Miss Forensics – Chapter 26

Part One

Human Hearts

“Wait, is she pregnant?” “Yeah, your dad’s. Quick, call me Mom.”

Song Yuhang ran downstairs, pushing through the crowd of onlookers. She looked around in every direction, but there was still no sign of anyone, and she was quickly surrounded by journalists again.

            

“Officer, officer, just a few words!”

“Captain Song, what are you looking for?” Duan Cheng poked his head out of the car window to look at her.

Song Yuhang recovered her senses and shook her head. Gripping the car door, she leaped inside, shutting the annoying crowd of reporters outside.

            

“Let’s go. Back to the bureau.”

Jiangcheng was divided by a river into two districts: East and West. The East District was a forest of towering high-rises and soaring skyscrapers, with wide avenues and pristine landscaping. Even the greenery along the streets was meticulously trimmed to uniform, layered heights. This district housed the municipal government, the Public Security Bureau, the procuratorate, and other administrative bodies, serving as a playground for the wealthy.

The West District, on the other hand, was mostly populated by Jiangcheng’s original residents. Stretching along the riverbank with the mountains at its back, its geographical location was superb. When the wave of the Reform and Opening-up hit, property values skyrocketed. One portion of the local residents refused to relocate, while another wanted to hold out for an exorbitant price to fleece the government. The municipal government had initiated several bidding projects, but the developers who arrived were repeatedly deterred by the astronomical prices demanded by the nail house holdouts. Consequently, in an era of rapid and ever-changing economic growth, the West District remained like a piece of rat feces stuck to the pearl of Jiangcheng—the kind that could not be scraped off no matter how hard one tried.

            

The alleys here were narrow and low-hanging, the sky overhead sliced into irregular fragments by a spiderweb of power lines.

The ground was uneven and full of potholes. On both sides of the road, residents squatted over open drainage ditches washing clothes, while an elderly man on a bicycle rang his bell, making it clatter noisily.

With road conditions like this, the Criminal Investigation Detachment’s vehicle was moving no faster than a crawling snail.

            

Lin Yan leaned against the back of her seat, her face pale. “Can’t you go any faster?”

“This is as fast as it gets. It’ll be better once we clear the mouth of the alley up ahead,” Duan Cheng said, tapping the brakes lightly to avoid an oncoming electric scooter.

Song Yuhang cast a glance back at her. Half of Lin Yan’s face was concealed in the shadows, making it impossible to read her expression. Since the car was crowded, Song Yuhang could not ask her directly, so she bit her lip and let the matter drop.

            

After rattling and rolling their way back to the City Bureau, the car door slid open, and Lin Yan was the first to charge out. She propped herself against a wall and dry-heaved; having skipped breakfast, she brought up nothing but bitter stomach acid.

A few gossiping female colleagues followed behind, whispering to each other, “Wait, is she pregnant? Her private life is such a mess, I wonder who the unlucky bastard is…”

“Shh, keep it down. Don’t let her hear you.”

            

Song Yuhang frowned slightly. Just as she was about to walk over and offer her a tissue, Lin Yan wiped her mouth and stood tall. Her gaze was electric. Though she was not wearing high heels, her stride was still incredibly powerful. She marched straight up to the speaker, raised her hand, and delivered a swift, clean slap across her face. Her beautiful features were thick with sheer defiance.

“Yeah, your dad’s. Quick, call me Mom.”

The young female officer stamped her feet in indignation and ran away in tears.

            

Lin Yan flung her uniform jacket over her shoulder, slipped one hand into her pocket, and walked inside. Song Yuhang stood directly in her path, and when their shoulders collided, she grabbed Lin Yan’s arm.

“Was that really necessary?”

Lin Yan glanced down at the hand resting on her arm, her tone utterly dismissive. “I say, Captain Song, you seem less like a Jiangcheng police officer and more like a cop of the Pacific Ocean—why do you have to meddle in everything?”

            

“She was in the wrong first, but with people constantly coming and going at the entrance of the bureau, you didn’t have to… How is she supposed to face anyone after this?”

