Coroner Ke Xue

The death of the male owner Ikecun Xun caused a storm in the Ikecun family.

Ikemura Isao's father, Ikemura Toshimitsu, his son, Ikemura Takazan, and his future daughter-in-law, Katsuragi Sachiko, all rushed over after hearing the news. Together with Mrs. Ikemura Kimie who had just walked out of the study, they blocked the door of the study.

“How could my dad/son die?!”

The family members are not emotionally stable.

Seeing this posture, they all wanted to rush in and hold the body of the deceased to perform a show of fatherly kindness and filial piety.

Fortunately, Kogoro Mouri showed his professionalism as a policeman.

He reluctantly blocked the door to the study and helped his daughter protect the scene:

"Don't get excited! Don't enter the crime scene."

"Believe me, my daughter is a police officer in the forensics department. She will help everyone find out the truth!"

"Police officer from the forensics department?"

Mrs. Chicun's expression suddenly became a little subtle:

Because of Lin Xinyi, the management officer, the once inconspicuous soy sauce department of the forensics department is now in the spotlight.

She took a closer look at Mao Lilan's young and tender face, as well as the blue school uniform she had not had time to change out of after school, and then couldn't help but ask:

"Isn't this kid still a high school student? How can he be a police officer in the forensics department?"

"Haha." Mouri Kogoro's tone was a little proud.

When talking about his daughter's achievements, he seems happier than talking about himself:

"My daughter Xiaolan is the 'beautiful girl forensic doctor' who has been very famous in the newspapers recently!"

"Lin Xinyi knows, right? That guy begged Xiaolan to be his student just because he thought my daughter had inherited my extraordinary reasoning ability!"

"This" Mrs. Chicun's expression suddenly changed: "This Miss Maori is the direct disciple of Manager Lin?"

There was suppressed shock in her voice.

Ikemura Takayama, Katsuragi Sachiko and others on the side also looked surprised, as if they had seen some big star.

"Hey, hey. Isn't this reaction too exaggerated?"

Mr. Hattori Heiji, who is used to enjoying the spotlight and applause, but is now being ignored by the audience, can't help but feel a little annoyed:

"A young girl who has just debuted is treated better than me. It seems that my reputation in Kanto is really not big enough!"

"But this is fine"

"The greater the reputation of the opponent, the more valuable the challenge."

Hattori Heiji was blocked from the scene, but his eyes were still full of fighting spirit:

"Miss Maori, even if you block me from the scene, I will not lose easily."

"Just the clues I just saw are enough for me to solve the mystery of this secret room murder!"

His eyes were full of confidence.

It certainly doesn't feel good to be forcibly removed from the scene.

But it's like a novel about breaking out of an engagement and being a loser. The harder he is suppressed by his opponent in the early stage, and when he defeats his opponent in the later stage, the slap in the face becomes more satisfying.

Therefore, Hattori Heiji was holding back his energy at the moment, trying to find out the truth before Mao Lilan.

"To realize the secret room technique I deduced, fishing line must be used."

"And the deceased only died in the last half hour. The murderer probably didn't have time to deal with the props used in the murder."

"Then, just let me find this fishing line."

"It will prove my suspicion!"

"And the murderer is probably that man!"

Hattori Heiji thought so, his eyes becoming firmer.

He quietly left the scene and walked downstairs alone, going to the place where the evidence in his reasoning was most likely to be hidden.

Noticing his departure, Conan couldn't help but feel a little concerned:

"It seems that the guy named Hattori has noticed some clues."

"Although this guy's previous reasoning was a bit too far-fetched, since he can be called the 'Hattori of Kansai', I'm afraid he also has some strength."

"Can Xiaolan really win?"

Mao Lilan herself had no interest in this so-called duel, but Conan helped her get anxious.

However, he was anxious. As a member of the idle crowd, Conan could not help at all.

The only thing he could do was to cast his nervous and expectant eyes towards the door and Xiaolan.

At this time, Mao Lilan was already busy conducting an autopsy.

She moved Ikemura Isao's collapsed body to a more open area and placed it there.

This position is also relatively close to the door, allowing the people waiting outside the door to clearly see all the details on the body.

Forensic doctors are required to take photos and records at all times during the autopsy examination, so as to leave evidence and record certain signs of the corpse that may only be retained temporarily.

And Mao Lilan doesn't have a camera now, and is alone here, lacking helpers to take photos and record.

She simply asked Kogoro and others waiting outside the door to be witnesses and let them watch her autopsy.

everything's ready.

Mao Lilan had her long hair tied up, and put on a mask and gloves, but her eyes were still hesitant:

"Do you want to do a postmortem examination now?"

"Or should we wait a little longer until Mr. Lin and the others come over?"

As an apprentice who has just entered the industry, Mao Lilan has learned a lot of knowledge through talent and hard work, but after all, he is a dabbler without systematic study.

She learned and practiced some trace knowledge that was more empirical, and she mastered it very quickly.

But autopsy is a professional work that requires a certain medical foundation, and she has never practiced it alone.

