Using Western forensic techniques, after some manipulation of the deceased's lower body, I directly extracted the cotton swab and placed it in a glass dish for testing. However, the results indicated no semen stains, suggesting the killer had indeed cleaned the victim's lower body.
When the blood report came out, Xie Chuchu informed me, "The victim's body contained trace amounts of ether, similar to before. But this time, there was also potassium cyanide, a substance not easily obtained!"
"Hmm? Potassium cyanide? That's a potent poison, a small amount can be fatal. How did the killer get it?" Liu Yuning asked curiously.
"This lead is worth investigating. We can forget about ether; there's too much of it!" I said.
"Okay, leave it to me!" Liu Yuning declared confidently, about to leave. I stopped her. "Go to the missing persons department and ask if anyone has been reported missing recently. We need to identify the victim!"
"I understand, but many people go missing every day. This probably won't help much," Liu Yuning said, though she still left. I pondered, it seems I need to reconstruct the victim's face properly. If we don't even know who the victim is, how can we investigate?
I asked Xie Chuchu for help. Using forensic skull reconstruction techniques, I procured some fish glue and myrrh. Fortunately, my kit had some supplies left, otherwise, we would have had to ask someone to purchase them.
I took out a peculiar brush and began to apply it to the victim's face. Xie Chuchu asked curiously, "Senior, what are you doing?"
"Don't ask so many questions. Help me out. You should be very familiar with the human anatomy, right? Let's reconstruct the victim's face together!"
"Certainly!" Xie Chuchu immediately began to gently touch the victim's jawbone, nasal bridge, and other areas. Working with me, we quickly completed the contours from the forehead downwards. Finally, I applied some liquid and restructured the victim's forehead, and it was essentially done.
Combining ancient and modern techniques, we quickly reconstructed the victim's face. Seeing the result, Xie Chuchu was shocked, "Isn't this the corpse restoration technique of a coroner?"
"Oh, I remember. I mentioned this to you last time. You must have thought I was boasting then, right? See it now?"
"I see, senior. This method seems much faster than a forensic artist's reconstruction. It's even more realistic than the original person, making me feel like I'm looking at a piece of art!"
"You flatter me. However, it should be much easier to confirm the victim's identity now!" I took photographs and sent them to He Xin immediately, asking for her assistance. Then, I proceeded to dissect the victim's chest. As I was examining the victim's lung alveoli, Xie Chuchu said, "The lungs are all normal..."
I interrupted her, "I don't think so. There's a problem with the size of the alveoli!"
"Could it be signs of disease?" Xie Chuchu speculated.
"Go and conduct a pathological test!" I instructed.
I then opened the victim's stomach and found that it still contained a considerable amount of food debris, including fish, chicken, and pork, as well as scallops and foie gras. It seemed she had indulged in a lavish meal before her death. However, among the earlier food remnants, there were fragments of eggshells, indicating that the victim's living conditions were not very good. Her lavish meal was likely due to a company or factory dinner. But factories wouldn't typically serve foie gras, so the victim's company was likely of considerable size.
Considering the issue with her lungs, this woman likely had a smoking habit. Women like this would have high consumption, and her salary might not have been enough to cover her expenses.
As I thought about this, I tested the victim's anal temperature, confirming the time of death. Only then did I proceed to her abdomen. However, there was no food residue in her abdomen, suggesting she died before her stomach could digest the food.
I also discovered some burn marks in the upper part of her abdomen. Based on their size and shape, they didn't appear to be from a cigarette butt, but rather from fallen ash.
I used a cotton swab to collect a sample, placed it in a test tube, and handed it to Forensic Assistant Xiao Dong for testing.
The investigation complete, I removed my rubber gloves. Now, all that remained was to await the test results. I decided to rest for a while. When I found He Xin, she informed me that the victim's identity had been confirmed: Min Xiangfan, 30 years old, an actress at Rongtian Entertainment Company in Fuming City. She was not well-known and primarily played minor, bit roles.
"So, she was an actress!" I murmured. I immediately called Liu Yuning and Gao Mingqiang and asked them to accompany me to Rongtian Entertainment.
With He Xin's help, we quickly located the company. While en route, Liu Yuning complained, "Since you have a way to confirm the victim's identity, why did you still ask me to investigate missing persons?"
"It was just to have an alternative channel, in case I couldn't reconstruct the face," I explained.
"Alright, then what conclusions did you reach from the autopsy?"
I detailed the findings. Liu Yuning said, "Did you ask He Xin to investigate Min Xiangfan's whereabouts before her death? See where she had a meal."
"I've already assigned that task. Don't worry, let's go to Min Xiangfan's workplace first."
We had already gone upstairs to the rooftop of Rongtian Entertainment. Upon learning we were police officers, a female receptionist led us to the HR manager, Manager Zhang, who was well-acquainted with all the company's staff. Seeing him, I asked, "Is Min Xiangfan an employee here?"
"Min Xiangfan? That minor actress? Yes, she's been missing for a month. We don't know what happened. Do you have any news about her?" Manager Zhang asked us back.
I got straight to the point: "She's dead!"
"How could that be? No wonder she never came back. I couldn't reach her by phone, and I was starting to get suspicious, but I didn't want to get involved," Manager Zhang replied.
"Before Min Xiangfan's disappearance, did anything strange happen, or did she meet anyone unusual?"
"I'm not sure about that. Her character within the company wasn't great, and her relationships with others were rather distant. Most people didn't get close to her; she seemed quite withdrawn," Manager Zhang recalled.
"Did she make any enemies?" Gao Mingqiang asked.
"It's hard to say. I don't know her well. You could ask the younger actors downstairs; they're all around the same age and probably interact more," Manager Zhang suggested.
We went to the dressing room and saw several people applying makeup. We split up to gather information about Min Xiangfan. I asked a few actresses, and when they spoke of Min Xiangfan, they all wore expressions of disgust.
One woman even said, "If you hadn't mentioned Min Xiangfan, I would have almost forgotten her. That woman smoked all the time and liked to mess around. She wasn't attractive, spoke rudely, and frankly, none of us wanted to be friends with her!"