"Based on the body temperature, the victim's time of death was estimated to be between 11:30 PM last night and 12:30 AM today. Similar to Director Zhang's case, analysis of the stab wound patterns indicates that the perpetrator stabbed the victim multiple times after she fell to the ground," Mu Mian explained, pausing briefly before continuing, "There's also a wound on the victim's head with signs of vital reaction, indicating it was inflicted while she was still alive."
Zhang analyzed, "So the crime might have happened like this: the victim was first knocked unconscious with a vase, fell to the ground, and Yan Yan, thinking she was dead, tried to use the 'magic wand' - which was actually the fruit knife - to save her, ultimately resulting in the victim being stabbed to death!"
Chen Xue countered, "But if the killer had already struck the victim with a vase, why not just kill her directly? Why go through the trouble of manipulating Yan Yan to kill her? Doesn't that seem unnecessary?"
Fang Rui noticed vase fragments under the body as well. This suggested that either the vase broke first and then the victim fell, or someone had turned the body over.
Fang Rui asked Sister Chen, "Were you in the villa tonight? Did you hear the sound of a vase breaking?"
"Around 11 PM, Yan Yan suddenly wanted to eat strawberry cake. I was planning to buy it for him tomorrow, but he threw a tantrum, and Miss Jiang always spoils him. So she asked the driver to take me to buy some. It was late and raining, so it took a while to find a shop that sold strawberry cake. When I returned, around 1 AM, I found Miss Jiang lying on the floor covered in blood, and Yan Yan was nowhere to be seen, so I immediately called the police."
"Did anyone come to the villa while Sister Chen was out?" Fang Rui asked the security guard.
"I don't think so. After Sister Chen left, no one came in. Only Miss Jiang and Yan Yan were in the villa. It's possible a thief climbed over the wall to steal something. We have many cameras installed inside and outside the villa, you can check the surveillance footage."
"Is it just you and Yan Yan in this big villa usually?"
"Yes, Yan Yan is very averse to strangers. The chef, cleaning staff, and family doctor all live in the servants' quarters next door. Yan Yan hates noise, so this villa has extra soundproofing. They probably couldn't hear anything."
Mu Mian found the smile on Jiang Yun's face disturbing. She covered her face with a white cloth, hiding the smile.
"Mu Mian, could she have inhaled laughing gas?" Fang Rui suggested. He wanted to tell Mu Mian that Jiang Yun's expression was just due to the effects of drugs, not because she favored another autistic child.
"There are no balloons here, no small steel cylinders for laughing gas, and her facial muscles aren't stiff... It's not due to drugs. The reason is quite touching, just as you guessed earlier. It's because of love. She was afraid of scaring Yan Yan, so she smiled to comfort him, even though she was bleeding and in pain all over..." Mu Mian's voice was calm, devoid of any emotion, but everyone somehow felt she was very sad.
Mu Mian had thought Jiang Yun just disliked autistic children because they were too troublesome, as few people like them. But it turned out Jiang Yun was so kind to another autistic child. It wasn't that she disliked autistic children; she just didn't like Mu Mian.
But why didn't she like her? Her dad, mom, and sister all said she was a genius, the most adorable child in the world. Ms. Mischel also said she was the best-recovering autistic patient she had ever encountered.
As Chen Xue and Zhang were about to comfort Mu Mian, she said, "Let's hurry and get the body into the car. While it's still fresh, I want to complete the autopsy before dawn."
"..." Perhaps she wasn't so sad after all.
There were surveillance cameras at the villa's main gate, entrance, and near the bookshelf on the first floor, but the spot where Jiang Yun was killed happened to be in a blind spot. Fang Rui and his team spent the whole night reviewing the footage, but it showed no one had broken into the villa.
The camera facing the floor-to-ceiling window near the bookshelf showed Yan Yan taking a knife from the coffee table at 11:41 PM. About three minutes later, he reappeared in the frame holding a bloody knife, pacing anxiously before disappearing from view.
