Hey! Have you heard of the news? What? You haven't? It's blowing up all over in social media! Everyone is tweeting, re-tweeting, and commenting it about it like a wild fire!
You know, that skeleton trapped in the storm drain!
Everyone is adding their own spin of the tale, trying to come up with creative ways to deduce the truth of the mystery – all the while trying to get likes and subscribers.
Could it be, a drain worker who got left and forgotten?
Perhaps, this could be connected to that one cold case, where a famous actress suddenly disappeared after her concert?
Maybe, it was the victim of mafia retaliation?
Spicy stories were spinning left and right. Everyone coming up with their own answers and boasting 'their take is the legit scoop - no cap'
However, the world and the police fail to figure out one simple question from the beginning.
Who was this victim?
The victim was found as a pile of bones stuffed in a ragged duffel bag. As if there were any ID cards left on their person. Even if it did, it would have been washed away, along with a couple of their ribs and femur. Literally down the drain.
Other than the fact the skeleton was female, what else was there to identify this person?
Fortunately, Professor Stone had many friends in his field that can solve virtually any answer. All it took, was a bit of time.
And was the wait worth it!
"Teacher! Th-this is incredible! Just a week ago, this was just an empty skull. Now, I am staring at a full human face. What is this technique called?"
"Forensic Facial Reconstruction. A 19th century Swiss anatomist named Wilhelm His invented this technique. Was made famous when he reconstructed the face of the legendary musician, Johann Sebastian Bach, with just his skull. So generations later, people know how the legend looked prior his death. An uncanny process, but super effective in times like this."
Martial Kim stared in awe of this lifeless head on a stand staring back at him. The face of a young and beautiful lady, gazing with the eyes of a dead fish. The young master felt obliged to move the strands of her wig from her face – but remembering this person was once a skull he thought against it.
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“If this was how the victim looked like, then her death was truly a tragedy. So young and innocent looking! Perhaps, a whole future ahead of her. Yet she was tossed away like garbage, kept in the dark and buried in the water. Shameful, most shameful!”
"Which begins our second problem."
"Teacher? What makes you say that?"
“The body is completely decomposed. We’re still looking for the other bones from her body. Even if we have a D.N.A. sample from her bone marrow and teeth to trace her through digital records – we can’t figure out when or how long she’s been dead for.”
Martial Kim said, “Is that not simple? Corpses usually become skeletons roughly 2 to 3 years after burial under the right conditions. Surely we can look back within the time frame and check any missing persons case with someone that matches the victim’s appearance.”
Prof. Stone gave a flat chuckle, "You said yourself, under the right conditions."
"What do you mean?
"The body was stuffed in a bag and kept buried in the drains. The darkness, humidity, moisture, not to mention the heat spikes in the summer, all play a key factor in speeding up decomposition faster than normal. And I have yet to calculate the flowing water in this case.”
Something clicked in Martial Kim’s mind and he grimaced, “Ah of course. The current of the drain would have torn off any rotted flesh that clung onto it, and even bleach the bones to make them appear even older within a short period of time. As expected of Teacher’s careful deduction.”
“Hey now, this isn’t the time to be shining my shoes, you little rascal. Hahah. Come on, let’s bring this to Detective Fraulein and see what we can do from there.”
“Perhaps I should stand outside of the office this time. She gives me the impression of a tiger ready to kill whenever I show up.”
Prof. Stone packed up some documents with a laugh, “Ah don’t worry about her. She’s all bark and no bite.”
“You say that, but I feel more confidant if I bring an iron shield!”
A nameless skeleton that could have been dead for less than a year? How will Prof. Stone and Martial Kim approach this peculiar case? What lesson will the young master learn this time?
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