Murder in the Bathroom

The sound of police sirens shattered the peace of Xingning Community, with the red and blue flashing lights casting an eerie hue over the night.

Heavy rain pounded the concrete ground as the security guard hurriedly opened the community’s iron gate. Accompanied by a metallic “creak,” the gate slowly swung open.

This was the side gate of the community, usually not open to the public, but chosen for convenience in this emergency.

Large raindrops pelted the police car windows, creating a rapid, muffled sound. Xiao Ze glanced at the seven-story shabby building ahead.

Under the dim lights, he could barely make out the number “Building 6” on the weathered sign. He pulled his trench coat over his head and dashed into the downpour.

In just a few seconds, his coat was battered by the rain, looking worse for wear.

The first-floor hallway was splattered with rainwater, and the steps were covered with numerous muddy footprints.

Deep in the hallway, a few abandoned bicycles made the already narrow passage even more cramped.

Xiao Ze climbed the stairs. The narrow hallway was a characteristic of the old district, only allowing one person to pass at a time, which was unfriendly to someone of his stature—185 cm tall and weighing 80 kg, he nearly filled the entire space.

Twenty minutes ago, they received a call.

The caller was a neighbor from across the hall who smelled a strong scent of blood and noticed a small amount of dried blood under the door.

The neighbor tried knocking, but there was no response.

According to the neighbor, a young woman lived across the hall. She usually dressed flamboyantly, often returned home late at night, and frequently brought different men home overnight.

Xiao Ze and his team reached the fourth floor. After confirming there was no movement inside, they broke down the door.

Immediately, a strong scent of blood hit them.

Under the flashlight’s beam, a trail of blood was visible on the floor, extending from the bathroom to the door gap. The floor design of the apartment wasn’t great.

The windows and doors inside were tightly shut. The layout was a simple one-bedroom apartment.

The bedroom looked tidy, with freshly changed sheets. The living room had been cleaned, and the floor showed signs of being wiped.

Besides the smell of blood, there was also a hint of disinfectant in the air.

Opening the bathroom door revealed pitch darkness.

Xiao Ze shone his flashlight and saw a corpse with disheveled hair sitting on the toilet. Perhaps due to the dim lighting, even with years of criminal investigation experience, he was startled.

The corpse was a woman in a white nightgown, frozen in her last expression before death.

Her head was tilted at a 45-degree angle, eyes staring upwards, face filled with terror, back against the toilet.

Her right carotid artery was severed, and the white wall on her right side was splattered with blood.

The toilet paper on the wall was soaked and dried with blood, showing streaks of dripping blood.

To avoid contaminating the scene, the police wore shoe covers and gloves when entering.

Xiao Ze searched the wall for a while and finally found the bathroom switch behind the door.

When the bathroom heater was turned on, the light was blinding.

A fly, seemingly startled by the light, buzzed around the blood-scented bathroom, creating an unsettling vibration.

The corpse’s bloody smell seemed even stronger.

The deceased was a woman, appearing to be in her twenties, wearing a white camisole nightgown.

If not for the terrifying death, she would have been a beauty, with long black hair reaching her waist, meticulously maintained before death.

However, now her hair was matted with dried blood, losing its flowing charm.

The deceased’s hands hung by her sides, with a sharp blade and blood congealed under her right hand.

Her cotton slippers were stained with so much blood that it was hard to tell they were originally pink.

The drain was clean, with no hair, but clogged with congealed blood, preventing the bathroom blood from draining and causing it to spread out.

The camera flash made Xiao Ze’s head ache.

He stepped out of the bathroom to breathe some relatively fresh air and turned to Li Meng beside him, “Any other findings?”

Li Meng replied, “The room was clearly cleaned meticulously. The faucet and doorknob show signs of being wiped.”

Xiao Ze asked, “Has Lao Yang arrived?”

Seeing no response, he glanced at the rookie in a police uniform standing behind him.

The rookie’s face was pale, hand covering his mouth and nose, probably his first time seeing a corpse, taking a while to react.

“Has the forensic doctor arrived?” he asked again.

The rookie snapped back, “Teacher Yang is on leave. The new forensic doctor is coming today.”

Not far away, a taxi cut through the crowd and stopped outside Xingning Community.

A young man in a black hoodie got out, holding a black umbrella in one hand and a silver forensic investigation toolbox in the other.

His exposed wrist was very pale, with visible blue-green veins.

His wrist was slender, like a girl’s, but his knuckles were slightly larger than a girl’s, and his nails were meticulously trimmed, looking beautiful with a pinkish hue.

The hoodie hood covered most of his face, revealing only black bangs and a fair, high nose.

His eyes were hidden in shadows, exuding a cold aura.

He glanced at the weathered building number sign. At that moment, a lightning bolt illuminated his overly red lips.

People outside the building were setting up a police line, and even the black raincoats couldn’t withstand the torrential rain.

He walked straight ahead with the umbrella.

Being a new face, Li Meng stopped him outside the police line.

“I’m the forensic doctor,” he said, his voice pleasant but devoid of warmth or emotion.

Li Meng from the criminal police team scrutinized the man and his investigation toolbox.

Among the forensic doctors Li Meng had seen, the youngest was 24, with no practical experience.

It was hard to believe the man before him, who looked barely in his twenties, was the rumored new forensic doctor who had returned from studying in the U.S.