At this moment, without the guidance of two professional teachers, Lin Xinyi and Asai Chengmi, Mao Lilan couldn't help but feel guilty.

"No, we can't waste time."

"Mr. Lin said that the autopsy should be done as early as possible."

"It doesn't matter if I'm not good enough. When Mr. Lin comes, I'll let him help me find the gaps and fill them up."

After some hesitation, Mao Lilan finally mustered up his confidence.

Her eyes gradually became firm, and her movements became smooth and neat.

According to Lin Xinyi's corpse surface inspection process, she first determined the overall condition of the corpse's surface such as rigor mortis and cadaveric spots.

The preliminary inspection results are the same as what the great detective Hattori just said:

"The muscles are relaxed, there are no corpse spots, and the exposed face, hands and feet are still warm."

"The time of death will not exceed half an hour at most."

Determining the time of death is also a basic skill for detectives.

Hattori Heiji did not make any mistakes in this regard.

only.

"Pinholes in the neck."

Following the standard procedure of checking from head to toe, Mao Lilan quickly discovered what Hattori Heiji had just discovered.

But there are some things that the detective Mr. Mao Lilan couldn't notice, but Mao Lilan, a half-time forensic doctor, could notice:

"The location of this pinhole is almost two fingers away from the left side of the thyroid cartilage."

"This location is very close to the carotid artery. Perhaps the poisonous needle was inserted directly into the carotid artery."

"If poison is injected from a place like this."

"The drug will enter the brain through the arterial blood circulation as quickly as possible, and then spread throughout the body."

Mao Lilan's expression suddenly became serious.

She couldn't help but think of the knowledge of pharmacokinetics that the "famous detective" Ms. Shiho Miyano had popularized when she was investigating the case of blowfish poisoning that killed his wife at the Japanese food store that day.

When administered from the carotid artery, the drug's effect is most rapid and rapid.

If a powerful nerve agent like tetrodotoxin is used, almost as soon as the poisonous needle pricks the back of the deceased's neck, the entire body of the deceased will be paralyzed and put into suspended animation, and he will suffocate to death in a short period of time.

"etc."

Mao Lilan's cheek suddenly became extremely pale.

It was as if she had discovered some cruel fact that she couldn't accept, so much so that her body couldn't help but tremble slightly.

"What's wrong, Sister Xiaolan?"

Conan, who had been watching from the side, couldn't help but asked worriedly.

Mao Lilan turned pale and murmured in a trembling voice:

"Mr. Isao Ikemura's lips and fingertips just started to turn purple."

"Uh?" Everyone was slightly stunned:

"Yeah. So, what happened?"

They all saw the changes in the corpse that Mao Lilan said, but they didn't understand what she wanted to say.

Even Detective Conan didn't react for a moment:

The lips and fingertips appear bluish-purple, which is medically called "cyanosis".

The red color of blood is due to the hemoglobin contained in red blood cells. When hemoglobin is fully combined with oxygen and becomes oxyhemoglobin, its color is bright red; when it releases oxygen and becomes deoxygenated hemoglobin, its color becomes dark red.

When a person falls into a state of suffocation, the oxygen saturation in the blood decreases and deoxygenated hemoglobin increases. Cyanosis, a bluish-purple change, will occur in areas with thinner skin, less pigment, and richer capillaries.

Therefore, cyanosis of the lips and fingertips is a typical sign of death from suffocation.

This sign occurs in many poisoning deaths caused by poisons that affect respiratory function.

Since it has been determined that Ikemura Isao died of poisoning, it does not seem surprising to find that he had signs of suffocation.

So, why is Xiaolan so shocked?

Conan was confused, but Mao Lilan suddenly came to his senses.

She hurriedly reached out to press the deceased's dilated pupils, and found that the dilated pupils had not returned to their original shape.

"It's over. It's too late."

"Mr. Isao Ikemura, he is really dead."

Mao Lilan's big eyes were filled with pain and self-blame.

"X-Xiaolan?" Looking at his daughter's pitiful appearance, which was almost collapsed, Mouri Kogoro finally couldn't help shouting: "What on earth is going on?"

Mao Lilan bit her lip tightly and said to herself:

"The phenomenon of cyanosis of the lips and fingers usually begins in the middle stage of the suffocation process, before the person is dead."

"And the color of the skin and mucous membranes changes with the color of the blood flow."

"But the deceased's lips and fingertips had just become cyanotic."

"In other words, when I started the autopsy just now, the blood in his body was still flowing."

"W-what?!"

Everyone was shocked, including Kogoro Moori, Xiaolan’s father:

"Then, doesn't that mean Mr. Ikemura was still alive just now?"

"That's right. He was still alive just now."

"It's just that the effect of the drug took effect too quickly, causing his entire body's nerves and muscles to become incapacitated instantly, so he fell into a state of suspended animation."

"And now Mr. Ikemura is really dead due to suffocation caused by respiratory muscle incompetence."

Mao Lilan's voice was filled with pain, and there were even tears in her eyes.

She turned her head and looked at Mrs. Ikemura whose face had changed in the crowd with tearful eyes:

"Mrs. Ikemura, why did you kill your husband?!"