Tiefe Illusion - Kapitel 6
After finally managing to drag Li Yang out of the interrogation room and to a relatively secluded corner, Li Yang immediately broke free from my grasp and snapped at me, "Why are you pulling me? I still want to teach that Ren Gang a lesson!"
"Have you ever seen someone deliberately confess to a capital crime that has nothing to do with them?" I decided to try to reason with him, because this matter couldn't be resolved by force.
"No!" Li Yang said angrily, hands on his hips.
That's why there's a problem.
"nonsense!"
"Can you calm down?" I nudged Li Yang. "This person definitely wouldn't turn themselves in for no reason. From another perspective, this could be another clue."
Li Yang glanced at me. He was someone who could be impulsive but also calm down easily, and he immediately understood the meaning behind my words. However, his excited face soon fell again: "But this case is about to be closed!"
"That's why we need to hurry." I don't know why, but I'm particularly interested in this case, which completely violates my principle of only paying attention to the body and not the case itself.
"Time seems to be running out! And if we're going to investigate, it'll probably just be the two of us." Li Yang took out a cigarette from his pocket.
"There should still be a chance." I took the cigarette from Li Yang's hand.
What turning point?
"Idiot, how did you get so angry at the higher-ups?" I snatched the lighter and lit a cigarette for myself. "If more people die after the case is closed, won't Ren Gang's words fall apart?" I wanted to hit Li Yang on the head.
"That's right!" Li Yang's eyes lit up. "But what if that woman asked Ren Gang to take the blame for her?"
"Do you think that's possible?" I rolled my eyes at Li Yang. At least I didn't believe it, unless you killed me.
※ ※ ※
After successfully dissuading Li Yang from his impulsive act, I returned to my office, only to find Lao Cao already waiting there. What was bound to happen, happened. I closed the door behind me.
Old Cao looked at me without saying a word, simply handing me an autopsy report. I glanced at it; it was the same autopsy report from those cases, only the coroner's name had changed to Old Cao's. I took the report and flipped through it casually. The contents were very similar to my previous report, except the most important point was that the cause of death had changed from "due to a temporary overproduction of adrenaline" to...
Cardiopulmonary failure led to death by suffocation.
I closed the report and handed it back to Lao Cao with a blank expression. Although I was so angry that I wanted to tear it apart, reason told me that this would not end well.
"This is what the higher-ups want to say," Old Cao said, bowing his head in a helpless tone.
"So, what do you mean by showing this to me? Do you expect me to applaud it?" I couldn't help but say sarcastically.
"Young man, don't oversimplify things." Old Cao looked up at me. I sighed and didn't say anything more. As the saying goes, a wise man is one who understands the ways of the world. I wonder if I'm worthy of being called a wise man?
"Do you know why the captain gave Li Yang a long leave but not you?" Old Cao suddenly asked me this question. I was completely confused. Old Cao explained, "That's because the captain knows you're different from Li Yang. He's too straightforward. You're different; he knows you know when to avoid trouble and when to stand up."
"Is this a compliment?" I was both amused and exasperated; I never expected anyone to think so highly of me.
"Some things, you shouldn't judge by appearances, and you shouldn't rush things," Old Cao said to me in a low voice.
"What do you mean?" I asked, increasingly confused about his intentions.
"You should know that seven people died at Heart Lake, right?" Old Cao's words startled me. Did he know something?
"Interested in seeing a few of the autopsy reports?" Old Cao winked at me. I think I must look really dumbfounded, stunned by him!
"How did you get these? Aren't they all classified documents?"
"Don't forget, I'm a forensic pathologist, and a veteran one at that, with decades of experience. I must have some hidden treasures," Old Cao said proudly. "But actually, these things were left to me by my master. He gave them to me personally before he died, saying that they contained a secret."
"Your master?"
"Yes, have you heard of Liu Fugen? He was a very famous forensic doctor during the Liberation period, one of the few forensic doctors in New China."
"It's him?" Although his name sounds a bit rustic, it's a name that's instantly recognizable. My advisor mentioned him back in university—a truly legendary figure. He started as a farmhand in the old society and, by chance, became an apprentice of a coroner (a person in the old government who examined the dead and injured), thus beginning his life as a forensic doctor. He assisted in solving many cases under his guidance. If it's him...
