Chapter 7

"Nani!?"

That was the expression on everyone's faces—just not quite as cute.

Except for Kudo Shinichi, whose expression was more complicated, everyone else's face clearly showed their shock:

A "suicide dismemberment case"?

Did you just make that up?

How could a dismembered corpse be the result of a suicide?

The crowd erupted in an uproar, but Inspector Megure, after an initial moment of astonishment, quickly gathered his thoughts and asked,

"Uh, Mr. Lin Xinyi, are you saying that—"

"The deceased committed suicide first and was later dismembered and discarded by a second party for some reason?"

"That's a good guess."

Lin Xinyi nodded seriously, affirming Megure's speculation.

He had encountered a case like this before in his career:

A woman, in order to fraudulently claim her husband's retirement pension, feared that disposing of his body carelessly would attract suspicion. So, after discovering her husband had committed suicide, she secretly dismembered the corpse, packed it into bags, and discarded it. She then maintained the illusion that he was still alive—until the bags containing the body parts were accidentally discovered.

This bizarre behavior had completely confused the investigators.

If Lin Xinyi, as the forensic pathologist, hadn't performed an autopsy and confirmed that the deceased had died from hanging, no one would have believed such an absurd case was real.

The world, after all, was full of strange things.

So before rushing to criticize headlines like "Body Found in Three Pieces, Police Confirm Suicide" or "Victim Stabbed 30 Times, Police Confirm Suicide", it's best to hold off.

These seemingly unbelievable cases do happen. If anyone deserves criticism, it should be those sensationalist media outlets that love to exaggerate for clicks.

"But,"

"Based on what the body is telling me—"

After commending Megure's flexible thinking, Lin Xinyi abruptly shifted gears.

"This case does not involve a second person."

"From suicide to dismemberment, it was all done by the deceased alone."

"Huh?"

This time, even Megure's round face showed disbelief.

"How could that be…?"

Ran, suppressing her discomfort, stole a glance at the badly mutilated body wrapped in plastic, then turned anxiously to Kudo Shinichi.

"Shinichi, could the victim really have committed suicide?"

"…"

Kudo Shinichi fell silent.

For once, he wore an expression of uncertainty in front of Ran.

"There are definitely many suspicious aspects to the body," he admitted.

"But… but I haven't figured out the most crucial part yet."

With a mixture of frustration and anticipation, he turned once more to Lin Xinyi.

"Mr. Lin, can we begin?"

To Kudo Shinichi, this had already become an invisible competition of deduction.

A battle between detectives—a clash of intellect and reasoning.

But Lin Xinyi didn't see it that way.

This wasn't a game to him, nor was it a competition.

It was his job. His responsibility.

"We can begin."

His gaze deepened, becoming as resolute as iron.

Lin Xinyi took the large aluminum forensic investigation kit from Officer Komatsu, then silently knelt down and opened it.

Inside, neatly arranged, were various forensic tools: magnifying glass, fingerprint pad, hemostatic forceps, puncture needles, scalpels, pointed scissors, blunt scissors, latex gloves, bone saw, bone hammer, bone chisel, bone shears, scoops…

The meticulous organization was satisfying for anyone with OCD.

But Lin Xinyi merely sighed.

The tools were certainly complete—so complete it was as if they had never been used.

Any forensic expert with field experience would know that tools like bone saws, chisels, and scoops were completely unnecessary for an initial crime scene examination.

At a scene, the only essential tools were masks, gloves, rulers, measuring tapes, puncture needles, hemostatic forceps, thermometers, and rectal temperature probes.

No seasoned forensic pathologist would pack so much into their field kit—unless they wanted to use it for weight training.

It seemed Officer Komatsu was remarkably inexperienced.

"Sigh…"

Shaking off his inner complaints, Lin Xinyi quickly put on a mask and donned two layers of latex gloves.

A mask was a necessity—since forensic pathologists handled all sorts of corpses daily, there was always a risk of exposure to infectious diseases.

The gloves had to be layered—one wasn't enough to block out odors.

Then, Lin Xinyi crouched beside the deceased.

