Miss Forensics – Chapter 44.2

Dripping Blood

“Ah, I mean, didn’t you drink alcohol before?” In the end, Lin Yan took a cup of soy milk from her and sipped it slowly.

“Are you talking about that night?” Song Yuhang pondered for a moment before saying, “I did have a bit to drink, but it was very little, less than 50ml of mojito.”

Lin Yan chuckled softly, “Mojito? What kind of drink is that? Most of it is just soda water mixed in. It’s just a fancy drink to show off, won’t get you drunk.”

Song Yuhang smiled bitterly, “It’s possible. Last night was the first time in my life that I drank so much, and it hit me hard and fast.”

Lin Yan averted her gaze, and they had arrived at the Criminal Investigation Office. Song Yuhang stopped and waited for her to finish her last sentence.

“Allergic reactions vary from person to person. In the cocktails we had last night, there was not just alcohol but also other ingredients like lemon and soda. I suggest you go to the hospital for an allergy test.”

Lin Yan’s concern was laced with a reluctant sense of professional duty.

Song Yuhang smiled, inexplicably wanting to reach out and pat her head, but she withdrew her hand upon making eye contact with Lin Yan. “Don’t worry, I know my own body well. I just drank a bit too much too quickly. It’s nothing to be concerned about.”

Lin Yan snorted and walked away with an air of superiority. “I wasn’t concerned about you. I was worried that if you suddenly kicked the bucket, it would increase my workload.”

Song Yuhang couldn’t help but chuckle, watching Lin Yan walk away. She had a smile on her lips as she returned to her own office.

Fang Xin followed behind her with a slightly gossipy expression and said, “I can see the strawberry marks on Captain Song’s neck. Is it because you—”

Lin Yan had just taken a sip of soy milk and almost sprayed it all out, coughing vigorously. “Cough, cough! What strawberry marks? Those are hives from alcohol allergies, okay?! Besides, what does it have to do with me if she has strawberry marks on her neck? Stop indulging in inappropriate gossip with Duan Cheng all day long!”

As she spoke, Lin Yan quickened her pace and walked ahead, leaving Fang Xin staring at her back with an innocent look. A mischievous smile played on her lips.

“Oh, Dr. Lin, if it’s not, then it’s not. Why get so worked up about it?”

Lin Yan replied, “Shut up, stop chattering. Let’s get to work, get to work.”

She was just making excuses with her words. Just as she had taken off her coat and hung it on the hanger, preparing to change into a white coat to enter the laboratory, the police siren sounded.

She quickly snatched the coat back down and threw it on, with one sleeve still unbuttoned. She grabbed her investigation kit and rushed out, buttoning up with one hand as she ran.

“Why are you standing there?! There’s an emergency call! Let’s go!”

Duan Cheng hastily shoved a pancake into his mouth, grabbed his camera, and stuffed the lens into his bag while his voice was muffled, “W-Wait, Dr. Lin.”

Fang Xin also left her soy milk on the table, grabbed her investigation kit, and dashed out. She wiped her mouth with a tissue as she ran.

The Criminal Investigation team was faster than the Technical Investigation team. When they were ready to depart, Song Yuhang was already on the way.

The two cars were connected via Bluetooth, and the voice from the walkie-talkie came from the driver’s seat, “Received a 110 citizen report, stating that at 78 Xuanwu Road, Apartment 1106 in the Dongcheng District of our city, a naked female corpse was discovered inside…”

Only a short while after the sun had risen, the sky had completely clouded over, making the early morning resemble evening.

Lin Yan jumped out of the car, carrying the investigation kit, and briskly crossed the police cordon, striding into the building.

The community property management and local police officers guided them upstairs together, and the elevator stopped on the eleventh floor.

The examination platform was already set up. Song Yuhang, wearing gloves and shoe covers, stepped into the pool of blood. She briskly pulled open the shower curtain with a swoosh, revealing the lifeless, nude female corpse lying in the bathtub with her head tilted.

An overwhelming, pungent smell of blood filled the air, combined with the visual shock of the bathtub filled with blood, causing several new junior detectives to instinctively step back.

The forensic examiner changed into suitable clothing and entered. Song Yuhang moved aside to clear a path for her, allowing Lin Yan to pass in front of her.

Photographs were taken, evidence was collected.

