Doubt Cloud
Four hours have passed, and the autopsy has come to an end.
Lin Yan put down the surgical knife, and her back was already soaked: “It’s done, all the samples have been collected, right?”
An assistant forensic examiner nodded, “Yes, they will be sent to the laboratory shortly.”
“What about the documentation?” She looked at Duan Cheng, who patted his own camera, “No problem, it’s all here.”
She nodded slightly in acknowledgement, then turned around and took off her gloves, throwing them into the medical waste bin. In that moment of bowing her head, she seemed to be lost in thought for a moment.
From his perspective, Lin Yan’s profile was unnaturally pale under the harsh light.
Seeing her unmoving, Duan Cheng asked, “Forensic Doctor Lin?”
Lin Yan turned her head and continued, “Take samples of the deceased’s lung, myocardium, liver tissue, and bone marrow fluid for diatom examination1.”
Fang Xin looked troubled, “For diatom examination, we’ll have to send it to the provincial headquarters.”
“How long will it take to get the results?”
“Probably about two days or so.”
“…” Lin Yan took a deep breath, restraining the urge to curse, ‘”I could have done this simple diatom examination back in my sophomore year. Yet you still have to send it to the provincial headquarters. Why not just send it to the central headquarters?'”
“To be honest, the forensic department has limited funding and a shortage of manpower. When we had a high number of cases before, we even outsourced the autopsies to third-party institutions. It’s not that we can’t do it, but…”
Another forensic examiner chimed in.
Lin Yan raised an eyebrow, “In the end, it’s all about money, isn’t it? Easily solvable. I’ll go to sleep now; you guys clean this up.”
She nodded her chin, stretched lazily, and walked away with an air of arrogance.
Quickly disposing of the clothing tainted with the stench of the corpse, Lin Yan stepped into the shower. The water temperature was chilly, and when the water jet hit her head and body, she shivered. Leaning against the wall, she slowly regulated her breathing.
After five minutes, Lin Yan came out, towel-drying her hair. She took out an expensive perfume from the storage cabinet and sprayed it on herself as if it were free, covering any lingering faint odor of decay. Finally, she let out a sigh of relief and grabbed a box of chewing gum from the cabinet.
Opening the lid, she poured two pills into her palm but suddenly heard a faint sound at the door. She turned around to find Song Yuhang standing quietly in the darkness, watching her.
The light in the dressing room was dim, and Lin Yan smiled, “Is there something you need?”
She closed the cabinet door, towel-dried her hair, and started to leave. As she did so, she handed the bottle to her, “Chewing gum, it helps to stay alert. Want two pieces?”
Song Yuhang made way for her, “No, I came to ask about the autopsy results.”
Lin Yan halted her steps and yawned, “Sister, could you please check the time? Can the police just keep people working endlessly?”
As she said this, she turned her head, revealing a makeup-free, naturally beautiful face with excessively fair skin. The dark circles under her eyes were evident due to staying up late.
Song Yuhang checked her watch, “It’s now 5:30 in the morning. I’ll give you one hour of rest time, be ready for the meeting at 6:30 sharp.”
Lin Yan’s feet slipped, and she gritted her teeth, “May I ask, are you even human?”
Song Yuhang smiled slyly, “No, I’m not.”
Lin Yan nodded in agreement, “I can tell. No wonder you’re still single in your thirties. I suggest you stop causing trouble for my brother. It’s better for everyone if you stay single.”
“What does being single or not have to do with anything? Are two people together always happy?” She shook her head gently, seemingly disagreeing with that viewpoint.
Lin Yan instinctively retorted, “Of course… being with someone is better than being alone. At least… there’s someone to listen to you, even if it’s about insignificant things.”
But Lin Yan was such a person. She feared loneliness, afraid of waking up in an empty room at midnight. She feared dreaming of Chu Nan, and even more afraid of not dreaming of her.
She needed someone to listen to her talk about insignificant things.
Even if that person only loved her body or her money, it didn’t matter because, besides money, there was nothing else she could afford to give.
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As for happiness, what was that?
Since her eighteenth birthday, she had not genuinely laughed from the depths of her heart.
Engaging with others, the most taboo is to share shallow words but deep thoughts. Lin Yan snapped back to reality and smiled self-deprecatingly, “There’s no need to tell someone as old-fashioned and rigid as Song Yuhang about these things.”
She walked away, and heard the person behind her softly respond, “I may not know if it makes you happy or not, but if it’s not something you truly love, it’s hard to persist for over ten years. Without genuine respect, it’s impossible to achieve excellence.”
“I may not be anything special, but at least I am a police officer. Solving cases is my duty.”
