Insights Chapter 33: Second Autopsy

Chapter 33: Second Autopsy

Translated by Addis of Exiled Rebels Scanlations

Editor: Karai

After a brief discussion about the case, Director Ding said there was a meeting and walked to the left to open the meeting room door. Gu Yanchen turned to the right, intending to return to the office. Just as he came out, he saw Shen Junci standing not far from the meeting room.

Seeing Gu Yanchen, Shen Junci was taken aback, then he explained apologetically, “I didn’t mean to eavesdrop on your conversation here.”

Gu Yanchen said, “It’s okay, we weren’t discussing any confidential matters.”

Shen Junci looked at Gu Yanchen, he caught a bit of their conversation just now, “Captain Gu, what you said just now makes sense. I also don’t want the girls to lose the right to dive with their loved ones because of this case.”

Love is supposed to be sweet. If one can’t hold hands and watch the sunrise together or dare to dive together to see the beauty underwater, then that’s a loss in life.

Then Shen Junci continued, “I came here to find you because there’s something I want to tell you. I reviewed the video again and found some details. I suspect that Liao Yinghan might have covered something over Zhong Xiaoke’s mouth, preventing her from breathing freely.”

Gu Yanchen also remembered that although the footage was blurry, Liao Yinghan had made a move, reaching over Zhong Xiaoke and seemed to have covered something over the woman’s mouth and nose. He suddenly remembered the testimony of the lifeguard by the seaside, “The person who rescued them also said they saw something floating on the sea surface.”

Perhaps that was what was covering Zhong Xiaoke’s mouth.

Shen Junci said, “I’m going to conduct a second autopsy now.”

Gu Yanchen checked the time, “Let’s go together.”

They walked to the basement of the medical examiner’s building, Shen Junci filled out the paperwork, got the key, and opened the cabinet storing Zhong Xiaoke’s corpse. As the refrigerated cabinet opened, the woman’s corpse lay peacefully inside, accompanied by a gust of cold air. The frozen corpse appeared even paler than during the initial autopsy.

Once the mist of cold air dispersed, Shen Junci carefully examined the woman’s face, “Sure enough, there are signs of latent injuries.”

Gu Yanchen also noticed, near the corpse’s mouth, there appeared a faint brownish mark, as if something had been pressed against Zhong Xiaoke’s mouth.

Gu Yanchen asked, “Why wasn’t this mark visible earlier on the corpse?” He distinctly remembered that there was no such injury earlier on the corpse.

Shen Junci explained, “After storing the corpse at -2℃ for 24 hours before examination, some subtle traces on the corpse’s surface become more evident. This method is particularly effective for detecting minor injuries after drowning. Hence, medical examiners sometimes need to conduct a second examination of the corpse.”

This mark clearly wasn’t caused by a breathing apparatus. After careful examination and measurement, Shen Junci messaged Qi Yi’an to come and take photos for evidence and included this point in the medical examiner’s report.

Gu Yanchen observed for a while, “This shape reminds me of an oxygen mask.”

Shen Junci nodded, “Similar devices are used during pulmonary function tests.”

Suddenly Gu Yanchen remembered something. He took out his phone, searched for Zhong Xiaoke’s VLOG on Weibo. In the segment introducing diving equipment, there was such an item in Liao Yinghan’s luggage… It was a small plastic mask, placed in a plastic bag, without an external tube, able to tightly fit the curves of the face. Once fastened, breathing would be impossible.

Presumably, when Liao Yinghan approached Zhao Yushan underwater and raised Zhong Xiaoke’s suspicion, fearing detection by the authorities, this time Liao Yinghan didn’t tamper with the oxygen tank but directly removed Zhong Xiaoke’s breathing apparatus and then pressed a mask over her face. At that time, Zhong Xiaoke was not unable to expel air from her lungs voluntarily; rather, her mouth and nose were firmly blocked, preventing exhalation.

Compared to Zhong Xiaoke, Liao Yinghan, being male and a fitness coach, had a significant advantage in strength. He quickly surfaced while holding Zhong Xiaoke. The warm embrace of lovers in the depths of the sea turned into a deadly shackle. Such actions caused Zhong Xiaoke’s lungs to rupture, leading to her death. The rapid decompression also resulted in Liao Yinghan later having a nosebleed.

The entire case finally became clear.

As they walked out and got into the car, the vehicle started. It was dusk again, during the rush hour for commuting. The road was slightly congested. As they drove, all the streetlights suddenly lit up, resembling a galaxy descending to the ground. Penang, illuminated by the lights, was beautiful.

After watching the flow of people on the road for a while, Shen Junci turned his head and asked softly, “Will that clue help you?”

“Of course, this is direct evidence that Zhong Xiaoke might have been murdered,” Gu Yanchen paused and said again, “I will make good use of this information.”

Shen Junci lowered his head slightly, “It’s just a bit regrettable. This evidence is still circumstantial. We can’t find the mask, and the video didn’t capture the moment when her mouth was covered clearly. We can’t even prove when this happened.”

If the opposing party hired a good lawyer or resorted to trickery, they wouldn’t be able to use this evidence to convict.

After a moment of silence, Shen Junci asked again, “Captain Gu, are you confident about tomorrow’s interrogation?”

Gu Yanchen replied, “I’ll do some preparation tonight.”

