimeters above the water, and the slightest force would have made him fall in. Someone set it up this way to make it look like an accident, so the killer could leave calmly, knowing the mechanism would take effect. Based on the time of death, it was around five or six in the evening. If the deceased fell into the water then, it would be considered an accidental drowning and might not even alert the police.”

“Why didn’t the killer just push the deceased into the water?”

“You didn’t visit the scene. There’s a bustling commercial street across the park’s lake. Anyone falling into the water would have attracted attention and possibly witnessed the killer.”

Lin Qiupu shook his head. “That’s just your speculation. It doesn’t hold up.”

“I believe it was fate that we discovered this case! If the delayed mechanism had worked, the park staff would have found the body and notified the family without involving the police. If Old Peng hadn’t gone fishing today and discovered the body, the district police would have taken over, and it would likely have been dismissed as sudden death. Moreover, this undetectable poison has shown up twice now. Either Xu Fa is behind this, or he’s selling the poison. If we let this go, more people will die before Xu Fa makes a mistake. How many innocent lives will be lost by then?”

Chen Shi’s impassioned speech swayed Lin Qiupu. He said, “I trust Captain Peng’s professional judgment. If he can’t detect the poison, no one in Long’an can. Investigate, but be cautious. We need more evidence to prosecute the killer.”

“You’re annoying, but you do have a sense of justice,” Chen Shi praised.

“Don’t get cocky!”

Chen Shi called Sun Zhen. “Xiaochong, I need you to check something. Is there poison being sold online that can’t be detected?”

“Are you on a case, Chen?”

“Of course. Why else would I need it?”

“I’ll give it a try.”

“Thanks. I’ll reward you later.”

“No problem.”

A task force was formed to investigate Geng Changle thoroughly. According to his neighbor Cui, they planned to go fishing in the park on the afternoon of the 19th. Cui went home around 5 PM, but Geng Changle stayed to fish longer. Cui was likely the last person to see him alive.

The park entrance’s surveillance footage was too crowded to be useful, as it was a busy time with many people coming in for exercise. They’d need a suspect to narrow down the footage.

The fishing spot was secluded, making it nearly impossible to find witnesses. The police offered a reward for information, but expectations were low.

As for Geng Changle’s background, he was a troublemaker in his youth during the early days of economic reform. He sold pirated tapes near Bailong Temple, mingling with shady characters, which angered his father to death. He once killed someone in a drunk driving incident and was sentenced to twenty years, reduced to ten for good behavior. After his release in his thirties, he got a job as a gatekeeper at a gear factory, earning as much as a senior technician. Colleagues said he had a personal connection with the factory director, Wei, who gave him the easy job.

Geng Changle had a marriage that ended in divorce, with his daughter Geng Qing living with him. His daily routine involved drinking, smoking, and watching TV at the guardhouse and at home. His only hobby was fishing.