Chapter 44: The Analysis Report is Released

September 28, 2020, night. Overcast and rainy.

In the northern region during late autumn, the nighttime temperature had already dropped below ten degrees Celsius.

Under the rainy weather, the temperature plummeted sharply, and a pitter-patter of autumn rain lashed against the doors and windows.

In the anatomy room, Lu Chuan was facing a pile of withered bones.

The skeletal identification and analysis report was nearing its conclusion.

Currently, Lu Chuan was performing a cause-of-death analysis.

"Some of the fracture marks on the sternum show signs of shattering, which indicates that the deceased suffered a major impact during their lifetime."

Lu Chuan picked up two ribs and compared them repeatedly, discovering some discrepancies.

The fracture marks on the two ribs were different.

One was a crushing mark, caused by a heavy object pressing down until the sternum exceeded its structural limit and snapped.

However, the other mark was not a crushing mark, but rather a shattering mark formed by a violent, short-duration impact.

The skeletal remains had been discovered beneath the foundation of a highway.

Given the setting, the crushing marks were likely caused by a road roller, just as Li Kai had analyzed.

However, no matter the circumstances, shattering impact marks should not appear.

Unless the deceased had been struck by a high-speed object, such as a vehicle, before being buried in the roadbed and subsequently crushed by a road roller.

Only then would two different types of bone fracture marks appear.

But if it were a vehicle impact, the broken bones would most likely be the legs.

The reality was that while the sternum showed impact marks, the leg bones were intact.

...

Lu Chuan performed every single analysis with extreme meticulousness.

Every conclusion was backed by data. Only such a skeletal identification and analysis report could be convincing enough to serve as forensic evidence.

4:30 AM.

Stretching his limbs, Lu Chuan took the report from the printer and let out a long sigh of relief.

Pushing open the window of the anatomy room, a breath of fresh air, carrying the unique scent of rain, rushed in.

Lu Chuan's somewhat muddled mind cleared instantly, and his spirits lifted slightly.

The skeletal identification and analysis was finally complete.

"Finished?"

Outside the anatomy room, Li Kai had already received word and arrived alongside Wang Changjiang.

Lu Chuan nodded. "The skeletal remains are well-preserved, and since the Tianzhou City Criminal Investigation Detachment has advanced equipment, the analysis went relatively quickly this time."

"That's great! Officer Lu, thank you so much!"

Li Kai took the report from Lu Chuan's hands, his eyes widening with excitement.

However, the contents of the report caused Li Kai's expression to gradually freeze.

"The deceased... was abused during their lifetime?"

Lu Chuan nodded solemnly. "This is basically certain, though it is difficult to determine whether it was abuse or torture at this stage."

"What can be confirmed is that the deceased's sternum was struck with a blunt object, such as a hammer, causing the bone to shatter."

This was Lu Chuan's final conclusion regarding the different fracture marks on the sternum.

"There are two different types of fracture marks on the ribs of the deceased's chest: in addition to the crushing marks, there are also shattering impact marks."

Lu Chuan took the report and pointed to the analysis of the conclusion: "The possibility of a vehicle impact is low because the deceased's leg bones are intact, which rules out the possibility of a fatal hit-and-run followed by body disposal."

"I just conducted a bone shattering experiment and found that the shattering marks on the sternum were likely caused by heavy strikes from something like a hammer."

"Furthermore, there are a total of six such shattering marks on the skeleton. This means the deceased suffered at least six similar heavy blows during their lifetime."

"Generally speaking, this situation only occurs in cases of torture or sadistic killing. Based on the degree of bone fragmentation, of the six fractures, two shattering marks are near the heart, two are near the lungs, and the remaining ones are on the lower left and right ribs."

"The ribs near the heart likely pierced the heart itself; it was the fatal injury."

Blunt force trauma from a hammer or similar object causing the ribs to fracture and pierce the heart—that was Lu Chuan's determination of the cause of death.

"One more thing," Lu Chuan flipped to the end of the report. "I performed a rough analysis of the soil cleaned from the skeletal remains and found both sandy soil and clay."

"This is abnormal. The soil composition in a single burial site should be relatively consistent; there shouldn't be such a significant difference."

"Therefore, I suspect the remains were moved, or rather, the burial site was changed."

"Of course, since the remains were found under a highway foundation, it is possible that soil was transported from elsewhere during construction, which could explain the presence of different types of soil."

However, Li Kai shook his head. "I know that highway. It was originally a national highway that was reconstructed. The foundation is very stable; it's unlikely that soil was transported from elsewhere."

Constructing a highway is different from building a skyscraper.

For highways, soil is generally sourced locally, often used to form drainage ditches—killing two birds with one stone.

"Officer Lu, Old Wang, I need to hand this report to the Detachment Leader immediately. I'll arrange for someone to take you both to rest first."

Lu Chuan and Wang Changjiang nodded.

They were only here for technical support, not to solve the case.

Having stayed up most of the night, Liu Guodong was in better shape; he had rested a bit while waiting for Lu Chuan to finish the analysis.

Lu Chuan, however, had been working intensely for seven or eight hours.

With his mind highly concentrated through complex calculations and analysis, Lu Chuan was physically and mentally exhausted.

While Lu Chuan and Wang Changjiang returned to the hotel arranged by the Criminal Investigation Detachment to rest, Li Kai and the others could not sleep.

In the case analysis conference room of the Tianzhou City Criminal Investigation Detachment.

The skeletal identification and analysis report had already been delivered to Detachment Leader Wang Chuanmin.

"The deceased is male, 1.78 meters tall, weighing 80 kilograms. Age at death was approximately forty years old. The remains have been buried for sixteen years."

"There are gouty tophi on the ankles; the tip of the coccyx shows more wear than the average; bone density is lower than that of peers. The nature of the deceased's work involved long periods of sitting with a lack of exercise, suggesting a relatively affluent lifestyle."

"There are six shattering fracture marks on the ribs of the chest, indicating the deceased suffered abuse or torture during their lifetime."

"The cause of death is determined to be blunt force trauma to the chest from a hammer or similar object, causing the ribs to shatter and pierce the heart, resulting in death."

"Two different types of soil—sand and clay—were found within the crevices of the bones, suggesting possible movement of the body after skeletonization. This should be confirmed by testing the soil at the crime scene."

Wang Chuanmin read the extremely detailed report carefully.

After a moment, he looked at Li Kai with a hint of disbelief. "Is this... really the analysis report produced by that young man, Lu, from the Haizhou City Criminal Investigation Detachment?"

Li Kai nodded with a bitter smile. "I was present while Officer Lu was performing the skeletal analysis; I saw this report being produced with my own eyes."

"However, I don't understand how this report was produced."

Li Kai could understand every individual task Lu Chuan performed.

Spectroscopic analysis to measure carbon decay, bone density meters to measure bone mass...

Li Kai could say he knew how to do every single step Lu Chuan took.

But the process of combining these elements through complex calculations to arrive at this report was something Li Kai could not grasp.

"However, I have read skeletal analysis reports by Senior Zhang Yuanchao before. While Lu Chuan's report might fall slightly short in some minor details, the overall analytical results should be correct."

Just because Li Kai couldn't produce the report didn't mean he couldn't distinguish its authenticity or quality.

It was like an expert in authenticating paintings; if you asked them to paint, they certainly couldn't, but if you asked them to judge authenticity, they would have no problem.

It was also like young men and women in their first battle; even without instruction, they could eventually figure out where their strengths and weaknesses lay.

Wang Chuanmin marveled at it, but he didn't have time to dwell on it.

Regardless of how it was done, as long as it was usable, that was all that mattered!