Lin Yan sneered and stopped responding, her thin figure disappearing into the long corridor.
To an outsider, this conversation might seem enigmatic, but two intelligent individuals need not say much to understand each other.
Song Yuhang’s gaze shifted to the autopsy room just a wall away. Perhaps she didn’t know, but she had also watched the video of the autopsy process.
In that moment of silent mourning, her expression was really unlike “Lin Yan.”
Back in her office, Lin Yan found the two candies already melted, and the thin sugar coating felt uncomfortable in her hand.
She stuffed them into her mouth, taking a big gulp of bottled water, and then lay back in her chair for a moment before taking out her phone to make a call.
“Hello? It’s me, Lin Yan. I need ten centrifuges… Yes… Have them delivered to the Municipal Public Security Bureau after dawn.”
“Director Lin, this… the time is too tight…”
Lin Yan sneered coldly, “If it can’t be delivered before the next quarter’s financing…”
“No, no, no… Director Lin, let’s talk about it.”
Lin Yan hung up the phone with a snap and then her gaze fell back on the chewing gum bottle on the table.
After a moment of contemplation, she decided to pick it up and put it inside a drawer.
An hour later, Lin Yan was awakened by the rapid tapping of the keyboard. She sat up, rubbing her eyes, and her uniform jacket slipped off her body.
She ruffled her hair, trying to catch the falling jacket, but couldn’t remember if she had covered herself with it last night.
Her memory seemed fragmented.
Zheng Chengrui noticed that she was awake and hurriedly came over, offering her freshly steamed buns, fried dough sticks, soy milk, and a just-cooked egg.
“Forensic Doctor Lin, you’re awake. Eat up, after Team Leader Song finishes, she’ll call us for a meeting.”
Her stomach rumbled timely.
Impatiently, Lin Yan waved her hand, “I know, go away. You being around makes it hard for me to eat.”
“Alright, alright, enjoy your meal.”
The chubby person seemed accustomed to being ordered around by others, and his temperament was unusually accommodating in front of Lin Yan.
“If it’s not enough, I still have more.”
Lin Yan opened the plastic bag, took a tissue, rolled it into a small ball, and took a small bite. She frowned and then spat it all out, throwing the rest into the trash bin.
“Is this meant for humans to eat? Looks like pig feed to me.”
The chubby person’s face turned red, “This… this is the cafeteria food…”
Everyone in the room looked over, and Lin Yan leaned back in her chair, a mocking smile playing at the corner of her lips.
“Only you guys can stomach this.”
Some people’s faces showed a hint of anger, but they were pulled away by their companions, and others also got up from their seats.
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“Let’s go, it’s time for the meeting.”
Once everyone had left, Lin Yan leaned back in her chair and called for a food delivery. While waiting for the delivery, she went to wash her face and rinse her mouth.
When she returned to her seat, Cantonese-style dim sum was already placed on her table.
Three servings of dim sum, two steamed dishes, and two bowls of congee; this was not an ordinary food delivery but a nutritious breakfast prepared by the Lin family’s chef.
She meticulously prepared all three meals of the day, aiming for a balanced and not overly high-calorie diet.
As a result, she rarely indulged in outside junk food, let alone street food like buns.
However, she knew she couldn’t finish so much food. Like a cat, she tasted a little of each, feeling satisfied, and then discarded the rest into the trash bin. She dabbed her mouth with a tissue before leisurely making her way to the forensic examination room.
“Where’s Forensic Doctor Lin?” Song Yuhang swept her gaze around the room, and there was an empty seat at the forensic department.
“Here she comes.” Under everyone’s watchful eyes, the esteemed forensic doctor Lin arrived, wearing slippers, and strolling in tardily. Her curly hair was let loose, and she was still wearing the tank top she changed into last night after washing up. The black tight-fitting top perfectly outlined her figure, accentuating her generous curves that were about to burst out. Below, she wore loose-fitting, short sport pants in the same color, showing off her long legs and slim waist, captivating everyone’s attention.
Beautiful indeed, Lin Yan stood out as a complete anomaly among the crowd of people dressed in neatly buttoned uniforms.
Fang Xin glanced at her, then at herself, feeling ashamed and lowering her head.
From the moment she entered, Duan Cheng’s eyes had been glued to her, and it was evident what he was thinking without even having to ponder.
As for Zheng Chengrui, he wiped the drool from the corner of his mouth.
Song Yuhang’s lips pressed into a straight line.
Zhang Jinhai spoke up at the right moment, breaking the silence, “Alright, everyone is here. Let’s discuss the case.”
