Chapter 2058: Chapter 2058: Autopsy
Mr. Albert’s suggestion was quite good. If the Diviner Shard was looking for indeed possessed an Unclassified Level Relic, attempting divination on them would be impossible. But relying on a Circle Sorcerer with local connections to inquire would certainly be more convenient than Shard searching on his own.
However, the phrase "Female Diviner" caught Shard’s attention, so he asked another question while holding his wine glass:
"Does that Lady Amethyst have any peculiar habits?"
"She generally doesn’t perform divinations for men—not that she never does, but it’s very rare. These past years, I almost haven’t heard of her choosing a male as the object of her divination."
Shard blinked, feeling that he had probably guessed who the "Lady Amethyst" of the Moon Bay Region truly was.
A Vampire Kind with the profession of Coroner had been living locally for nearly a decade and was quite knowledgeable about the local Circle Sorcerers. He was unaware that Shard had made up his mind not to meet her, so he kindly recommended that Shard take more walks near the City Hall of Moon Bay City, where it’s rumored Lady Amethyst might be more likely to spot him.
"I came to the local area for the Relic, not for a Witch."
As he raised his cup for a drink, Shard kept silently repeating this to himself.
If he truly wanted to meet the Great Witch of Destiny, it would be better to wait until Miss Aphrola or Miss Benanis or some other Witch also arrived locally and then be introduced by them.
The Coroner’s job is probably quite relaxed, at least today it was. Approaching noon, Mr. Albert also didn’t feel like going back to work, so he simply ordered lunch at the Spider Hostel and had it with Mr. Benhart and the newly met friend, John Watson.
During lunch, besides discussing the basic details of local Circle Sorcerers, they naturally talked about Mr. Albert’s work. Although this topic might not be suitable for the lunch table, none of the three present were ordinary people, so no one minded too much.
"Recently, there haven’t been many murder cases in the city; just a few unusually deceased corpses have appeared in the Lower District."
He explained to Shard and Mr. Benhart while stirring his vegetable salad with a fork:
"As you know, the plague has been rampant all over the Old Continent in recent months, and the Moon Bay City Hall is naturally on high alert, so they’ve been having us, the coroners, pay extra attention to recently unusually deceased corpses."
He lowered his voice a little:
"There haven’t been any typical plague deaths yet, but headless corpses have been appearing continuously in the city for two weeks. This matter is now causing an uproar, but luckily the corpses have mostly appeared in the Lower District, so it hasn’t caused too much tension among the nobles and businessmen in Moon Bay City. As for those headless corpses, their necks have fairly neat incisions."
He even touched his own neck to indicate the position to the two:
"But the strange thing is, if someone really used a sharp weapon to cut off the victim’s head, the blood that would have sprayed out and the head, which would have been covered in a large amount of blood, should have been sensed by our racial talent. But after the Corpse Courier sent two such victims over here, I went to the scene to check out the situation and couldn’t detect any clues."
"Could it be the handiwork of a Circle Sorcerer?"
Mr. Benhart asked in a similarly low voice, and Mr. Albert subtly shook his head:
"It’s hard to say for sure right now, and we shouldn’t underestimate ordinary people; it might be a method we haven’t thought of. However, this matter will probably be taken over by the Church, so it doesn’t concern us much. Armand, I actually invited you to the morgue today for another corpse."
"Are there other unusual corpses in Moon Bay recently? Oh, please continue."
Shard said, and so the coroner who was still wearing his robe continued:
"I’ve been doing this job for many years and have seen all sorts of strange things locally. The night before yesterday, the Corpse Courier brought in an unclaimed Wuming female corpse; from the physical characteristics, I guessed she might be a prostitute from the Lower District. The cause of death was excessive blood loss, and there were bite marks on her neck."
The conversation among the three paused for a moment. Mr. Benhart blinked and turned to Shard beside him, saying:
"Let’s not jump to conclusions yet, although even I suspect it’s the same clan... Ptolemy, please continue."
"My initial conclusion was the same as yours. But a deeper autopsy revealed that her blood loss wasn’t external; her blood had mostly been drawn away by something that once existed inside her stomach. No, she wasn’t pregnant. I found an anomaly in the abdomen of that scar-covered corpse, realizing that something not belonging to the human body had once been inside her stomach but is now gone. I can’t determine if it was a Vampire Insect or something else. But I can confirm that this was her true cause of death."
"What about the bite marks?"
