“That’s strange,” Kierson stated as he pulled the white cloth below the corpse's abdomen.
Valenn fixed his mask before looking at Kierson. “What is?” he asked
“From the picture of the original untouched body, the stomach is bloated,” Kierson replied as he started comparing the picture he was holding to the actual body. “From the look of it, it seems like she died of suffocation.”
Valenn nodded his head. “Yeah? But I don't think it was from strangulation.”
Kierson put the picture on the table and wore a pair of gloves and held the corpse's chin and lifted it to examine the neck. “No strangulation bruises.” Kierson started checking the other parts. “No bruises before the suffocation.”
Kierson thinks it was strange. There must be a bruise somewhere, an indication for the victim that she tried to deter herself from the one who was attempting to kill her.
Vishnu, who was a meter away from them because of his upset stomach, said, “Maybe the killer drowned her? She had a dilated stomach. She must have drunk too much saltwater while trying to breathe, making her stomach bloated.”
Kierson shook his head as he started examining the body and the insides of the stomach. He examined the organs and wrote everything on paper.
After examining the abdomen part, Kierson activated his recorder and said, “There is no froth around the mouth and nostrils and no lung distension. There is no water in the liver, an indication that Jane Draco had inhaled water that caused her death. Supposedly, after water inhalation, the lungs may be overinflated, filling the thoracic cavity, generally waterlogged referred to as ‘emphysema aquosum'. So the surfaces of the lungs should have a marbled appearance with dark red areas linked with collapsed alveoli, interspersed with more aerated tissue areas. The fluid would be trapped in the lower airways and block the passive collapse of the bronchi that normally occurs after death. However, none of those could be seen in Jane Draco's case. She died one day and 3 hours ago.”
Vishnu joined the two and gave the picture of the crime scene to Kierson. “There was a strange aquarium inside the house where Jane Draco’s body was found. At the pavement block away from the room, there was a plastic tube laid back, and aside from it, the criminal left a dust trail of evidence. It’s hard to point out the cause of death just by merely investigating the crime scene.”
If they couldn't find out the cause of death, it won’t be possible for them to find out who the killer was.
Kierson took a look at the picture.
As expected, as Harvey had told him earlier, there was no sign of forced invasion. There was no trace of violence. There were only a few clues that if put together do not make any sense.
“Jane Draco had drunk a large amount of saltwater, causing their breathing to be blocked and their internal organs to rupture. There are also other liquid substances. However, I still could not solve the mystery about how it happened. The main question was, why would she voluntarily drink all of those?” Valenn stated.
Kierson looked at the picture again. After looking at it, Kierson reexamined the body. “Can you lend me the scissor?” he asked.
Valenn nodded and gave Kierson a scissor.
Kierson started cutting the corpse's hair on the lower part of the head. After cutting the hair, the abrasion became even more visible.
“Is that a contusion?” Valenn asked.
Kierson looked at it and examined it closely. He then shook his head. “It’s just normal swelling. Normally it wouldn’t cause the person to die but if her head was trapped underwater, her attempt to deter herself from it might result in excessive swelling. But this mild lump doesn’t seem like it. Moreover, she didn’t die from drowning.”
Valenn gulped as a conclusion came to his mind. “The aquarium and the tube.”
Vishnu tilted his head. “They couldn’t be that cruel, Doctor.”
Kierson chuckled. “They had already killed a person, Director. Torturing their victim to death won’t be much surprising,” he declared. “It seemed like criminals like to torture their victims in a way that they would make their victims hope for an escape when in fact, it was the cruelest trap in disguise.”
Kierson put the scissor on the table and looked at the body. “Jane Draco was killed using saltwater, specifically from the aquarium," he declared. “Her head was trapped underwater in the aquarium, her head being hoisted down by a metal covered in smooth cloth to avoid too much swelling from the head and die due to brain's internal bleeding. Still, she was able to breathe due to the tube in her mouth. It was her only way to breathe. It was her only lifeline.”
Valenn and Vishnu clenched their jaws. Kierson sighed and continued, “The criminal started pouring milk on the tube. To breathe, the victim had no other choice but to drink it. Then the suspect poured the oil after. The gallons of milk and oil in the picture of the kitchen do not seem like they could be a weapon, but in fact, they are. The suspect must have been pouring those liquids one after another.”
“To breathe, Jane Draco drank all of those substances. Desperately tried to drink all of it just so she could breathe.”
Kierson started to talk like one in a monologue. “Desperately drinking all of it. Just one more sip… one more and she'll be able to breathe.” Kierson smiled. “But the suspect intended to kill the victim in the first place so he connected the tube into the aquarium where her head was. Despite being nauseated, she had to drink it all… but in the end, her only way of survival brought her to the cruelest death.” Kierson took off the gloves. “She drank it all hoping that it would make her breathe. She grasped the hope that no one promised.”
Valenn gritted his teeth. “If that is the truth, then the suspect must perish.”
Kierson takes off his mask and puts it in the trash bin. He was smiling.
Vishnu was appalled at seeing Kierson grinning. It wasn’t the usual grin he'll give off to random people and it was far from the genuine one.
Kierson smiled like a psychopath, ready to kill whoever gets in his way. Those smiles were making Vishnu shiver.