Li Meng asked for identification.

The man pulled out his wallet, containing his ID and professional license.

He held the wallet up to Li Meng, “Any more questions?”

“Are you really Gu Yuan?” Li Meng reached for the wallet to take a closer look, but the man withdrew it, displaying a “don’t touch my stuff” attitude.

The higher-ups had indeed mentioned the new forensic doctor’s name.

At the time, Li Meng thought it was a girl’s name.

Gu Yuan had great skin, black hair, and thick, curled eyelashes.

Under the tungsten light, the shadow of his eyelashes was clearly visible on his eyelids.

He was very good-looking.

If not for his magnetic voice, Li Meng might have questioned his gender.

The most surprising thing wasn’t his handsome features but the lips under his high nose, red like blood.

Li Meng was momentarily stunned.

He had only seen such exquisite people on TV.

Gu Yuan showed a hint of impatience, seemingly unwilling to waste more time proving his identity, “Is that enough?”

Li Meng snapped back, “The boss is waiting for you inside. The scene is a bit gruesome, you…”

Realizing the other was a forensic doctor, likely desensitized to corpses, he didn’t continue.

Why did that face evoke such a protective instinct?

Gu Yuan ignored him, carrying his toolbox upstairs.

Inside, people were taking photos and collecting evidence.

He wore shoe covers, stepping onto the bathroom platform.

The bathroom was very narrow, with a man in plain clothes squatting inside, broad-backed, seemingly examining the body.

He approached, “Please move aside.”

Xiao Ze looked up at him, watching him skillfully open the investigation box, don rubber gloves, with an “I’m the forensic doctor, don’t interfere with my work” attitude.

Xiao Ze wasn’t particularly patient, but he was more tolerant with subordinates.

He stepped back, leaving the scene to this “seeing is believing” newcomer.

Gu Yuan lifted the woman’s head for a detailed examination.

“No bone crepitus in the head, pale eyelids, obvious signs of blood loss, neck cut by a sharp object, right carotid artery severed, no visible trauma on the chest, abdomen, or other areas. The fatal wound is on the right neck, cause of death is hemorrhagic shock. Judging by the rigor mortis and livor mortis, time of death is around 10 hours ago.”

“Are you Gu Yuan?” Xiao Ze asked.

“Yes.”

Xiao Ze sensed the other might not enjoy conversation, so he said, “Please continue.”

Gu Yuan nodded, his slender fingers tracing the severed carotid artery.

The cut skin flared open, revealing subcutaneous tissue and severed muscles. The muscle cross-section was clean, and the severed carotid artery was filled with dried blood.

“The cut is clean, no tentative wounds. Based on the cut characteristics, the murder weapon should be a sharp blade.” Gu Yuan glanced at the razor blade under the corpse’s foot. “The murder weapon is this.”

He carefully examined the deceased’s skin, which was covered in blood, making observation difficult.

His gaze finally settled on the deceased’s left middle finger.

“The deceased was left-handed.”

“How can you tell?” Xiao Ze asked.

“The left middle finger has a thick callus, likely from holding a pen for long periods.”

Xiao Ze: “Is it suicide or homicide?”

“Most likely homicide.”

“Why?”

“The carotid artery’s fatal wound was a single lethal cut. Typically, a person committing suicide would leave tentative wounds on the skin due to fear, not a single lethal cut. Moreover, the deceased was left-handed, so by habit, she should hold the blade with her left hand. The blade being on her right side is suspicious.”

Initially, Xiao Ze had doubts about the young man before him, but after hearing his analysis, those doubts were completely dispelled.

“I need to clean the blood off the body for further autopsy.”

Gu Yuan spoke without looking up at Xiao Ze.

As a captain, Xiao Ze had never seen a newcomer with such a cold demeanor. He even suspected Gu Yuan didn’t know what he looked like.

The on-site investigation continued.

Xiao Ze instructed the team to move the body, as the temperature wasn’t low, and the body could decompose if left too long.

Due to rigor mortis, the body retained its pre-death posture, making it difficult to move. Nonetheless, it took only 20 minutes to transport it from the bathroom to the autopsy room.

The deceased wore only a white camisole, no underwear.

After Gu Yuan cut off the clothing, the body appeared pale.

The body lay on the autopsy table, legs bent, unable to balance.

Xiao Ze, wearing gloves, held the body’s legs, signaling Gu Yuan to begin.

Gu Yuan took an opener from the toolbox, pried open the deceased’s stiff mouth, and used a flashlight to examine the oral cavity.

“The oral mucosa is intact, no petechiae.”

He collected material from the oral cavity for testing.

The chest and abdomen showed no signs of trauma.

The thighs had no livor mortis where they contacted the toilet, but there were some dark red livor mortis on the calves, indicating the deceased remained seated on the toilet after death.

Gu Yuan noticed a slight bulge in the deceased’s lower abdomen.

Pressing it, he sensed an abnormality in the uterus size.

With Xiao Ze’s help, he used a speculum to open the deceased’s vagina.

For the first time, his cold expression showed a hint of emotion, his brow seemingly twitching.

Using tweezers, he extracted a square white solid.

Someone immediately handed over an evidence bag, and the solid, mixed with mucus, was placed inside.

“Looks like a wax block,” Xiao Ze commented.

Among the onlookers, some began whispering, discussing the recent serial murders causing widespread panic.