If that's the case, then it's not surprising that there are those autopsy reports.
"I haven't read the three reports my supervisor gave me."
"Huh?" No way, these things must have been in his possession for a long time, how come he hasn't even looked at them? Does he have no interest in his master's belongings at all?
Old Cao clearly sensed my distrust and explained, "My master told me before he died that unless I had immense courage and good fortune, it was best not to go."
"It's that simple?"
"It's also because I've handled two cases related to Heart Lake myself. The two people who died were my senior brother and my master's daughter. They both died tragically because they were too curious. Xiao Xiao, you need to know that I'm not a very courageous or curious person." Old Cao answered me in an almost trembling voice. I could understand his pain; his loved ones had died, and he was powerless to do anything about it.
Finding out the truth... this feeling is so familiar.
"Come to my house at 11 PM tonight, and I'll give you those things." Old Cao stood up after saying that, then stopped at the door, turned back to look at me, and said, "If you're not interested, you don't have to come. In any case, I don't want you to follow in the footsteps of my senior brothers."
I knew what Lao Cao meant, but for some reason, I inexplicably shook my head, indicating that I wouldn't refuse. Subsequent events proved that a momentary impulse can indeed be fatal.
※ ※ ※
Fang Lei remained unusually calm after hearing that I had been ordered to transfer the case and that the autopsy report had been altered, showing none of the anger and resentment that Li Yang had displayed. Her composure surprised me. Aren't the heroines described in books supposed to rise up and fight to the bitter end after hearing about such injustices and the erasure of the truth? It seems there is a significant difference between reality and books.
Li Yang came to see me again later, telling me he was going to start his long vacation. Of course, this was just an excuse; I knew he was planning to go it alone. After I couldn't persuade him otherwise, I had to give in and tell him I was willing to help, but only within reasonable and legal limits. After all, he's my buddy. After promising I wouldn't act recklessly, Li Yang actually said he wanted to talk to my older sister and find out why she had that woman's photo.
The film situation is giving me a huge headache, because I haven't seen her for several days and have no idea where she is. I suggested she bring a cell phone, because these things are so common now, it's outrageous—even a street sweeper has one. I just can't understand why someone who needs to contact the publisher constantly wouldn't have one. Her explanation was that she didn't want to...
She said that being interrupted by her phone while writing would stifle her inspiration. Heaven knows if that's really her reason; she's probably just trying to avoid being tracked by her many lovers!
As for the autopsy reports that Lao Cao mentioned, I didn't tell Li Yang. Although Lao Cao hadn't specifically instructed me to, I knew he wouldn't want a third person to know about it. So I decided to wait until I got the autopsy reports before making any further statements.
Chapter Twelve: The Death of Old Cao
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Old Cao sighed, put the phone back, and glanced at the bag on the table. He could still vividly recall his master's dying moments, but so many years had passed in the blink of an eye. What was bound to happen would happen, no matter how many years he had tried to escape it.
Looking at the clock, it was ten o'clock, an hour before Lin Xiao's visit. The reason he'd arranged to meet him so late was because Lao Cao needed to make a very important phone call. Lao Cao made this call almost every day, though it was always just an answering machine. But Lao Cao believed that as long as he didn't give up, there would eventually be a day when she would change her mind. However, recently Lao Cao's belief had become increasingly wavering, not because of...
It wasn't for his own reasons, but rather because recent events had instilled in him a nameless fear, a feeling that death was drawing ever closer, and a helpless weakness. That's why Old Cao had so many messages on the answering machine today. Old Cao lives in the suburbs, in a building with his family. He lives alone in such a large house, and sometimes it inevitably feels lonely, even though there are other things to do.
The idea of going to the company dormitory came up, but the thought that she might come back any day made Lao Cao give up on the idea. People in the suburbs go to bed early, and at this time almost everyone else's apartment buildings had already turned off their lights and gone to sleep, but Lao Cao's light was still on.
"Knock knock!" The knocking interrupted Old Cao's thoughts. Could it be that Lin Xiao couldn't wait until eleven o'clock and came over? It seems that young people just can't wait. Old Cao shook his head, walked into the yard, opened the door, and saw a pale-faced man with a gloomy look in his eyes that made people uncomfortable.
