Chapter 2155: Chapter 2155: 2156: The True Cause of Death

“It’s possible that the parents did it on purpose,” Zhang Hui said.

“But as Lin Yi mentioned, there are other doubts, we need to investigate further.”

Li Xianghui nodded, “The autopsy report will probably take a while to come out. Let’s send out the message first and locate the victim’s parents; otherwise, we can’t process this case.”

“I’ll go take a look at the corpse to see if I can find any clues,” Lin Yi stood up and said.

“Be careful. If you make a mistake, it’s easy for others to blame us.”

“Don’t worry, I’m a professional,” Lin Yi responded with a smile.

“Lin Bro, I’ll come with you,” the ever-following Zhang Zixin said.

“Let’s go.”

The body was placed next to the identification agency, adjacent to the substation.

Source: novgo.co

“Lin Bro, do we need to cut open the abdomen?” Zhang Zixin asked softly.

She wasn’t afraid of examining the body.

But if the body had to be opened up, she couldn’t stand such a sight.

“Without the consent of the family, we are not qualified,” Lin Yi said,

“I’ll just examine the condition of the body, to see if there’s anything new to be discovered.”

“That’s good then.”

Both of them arrived at the morgue, where the body had been cleaned up quite a bit after simple treatments.

Lin Yi found the victim’s clothes and then instructed Zhang Zixin.

“Xin Xin, take some pictures first, see which school she’s from.”

“Got it.”

Lin Yi approached the body, which was completely unclothed, making it more convenient to examine.

Lin Yi first pried open the eyes and found that the corneas were highly clouded, indicating that death likely occurred more than 48 hours ago.

Apart from these, there were distinct bruise marks on various parts of the body.

This precisely suggested that the victim had been beaten before death.

“Hmm?”

While performing the autopsy, Lin Yi noticed something strange.

At the back of the neck, he found several bruise marks.

There appeared to be three, in parallel, each less than a centimeter wide.

Such injuries puzzled Lin Yi for quite some time.

Even if the victim had been beaten, the wounds shouldn’t appear in such a location.

Lin Yi examined them for a good while, feeling that it was quite unlikely.

From a clinical medical perspective, the neck is a very fragile area. If subject to severe impact, it can lead to paralysis or even death.

Being struck from behind in the neck like this, even an adult might not withstand it, let alone a child whose bones had not yet fully developed.

Lin Yi stood in place, thinking for a long while without being able to determine the cause.

“Lin Bro, what are you thinking about? You’ve been standing here for a while,” Zhang Zixin, having finished taking photos, came over and asked.

Lin Yi pointed to the bruise on the neck, “Take a look at these three bruises. Their location is a bit unusual.”

Zhang Zixin looked and, although not as experienced as Lin Yi, anyone with a bit of work experience would notice something amiss.

“Could there be this possibility?” Zhang Zixin asked doubtfully.

“What possibility?”

“Don’t move, let’s try it, and you’ll see.”

Zhang Zixin stood behind Lin Yi and stretched out a hand, gripping his neck from the back.

“Could the bruises have been caused by this?”

With Zhang Zixin’s demonstration, Lin Yi had a realization and instinctively looked at the victim’s wrists, finding bruises there as well!

“Damn it!”

Lin Yi cursed, “Something’s not right.”

“Huh? What’s up?” Zhang Zixin asked, releasing her hand.

“Look at her wrists; there are also bruises. Besides beating, there might be other things we don’t know about.”

“Uhh… I didn’t quite follow.”

“Let me demonstrate for you this time.”

Lin Yi stood behind Zhang Zixin, one hand on her neck and the other grabbing her wrist, then pressed down.

“Lin Bro, our pose is quite intimate.”

“Be serious.”

After a joke, Zhang Zixin became serious.

“Lin Bro, I thought of a possibility. Normally, such a posture is used against adults. It’s clearly not suitable for children.”

“So, the answer is quite simple.”

“The child was choked to death, not drowned!”

“Smart! It’s very likely that someone held her head down and choked her to death, then dumped the body in the river,” said Lin Yi,

“But before forensic confirmation, these bruise marks can’t serve as definite evidence. Still, they can be used as a direction to analyze the case.”

Zhang Zixin nodded, “Even though there are other possibilities, I think it’s almost certain.”

Lin Yi nodded, “We’ve seen enough; let’s head back. You check the information we have; we should be able to find clues to her family.”

“Mm-hmm.”

Lin Yi took a deep breath, looking at the young girl’s body and thinking about the suffering she had endured previously, suddenly feeling a heavy heart.

He couldn’t maintain his usual composure as with other cases.

Lin Yi murmured internally, “Is it because I’m getting older, starting to like kids?”

Having returned to the office, Lin Yi recounted his and Zhang Zixin’s findings to Li Xianghui and the others.

With the clues in hand, everyone became more convinced that it wasn’t a regular drowning!

It was very likely a vicious murder case!

“You guys handle the follow-up investigation. It’s time to go off-duty, I’m heading back,” Lin Yi said while stretching.

Li Xianghui nodded in agreement, showing considerable leniency towards Lin Yi.

In his opinion, Lin Yi was a secret weapon.

He would step in when there were difficulties. As for the other trivial matters, they didn’t require his involvement.

Leaving the substation, Lin Yi drove to Chaoyang Group’s parking lot, leaning on his hand and reflecting on the case.

Ding ding ding—

Not knowing how long had passed, he heard someone knocking on the car window.

Lin Yi turned his head and realized Ji Qingyan had finished work.

“What are you thinking about? You’re lost in thought.”

After getting into the car, Ji Qingyan adjusted her skirt, revealing almost perfect buttock curves, and elegantly took a seat beside the driver.

“It’s nothing,” Lin Yi casually replied and then drove away towards Ji Qingyan’s home.

Throughout the ride, Lin Yi spoke sporadically with Ji Qingyan, staying mostly silent.

When they arrived at Ji Qingyan’s place, he proceeded to drop her off as usual but heard Ji Qingyan say:

“My mom wants you to come to our house for dinner.”

“Why didn’t you say so earlier about dinner? I’ve come empty-handed; that’s not nice.”

“It’s not your first time coming. There’s no need to bring something every time. Let’s go.”

Being at the doorstep, it was too late to buy anything, so Lin Yi could only follow Ji Qingyan into the house.

Walking beside Ji Qingyan, she occasionally glanced at Lin Yi, sensing something was off with him.

He was usually talkative, not like today.

Could something have happened?