There was a hint of chiding her impulsiveness in those words, but also a slight sense of shielding the other woman. A nameless rage flared in Lin Yan’s chest, and she violently shook off Song Yuhang’s grip.

“If you want to talk about facing people, everyone is living as a human for the first time¹. Why the hell should I tolerate it?” She turned her head and spat on the ground. “Pah! This queen is already showing mercy by not tearing her mouth apart. What does that have to do with you, Song Yuhang? Jumping out here to put on airs² with your fake righteousness and hypocrisy. Despicable!”

            

With that, she marched into the bureau, her flat shoes somehow projecting the imposing aura of someone standing six feet tall in stilettos, leaving Song Yuhang standing alone in utter confusion.

“Completely baffling.”

Fang Xin gave her a sympathetic look and walked past.

            

Duan Cheng patted her shoulder and followed.

Zheng Chengrui pushed up his glasses. “A woman’s heart is a needle at the bottom of the sea³.”

Song Yuhang nodded in absolute agreement, quickening her pace to catch up with the group. “A woman’s heart is a needle at the bottom of the sea.”

            

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By strict protocol, even in a homicide case, the victim’s family should be located before conducting an autopsy. However, the body was already in such a state, and there was absolutely nothing near the crime scene that could prove her identity. The only scrap of paper found had its ink completely bled out, which would require time for technical recovery.

Therefore, Lin Yan decided to perform the autopsy first. Postmortem features would change with time and temperature; every minute wasted was a step further away from the truth.

She turned on the faucet, splashing cold water onto her face to cool down her rising body temperature. Her dizzy head regained a fraction of clarity. She washed her hands, disinfected them, put on her protective suit, and donned her mask in one fluid, practiced sequence before walking into the autopsy room fully geared.

            

Even though it was an unidentified corpse, she still showed proper respect. Holding the scalpel vertically before her chest, she bowed her head slightly in a minute of silent tribute.

Duan Cheng switched on the video camera.

“June 1, 2008, 1:45 PM. The deceased is unidentified. The first autopsy begins now.”

            

---

In the briefing room.

A whiteboard was covered in crime scene photographs, with currently known clues written in black marker.

“According to interviews with witnesses at the scene, the suspect, Li Li, drove into the construction site at approximately 4:55 AM last night. He ran over the victim more than ten times while maneuvering to unload cargo in front of the building. Around 5:30 AM, the construction foreman, Liu Zhi, woke up for his shift and discovered the victim.”

            

“The victim was already deceased when discovered. Everything below her neck had been dragged into the wheels, leaving the body severely mutilated. The blood pool measured approximately 1.0 by 1.2 meters, deep in the center and shallow at the edges. According to the on-site forensic examination, the deceased was a young female under eighteen years of age.”

“She sustained a comminuted skull fracture, and the wound showed clear signs of vital reaction, consistent with injuries from a high fall.”

“Hold on—” Zhang Jinhai interrupted the investigator. “Meaning the victim died from a fall, not from being run over by the truck?”

            

“Yes.” Song Yuhang stood up and handed over a dried sheet of paper sealed in an evidence bag. “This was found on the rooftop of the scene.”

The paper was dry, but the ink was beyond recovery. Everyone stared at it for a long time, only barely making out the word “Suicide Note.”

Zhang Jinhai took off his glasses. “Since a suicide note was found, it is highly likely a suicide, right?”

            

“Not necessarily. Although no signs of struggle, nor any secondary fingerprints or footprints were found on the rooftop, it remains suspicious. She was not even eighteen—in the flower of her youth—why would she commit suicide?”

No one wanted consecutive homicides occurring in their district. This question made Zhang Jinhai frown. Suppressing his displeasure, he turned to instruct the others.

“The top priority is to identify the victim. Have any local police stations reported missing persons recently, particularly minors?”

            

An investigator checked his computer, stood up, and reported, “We do have missing person reports: one in the East District and two in the West District, but they are all elderly. The ages don’t match.”

“What about surveillance at the crime scene?” Song Yuhang turned her gaze toward Zheng Chengrui.

