C10 Death by Accident

As he stepped out of the office, Sunn Limin descended the nearby staircase, a bottle of red wine in hand, and called out, "Hey, hey, hey! Come back, come back! I was just about to celebrate Unit 9's rebirth!"

"Celebrate?" The others looked on, confused.

With flushed cheeks, Sunn Limin had clearly had a bit too much to drink. "Unit 9 has been reborn! Come on, let's toast to that!"

He passed the bottle to Xiao Chennai, who steadied him and turned to Ding Yu, lounging comfortably in the room, "Hey, come out and help get the director upstairs!"

Ding Yu, initially thinking there was an incident to attend to, realized it was the lighter task of escorting Director Sunn upstairs and promptly got to his feet.

Xiao Chennai, reassured, entrusted the inebriated Director Sunn to Ding Yu and set off with a few others toward the Snossen Community crime scene.

By the time they arrived, the squad and local police had already begun their investigation. The entire building was sealed off with police tape, and vehicles were barred from the vicinity.

The situation was so tightly controlled because judicial proceedings had commenced, necessitating strict police oversight around the community and the crime scene.

Xiao Chennai, notebook and pen in hand, approached the edge of the cordon. The neighborhood, mostly inhabited by the elderly, was abuzz with curiosity.

"They whispered among themselves, "Poor Old Lian, I heard his house was covered in blood."

"Yes, I peeked inside when I went up earlier. My heart's still racing."

"Didn't Old Lian have Alzheimer's? Could it have been suicide?"

As Xiao Chennai passed by the trio of ladies, he overheard snippets about the deceased and paused to inquire, "Excuse me, I'm with the Snowbush City Public Security Bureau. Do you know the person who passed away on the third floor? I overheard something about the deceased having Alzheimer's?"

One of the ladies, clad in a bright red vest, replied, "Yes, Old Lian had recently been diagnosed with Alzheimer's. He kept forgetting where his home was, so his son, fearing for his safety, locked him inside. Who could have imagined this tragedy unfolding?"

"Yes, exactly," the two ladies nearby echoed in agreement.

"Great, thank you for your cooperation!"

Xiao Chennai snapped his notebook shut and swiftly made his way into the hallway.

A group donned gloves and shoe covers before entering Lian Peng's kitchen.

At the doorway, a trail of bloody footprints was evident, likely left by Lian Peng as he ran out, stepping in the blood on the floor.

The kitchen was in disarray, with a body lying on the floor, draped in a white cloth.

Xiao Chennai crouched down, pulled back the cloth, and revealed an elderly man with a knife wound in his abdomen, measuring over ten centimeters. It was clearly inflicted by a blunt instrument.

"Look, there's a mark!"

Hua Ning pointed to a white tile on the stove.

She then took a photo with the camera she wore around her neck, capturing the tile in question.

A knife-shaped imprint was visible on the ceramic tile, likely left by a knife that had been sitting there for some time, covered in dust, and only revealed after being moved.

"Hey, where's the knife?"

Xiao Chennai searched around but couldn't locate the knife.

At that moment, a woman in a white lab coat approached and said with authority, "This is the weapon!"

Shan Meimei, a new forensic pathologist in the Identification Department, possessed a striking profile, subtle red makeup, and long, straight black hair that couldn't obscure her stunning figure.

Xiao Chennai accepted the evidence bag with a smile, "Thank you!"

Shan Meimei returned the smile and walked away.

Now with the weapon, Xiao Chennai deduced that the victim had been struck by a blunt object and had bled to death.

Moreover, the evidence bag Shan Meimei handed him had a small label attached, indicating that it contained the fingerprint of only one person, Lian Dongshen.

Still, it was puzzling how the kitchen knife from the white tile could have caused the abdominal wound on the deceased.

After a moment of contemplation, Xiao Chennai had to revisit the body, lifting the white cloth once more to examine the wound.

"Calipers!" Xiao Chennai commanded.

Hua Ning promptly handed them to him.

Twelve centimeters—the wound was precisely twelve centimeters long.

Xiao Chennai picked up the kitchen knife from the ground once again and compared it to the wound.

Using a kitchen knife approximately 10 centimeters long and weighing 267 grams to inflict a 12-centimeter wound on someone's abdomen would typically suggest human involvement. However, the wound would likely be deeper than what was observed.

Alternatively, the knife could have fallen accidentally, slicing open the deceased's abdomen during its descent, leading to death.

Xiao Chennai leaned towards the latter explanation, noting the absence of fingerprints in the house, no signs of burglary, and the fact that the deceased, Lian Dongshen, had no known enemies.

It seemed implausible for the act to be deliberate, especially since Xiao Chennai had examined the wound and found it to be shallow.

This suggested that the knife had accidentally caused the injury, resulting in death from excessive blood loss.

"What's your take on this?"

Xiao Chennai stood up and turned to Hua Ning, who was still busy taking photographs, eager to hear her thoughts.

Holding her camera, Hua Ning glanced at the stove and speculated, "I think the spot where the deceased collapsed was quite close to the stove. He probably knocked the knife accidentally, causing it to fall and slice his abdomen."

With animated gestures, Hua Ning energetically demonstrated how the knife might have fallen and inflicted the wound.

"Does this mean we can wrap this up as an accidental death?"

Xiao Chennai wasn't convinced that it was that straightforward. The deceased had been suffering from an age-related illness, which, according to neighbors, only affected him intermittently, leading to periods of dementia.

If he was in the kitchen intending to use the knife, it would indicate that he was lucid at the time and had the intention to prepare food.

This needed to be thoroughly investigated, and the only person with inside knowledge was Lian Peng.

Meanwhile, the other two members of Unit 9 were either canvassing the area or delivering evidence to the forensic department.

Xiao Chennai stepped outside, where Lian Peng was waiting at the door, his voice raspy with emotion. "Officer, how did my father die?"

With a somber tone, Xiao Chennai responded, "It appears to have been an accidental death."

Hearing this, Lian Peng's expression tensed. "How could that be? He was all by himself at home and then suddenly... he's gone?"

"I'm curious too, so let me ask you, does your father suffer from dementia?" Xiao Chennai inquired.

"Yes!"

"Was he having an episode at the time of the incident?" Xiao Chennai pressed on.

"I guess he was. Why do you ask?" Lian Peng responded, unsure.

"That's not possible. A patient with dementia wouldn't just wander around aimlessly," Xiao Chennai stated confidently.

Scratching his head, Lian Peng admitted, "I really can't tell if my dad was having an episode or not."

At that moment, Hua Ning called out from the doorway, "Xiao Chennai, come here! There's a new finding!"

Xiao Chennai approached and found Hua Ning photographing the congealed pool of blood.

"What are you photographing?" Xiao Chennai asked, puzzled.

Hua Ning stood up, brought the camera closer to him, and showed him a photo, magnified tenfold. "See this? There's a dark imprint here, distinct from the blood color. I've sent it to Cheng for analysis."