Our only option now is to track the man through the Heaven's Eye. The other women can be released for the time being.
After we brought the body back to the police station, I was responsible for the autopsy, while Liu Yuning and the others would handle the other arrangements.
Therefore, I didn't need to concern myself with the victim's identity. I asked Xie Chuchu for assistance. After examining the victim's fingernails and skin, I found nothing. I had no choice but to wait for the autopsy.
The consent form for the autopsy was quickly obtained. Facing the old woman's body, I realized that if not for this murder, she might have lived another ten to twenty years. I picked up the scalpel and cut open her chest, starting with her lungs.
Her lung alveoli were normal, her lung lobes were clean, and she had no history of smoking. She likely exercised regularly, as I discovered her lung capacity was quite large.
Considering her age, to maintain such a level, she probably ran at least half an hour a day.
I didn't voice my thoughts, unsure of what Xie Chuchu was thinking. I kept my findings to myself.
I examined the victim's stomach and abdomen and found everything to be normal. However, when I reached her spine, I discovered that the area had necrotized. This was not right.
Upon noticing this, Xie Chuchu also asked curiously, "How is this possible? The muscle contraction indicates she's been bedridden for at least a month. Yet, the old woman traveled by train herself? This doesn't make sense!"
"I agree. Even with painkillers, she shouldn't be able to move. So how was she acting like a normal person? Could it be that she wasn't alone on the train?"
"But why would she do that? Could the killer have moved her?"
As we discussed, it seemed we needed to check the previous surveillance footage. I sent a message to Liu Yuning, informing her of our findings on the body, and then continued the autopsy.
I even examined the victim's private parts and other areas, but found no further clues. This time, there were indeed no needle marks on the victim.
Suddenly, an idea struck me. The cruise ship case had been publicized. Could this be a copycat? However, the perpetrator's skills were clearly more agile than the previous one. I shook my head, deciding not to speculate for now, and focused on checking Wu Yisong's medical records.
I instructed Xie Chuchu and Xiao Dong that they would handle further verification. When I found Liu Yuning, she informed me that Wu Yisong had visited an orthopedic hospital in the past month for spinal treatment. It seemed she had been hit by something.
"Did you find the surveillance video of her boarding the train that day?" I asked.
"We've watched it. She looked perfectly normal at the time, not at all like someone with spinal problems. Isn't that strange?"
Liu Yuning showed me the surveillance footage. When I saw Wu Yisong boarding the train, I was puzzled. Could she have been cured, only to be injured after boarding the train?
During my autopsy, I had seen a large red swelling on her spine, with some nerves already dead. It didn't look like it was caused by a weapon, more like she had been hit by a trolley.
However, that area wasn't the actual cause of death. Seeing my silence, Liu Yuning curiously asked, "You still haven't found the cause of death?"
"Yes. This time, we can't even confirm the murder weapon. However, the victim's spine was severely injured. Based on the current situation, she couldn't have boarded the train at all, probably couldn't even stand up!"
"Then she must have been injured on the train!"
There was surveillance on the train, but no one was seen hitting the victim. That was very strange.
Currently, there were only two possibilities: First, the surveillance footage was tampered with; second, the area where Wu Yisong was hit was not captured by the surveillance.
Earlier, I had asked Xiao Yuande to search the train. He had just returned. I asked him if he had found anything. He said, "There's no surveillance in the back carriages of the train; that area seems to be broken. We discovered that Wu Yisong had gone there. Combined with her phone records, she had received a message before going."
"About ten minutes later, she came out. But at that time, she looked fine and could walk without assistance."
"That's so strange? Could it be that the killer used some drug that only took effect after the victim returned to her seat?" He Xin guessed.
"That's a strong possibility. We need to see the blood test report."
As soon as I finished speaking, Xiao Dong brought the test report. I looked at it and saw a drug called NSAIDs. Liu Yuning leaned over and asked me, "What is this?"
"NSAIDs are actually non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs. They are a class of non-steroidal hormonal drugs that can relieve pain, swelling, stiffness, and inflammation. They are usually used in clinical practice for the treatment of various painful conditions, such as arthritis and bursitis. It's strange. Isn't this a painkiller? It should have the effect of relieving pain!"
As I spoke, Xiao Dong explained, "The dosage was too high. This would have the opposite effect. It's like how excessive intake of traditional Chinese medicine can lead to poisoning."
"Oh, I understand. It was because of this excessive amount of non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs that the old woman's old condition relapsed?" I asked.
"That's right. In our latest re-examination, we discovered a detail: Wu Yisong did have needle marks, but the location was quite sensitive."
"Where?"
"Under her armpit!"
"How is that possible?" I flipped through the autopsy report and indeed saw a mention of this description. But how did the killer insert the needle? Why did Wu Yisong go to the back carriage after receiving the message? Did the person know her?
"Check if Wu Yisong has any enemies or close associates!" Gao Mingqiang suggested.
"We are checking. This is basic work, but it's not yielding much. Most of Wu Yisong's business rivals we've investigated have financial transactions and movements that prove they had no time or motive to commit the crime," Liu Yuning analyzed.
I knew she had done a lot of work, and the others were also tired. No one had expected a case similar to the cruise ship incident to happen again.
Looking at the report, I wanted to go to the hospital to learn more about Wu Yisong's detailed condition. However, I delegated the task to Gao Mingqiang, as it was a routine investigation.
Xiao Yuande was responsible for continuing the investigation of the train, while He Xin and Yuan Hezhe used the Heaven's Eye to track the movements of the escaped man. Just as I was looking for something to do, a man claiming to be Wu Yisong's son arrived at the police station.