You're supposed to be a security officer, what case are you solving?

Chapter 42 Wenling's Work

Inside the victim's room.

Wen Ling's expression was very calm, and her movements were swift and efficient, without any hesitation.

She wore a white cotton mask on her face, disposable blue gloves on her hands, and held a thermometer to measure the rectal temperature of the corpse.

She narrated to Zhang Bin, who was taking notes, without any emotion: "The lividity has merged into large patches, rigor mortis has appeared all over the body, the corneas are slightly cloudy, and the lips are beginning to wrinkle."

Based on the rectal temperature and blood viscosity, the estimated time of death is approximately six hours ago, which is after 2:30 AM this morning.

For a more precise time of death, an autopsy can be performed upon returning home, and the liver temperature can be measured.

"The temperature is relatively high today, which may delay the formation of livor mortis by 20 minutes. In addition, there are bruises on the subcutaneous tissue of the body's arms and lower back, indicating that the body was likely subjected to violent beatings before death."

As Wen Ling spoke, Zhang Lei placed his notebook on his lap and began taking notes rapidly.

After examining the body surface, Wen Ling took out a box from the examination kit, opened it, and took out sterile cotton swabs and sterile test tubes.

She said to Zhang Lei, "Pry open the corpse's legs."

"what?"

Zhang Lei's face turned pale: "I..."

Wen Ling glanced at him: "What? You've never done this before?"

Zhang Lei nodded, looking very troubled: "Forensic Doctor Wen, should we do it now? Can't we wait until we get back to the funeral home..."

Wen Ling interrupted him, reminding him, "The temperature is too high during the day today, it's best to do it now."

Zhang Lei licked his lips, not daring to look at the corpse's lower body.

At this moment, Yang Jinwen, who was standing at the door, said, "Let me do it."

Zhang Lei felt like he had been granted a pardon and quickly moved back a little.

After getting dressed, Yang Jinwen entered the scene. He carefully avoided areas with bloodstains, but there were still several bloody footprints next to the body, and it was still impossible to tell whether they were left by the murderer.

Wen Ling glanced at him, her expression completely unlike the enthusiasm she had shown him this morning. Instead, she businesslike instructed, "Pinch the inside of your thighs with both hands and spread them apart forcefully."

Yang Jinwen was staring intently at the corpse's face, searching his memory for details of the case, but he couldn't find any relevant information.

Does this mean that the case was solved in his previous life, which is why he has no related memories?
Following the trajectory of his previous life, Yang Jinwen joined the Chengbei branch of the Public Security Bureau after the summer vacation. If the murderer is truly caught, such a big case would surely be boasted about by the veteran members of the Major Crimes Unit.

This is a bit strange, unless the case wasn't solved by the Chengbei Branch at all.

Zhang Xiaoying's eyes were wide open, her corneas were cloudy, like frosted glass. The appearance of this phenomenon indicates that she had been dead for about six to eight hours.

There was a lot of discharge in the corners of her eyes, which is commonly known as tear stains.

According to her husband, Sun Lu, when Zhang Xiaoying's body was found, her mouth was stuffed with underwear, but it had already been removed.

Moreover, Zhang Xiaoying's mouth was half-open, the muscles around her lips were stiff and difficult to close, and her lower lip was bitten, leaving brown bloodstains.

There were signs that her wrists were bound, indicating that Zhang Xiaoying must have struggled violently before her death, causing ruptured capillaries in the dermis, resulting in subcutaneous bleeding and purplish-red bruises.

Furthermore, there were still traces of hemp rope fibers under her fingernails, which was quite obvious and could be seen without a magnifying glass.

Yang Jinwen sighed softly and looked at Zhang Xiaoying's face again. Just over ten hours ago, she was a living, breathing person, sunny and cheerful, but now she had been brutally murdered!

Seeing that he was still standing there in a daze, Wen Ling's pupils contracted, and she asked, "You know him?"

Yang Jinwen nodded: "The owner of the noodle shop on Jianmin Road, my master and I ate the noodles she cooked last night."

"It's good that they're not relatives." Wen Ling's voice was emotionless as she gestured towards the corpse with her chin.

Yang Jinwen silently mourned for two seconds before cooperating with her work. Wen Ling began extracting semen from the corpse; there was no doubt that Zhang Xiaoying had been assaulted before her death.

Wen Ling first extracted two sterile cotton swabs from Zhang Xiaoying's body. One was used for initial screening under a microscope, and the second was used for DNA backup.

The Chengbei branch can't do DNA testing; only the provincial department can.

Next, she extracted tissues from the buttocks, rectum, inner thighs, and mouth.

Wen Ling's movements were slow and meticulous, with fine beads of sweat appearing on her forehead. She then asked Yang Jinwen to take out a tissue to wipe her sweat, so as not to contaminate the scene with her sweat.

Yang Jinwen looked at her work and slowly said, "Forensic Doctor Wen..."

Before he could finish speaking, Wen Ling glared at him and said, "Wipe your sweat. Don't call me Forensic Doctor Wen, call me Lingling."

"I just wiped away my sweat..." Yang Jinwen coughed twice and shut up.

Wen Ling didn't let him off the hook: "What were you about to ask?"

“It’s nothing. I just wanted to ask if we could apply for a multi-band inspection light from the municipal bureau. With this, your work will be easier, and you can see even the smallest traces.”

"Ha." Wen Ling laughed: "I wish. The municipal bureau only has one, and it's like a precious gem. Some municipal bureaus don't even have one."

Yang Jinwen nodded. In his previous life, every county bureau had this kind of thing, but now it was 97, and criminal science and technology were not so advanced. The equipment was extremely expensive, and they couldn't even do trace element analysis.

This has led to many perpetrators going unpunished until many years later, when they are finally caught through fingerprint or DNA comparison.

Despite the meticulousness of Wen Ling's extraction, the Chengbei Branch Bureau will need the signature of the supervising leader before it can be used for DNA testing.

In 97, the cost of a single DNA test was approximately 3000-10000 yuan, and it was only used in major cases.

In an era when the average person's monthly salary was less than 500 yuan, one can imagine how much of an expense this was.

Wen Ling squatted on the ground for two hours until her legs went numb. Yang Jinwen wiped her sweat dozens of times, but he wasn't very focused on it.

Several times he touched the back of her ear with the tissue, making Wen Ling feel itchy and wanting to give him a little punch.

Yang Jinwen wasn't being inattentive; he was actually staring intently at Zhang Xiaoying's wrist, trying to decipher the marks.

After finishing her work, Wen Ling struggled to stand up, and Yang Jinwen quickly helped her up.

"Find someone to remove the body."

Zhang Lei nodded and went outside to call for help.

Only then did Yang Jinwen have time to carefully observe the entire crime scene.

The room is nearly 30 square meters, and the right wall has a window, which is sealed off.

Yellowed newspapers were pasted on the glass, one of which had the headline: "[The 3rd Asian Winter Games Concludes Successfully]", which was from 96.

On the left, against the wall, there was a double wooden bed with a huge mosquito net hanging on it.

The mosquito net had lost its original color, and the top was covered with dust and dead flying insects.

Apart from that, there was no other valuable furniture in the room, not even a wardrobe or a table.

Yang Jinwen walked around the foot of the bed and suddenly realized that the bed was not against the wall, but had a gap of one meter wide!
Inside, near the headboard, there was a baby crib made of bamboo strips.

Upon seeing this, Yang Jinwen's pupils contracted, and he quickly turned around to look at the two police officers carrying Zhang Xiaoying's body.

She died in a prone position, with her head facing the doorway and only one meter away from the threshold!

(End of this chapter)