Like Komatsu before him, he began pressing various parts of the body with his fingers.

"Officer Komatsu's examination was mostly correct."

"The body has already developed early-stage rigor mortis."

Retracting his hand, Lin Xinyi reached for a tool in the investigation kit while explaining,

"But that doesn't necessarily mean the death occurred more than four hours ago."

"When a person drowns, their body struggles violently, causing intense muscle exertion. Combined with the low water temperature, rigor mortis sets in much earlier than usual."

"Uh…"

Komatsu's expression turned even uglier.

The one thing he had managed to deduce from the body was incorrect.

"Sorry, I made a mistake."

"Actually, I remember reading about this—drowning victims do develop early rigor mortis… Wait!"

"Mr. Lin, are you saying the victim drowned?"

Komatsu suddenly raised his voice.

"That's right."

"And that's something any professional should have noticed immediately."

Lin Xinyi cast a helpless glance at the inexperienced Komatsu before shifting his gaze—this time, with a hint of appreciation—toward Kudo Shinichi.

"I imagine this great detective has already realized the issue as well?"

"Indeed."

Kudo Shinichi nodded in agreement.

"Though the body is badly mutilated, it's not hard to see—"

"The victim's skin is pale overall, and there are goosebump-like protrusions on the outer sides of the arms and legs. These are caused by the constriction of blood vessels and contraction of arrector pili muscles due to cold water exposure."

"Furthermore, the skin on the fingers and toes has softened, whitened, and swollen due to prolonged immersion."

"Considering Mr. Lin's earlier examination of rigor mortis—"

He hesitated, his tone becoming more complex.

"These body parts have likely been in the water for around three hours."

"My previous deduction about the time of body disposal was wrong."

Initially, Kudo Shinichi had assumed, based on the presence of blood in the water, that the corpse had been thrown in only moments ago.

That was why Lin Xinyi, who happened to be present, was considered a prime suspect.

But now, the body's condition contradicted that assumption.

His deduction was mistaken.

He had placed too much trust in his detective's intuition and made a premature judgment based on limited clues.

The realization made Kudo Shinichi unusually silent.

But Lin Xinyi paid no attention to the detective's self-reflection.

Unconsciously, they had begun working together, with Lin Xinyi methodically filling in the details of Kudo's deduction.

"Kudo is absolutely right."

"Pale skin, goosebump-like texture, and what forensic science calls 'washerwoman's hands'—these are all characteristic signs of a body submerged in water."

"But these only prove that the body has been in water for some time."

"To confirm that the victim drowned while still alive, we need to check here—"

Lin Xinyi held up a tool he had just retrieved from the kit.

"This is a finger straightener, used to pry open a clenched fist."

"Drowning victims struggle violently before death, causing their hands to spasm and grip tightly."

"So, if we force open the victim's palm like this—"

Under the horrified yet curious gazes of those present, Lin Xinyi took the severed arm, inserted the tool, and carefully straightened each finger.

The stiff fingers unfurled.

And in the open palm—

"That's… water plants?"

"Yes, water plants."

Lin Xinyi set the arm down and spoke solemnly.

"Not just water plants. I also noticed traces of mud under the victim's fingernails."

"These are all clear signs of antemortem drowning—"

"Because only a living person, struggling in the water, would grasp at these things."

"A corpse wouldn't."

"As for confirming the exact location of drowning, we can analyze the water plants and compare the microorganisms in the victim's lungs with those in this river."

"And the estimated time of drowning, as Kudo deduced, is around three hours ago."

His tone was serious, his eyes unwavering.

This unwavering gaze commanded respect.

Unknowingly, everyone had stopped seeing him as a suspect.

Instead, admiration began to creep into their expressions.

"This 'Xin Yi' is also a master of deduction?!"

Someone muttered in awe.

But Lin Xinyi didn't feel proud of his display of forensic knowledge.

What seemed like an intriguing puzzle to others was merely routine for him.

"Deduction?"

Lin Xinyi's voice was calm.

"Deduction is the detective's job."

"My job… is simply to speak for the dead."