“The deceased is Ding Xue, thirty years old, an English teacher at Jiangcheng First High School. She went missing from her home on the evening of May 14, 2008, between 8:00 and 10:00. At 10:23, she sent a text message to her husband, Sun Xiangming, the contents of which are as follows.”
The printed text was enlarged on the PPT.
Sitting across from Zhang Jinhai, Song Yuhang turned her pen in her hand, “We haven’t found the deceased’s personal belongings, so we can’t confirm whether the text message was sent by the killer or the victim herself. There is a high possibility that she had already been killed at that time.”
As she finished speaking, Lin Yan leaned back in her chair, supporting her head with her hand, feeling drowsy, and let out a yawn.
“It’s impossible. Based on the corpse’s condition, rigor mortis, liver temperature, and a comprehensive analysis of the environmental climate, the estimated time of death should have been between 11:00 PM and 1:00 AM three days ago.”
Zhang Jinhai considered for a moment, “How is the surveillance investigation going?”
Zheng Chengrui stood up hesitantly, “Still looking… We haven’t found any suspicious individuals entering or leaving the park.”
“Let’s assume the killer was after her valuables. After she sent that message, the perpetrator might have robbed her and then pushed her into the water.”
Suggested one of the investigators.
“So, the key to solving the case lies in the victim’s phone. According to the victim’s husband, she had an iPhone worth over 4,000 yuan with her when she left on the day she went missing. She also carried cash and bank cards in her handbag.”
“We have already monitored all the accounts under the victim’s name. If anyone withdraws money, the nearby police stations’ colleagues will rush over immediately.”
Song Yuhang nodded, “Send people to the major second-hand markets in Jiangcheng City, especially the used mobile phone markets. If there’s anything suspicious, bring them in for questioning right away.”
Lin Yan stretched lazily, as if the discussion was happening without any relation to herself, and yawned lazily.
“By the way, have you considered that Lianhua Pond might not be the first crime scene?”
“Of course, we’ve already considered it. Why else would we conduct surveillance and investigations?” one investigator chimed in.
Lin Yan stood up and took out a USB flash drive from her pocket. She directly brought the computer over and inserted the USB, sliding the mouse a few times. Several images appeared on the large screen.
“These were found during the autopsy. The blood in the right ventricle of the victim’s heart is significantly diluted, with lower blood viscosity, density, hemoglobin levels, and red blood cell count compared to the left side.”
“This is highly unusual in forensic medicine because such indicators are not expected in cases of drowning in freshwater.”
Zhang Jinhai almost spat out the water he was drinking, “Wha… what does that mean? Are you saying she drowned in seawater?”
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Although Jiangcheng City is the closest coastal city in the province, the nearest seaside park is still over two hundred kilometers away from the city center.
According to Sun Xiangming’s account, Ding Xue left home around 8 or 9 PM and died between 11 PM and 1 AM the next morning. This timeframe doesn’t allow for a round trip to the seaside park. Even if the perpetrator rushed to drown the victim in seawater and hurried back to dispose of the body, it would be risky. What if they encountered a police checkpoint on the highway? It would be like walking into a trap.
A sense of silence enveloped the room as everyone scratched their heads, feeling somewhat frustrated. They had spent the whole night, yet their efforts yielded no results, making the case even more intricate and complex.
“Let’s send the samples for diatom testing to the provincial laboratory. If we can determine the specific water body where the victim died, it will greatly assist our investigation.”
No matter the situation, Song Yuhang always spoke with seriousness and composure.
Lin Yan leaned restlessly in her chair, shifting back and forth. Her seat was next to Song Yuhang’s, and she inadvertently leaned in, coming in close proximity to her. A sweet feminine fragrance wafted into her nose.
She instinctively moved away, avoiding the physical contact, but she couldn’t escape Song Yuhang’s shining eyes, which seemed to carry a hint of an attempt to take credit.
“Why bother sending it to the provincial laboratory? I can handle it myself,” Lin Yan glanced at her watch. “Hmm, the equipment I ordered should be arriving soon.”
The underlying implication was clear: “If I crack the case, you better thank me properly, Team Leader Song.”
Song Yuhang remained expressionless, as if she hadn’t heard anything, and turned her face away. “Alright, for now, let’s do it that way. We’ll split into three teams. One group will investigate the second-hand market, another will go to the victim’s home, and I’ll go to Jiangcheng City First High School to gather information.”
Jiangcheng City First High School.
When Lin Yan heard the name, she silently repeated it in her mind and then extended her hand, saying, “I’m going too.”
Footnotes
- The diatoms test is based on the principle that diatoms can be detected in the organs of drowned victims if they aspirated diatom-rich water into the lung before death. Diatoms are unicellular, photosynthetic and autotrophic organisms that live both in fresh water and saltwater.