During her work, Lin Yan was undoubtedly professional, without any superficial glamour that she might have had elsewhere.

Song Yuhang glanced at her, confident in leaving this task to her.

The gaze that had been on her disappeared, and sensing her leaving, Lin Yan’s lips under her mask curled slightly.

“Come, let’s collect a water sample too.”

After the forensic examiner had extracted a water sample from the bathtub, Lin Yan moved closer to observe the characteristics of the body.

The girl’s complexion was pale, the result of significant blood loss, and her body had already turned cold. There were no visible external injuries on the body exposed outside the bathtub. Lin Yan gently lifted her arm that hung over the edge, and a blade dropped from it.

Fang Xin used a pair of tweezers to pick up the blood-stained blade and placed it into an evidence bag.

Duan Cheng reached into the pool of blood and retrieved the deceased’s other arm. As expected, there was a clearly visible deep wound on the wrist, almost down to the bone.

The blood had already dried up, and the wound had turned white from being soaked. This bathtub was filled with her blood, mixed with water, silently flowing onto the floor throughout the long night.

His expression showed a mixture of fear and sorrow. “How… how could someone be driven to such a desperate state?”

* * *

“Who made the call to the police?”

“I-I did!” A man in the crowd outside raised his hand high. He had a beer belly and was wearing slippers, dressed in casual home attire, clearly looking flustered as he had rushed out of his house.

The investigators were taking notes, and Song Yuhang also approached.

“Tell us in detail.”

The man licked his lips, still seemingly shaken. “I live in Apartment 1006 downstairs. It was a little past 6 in the morning, and it was still dark outside. I was brushing my teeth and washing my face, getting ready for work…”

He seemed to be lost in that situation, unable to come back to his senses for a long time, his face turning pale.

The man was an ordinary office worker with a nine-to-five job. This apartment he rented was quite a distance from his workplace, requiring about ten bus stops. His modest salary couldn’t afford any extravagance, so he had to wake up early every day to wash up and make breakfast for himself.

On this particular day, it was just barely dawn when his alarm clock rang. He got out of bed with a bedhead, still half-asleep, and fumbled his way to the bathroom in the dark to begin his morning routine.

While brushing his teeth, he felt a few drops of water on his neck, but he didn’t pay much attention, just muttered a few curses in his mind at the upstairs neighbor and the property management: “Damn this lousy apartment, leaking water again.”

He spat out the toothpaste foam, rinsed his mouth, turned on the faucet to wash his face, and as he continued washing, he started to feel that something was amiss.

The dripping water increased steadily, and it was quite cold, both chilling and sticky in the early autumn season.

The man shivered inexplicably, the tap still running. He reached out to wipe the back of his neck and simultaneously turned on the switch on the wall. When he finally saw the liquid in his palm, he let out a horrified cry and slumped to the floor.

It was blood! Blood!

He watched in shock as his own ceiling began to seep blood, drop by drop, into the washbasin.

The bloodstains spread with the ripples in the water, sliding down the drain.

The man trembled all over, his lips quivering. He thought it was just a nightmare brought on by watching too many horror films. He pinched himself hard until the familiar pain hit him. He staggered to his feet, still in his pajamas, and rushed out to find the property management to report the incident.

“This is how it happened…” The man swallowed hard, desperately trying to forget that scene but only sinking deeper into it, his face marked with profound fear.

Song Yuhang gestured for someone to pass him a cigarette to help calm his nerves.

“Do you remember what time you woke up?”

The man took the cigarette but didn’t light it. He brought it close to his nose and took a deep breath. “I remember… I set the alarm for 6:30. When it went off, I got up and it took me about one or two minutes to get to the bathroom.”

“Do you recognize the tenant living upstairs?”

The man nodded, “Yes, I do. I think they’re a student. I’ve seen them in the elevator a few times and even exchanged greetings. But why would this suddenly happen…”

Song Yuhang glanced at him and a few property management staff. “Do they live alone? What about their parents? Or is it a rented apartment?”

One of the property managers stepped forward and said, “It’s not a rental, it’s their own place. The occupant is a young girl named Fan Lin. The property deed is in her father’s name, but after her parents divorced a few years ago, we haven’t seen her father come back. Only her mother comes to check on her from time to time.”

Song Yuhang signaled to the junior detective to relay this information back to the precinct so that Zheng Chengrui could search for the girl’s biological parents and notify the family.

