21st Century Necromancer-Chapter 247 - 244 Formalin

"Officer Maori, what’s the situation at the scene?" Misumi Mikoto, while slipping gloves onto her hands, asked the police officer who had arrived at the scene, a familiar face to her. Officer Maori had handled many of the UDI cases because of jurisdictional reasons.

"Someone called in a report of a body here, so we came over," Officer Maori said, his face filled with aversion to the hassle. A murder case meant another round of endless overtime for him, and for a non-career officer like him with no hope of further promotions, his biggest wish was simply to retire peacefully.

For a field officer like Officer Maori, who worked his way up from the bottom, reaching the rank of detective by forty was the limit, while those who passed the national civil service Type I exam started as detective assistant and could be promoted to detective after a three-month junior officer course and nine months of practical experience in a police station.

So, for someone like Officer Maori, who had spent over a decade reaching his current rank, what motivation did he have to work hard? To go to work safely every day and return home happily to enjoy a drink after was his greatest pleasure.

But obviously, with UDI in his jurisdiction, an organization that deals with the dead all year round, Officer Maori’s wish was unattainable. He had gotten used to UDI turning cases deemed suicides into homicides every other day, not to mention a case like this one where the murder was obvious from the first glance.

"The victim has a goldfish in her mouth…" As she examined the female body packed in a suitcase, Misumi Mikoto used a flashlight to inspect the victim’s mouth and found a rather interesting clue.

She looked up at Officer Maori and asked, "Officer Maori, where is the person who reported this?"

Follow current novels on ƒreewebηoveℓ.com.

"Over here. Miss Kojo made the report. She and her friend were playing a dare game and got curious, so they climbed into this building and found this suitcase. Curiosity got the better of them, and they opened it," Officer Maori explained to Misumi Mikoto.

Kojo Kyoko, on the other hand, had lost her usual composure and greeted Misumi Mikoto with a bow, seeming somewhat frightened like any ordinary woman would be.

Misumi Mikoto didn’t take particular notice but nodded to Kojo Kyoko and questioned, "Miss Kojo, did you move the body after you found it? Did you put the goldfish in the victim’s mouth?"

"Goldfish? What’s that? We didn’t touch the body after we found it because we were too scared and called the police right away," Kojo Kyoko replied, a bit flustered, yet her response was clear and organized. Lucky for her, she had participated in a drama club in high school and, although her acting skills were average, they were sufficient to hide her emotions now.

"The goldfish is a mark left in the victim’s mouth. Dr. Nakado has been looking for victims with goldfish in their mouths; it’s related to his lover who was murdered eight years ago," Misumi Mikoto explained briefly and then said to Kube Rokuro beside her, "Rokuro, take a note, the body hasn’t decomposed and the rigor mortis is moderate, which indicates she hasn’t been dead for more than 48 hours."

"I’m sorry, I think the person has been dead for more than two days," Kojo Kyoko suddenly interjected, contradicting Misumi Mikoto’s estimation.

Kojo Kyoko’s statement drew everyone’s attention, including the police and other UDI personnel who came with Misumi Mikoto. Everyone was puzzled by her assertion and curious as to why she would say that.

"Uh... before we opened the suitcase, there was a layer of dust on it. I wiped it with a tissue before opening it. With so much dust, the suitcase must have been here for at least a month," Kojo Kyoko offered her clue and added, "And maybe it’s because my nose is sensitive, but when the suitcase was opened, I smelled formalin."

"Are you sure, Miss Kojo? What you say will be taken as evidence, and you can’t be making this up," Officer Maori reminded her, looking at Kojo Kyoko. Although he didn’t have any untoward thoughts towards the attractive girl, Officer Maori still preferred to give her the benefit of the doubt.

Kojo Kyoko quickly nodded, confident in what she had said, also showing a hint of timidity as if she were a young girl scared while talking to the police, which she portrayed quite convincingly.

While Officer Maori continued to question Kojo Kyoko, Misumi Mikoto took her words seriously and put the lid of the already opened suitcase back in place. She ran her finger across the surface of the lid, and her white-gloved fingertip instantly collected a layer of thin dust.

Seeing this, Misumi Mikoto realized Kojo Kyoko hadn’t lied. If the suitcase had not been deliberately covered with dust, then it had indeed been sitting there for a long time.

Considering Kojo Kyoko mentioned smelling formalin, Misumi Mikoto made a guess about the cause of death and called out to Tokairin Yuko beside her, "Tokairin, collect a sample, and check if there is formalin on the body when we get back."

"Formalin? Dr. Misumi, do you believe what Miss Kojo said? Why would it be related to formalin?" Officer Maori was confused. He hadn’t grasped the connection between formalin, commonly used for embalming, and this case: "You don’t mean the victim was preserved with formalin, do you? But the victim’s clothes are still neatly on."

"No, it’s very possible that the killer used formalin to poison the victim," Misumi Mikoto examined the body again more closely. If the body really had been there for a while, its lack of significant decomposition was very suspect: "Formalin is a highly toxic poison.

If a formalin solution were injected intravenously, it would acidify the organs, causing paralysis and shock, leading to the victim’s death.

The main function of formalin is preservation. If what Miss Kojo said is true, and she smelled formalin and the victim was killed with it, then her body could have been here for over a month."

"Over a month!" Officer Maori felt overwhelmed; gathering information from a month ago would mean another week of overtime for him.

Kojo Kyoko watched Misumi Mikoto identifying the clue; although her face showed fear, a hint of a smile flashed through her eyes.