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墨書 Inktalez
Chapter 6: A Report Full of Doubts
My fingertips lingered on the overly "clean" string that sealed the file bag, a chill creeping up my spine.
It had been tampered with. It had definitely been tampered with recently!
Who was it? Fang Huai'an? Or one of his accomplices? What had they done to it? Inspected it? Destroyed it? Or... modified it?!
My heart sank to the bottom. If even the physical files had been "processed," then my path forward was completely blocked!
No, I couldn't think like that! Even if it had been tampered with, it might not have been done perfectly! Paper documents are not like electronic data; modifications are more likely to leave traces! As long as I looked closely, perhaps I could find a flaw!
This thought gave me a flicker of courage, or perhaps it was a desperate gamble in a near-death struggle.
I glanced around; this corner was relatively concealed, blocked by several collapsed filing cabinets, forming a small triangular space. I crouched down, trying to minimize my presence, my back pressed tightly against the cold, rusty metal.
The basement was eerily silent, only my heavy breathing and the pounding of my heart echoing in my chest. I could even hear the faint sound of dust slowly settling and the occasional drip of water from distant pipes. My hearing became exceptionally sharp in this extreme tension; any slight movement could make me jump.
I wiped my phone screen with my sleeve, dimming the flashlight to leave only a faint beam. Then, cautiously, I untied that damned overly neat string and began to pull out the documents one by one.
A strong musty smell and the scent of aged paper assaulted my senses, stronger than that of the file bag itself, which reassured me slightly—at least what was inside seemed genuinely old.
At the top were several black-and-white photographs from the scene, poorly taken with many details blurred. The bedroom was a mess, consistent with what one might expect from an elderly person suffering from dementia living alone. The deceased lay on the floor near the bed, their head close to a dark-colored cabinet. The photos showed no obvious signs of struggle, nor could I discern the deceased's expression or details of their injuries.
Next came the scene investigation report, hastily written, detailing the conditions of doors and windows and the positions of items—standard fare with nothing particularly noteworthy.
My heartbeat quickened; my palms were sweaty. The main event was here—the autopsy report!
This report was printed on standard format paper, slightly yellowed but overall still flat. I immediately spotted the flamboyant signature at the end: Fang Huai'an.
It was him!
I took a deep breath, forcing myself to calm down, and began to read the report as if it were an extremely important exam paper, word by word.
The format of the report was very standard, clearly organized, detailing the deceased's basic information, the degree of livor mortis and rigor mortis, surface examinations, and systemic autopsy… Everything seemed so “normal,” so “professional.”
In the surface examination section, it described a blunt force injury to the head, located on the right frontal and temporal regions, consistent with damage caused by contact with the corner of a bedside table. The conclusion was death due to cranial injury.
Wait!
My gaze lingered at the end of the surface examination, where there was a summarizing statement: “Aside from the fatal head injury, no other obvious injuries or suspicious marks were found on the body.”
No other obvious injuries or suspicious marks?
My mind buzzed!
The case of Zhou Dahai! That bruise and slight scratch on the left shoulder, which Fang Huai'an had casually mentioned as possibly caused by a grip! If I hadn’t been meticulous enough, that too would have been classified as “no obvious injuries”!
Did this statement of “no other obvious injuries” here also imply… that there might be subtle injuries that do not align with the conclusion of “accident,” which were deliberately overlooked or concealed?!
Li Guifen, 71 years old. Although she had dementia, news reports stated that she was in decent health and could take care of herself. The possibility of an accidental fall leading to death from a head injury certainly existed. However, wouldn’t a person instinctively try to brace themselves or block with their arms when losing balance during a fall? Could it be that her arms, wrists, and shoulders showed no signs of bruising or defensive injuries at all?
The report mentioned nothing about this! It simply brushed it aside with the phrase “no other obvious injuries”!
This was utterly unreasonable! Unless she fell in an extremely “clean and straightforward” manner, or… this report didn’t accurately record the facts at all!
I felt my breathing quicken. This was still just speculation; I needed more concrete evidence.
I continued reading and turned to the section on systemic autopsy records. The descriptions of skull fractures and subdural hematomas were very detailed and appeared flawless. The records of internal organs were also relatively standard, consistent with physiological characteristics of elderly individuals.
Just as I was nearing the end of the report, my heart growing heavier, a detail suddenly caught my eye!
In the "Toxicology Analysis" section, it stated: "Liver, kidney tissue, and gastric contents sent for examination; no common toxins detected."
On its own, this was not alarming. In cases of accidental death, ruling out poisoning is standard procedure. However, what drew my attention was the description of the submitted samples!
Typically, for a comprehensive toxicology analysis, blood is an essential sample alongside liver, kidney, and gastric contents! This is especially true for substances that metabolize quickly or affect the blood system; blood samples are crucial!
Yet in this report, there was no mention of blood among the submitted samples!
Was it an oversight? For someone as experienced as Fang Huai'an, an Old Forensic Doctor, the likelihood of omitting such a critical sample was extremely low!
Or… did he simply not submit a blood sample at all? Or perhaps he did submit one, but there were issues with the results, so he chose to omit that information from the report?!
My mind raced. Under what circumstances would blood not be submitted or its results concealed? Unless… there was something in the deceased's blood that shouldn’t be there! For instance, a specific drug? A sedative? Or something else that could cloud consciousness, slow down actions, and make "accidents" more likely?
Li Guifen had dementia; might she have been taking certain psychotropic medications? Could someone have… overdosed her? Or used a substance that was hard to detect but could impair her mobility?
If that were true, then this "accident" took on an entirely different nature!
The more I thought about it, the colder I felt. Fang Huai'an's seemingly airtight report might actually be cleverly concealing the truth by omitting key information and obscuring details! This was more sophisticated than outright data forgery and harder to uncover!
Was this his "Old Rules"? Handled so "cleanly"!
My heart raced with both fear and a morbid excitement—I had found it! I had truly found evidence of their deception! Although still indirect, it was enough to prove that there was something wrong with this report!
I had to leave immediately! Staying even one more second was fraught with danger!
I forced myself to calm down and quickly yet carefully stacked the documents back in their original order and stuffed them into the brown paper folder. I strained to remember how I had opened it earlier and awkwardly tied the closure back up with that overly clean cotton string. I knew I couldn't restore it perfectly, but at least it needed to look somewhat similar.
I quickly shoved the file back into the cabinet, trying to restore the dust around it to its original state. Standing up, I wiped away any fingerprints that might have been left on the cabinet with my sleeve, and gently swept the floor with my foot, attempting to erase my footprints.
After finishing all this, I turned off my phone's flashlight and, like a startled rabbit, perked up my ears to listen carefully to the sounds outside.
Silence enveloped me.
I crouched low, tiptoeing as fast as I could yet making the lightest of steps, retracing my path. Each step landed on a thick layer of dust, producing faint puffing sounds that echoed sharply in the stillness of the basement.
Finally, I reached the stairs. The light from above poured down at the stairway entrance, making me feel as if I had returned from hell to the realm of the living.
I took a deep breath and ascended the stairs step by step, each one feeling like I was walking on cotton.
Just as I was about to step onto the second-floor corridor, a familiar voice suddenly called out from above the stairway, tinged with surprise:
"Hey? Xiao Qin? You... you came up from below?"
I jerked my head up, my heart nearly leaping out of my throat!
There stood Captain Zhao at the top of the stairs, holding a large enamel mug filled with strong tea, looking at me with a face full of astonishment. His gaze was filled with curiosity and... a hint of barely perceptible wariness.
This is it! Caught red-handed!
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