Zheng Chengrui tapped on his keyboard, entering a string of code to pull up a map of the entire street block. When he turned back, his expression was somewhat grim.

            

“The closest camera to the crime scene is over a hundred meters away.”

Gelin Building was part of the West District redevelopment project contracted to Jianxin Company and subsidized by the municipal government. At its inception, the project was intended to be a large-scale shopping complex to attract major retailers. However, judging from its modest six-story scale and limited footprint, one could see how difficult the project had been to execute.

An area no larger than a palm had been designated as a parking lot, though it was currently a dumping ground for stones and construction debris. The incident occurred in front of the building’s main entrance, while the camera was positioned over by the parking lot. Separated by nearly a hundred meters, it could not capture so much as a shadow.

            

DNA matching, bloodstain analysis, fingerprint comparisons, and even the autopsy itself would take time. The case had once again stalled.

Song Yuhang rested her chin in her hand, still sensing that something was amiss. She wished more than anyone that this was merely a simple suicide, but with a minor involved, it was best to proceed with caution and seek solid proof. Even if it were a suicide, there had to be a reason.

Her eyes fell upon the paper in front of her. This was their only clue at present. Stretching out her arm, she took it back and examined it closely.

            

It was standard notebook paper, completely unremarkable.

A school notebook?

A spark of inspiration flashed in her mind. She turned the palm-sized sheet over, pulled a flashlight from her pocket, and studied it against the light.

            

Ink ran easily when wet, but what about printed type?

Every elementary, middle, and high school in Jiangcheng distributed notebooks to students at the start of the semester. To distinguish themselves from other institutions, they usually printed their school name and logo on them.

Finally, heaven rewarded her diligence. Song Yuhang read the tiny printed characters aloud. “Yu… Yu-something?”

            

The characters that followed were completely illegible.

“Immediately contact all schools in Jiangcheng starting with the character ‘Yu,’ including high schools. Ask if any of their students failed to show up today.”

“Got it.” An officer rushed out of the room to make the calls.

            

While the discussions in the briefing room grew increasingly heated, the autopsy was also entering its most intense phase.

The body was severely mangled, making many critical examinations impossible. They spent a vast amount of time piecing together the rough skeletal structure, arranging the skull, clavicles, scapulae, tibia, femur, and other bones in neat classifications on the autopsy table.

Wearing her gloves and mask, Lin Yan used a flexible measuring tape to obtain measurements, while Duan Cheng recorded them on a whiteboard.

            

He was still calculating. “Uh… the approximate height is…”

Lin Yan had already calculated it in her head using the regression equation. “2.30 times the maximum femur length of 40 centimeters, plus 64.38, plus or minus 3.48 centimeters, which equals 159.86 centimeters. However, due to the severe damage to the femur, the margin of error is around 3 centimeters.”

Clack. The pen in Duan Cheng’s hand slipped and hit the floor. He stared at her, utterly dumbfounded.

            

Lin Yan snapped, “What are you looking at me for?! Keep calculating the tibia, fibula, humerus, ulna, and radius, then give me an average!”

Once the basic skeleton was cleared, they moved on to examining the internal organs. Since even the hardest bones in the human body had been crushed into such a state, the soft organs and tissues were even worse off—it was practically a blind search.

Yet Lin Yan persisted in digging through the bloody mass of shredded flesh for useful clues. Although the temperature in the autopsy room was kept low, the heavy gear weighed on her. Having stood for over two hours, her back gradually bent, large beads of sweat trickling from her forehead, and her vision grew increasingly blurry.

            

The harsh white light overhead dissolved into spinning bands before her eyes, whirling around her. The other technicians in their white hazmat suits moved back and forth, their voices growing distant and unintelligible.

It was not until someone behind her repeated her title several times that she snapped out of it. “Forensic Examiner Lin, Forensic Examiner Lin…”

She shook her head, dispelling the dizziness, and held onto the autopsy table to steady herself before turning around. “What is it?”