"Could it be that Yan Yan first hit the victim with the vase, then stabbed her to death with the knife?" Zhang speculated, "With cameras at every entrance, this seems to be the only possibility left."
"No, there are other possibilities," Fang Rui said.
In the autopsy room, Mu Mian calmly used a scalpel to cut open the victim's scalp, folding it back to reveal only a small subcutaneous tear with minor bleeding corresponding to the wound.
"Mu Mian, this doesn't seem to be caused by a vase strike," Chen Xue analyzed, "It doesn't look like an impact injury."
Mu Mian didn't respond. She took out the most expensive imported electric saw from the tool cabinet, one that could cut through bone without producing debris and was sharp enough to quickly saw through even the hardest bones.
"Mu Mian, let me do it," Chen Xue reached for the saw, but Mu Mian avoided her.
"Chen Xue, everyone dies. It's nothing special, just an inviolable law of nature. If her body must be autopsied, I want to be the one to do it."
"But Mu Mian, you look..."
"Chen Xue, I'm a professional forensic pathologist!"
Mu Mian switched on the saw and began cutting through the victim's skull. The blade spun rapidly, accompanied by a roaring sound.
Wearing light blue safety goggles, Mu Mian's expression was hidden from Chen Xue. But she remained professional, quickly and steadily sawing through the victim's skull.
Mu Mian removed the skull cap and cut open the dura mater, exposing the brain tissue. There was a small hematoma attached to the occipital lobe. A slight hematoma was also present in the corresponding frontal area.
"It's a contrecoup injury!" Chen Xue exclaimed, "This head wound was caused by a fall. She might have fallen onto the vase fragments, which cut her scalp, making us think she was hit with the vase. No wonder I thought it was strange at the scene. If the victim had been struck with a vase before falling, based on the force analysis, she should have fallen face down. Also, that vase was quite thick; it shouldn't have shattered from just hitting someone."
Contrecoup injuries typically occur in falls, trips, or incidents like hitting one's head against a wall. It refers to bleeding and contusion in the brain tissue corresponding to the wound site, with similar injuries on the opposite side of the brain, but without scalp damage or skull fracture on that side.
This happens because when the head is in rapid motion and suddenly stops, the skull stops first, but the brain continues moving due to inertia, hitting the inner wall of the skull and causing bleeding and contusion on the opposite side. Contrecoup injuries are generally diagnostic of deceleration injuries to the head.
In the past, Mu Mian would have cut open the victim's body and meticulously examined all the internal organs, dissecting everything possible. But today, she suddenly didn't want to continue the autopsy.
The cause of death was clear, and the origin of the head wound had been determined.
Mu Mian carefully replaced the skull cap, returning all the tissues to their original positions. Finally, she took out a needle and thread and sutured the scalp back together.
Her stitching was perfect.
Jiang Yun's once sleek black hair had been completely shaved off, leaving her bald and unsightly. Mu Mian thought she should buy a wig later to put on Jiang Yun, which would hide the ugly, worm-like suture line.
But Mu Mian was exhausted. The wig would have to wait.
"Mu Mian, are you very upset? Do you need a hug?" Chen Xue asked.
Although Mu Mian had been pretending to be indifferent about Jiang Yun, Chen Xue knew she cared deeply about her birth mother. The reason Mu Mian had joined the Jiangzhou City Police Department in the first place was to use the internal ID system to find her mother's address.
How could she not care about the mother she had tried so hard to find?
"Chen Xue, I'm very tired. I want to go home and sleep. Tell Fang Rui and the others that the cause of death was excessive blood loss. The victim fell; she wasn't attacked with a vase."
"Do you want me to drive you home?"
"I've already called a car."
"Alright, then get some rest!" Chen Xue said, still concerned. "Mu Mian, let me drive you home after all."
But Mu Mian had already left the autopsy room.
