Prova Silenciosa

Li Rui stood before the autopsy table, the surgical knife in his hand gleaming coldly under the shadowless lamp.

This was his third corpse of the day. The deceased was a young woman, found floating in the moat on the outskirts of the city.

“Forensic Doctor Li, these are the victim’s personal belongings,” Assistant Xiao Wang handed over a sealed evidence bag containing a mobile phone and a movie ticket, the latter swollen and wrinkled from water damage.

Li Rui donned gloves and took the bag. The writing on the movie ticket was already blurred, but he could barely make out that it was for the eight o’clock screening last night. He noticed a faint crease on the stub, as if someone had repeatedly rubbed it.

The female corpse on the table wore a peaceful expression, as if merely asleep. Li Rui gently swept aside her hair and found a subtle dent on the back of her head. Taking his magnifying glass, he examined it carefully and discovered tiny debris at the wound’s edges.

“Prepare to collect samples,” he said without looking up.

Xiao Wang quickly handed over test tubes and swabs.

At that moment, the autopsy room door suddenly swung open. A gust of cold wind, mixed with the sharp scent of rain, swept inside, causing Li Rui’s hand to falter. He looked up toward the doorway, where a middle-aged man in a police uniform stood, his face grave.

“Old Zhang?” Li Rui recognized the visitor as Captain Zhang from the Criminal Investigation Unit.

“Another body has been found,” Captain Zhang’s voice was hoarse. “The same modus operandi, t