            

“I calculated the average. The height is roughly 160 centimeters, with a margin of error of 3 centimeters,” Duan Cheng said with some excitement. But seeing that the sweat on her brow had completely soaked through her cap and her exposed face was deathly pale, he looked at her with concern. “Are you… alright?”

“I’m fine.” Lin Yan turned back around, biting her lower lip. She picked up a pair of forceps, took a deep breath, and when she opened her eyes again, her expression had cleared.

The identifiable organs and tissues had already been labeled and set aside for freezing. Lin Yan kept her head down, sorting through the remnants of flesh. Suddenly, her forceps turned over a piece of tissue about the size of a fingernail, slightly lighter in color than the surrounding matter.

            

She lifted it up to the light, her brow furrowing tightly. “Bring me a slide.”

A transparent glass slide was presented to her. She used her forceps to place the tissue onto it with utmost care, and then spoke words that left everyone dumbfounded.

“Run an embryonic test.”

            

Duan Cheng felt a wave of nausea. “Holy shit, this is way too insane!”

---

After stepping out of the autopsy room, she squatted on the floor to catch her breath while the corridor was empty. The moment someone approached, Lin Yan stood up abruptly, dragging herself back to her office step by step.

She pulled open her drawer to look for chewing gum, but shaking the pack revealed it was completely empty.

            

Damn, I’m out.

Lin Yan tossed the pack onto her desk. Just then, someone walked in to drop off some paperwork.

“Oh, Forensic Examiner Lin, why are you still here? Aren’t you going to the meeting?”

            

Lin Yan supported herself against the desk and stood up. “I’m on my way.”

---

The moment she stepped into the briefing room, she sensed that the atmosphere was off. Everyone’s eyes turned toward her in unison, staring directly at her face.

Only then did she realize: Fuck, I forgot my mask.

            

The bruises on her face from her fight with Song Yuhang were still visible. With everyone watching, she could hardly turn back to retrieve her mask, so she had no choice but to brace herself and shuffle toward her seat.

Of all things, the only empty seat left was right next to Song Yuhang. Who the fuck arranged these seats?!

In her heart, Lin Yan sliced that person into a thousand pieces.

            

Song Yuhang also felt somewhat awkward. She touched her nose and cleared her throat. “Since everyone is here, let’s proceed. Forensic Examiner Lin, please present the autopsy results.”

If she had kept her mouth shut, it would have been fine, but as soon as she spoke, Zhang Jinhai’s gaze shifted to linger on both of their faces.

Song Yuhang had a long scratch on her face, clearly gouged by a woman’s fingernails, while Lin Yan was also visibly bruised. Her stunning looks could only be rated a seven or eight out of ten today—no wonder the officers at the scene said she had been wearing sunglasses the entire time.

            

Injuries appearing on both of them on the exact same day was incredibly suspicious.

Furthermore, rumor had it that Song Yuhang’s blind date was Lin Yan’s older cousin. The fire of gossip burned furiously within everyone, as if they wanted to pierce holes through the two of them with their stares.

Unable to tolerate those looks any longer, Lin Yan slammed her documents onto the table with a loud smack. “What are you staring at?! Look at the case files! Why are you looking at me?!”

            

The officers quickly lowered their heads or drank their water.

“Get up. Yes, you. Swap seats with me!” Disregarding what anyone thought, she nudged the shoulder of the colleague next to her, gesturing for him to stand. She rose as well, but in that very instant—perhaps from standing too quickly—her vision went black. She lost her balance and tumbled backward.

“Lin Yan!”

            

Through her fading consciousness, she heard the sharp screech of a chair scraping against the floor, and she was swept up in a princess carry. The last thing she saw before the world dissolved into darkness was a pair of anxious eyes.

Song Yuhang hurried out without looking back. “I am taking her to the hospital. Carry on.”

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The author has something to say:

            

Thank you for reading.

Captain Song is really so dense 【doge】

Also, I heard some of you are shipping the sister-in-law and aunt CP… I… I can do that!!!

            

Finally, shipping the sister-in-law CP for just a second, but Song and Lin are forever 【doge】

Thank you everyone, I love you all~

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