With the evidence submitted overnight, the arrest warrant from the prosecutor’s office wouldn’t come until tomorrow. At this point, it seemed that interrogation was the only option, and getting Liao Yinghan to confess was the way forward.

Shen Junci hesitated for a moment, seeing the car was about to arrive at the residential area, he asked Gu Yanchen, “Captain Gu, what would you like to eat tonight?”

Gu Yanchen said, “I might be a bit busy, not sure if I’ll have time to cook.”

Shen Junci said, “Then I’ll order takeout.”

.

After Shen Junci finished showering, the takeout arrived, and he carried it over.

Gu Yanchen had already taken up the dining table with a table full of printed materials. He was preparing to tidy up when Shen Junci took the initiative, “Let’s eat on the coffee table today.”

The takeout order was roasted beef and pigeon soup. After finishing the meal, Shen Junci packed up the takeout boxes and then took the dog for a walk. After completing all these tasks, he didn’t intend to leave but turned back and asked, “Captain Gu, is there anything I can help you with?”

Gu Yanchen didn’t refuse either, “There are still some materials that need organizing.”

Bai Meng had already retrieved all the information about Liao Yinghan. these materials hadn’t been sorted and organized yet.

“For example, these are all the past posts from Liao Yinghan on various forums, including Tieba, forums, and Weibo. We need to filter out the useless information, highlight the useful information, and piece together his psychological trajectory. And these are his bank expenditure records over the years,” Gu Yanchen summarized, “These materials can help us reconstruct the truth.”

Shen Junci took a pen and the materials, sitting on the sofa, assisting Gu Yanchen. Meanwhile, Gu Yanchen was organizing some records related to the case. 

After about an hour, Shen Junci handed the filtered materials to Gu Yanchen. Gu Yanchen flipped through them and remarked, “Well done.”

Shen Junci then took another stack of WeChat records and asked Gu Yanchen, “Captain Gu, I’ve always wanted to ask you, did you learn interrogation at the police academy?”

As a medical examiner, he had always been curious about interrogation. Making a suspect confess sometimes seemed like an impossible task, but in front of those interrogation experts, the perpetrators often confessed willingly.

Gu Yanchen’s interrogation skills were excellent. Shen Junci had witnessed some of his interrogations and thought he was among the best in the City Bureau. Gu Yanchen, a little tired from reading, emerged from the pile of documents and explained briefly, “What we learn at the police academy is very basic. Most of it still requires practical experience to learn from the Teacher.”

Interrogation is essentially a psychological game. It’s about breaking down the suspect’s psychological defenses over twenty-four hours. Once their psychological barriers are breached, they’ll admit to their crimes.

Talking about this topic, Gu Yanchen couldn’t help but elaborate a bit more, “The Interrogation Department used to be highly valued in the past.” He then expressed regret, “But during Wang’s tenure, it wasn’t the case anymore. Wang often said it’s better to search for surveillance footage than to talk to criminals.”

From the time when leaders stopped valuing it, it became obsolete.

Gu Yanchen continued, spinning the pen in his hand, “Nowadays, surveillance and phone records have replaced a lot of questioning. For example, in the past, if we wanted to know if someone tortured a cat, we might need to roam the streets, ask friends and family, and use persuasion to get them to admit it. But now, all we need to do is check if they’ve searched for or sent any videos, joined any cat-torture groups, and then check the surveillance near their home. By presenting this evidence to them, confessions can be obtained quickly. These conveniences accelerate the pace of interrogation and investigation, but they also lead to neglect of basic interrogation skills.”

Shen Junci sighed, “But in cases like the one we’re facing now, our biggest hope lies in interrogation.”

“Yes,” Gu Yanchen nodded.

At present, if they didn’t have a confession of the crime and the motive, and faced with a tough lawyer, they would hardly be able to convict Liao Yinghan in court.

Interrogation is a non-bloodshed psychological battle, somewhat similar to conducting an autopsy in the medical examiner’s office. It’s not frontline combat, but the result is crucial.

“In the past, when surveillance wasn’t as developed, those old cops had some magical verbal skills. Unfortunately, many of their methods have been lost now. The only ones summarized are some foreign interrogation methods, such as the Reid Technique.”

Gu Yanchen felt a bit regretful. He continued, “I remember when I first joined the detective department, there was a time when Director Lin interrogated a very tight-lipped kidnapping suspect. The suspect refused to tell us where the kidnapped girl was. Director Lin endured him for two days, almost without sleep…”

Shen Junci interjected, “That was many years ago, right?”

He noticed that Gu Yanchen remembered everything Director Lin did and said very clearly.

Gu Yanchen said, “I remember because it happened to be during the college entrance examination, and Director Lin’s son was taking it that year. He fell ill, and Director Lin didn’t even have time to go take care of him. Later, I bought some medicine and sent it over.”

Shen Junci lowered his head. Suddenly, he remembered that this incident seemed to have happened on the last day of his college entrance examination. To this day, he only found out that Lin Xianglan was interrogating a kidnapping suspect. He remembered delivering the medicine, but at that time, he had no idea that the person who came to collect it was Gu Yanchen.

Saying this, it seemed to push back their first meeting by a few years.

But at that time, he was standing inside the door, and Gu Yanchen was standing outside, and they only exchanged a few words without meeting face to face.