Chapter 82: The Autopsy

Peng Sijue finished examining the body and pointed to a spot on the ground, saying to Lin Qiupu, “There’s evidence of a struggle here, and a lot of bloodstains around… Look here, these two round marks could be from knees.”

Lin Qiupu nodded, “The killer likely pushed the victim down here and smashed his face with a rock, causing death, then dragged the body over there to place it with the female corpse… Have you determined the time of death?”

Peng Sijue shook his head, “It’s too cold here. We can’t determine it just from livor mortis. We need to check the liver temperature back at the lab… How do you plan to transport the bodies?”

“That’s simple. I’ll call for a helicopter from headquarters.”

Lin Qiupu immediately made a call, then walked to the edge of the cave and looked down. Below was a dense forest. The killer could have thrown any evidence related to the case down there, making it a needle in a haystack to find.

He said to the person in charge, “We need a favor. Can you hire some workers to search for evidence down there? We’ll cover the cost… Also, please coordinate with the local police.”

The local police officer said, “It’s a matter of life and death. We’re duty-bound.”

Lin Qiupu asked the person in charge, “Is there usually an entrance fee for this place?”

“Not during this season.”

“Why not?”

“Officer, you might not know, but no one really comes here. Only in spring, when the peach blossoms are in bloom, do some self-driving tourists visit, and we hold a few tourism activities. After autumn, the mountain is bare, and it’s so cold. Who would come? Even if we charged an entrance fee, it wouldn’t cover the labor costs.”

“So it’s open to the public for free?”

“Yes, but only mountain climbing enthusiasts come here.”

Talking about mountain climbing enthusiasts, the person in charge glanced at the accompanying college students. One of them said, “We’re all part of a mountain climbing club. We often organize climbing activities. Among our members, we always say never to team up with strangers when climbing. You never know what might happen in the deep woods, like robbery or assault. Such things have happened before, and the police couldn’t solve the cases… Oh, sorry.”

What he said unintentionally struck a chord with Lin Qiupu, who frowned in contemplation. The police fear not complex cases but simple ones.

A person running into the street and killing someone without any warning is the hardest case to solve. If such a random act of violence occurs in a deep forest, it’s even more challenging.

“Are there any surveillance cameras at the entrance?” Lin Qiupu asked again.

The person in charge smiled and shook his head, “There’s no surveillance in the mountains, but there are a few restaurants at the road entrance. You can ask there.”

A gust of wind could be heard, and everyone looked up to see the helicopter arriving. The technical team put the body in a body bag, attached it to the helicopter’s rope, and slowly lifted it.

It was the first time the college students had seen a police helicopter. They took out their phones to take pictures. Lin Qiupu said, “No photos. Delete them.”

“Sorry!” The student smiled and complied.

With the body taken away, everyone retraced their steps. Lin Qiupu asked Lin Dongxue to talk to the college students to see if they missed any clues. He also sent some officers to find potential witnesses nearby while he communicated with the local police.

Lin Dongxue asked, “Should we call Chen Shi?”

“Let’s not bother him for now. We can’t rely on him for every case… Besides, this case is different from the previous ones. He might not be able to solve it either.”

“Alright.”

By the time they finished collecting evidence at the scene, it was past noon. They had a simple meal at a small restaurant and returned to the station in the afternoon. Peng Sijue began the autopsy, with Lin Qiupu and Lin Dongxue observing in the forensic lab.

The body had already been opened. Peng Sijue said, “Time of death: the female about seven days ago, and the male slightly later, anywhere from three to twelve hours.”

“Can’t you be more precise?” Lin Qiupu asked.

Peng Sijue shook his head, “It’s too cold in the cave. No insects this season. None of our methods can accurately determine the time of death.”

“Go on.”

“The female was about twenty-three years old, the male about twenty-five. The injuries on the female’s face were inflicted postmortem. The real cause of death seems to be poisoning. Her liver and kidneys show significant signs of poisoning. I found a needle mark behind her left scapula, injected through her clothing…”

“Let me see.”

Peng Sijue showed the needle mark to Lin Qiupu. He said, “The female victim was thin, with little muscle, so the needle went in at an angle. This angle makes self-injection unlikely.”

“What kind of poison?”

“Still analyzing. Her heart showed signs of failure, likely caused by the poison targeting the cardiopulmonary system.”

Lin Dongxue said, “They were wearing the same mountaineering clothes. Could they have committed a lovers’ suicide… and were interrupted by a killer during the process?”

Peng Sijue replied, “We can’t prove that. The male victim had calluses on his palms and talcum powder on his fingertips, indicating he was a climbing enthusiast. Whether he came with the female victim is unknown.”

“Anything else?” Lin Qiupu asked.

“The male’s facial bones were severely injured, and his eyeballs ruptured, but that wasn’t the cause of death. He died from suffocation due to a ruptured blood vessel blocking his airway. The death process could have lasted over an hour. After the attack, the victim was still alive, lying there, dying slowly in a semi-conscious state.”

Hearing this, Lin Dongxue frowned. Such a death was too painful.

Peng Sijue continued, “By the way, the stomach contents show the female victim’s last meal was ten hours before death, and the male’s was two hours before. They ate completely different foods. The male seemed to have had chocolate, compressed biscuits, and energy drinks during the climb. The female appeared to have climbed on an empty stomach, without even a sip of water.”

“Climbing that mountain takes four hours. She didn’t drink any water?” Lin Dongxue was surprised.

“It seems they weren’t together, or they wouldn’t have eaten so differently,” Lin Qiupu concluded.

“This can only be considered circumstantial evidence.”

“Did the female victim…?” Lin Qiupu started to ask.

Peng Sijue anticipated his question, “There were no signs of sexual activity. She wasn’t a virgin. Both were in good health, except the male had some liver issues, likely from smoking. The female had mild gastritis. Additionally, the female victim showed signs of wearing earrings, a necklace, a bracelet, and rings, but these items are all missing.”

“Can you reconstruct their faces?”

“With his facial bones shattered like this, it’ll take time.”

“Alright, it’s up to you. We’ll check recent missing person reports.”