Shard asked again, and the coroner confidently replied:
"After examination, it was confirmed that the marks were made before and after death. I used a unique racial secret technique, and those bite marks were definitely not the cause of death."
"Mr. Watson, you can trust Ptolemy’s honesty, I can vouch for that. So, someone wants to frame the Vampire Kind?"
Mr. Benhart also understood, and the coroner nodded:
"Yes, this corpse will soon be taken by the church. Although I believe the church can also determine the true cause of death, I also believe they will still suspect that this matter is related to us. So, Armand, I need your help, I want to investigate the true origin of this corpse, and who the killer is. When the time comes, spreading the news in the black market, the church will also understand that we are proving our innocence."
His idea is right, even if the bite marks are confirmed as a frame-up, the church cannot avoid investigating the local Vampire Kind. If the Vampire Kind didn’t drain the blood, they might still be conducting some experiment. Once the investigation begins, those Vampire Kind settled locally might face a major change in their lives.
"Who else have you told about this matter?"
Mr. Benhart asked again, and the coroner replied:
"For now, only you two outsiders. Armand, we’ve been old friends for many years, and you are the strongest of the same clan I know locally."
The Seven-Ring Vampire is already strong enough, Moon Bay City must have High Ring Vampires, but those people are hard to find.
"I understand what you mean, I’m an outsider, and just by looking at Mr. Watson, you can tell he is a resident of Draleon, so the possibility of this matter being related to the two of us is small. The bite marks are a frame-up, but whether the local same clan can be trusted, that’s uncertain."
Mr. Benhart then looked at Shard, seeing that Shard also showed an expression of interest, he nodded:
"After lunch, I’ll take you to see that corpse."
If Shard hadn’t interrupted earlier, they should have checked before lunch.
So Shard also said:
"Although I have some other matters locally, I’m also willing to help."
It’s not meddling in others’ business, as past experience shows, in new cities, engaging in strange matters aids in advancing main investigation tasks without clues.
"Of course, but don’t eat too much lunch, the scene later won’t be pleasant."
After having lunch, the three returned with the two Roder Card-playing mortuary guards. The latter two didn’t mind them coming and going freely in such restricted facilities after learning that Shard and Mr. Benhart are friends with the coroner, indicating Mr. Ptolemy Albert is well-connected.
After entering the passage beyond the iron gate, the three doors after the right angle are all morgues, which also serve as a mortuary. There are four coroners working here, but due to the location’s uniqueness and pay issues, Mr. Ptolemy Albert spends the most time here.
He opened the left door and took out robes for the three to change into. The space beyond the door was quite vast, and after descending the three-level high slope, the underground space enclosed by stone walls was dimly lit by gas lamps. Approximately thirty iron-framed beds were placed against the walls, mostly divided by curtains, making it difficult to see if they were occupied by corpses.
In the center of the room is a rectangular area that protrudes a level above the ground, with three relatively professional metal surgical tables on the high platform. High-power gas lamps hung above for illumination, indicating this was the place for autopsies.
The air was filled with a peculiar smell of a mix of corpse stench and preservatives, with a more intense cold feeling than outside. After putting on masks, hats, goggles, and gloves, Shard and Mr. Benhart watched Mr. Albert use sorcery to levitate the corpse covered with a white sheet from the iron-framed bed in the southeast corner to the operating table.
Shard and Mr. Benhart gathered around, and the coroner, after confirming they were mentally prepared, uncovered the white sheet.
"Tsk tsk, this is indeed..."
The female corpse appeared eerily shriveled and emaciated due to excessive fluid loss, with eyes tightly shut and hollowed cheeks, and her dry yellow hair was as messy as weeds. She seemed to be over 25 but under 30, with whip marks, bindings, and candle wax burns all over her body, and tearing wounds in sensitive areas.
The abdomen showed traces of a sharp blade, but only one was made by Mr. Albert.
The coroner detailed the autopsy process to the two gentlemen, inferring the living conditions of the corpse from the fingernails, hair color, eyelids, foot marks, and fingerprints.
He then asked the two to hold their breath as he dissected the stomach of the corpse and checked the contents to describe the living conditions. This was Mr. Albert’s first time dissecting a corpse’s stomach, but no notable foreign objects were found in the food residue, only indicating that the deceased had a rather sumptuous meal before death.
The meal included hard-to-digest pasta desserts, as well as expensive ingredients like lobster and caviar. Due to the prolonged time since death, some food residues were extremely difficult to identify, but it was clear that such a meal did not match the corpse’s identity.
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