The onlookers watched them busy themselves and listened to the property manager’s words, whispering among themselves.

“Oh, how pitiful. Parents divorcing, remarrying, the poor child abandoned.”

“That’s right. I’ve been living here for decades, and I can say I’ve watched this young girl grow up. How could they just give up on her like that?”

Some expressed sympathy while others gossiped callously.

“Didn’t we hear her and her mother arguing upstairs when her college admission notice came down a while back? She wanted to retake the college entrance exams, but her mother wouldn’t allow it. Maybe, she just couldn’t handle it at the moment…”

“How do you know all this so well?”

“Me? My son and she were classmates in the same grade. Although my son did well in this year’s college entrance exams, he made it to a prestigious university.”

“Oh, that’s indeed great. Congratulations, congratulations.”

……

A few young police officers remained outside, continuing to take statements from neighbors both upstairs and downstairs. Song Yuhang put on gloves once more and entered the scene.

As the examination of the body was halfway through, Duan Cheng held the investigation light for her, and Song Yuhang reached out to receive it. “I’ll take over. Any discoveries?”

Lin Yan had just placed a caliper on the victim’s wrist. “There’s a visible cut on the left wrist, about 5 cm deep, almost down to the bone, and it appears to have been dragged multiple times.”

The girl’s wrist was already blistered from the water, with veins and nerves exposed. A small, sharp object like a blade can only create this effect through repeated friction. There were also superficial scratch marks on the girl’s wrist, parallel to the main incision.

In forensic medicine, this is known as a “test cut.”

The two exchanged a glance, and Song Yuhang tightened her lips.

Lin Yan understood what she was thinking. “Don’t worry, with the experience from the He Miao case, I won’t jump to conclusions easily.”

Song Yuhang patted her shoulder and handed the investigation light to someone else. “I’ll go check outside.”

The forensic examiner continued to work diligently.

Fang Xin dusted carbon powder onto the doorknob until fingerprints appeared, and then she quickly lifted them.

Song Yuhang quickly scanned the area. The doors and windows were intact, with no signs of forced entry or a struggle. Inside the house, there were only the footprints of the girl and the people who had reported the case in the first place.

The refrigerator had a limited amount of food, mostly instant products like dumplings, rice balls, and instant noodles, which were typical for a student living alone.

On a bookshelf in the living room, there was a photo frame, and Song Yuhang reached out to take it down. The photo had been wiped clean.

In the center of the picture was the deceased, as she appeared when she was seven or eight years old, a happy family of three.

Song Yuhang put the photo back and went to check the trash bin. She found a few torn pieces of examination papers, which she picked up and placed into an evidence bag.

She also collected several takeout receipts and supermarket bills, all of which could potentially provide significant clues for the case later on.

After inspecting the trash bin, her gaze fell on an empty glass on the coffee table, with a residue of liquid at the bottom.

She picked it up and held it up to the light, noticing fingerprints on the glass. “Fang Xin, there’s another fingerprint here. Come and lift it.”

“Sure thing, Captain Song,” Fang Xin replied promptly.

Song Yuhang moved to the other side and crouched down to inspect the area under the couch. She also lifted the carpet to take a look.

Very clean.

Single individuals living alone tend to be somewhat casual about cleanliness, especially a female student who likely didn’t have much time for housekeeping. Even the hair on the carpet had been neatly collected.

It wasn’t about being obsessive-compulsive.

“Captain Song, we’ve made a discovery,” one of the forensic investigators examining the girl’s bedroom called out.

Song Yuhang stood up and walked over as the investigator handed her a phone they had found on the table. “We found an unsent text message on the deceased’s phone.”

——Farewell forever, Mom. I have been unfilial, unable to be the daughter you expected in this lifetime. I will repay your nurturing kindness in the next.

The phone’s lock had already been bypassed by the technical team. Song Yuhang quickly skimmed through a few pages of text messages, which were mostly spam messages from businesses.

She exited the messaging app and started flipping through the girl’s photo album. There were selfies, some scenic shots, and a few pictures of marine life, particularly whales.

She had a nagging feeling that she had seen them somewhere before, but she couldn’t quite recall where.

Just then, someone called from outside the door, “Captain Song, we’ve made contact with the deceased’s mother.”

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