Chapter 152

152. The Headless Corpse (2)

****

Life is full of drifts.

“I’ve never killed anyone, nor have I ever cut off a head and hidden a corpse.”

The lives of patients are even more so. Thought this high-ranking official suspect had embezzled taxes or something. Cut off a head, you say?

Let’s move on for now.

“If it’s pneumonia, there’s a chance antibiotics will work. We’ll try two types. If it works, that’s good. If not… we’ll try something else.”

The uncle nodded.

“So there’s a chance I’ll get better?”

“For now, based on what we see, yes.”

Seems worth a shot. I placed a small glass dish next to the patient’s bed.

“Mr. Patient, when you cough up phlegm later, please spit just a little into this dish without mixing it with saliva. We need to check what illness it might be.”

The patient nodded.

“Can you tell what’s wrong just by looking at the phlegm?”

“Could be, could not be.”

My gut was telling me…

This isn’t just an antibiotic case. There are strong allergy characteristics, and the cough sounds different from typical pneumonia.

We also need to check what that “headless body” story is about. Still mysterious if it’s related…

“Cough! But meeting the Empire’s greatest doctor gives me hope. I’ve done my part. Now it’s in the hands of the gods… er, Teacher.”

“I’ll do my best.”

“Ahh, Doctor, if I survive this, I’ll repay you properly…”

The patient stopped mid-sentence while coughing. Worried he might start coughing up blood. I nodded.

I should add some cough medicine later.

****

Father checked, now Mother’s turn. They share a room, so I hear other family members talking nearby.

I looked at the middle-aged female patient.

“Hello, ma’am.”

“Yes…”

Her medical record says her main symptom is severe skin rash. Not sure how severe. Just that she has a rash.

There are many kinds of rashes.

Could be boils, subcutaneous bleeding spots, peeling skin, or infection symptoms.

Just saying “rash” makes it hard to diagnose. Need to see it directly. Definitely has hives all over…

But doesn’t look very painful.

Doesn’t look like severe hives either.

“Are you feeling a bit better?”

“Yes, I’m fine.”

“They said yesterday you were in a lot of pain.”

“My whole body broke out in hives and itched. At the temple, they gave me wet towels and told me not to scratch. I drank herbal tea too.”

Amy tilted her head.

“What kind of tea?”

“Chamomile tea.”

At least it’s a lucky misfortune. If they’d given her mercury or something claiming to cure her, she’d probably be dead by now.

“Do you have any cough or phlegm?”

“My nose was completely blocked. It got better after visiting the temple. Not bad now.”

Allergy?

If it’s an allergy, symptoms can improve once exposure to the allergen stops. Though this doesn’t explain father’s pneumonia.

“Did the illness come on suddenly?”

“Yes, everyone in the family got sick around the same time about a week ago. Don’t know why.”

“Any changes?”

“Not really…”

Around the same time a week ago. Could be food poisoning or common toxin exposure affecting the skin and respiratory system.

“By the way, Professor… Professor Asterix, right?”

“Yes.”

“There’s something more important than this illness. Please… can you talk to the Security Management Team? Convince them we didn’t kill anyone.”

Why keep bringing that up? How would I know, and why would the police believe me?

“Don’t know.”

“Please, I can’t go to jail leaving these sick children behind. If accused of murder, execution might happen…”

“I’ll try talking.”

****

The interview is done.

It took a while hearing all four stories. Father has pneumonia, mother has skin redness. Two children had slight fevers and coughs, but not pneumonia-level.

I gathered the medical records and left the ward with Amy. She looked back at the patient area with a serious expression.

“What do you think?”

“Totally clueless.”

“Still…”

“Father has pneumonia. The rest of the family seems exposed to some irritating toxic substance.”

Makes sense, but what kind of toxic substance? All four have different symptoms. Could be multiple substances.

What’s more curious…

“What’s this ‘headless body’ nonsense?”

“Exactly.”

Istina tilted her head.

Nothing to do but ask the police.

Teacher Scipio from the Security Management Team was waiting outside the room, flipping through a pocket-sized book looking bored.

“Ah, Professor came out.”

I immediately frowned seeing the policeman.

“So, what’s this ‘headless body’ business?”

“I told you, these people are murder suspects. Right after admission, a decapitated corpse was found in their attic.”

“Yes. Any idea why?”

“Only one possible reason. Someone cut off someone’s head and hid the body in the attic. What other explanation could there be?”

True, but still… how long has the body been there?

“That’s true.”

“I don’t believe these people killed and hid a body either. But without other evidence…”

I nodded.

“Could I possibly see that headless corpse or the patient’s house? Would that be difficult?”

“The house… it’s possible. But will it help treatment or investigation?”

Could. Might not.

****

Thought about this before.

Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, creator of Sherlock Holmes, was a doctor. Diagnosis is finding disease from clues. Let’s find more clues.

“Close.”

“Indeed.”

The temple where the patient was admitted and their house are only about 5 minutes walk away. Completely within medical range.

We followed the police into the house. Normal-looking but had a strange smell. Like squid maybe.

Amy coughed a bit.

“Just wait at the temple.”

“Ah, okay.”

Anyway…

Carefully walked into the empty house with the police. A stylish 2-story mansion. Richer than expected?

“This way.”

“Okay.”

Though expensively decorated, it wasn’t a large mansion. Even in fantasy worlds, land in the capital is expensive.

When we went upstairs to the second floor, the rotting smell we briefly smelled earlier got stronger. I put on a mask and looked around again.

“Happened last time too.”

Teacher Scipio led the way, and we peeked into the attic. The rotting smell was intense. On the floor…

Black liquid soaked the attic floor, clearly showing the outline of how the corpse lay.

Ugh.

Even though I have a strong stomach… between the smell and the bodily fluids leaking from the corpse with mold and flies…

“Do you know whose body it is?”

“No. Face is mostly rotted away. Still, probably one of the household’s butlers or servants. Needs investigation though.”

Still… now I understand.

The outline on the attic floor shows the headless body lying there decomposing.

The head was beside the body. At least the outline of where the head decomposed is there.

A few ropes hung from the attic ceiling. No noose visible. Maybe tied for repairs? Anything else?

On the other hand, the chimney passes through the attic. Wouldn’t it have been warm if they lit a fire?

“Terrible. Let’s go quickly.”

The chimney… what relation does it have to this case? The loose rope fragments, the head discarded near the body…

****

All puzzle pieces fit together.

Probably?

Reason for the headless body in the attic, what illness the family caught, why only one member got pneumonia while others just developed allergies…

Conclusion reached.

Will know for sure when we attempt treatment.

The inside of the mansion smelled too bad, so I first went outside with the police.

Back in medical school days, I attended a pathology class once. Had content about headless corpses…

“Do you know what happened?”

“Yes.”

“Really?”

Scipio looked at me.

Wonder how to explain this. Cleaner resolution than expected. Everything ties together neatly.

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