"Excuse me, who are you looking for?" Old Cao asked.
"Are you Cao Wanguang?" The man's hoarse voice sounded like a broken gong.
"Yes!" The years of experience as a forensic doctor made Old Cao feel a little backward, but it was too late. The man smiled sinisterly, like the smile of death, making Old Cao feel suffocated.
※ ※ ※
I glanced at my watch anxiously. There were only fifteen minutes left until the time I agreed to meet Lao Cao, but the car was still stuck in traffic, completely immobile. It was infuriating! Why was there still a traffic jam so late? The traffic in this city was really terrible!
"Sir, you're just unlucky. There must have been some kind of traffic accident up ahead. Accidents happen all the time on this road. I don't know how many lives have been lost! We drivers call this road Death Avenue!" The taxi driver turned around and comforted me.
"I have things to do! How much longer will this take!" I glanced at my watch again, hoping that time would slow down.
"Just wait, what else can we do!" The driver was quite calm, so he simply opened the car door, got out, and stretched his limbs.
After waiting for nearly half an hour, just as I was about to give up, the long line of cars finally showed signs of moving forward. I looked at my watch; it was already 11:15. I hoped that Lao Cao hadn't fallen asleep from waiting. At that moment, I had no idea that Lao Cao had indeed "slept," and was in a deep, unawakened sleep.
The taxi driver was driving very fast, and the sound of the wind whistling past my ears made the sound from my phone unclear, appearing both real and indistinct.
"Why is it Xiao Ren?" I muttered to myself. He's a policeman in the station too, but usually when he calls my cell phone, it's not a good sign. It means there's another body waiting for me to examine. Damn it, calling me at this time. I reluctantly answered the phone. Looks like I'll have to go get Lao Cao's stack of stuff another time.
"Xiao Ren, another case?" I asked.
Instead of Xiao Ren's usual frantic shouts, I heard heavy breathing on the phone, sensing the immense grief the owner was suppressing. My heart sank, and my eyes started twitching again.
"What's wrong? Speak up!" I shouted nervously, my hand holding the phone trembling involuntarily.
"Xiao Lin, Lao Cao... Lao Cao... Lao Cao... he's dead! You need to come to Lao Cao's house right now!" Xiao Ren's words immediately filled me with a hellish fear. I don't know how I hung up the phone. At least from that moment until I reached the vicinity of Lao Cao's house, my mind was blank. I couldn't accept this fact. I even checked the date on my phone to make sure it wasn't today.
It was April Fool's Day, and Xiao Ren wasn't playing a cruel joke on me. I actually wished it were April Fool's Day, until the car got closer to Lao Cao's house, and I saw the rows of police cars, the crowd of onlookers, and the long yellow police tape. Only then did I realize that Xiao Ren wasn't lying.
"Hey, what happened here? Did someone die too? I'm having such a bad day, looks like I'll have to go to the temple to burn incense tomorrow." The driver grumbled as he took the money, glancing at me. I figured it must be because of my pale face!
I struggled to squeeze into the crowd of onlookers. The faces of those around me didn't show fear, but rather an excited, almost theatrical, look of someone watching a free show. I was familiar with that expression; I'd seen it countless times. People always show far more curiosity than fear or sympathy for the deaths of those who are unrelated to them. That's why there are always so many curious onlookers around crime scenes. Sometimes I wonder...
Must people's curiosity be focused on things like this nowadays?
I greeted the police officers on guard, showed them my forensic identification, and before I even entered, I bumped into Xiao Ren standing at the door. His face was grave, his eyes red. I knew he was someone who always wore his emotions on his sleeve; it was incredibly difficult for him to suppress his grief at this moment. I stopped at the doorway, suddenly feeling a pang of fear, because this time I would be performing an autopsy.
It wasn't a stranger, but Lao Cao, my boss who could be considered my mentor, a living, breathing person who would give me things and talk to me during the day.
But I have a job as a forensic pathologist, a job that requires you to examine a corpse with the most professional yet ruthless eye at all times, whether it's a stranger or an acquaintance. As a forensic pathologist, you just have to grit your teeth and do it. I walked into Old Cao's yard, and there lay Old Cao's body, his blood staining a large patch of ground. The dark red blood was something I'd never seen before.
