The crackdown on organized crime began with the arrest of the mother-in-law.

Chapter 1094 Widow Zhao's Husband, Old Man Sun 4

"The lung tissue showed signs of crepitus, and microscopic examination revealed that the alveoli were filled with edema fluid and contained a small number of foreign particles, consistent with lung changes in drowning deaths."

"What did you find in the stomach contents?" Zhang Lin asked, his gaze falling on the corpse's abdomen. Xiao Lin used a scalpel to cut open the stomach wall, and a sour, foul odor filled the air: "The stomach contained semi-digested rice, vegetables, and meat, about 300 milliliters. No weeds, mud, or other foreign objects were found." When she took a sample, she noticed a few pinpoint hemorrhages on the folds of the gastric mucosa. "The gastric mucosa has diffuse petechiae, consistent with the stress response of death by asphyxiation."

Zhang Lin focused his attention on the body's heart. There were a few hemorrhages under the epicardium on the surface of the heart, distributed in a chain-like pattern. "The heart weighs 320 grams, and the left ventricular wall is 1.1 centimeters thick," he said, cutting open the coronary artery. "No obvious atherosclerosis was observed in the coronary arteries; the lumen is patent, ruling out sudden death due to heart disease." The blood inside the heart chambers was dark red and did not clot. "The blood does not clot, consistent with the blood characteristics of drowning."

"How do we determine the time of death?" Xiao Lin asked while recording the data. Zhang Lin pointed to the rigor mortis and livor mortis on the corpse: "The rigor mortis has spread throughout the body, and the muscle hardness has reached level three, but the jaw joint is not completely ankylosed." He pressed the quadriceps muscle of the corpse with his finger, "The muscle elasticity is still acceptable. The livor mortis is distributed on the back, buttocks, and unpressed areas of the limbs. It is dark red and does not completely fade when pressed."

He picked up the rectal thermometer, slowly inserted the probe 6 centimeters into the anus, and then fixed it: "Rectal temperature 26°C, ambient temperature 20°C. According to Henssge's post-mortem temperature calculation formula, considering the influence of the aquatic environment, the time of death is approximately between 48 and 72 hours." Combining the information provided by the person who reported the incident at the scene, and the noise heard around 11 p.m. last Wednesday, he initially deduced that the time of death was between 11 p.m. Wednesday and 2 a.m. Thursday.

“Teacher Zhang, the deceased’s hands have resistance wounds,” Xiao Lin suddenly noticed that there were a few pieces of skin tissue under the nails of the deceased’s right index and middle fingers. “The DNA profile of these fragments needs to be compared with that of the suspect, but the shape suggests that they were left during a struggle.” She used a sterile cotton swab to extract the sample and carefully placed it into the evidence bag.

Zhang Lin's scalpel turned to the corpse's limbs, where there were multiple abrasions and contusions on the skin, especially on the elbows and knees. "These injuries show clear signs of life," he said, measuring the largest abrasion with a ruler. "It's 3 centimeters long and 2 centimeters wide, with irregular edges, consistent with characteristics formed before death." These injuries were likely caused during a struggle or fight before the victim fell into the water.

When examining the body's waist, Zhang Lin discovered a dark-colored belt with obvious wear marks on the buckle. "There were a few fiber residues on the inside of the belt buckle," he said, using tweezers to extract a fiber sample. "It matches the composition of the gray-black synthetic fibers found at the scene, and was probably left over from the dragging process."

As the autopsy neared its end, Zhang Lin made a preliminary assessment of the cause of death: "Based on the findings of the autopsy, the deceased's death is consistent with drowning. The mushroom-shaped foam in the nasal cavity and mouth, the edema fluid and foreign particles in the lungs, and the bleeding points in the gastric mucosa all support this conclusion." He paused, then continued, "However, we need to rule out other factors, such as whether there was poisoning or mechanical asphyxiation. This requires waiting for toxicological tests and further laboratory analysis results."

Kobayashi was organizing the autopsy records, which detailed the various indicators and findings of the body: "Currently, it appears that the deceased drowned before death, approximately 48-72 hours ago, which is between last Wednesday night and Thursday morning. The resistance wounds on the body and the fibers on the belt buckle suggest that the person may have been in a struggle with someone and dragged to the pond before death."

Zhang Lin took off his gloves and looked at the corpse on the autopsy table with a solemn expression: "There are still many doubts in this case. For example, no water plants or mud were found in the deceased's stomach, which does not conform to the typical characteristics of drowning. Further examination is needed to see if there are other factors that could have caused suffocation." He picked up a button found at the scene. "Whether the missing button is related to the process of death also needs to be analyzed in conjunction with the scene investigation."

When the body was cleaned up and prepared for further examination, Zhang Lin said to Xiao Lin, "Pay close attention to the toxicology test results and the DNA typing of the skin tissue under the deceased's fingernails. This may be the breakthrough in the case. In addition, compare the composition of the foreign particles in the lungs and respiratory tract with the silt at the bottom of the pond to confirm whether they are from the same source."

The lights in the autopsy room remained bright, illuminating the various instruments and samples on the table. Zhang Lin knew that this autopsy was only part of the investigation; more clues needed to be discovered and verified in the laboratory using scientific methods. And the life that had slumbered in the pond for three days would ultimately tell its final story through these meticulous dissections and analyses.

The shadow of the old locust tree at the village entrance swayed in the morning mist. When Xiao Wang walked into the small shop, his feet wet with dew, Widow Zhao was wiping the counter with a rag, the enamel mug of flower tea rippling with brown. "Looking for Sun Laosi?" As she looked up, a stray hair slipped down her temple, obscuring half of the silver earring on her ear. "That rascal hasn't shown his face for three days. He came here last Wednesday to buy two cases of beer, saying he was going to 'do something important' with someone."

Xiao Wang's notebook lay open on the counter, the pen tip hovering over the "Sun Laosi's Social Relationships" section: "Did he say who he was doing important business with? Did he mention anything about the pond?" Widow Zhao suddenly lowered her voice, the rag screeching against the Wahaha beverage bottle: "A while ago, he got into a fight with Li Jianjun from the west end by the pond. Li Jianjun cursed him for owing money and not paying it back, and Sun Laosi picked up a stone and smashed it on the head. I was the one who pulled them apart."

"When did the fight happen?" Xiao Wang pressed, drawing a line under the name "Li Jianjun" with his fingertip. "Last Monday," Widow Zhao glanced outside, sunlight filtering through the locust tree leaves, creating dappled patterns on the ground. "Sun Laosi's tricycle is parked under the willow tree, and there's a newly welded iron crowbar in the cargo bed; the rust hasn't even been worn off yet." She suddenly slammed her hand on the counter. "Oh, right! He has a fresh scar on his left wrist. He said it was scraped by the chain when he was repairing the tricycle last Tuesday. The scar is about two centimeters long, crooked and uneven."

When they found Sun Laosi's house, the chimney of the mud-brick house was not smoking, and the lock on the wooden door was rusty. The neighbors said that his parents lived with their daughter in town and only came back once a month. When Xiao Wang climbed over the wall, the chickens in the yard were startled and flew away. The calendar on the pigsty wall was stuck on July 12th—last Wednesday, the day the person who reported the incident heard the noise.