Larry narrowed his eyes. The trail of the pinpoint of light vanished into the outer wall of the skull, right at the location of the victim's wound. Along the edge of the occipital region, a slight depression could be seen, more noticeable than the surrounding light.
This made him wonder whether it could be steel reinforcement.
"No, the density doesn't seem right!"
"Then could it be an iron nail? But how could there be a nail that thick and long? And besides, didn't it have a head?"
To penetrate the skull of an adult man and reach that point, it would have to measure at least seventeen centimeters.
"In that case, could it be a nail with some special purpose?" Larry thought as he examined the wounds.
"Let's turn the body over!" Larry said, and everyone stepped forward to help.
It wasn't easy to turn the body over, as it was still firmly adhered to the cotton blanket that wrapped it.
After enduring that chilling tearing sound once again, they finally turned the body over and removed the quilt and the towel underneath.
Sure enough, Larry found a triangular metal nail, as thick as an adult finger, embedded in the occipital region of the skull. However, this end was not flat; it appeared to have a notch.
The shriveled skin almost completely covered the nail, protruding just enough to feel its edges, but it was impossible to extract it.
According to the X-ray, the triangular nail had penetrated the victim's skull horizontally, reaching all the way to behind the eye socket: a fatal wound.
Larry removed one glove and turned to explain what had happened to Jane, who was standing behind him.
"The fatal wound has been found. Look at the direction of this triangular nail in the deceased's brain. The nail entered through the back of the head, directly through the brainstem, reaching the back of the eye socket, completely perforating the brain, including the cerebellum, the brainstem, and the cerebrum."
"This entry point would cause anyone to fall into a coma quickly and then die. Even if the victim were rushed to the hospital, it would be difficult to save them. However, this nail is far too peculiar; we need to look for more information online, because it's unusual even in construction sites."
"Can't we just pull it out?" Jane asked the question everyone was thinking.
"Not without causing damage," Max replied, shaking his head.
"The body is severely dehydrated, which makes complete extraction of the nail extremely difficult." Larry thought for a moment and then said, "I think we should pause the autopsy and rehydrate the body before continuing with the next step. This could allow us to obtain a clearer image of the deceased and their fingerprints, making it easier to identify the origin of the body."
"From dry to rehydrated."
A group of people beside him spoke these four words in unison, clenching their teeth.
Larry nodded and said, "A Mexican forensic pathologist, based on previous research, formulated a reagent called Lufir solution."
"By adding it at a ratio of 1:100 to warm water at 38 degrees Celsius and immersing the body for eight to twenty-four hours, the mummified corpse can be effectively rehydrated, restoring fingerprints and facial features. Since the mummification of this victim is not severe, we'll soon know what we're looking for!"
Jane checked the time; it was already four in the morning, which meant the immersion would be completed by noon at the earliest, so there was no need to wait around.
"Then let's give it proper hydrotherapy treatment! I'll go investigate the surroundings first; construction crews are the hardest to deal with. Notify me when you're done," Jane said as she quickly set to work in the field.
"Wait—have someone take the concrete samples we brought to a professional testing center to analyze them and see whether the concrete on the surface of the corpse is from the same batch as the surrounding walls."
A flash of doubt crossed Jane's eyes, then she understood. "You mean that if the concrete is of the same quality, it would mean the killer worked for the construction company, or at least had access to the site?"
"And if it's not the same quality, could it be a later seal?"
Larry nodded and explained in more detail. "Also, the salt and sand that filled the victim's thoracic cavity… Salt from different sources has slightly different compositions. I'll urge them to release the report as soon as possible."
"Understood."
…
Four hours later, Jane was sitting in the lobby of Anderson after already having two cups of coffee.
After all, it was a holiday, and all departments except those on duty were on vacation. The company representative she had arranged to meet still hadn't appeared.
Just as she was about to lose her patience, the revolving door opened and a slightly overweight man, not yet forty, walked in.
The receptionist whispered a few words to him, and the man approached with a professional smile, his left hand on his shirt lapel and his right hand extended toward Jane.
"Hello, good morning."
"Sorry to keep you waiting. I'm Steven Lewins, project manager of the Anderson Construction Group."
"I'm Jane, from the FBI Criminal Special Department. As you can see, this is my identification."
"How can I help you?" Steven asked, clearly intrigued.
Jane shook his hand, and Steven only gave the ID a brief glance.
Once they were seated, someone came over to bring them coffee. The aroma was clearly different from the coffee from before.
Steven gave the receptionist a meaningful smile, and Jane cleared her throat.
"We're here today to ask about the recently inaugurated hotel in which you invested. We have some questions regarding the construction. We'd like to know who participated in the construction of the hotel's sixth floor, and we'd like to learn about the specific construction team."
"Additionally, we'd like to retrieve the concrete samples from the original construction supervision laboratory."
Seeing that the officer in front of him could speak about such professional matters, Steven lost his composure; these things were never good.
"Miss, may I ask the reason?"
Jane gestured with her hand, and her assistant showed him several photos.
Steven took them cautiously and saw that one was from Bar A8.
He then moved on to the second photo, which showed a damaged wall with something dark in the center.
His hand trembled, and he didn't dare look any further. He quickly handed the photo back to Jane, completely losing his composure and elegance.
"Was this taken at A8? What is this?"
"A corpse hidden in the wall!"
Steven smoothed his hair with his hand, searched through his notebook, opened several forms, and showed Jane what she wanted. "This is the information on the construction company and the construction team in question. Since it was from a year ago, I don't know if their numbers have changed. They're very mobile people; it's normal for them to be here today and gone tomorrow."
"As for the concrete sample you requested, I need to contact our group's laboratory. We produced it ourselves; after all, it's a project of our own group, so we handled it very carefully."
Steven took out his phone, making no effort to hide it from Jane and the others, dialed a number, explained the situation, and hung up moments later, telling the receptionist to run upstairs.
"Please wait a moment. I'll have the secretary go get it; there's someone on duty upstairs."
"Thank you for your cooperation."
"Ha, it's nothing." After saying that, Steven asked, "Miss, may I ask—have you identified the victim?"
Jane, who was drinking coffee, frowned slightly, looking at the coffee in her cup, and suddenly thought of the mummified corpse receiving a spa treatment, immediately setting the cup down.
"We're also waiting for the autopsy results. We'll need your cooperation afterward, as we must identify the body."
Steven nodded vigorously. "That's essential."
At that moment, the elevator chimed, and a secretary quickly pushed out a cart.
The cart was filled with more than ten blocks of concrete, each labeled with a number and a date.
Jane's assistant had someone move all the concrete samples onto the cart, and Jane also stood up.
"Thank you for the information. If we need to investigate further, we'll contact you again. Please keep your phone on over the next few days."
These words made Steven's legs go weak and his cheeks tremble. Being pulled out of his home during the holidays, dealing with a case involving a corpse hidden in a wall, providing information, and being on call at any time…
That had never happened to him before, and it filled him with anxiety. "Of course!"