A wave of dizziness washed over him. The bleeding from his chest wound had long since stopped, and his heart had ceased beating. Old Cao's eyes were wide open, bulging, as if filled with the resentment of something unfinished and the terror of something terrible. The expression on his face was incredibly realistic, perhaps the very expression he wore in his final moments, forever frozen on his face. It seemed a single, fatal blow. The murderer...
The technique is both fast and accurate.
"You came very quickly!" Chen Kai said to me as he walked over.
"Ah!" I replied casually, because I really wasn't in the mood for small talk with him.
"Young man, try to think more positively. Of course, if you can't manage, I can ask someone else to do the test," Chen Kai patted my shoulder, trying to comfort me.
I turned to look at him and gently shook my head. "No, I can do it." It wasn't that I was heartless; I just thought that if Old Cao knew from beyond the grave, he would surely want me, his half-apprentice, to help him with the autopsy.
"Alright then!" Chen Kai didn't say anything more. He knew I was a very rational and professional person, and there shouldn't be any mistakes. "You should confirm the time of death first!"
I nodded and gestured to my assistant, Xiao Zhou, a fair-skinned young man, to give me the gloves. Xiao Zhou handed me the gloves with red eyes; I guessed he must have been heartbroken and in tears too, since Lao Cao was always very kind to everyone and had excellent interpersonal relationships.
I put on gloves and squatted down next to Old Cao. There are generally three methods to determine a person's time of death: rigor mortis, livor mortis, and body temperature. However, these can usually only be used as a reference, because a body is affected by many factors, such as the weather, the surrounding temperature, the nature of the body itself, whether the person drank alcohol, used drugs, or took any medications before death, etc.
Rigor mortis typically appears one to three hours after death, starting with the eyes and face, and then gradually spreading to the limbs and eventually the whole body (generally after 12 hours). After another six hours, the body will slowly soften again. Of course, there are exceptions; if a person dies suddenly under extreme stress, the body may harden instantly. Some history books record instances of decapitation by the enemy on the battlefield...
However, it's possible that some people could still be riding horses and wielding weapons. Cao Cao's face and neck are quite stiff, suggesting he hasn't been dead for very long.
Then there's livor mortis, which are purplish-red stains, somewhat like the color of red wine. This is because after death, the blood in the body no longer circulates and, due to the influence of gravity, settles in the blood vessels at the bottom of the body. Generally, if a person died face up, livor mortis is most likely to appear on the back. If it's on the chest, it indicates that the body was moved after death.
Finally, there's the matter of body temperature. Theoretically, a person's body temperature drops by one degree Celsius every hour after death. However, this is just theory. A person's weight, whether they died indoors or outdoors, and the ambient temperature all significantly affect this. Old Cao's body wasn't very cold, even outdoors at night, suggesting he likely died between 9:30 PM and...
Within the time frame of 11 o'clock.
"How is it?" Chen Kai asked hurriedly when he saw me stand up.
"The preliminary assessment is that it occurred between 9:30 and 11:00, but I can only give you the detailed autopsy report after I finish the examination."
"Then we should push it back another fifteen minutes," Chen Kai said, looking at me.
"Oh?" "Because it was Old Cao's neighbor who discovered the body at 10:50 and reported it to us. We arrived at 11:03, and then you arrived at 11:30." Chen Kai deliberately spoke the last part of his sentence very slowly and in a heavy tone.
I knew he wanted to know why I got there so quickly, because my home is well over half an hour away. Looking at his face, I didn't answer his question immediately, but instead asked, "What does his neighbor want with him so late?"
"Because the neighbor's fuse blew, they originally planned to come back tomorrow to ask Lao Cao for some more fuses, but it's hot and without electricity they can't turn on their fans, so they had to come this late. Unexpectedly, instead of borrowing fuses, they discovered a body," Chen Kai replied.
Chapter Thirteen: The Missing Autopsy Report
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I don't know if it was fate or what, but if the neighbor's fuse hadn't blown, I would have been the first person at the crime scene. A chill ran down my spine, my hands trembled involuntarily, and my face flushed with embarrassment. Chen Kai, standing beside me, witnessed everything. I could feel his gaze fixed on me, like that of a seasoned hunter.