Genius Detective

Lin Dongxue was slightly surprised and asked, "What about the time of death?"

A forensic officer replied, "The liver temperature was measured and it’s estimated that she died at around 4:00 last night."

Lin Dongxue said, "Four? She was with Dr. Gao at that time. The doctor is definitely suspicious. Should I go find him again?"

"Don't be so anxious. Let the bullet fly for a while[1]... Ah yes, let’s go see her workstation."

When they got to the deceased’s workstation, Lin Dongxue opened the drawer and found a box of foundation and pink lipstick. Lin Dongxue asked the workers, "Did the deceased have a habit of wearing make-up?"

"Yes, but it’s quite new."

"Women usually doll themselves up for the person they like. She must have done it for that doctor...There must be something wrong with the doctor!"

Chen Shi smiled. "You suspect that they have an unclear relationship? Do you get upset as soon as you see scummy men[2]?"

Lin Dongxue argued, "I am just trying to investigate the case! Who cares about those scummy men? What do you think of this case?"

"The hospital has a large flow of traffic. There are patients, family members, and medical personnel. Since the case is in the ice-breaking stage, don't rush to set your sights on individuals. Learn more about the situation first."

"Fine, I’ll listen to you!"

"You should continue to investigate the doctor. I will see if there are witnesses on the patient side of things… I have a piece of advice about this case."

"Say it."

"A person who kills another person bears great risk. Unless the murderer's motivation is equal to this risk, there will be no murder. I want to remind you not to be blindfolded by the trivial interpersonal disputes in the hospital. Always keep in mind whether the person you suspect has this huge motive or not. If not, you can basically rule them out from the list of suspects."

The two went to the nurse station and Chen Shi asked, "Head nurse, I want to know the situation regarding the patients on these floors."

The head nurse nodded. "The files are in the office. I’ll bring them out."

Chen Shi and the head nurse walked away. Lin Dongxue found the friend of the deceased and asked, "About Dr. Gao…Actually, I still want to know more about their situation..."

Chen Shi looked through the patient information in the office. When he got to one of them, he stopped and asked, "Did this person die last night?"

The head nurse responded. "They died on the operating table. It’s an ordinary medical accident.”

Chen Shi nodded and continued to look through the files. He found that four patients passed away last night. They were all patients that were getting old. The head nurse explained them one by one. Chen Shi thought that this was only the hospital’s statement. Would there be any hidden secrets? He needed to go to the wards to investigate.

When he went to a ward, a family was gathered outside and crying so much they looked like they were going to die of despair. Although he didn’t want to interrupt them in this moment of mourning, he still needed to investigate the case. He showed them his certificate and said, "Police. I want to see the body."

The family members were very cooperative. Chen Shi put on rubber gloves, checked the eyes of the old man who passed away, and checked the corpse for livor mortis. The time of death should be around 2:00 last night. The record showed myocardial infarction caused by postoperative complications. This can't be seen by the naked eye, but the body didn’t show any signs of doubt.

After thanking the family, Chen Shi rushed to the next ward. The head nurse behind him asked, "Officer, officer, why would you investigate this?"

Chen Shi had his own reasons. The patients who died before and after the incident would be sent to the funeral parlor very quickly. If he wanted to investigate them afterwards, he wouldn’t be able to. They can investigate the living at any time, so he put his priority to the corpses first.

Chen Shi didn’t directly explain it and simply said, "Nothing much. Doubting everything is part of our job."

There were no problems with the second body either. When Chen Shi went to the third ward, he saw a familiar face. The middle-aged man wore a black gauze around his neck, like a patient’s family. He saw Chen Shi and said in surprise, “Officer Chen, why are you here?"

"Boss Xue?"

"Haha, you still remember me!"

This person was the kind-hearted citizen who sent Tao Yueyue to the city bureau last time - Xue Chengyi.

Xue Chengyi pulled a middle-aged woman over and said, "This is my wife. This is Officer Chen."

Sure enough, the young woman who was with him last time was not his wife. Chen Shi said, "Boss Xue helped my daughter out last time and I still haven’t thanked him properly.”

The woman had a big smile plastered on her face. "Don’t mention it! He’s always been a kind and passionate person like that."

Xue Chengyi handed over a cigarette and said, "My father died last night so my relatives have come over. Why is Officer Chen here?”

"Investigating a case!" Chen Shi refused the cigarette. "I wish to see your father's body."

"Is this related to the case?"

His wife said, "My father-in-law’s respiratory system was blocked by some phlegm, so he unfortunately passed last night. Maybe you should forgo checking his body in case of viruses!”

Chen Shi responded, "Condolences to you both. This is just part of the process, so I’m hoping you both would cooperate. I am not a forensic doctor, just an ordinary policeman.” I’m actually not even a policeman. 

The husband and wife exchanged glances before Xue Chengyi said, "Okay then!"

When Chen Shi got to the body of the old man and checked his eyes, he immediately found it suspicious. He had obvious signs of bleeding in his eyes. He looked back at Xue Chengyi and Xue Chengyi’s anxious face immediately forced a smile.

Chen Shi asked, "What time did he pass?"

"The hospital said it was around four or five. We received the news early in the morning and rushed over."

"Nobody accompanied the old man here?"

"No, we take turns taking care of him. My wife was here last night. However, she couldn’t help but have some sleep in the hallway. Who knew…?” Xue Chengyi’s eyes became red.

"Condolences!"

When they got outside, Chen Shi said, "I haven’t thanked you for last time. Would you like to have a meal with me at noon?”

Xue Chengyi responded, "I am so sorry. I’m afraid I can't find time today."

"Ah of course. I really don’t know my timing. Let's exchange contact information."

"Okay."

After exchanging their phone numbers and WeChat, Chen Shi asked, "Your child is also attending Zhixin Middle School?"

"No, my son is going to college out of town..." Xue Chengyi lowered his voice. "But my little three’s[3] child goes to school there. Don't tell my wife, officer. You know how it is when you’re middle-aged!”

"Understood. I won’t bother you then.”

"Okay, we’ll find time to eat one day."

Chen Shi turned around and the smile disappeared from his face immediately. He said to the head nurse, "Please help me out a little."

Chen Shi sat downstairs and smoked. Lin Dongxue asked him where he was and ran over. "From all the gossip in the hospital, I feel like I can make a TV series out of it."

"Is there a suspect?"

"Yes, Dr. Gao! According to his colleague's testimonies, he should be the last one to see the deceased. But, he himself isn’t clear in his testimony and seems suspicious."

"What is his motivation?"

"Dr. Gao will act as the evaluation associate professor at the end of the year. If he develops any scandals, then his job prospects would be ruined. What do you think about that as a motive?"

"Why would he kill her?"

“There were nurses who said that Dr. Gao has played with several girls at the same time. I think it should be a scandal in that area!”

Chen Shi considered it. "The patients who died here wouldn’t be touched by a coroner for forensic tests unless a family filed a lawsuit. There must be a lot of murder cases hidden in places we can’t see.”

"You mean when family members don't want to bear huge medical expenses? Is this related to this case?"

"I don't know. I will only know it when I check it out... Thank you!" Chen Shi got up and took a plastic bag from the head nurse who came over with things stuffed inside.

"What is this?"

"A pillow!"

1. Famous quote in a famous movie that was used to indicate that the story is just beginning.

2. I wrote scummy men here, but lately the social culture dictates that any guy who doesn’t 100% do what women say and ask are considered “scum”. So in this instance, how “bad” the guys he are referring to is unclear.

3. Little three is a term for the woman who’s the third person in their relationship. The affair.