The Downfall

Chapter ten: Empty body.

"Yes, Mr. George, we'll be there in a minute." I informed and we hung up.
"Are you ready?" Theo asked me.
How could I be ready? I was about to see the deaf body of our once friend again.
"Yeah..." I answered hesitantly.
"What are you thinking?" He asked me and pulled on the parking lot.
"Nothing I just think that Leo should have been here."
"As we already said he couldn't have come. We are doing this for Stephanie and besides he and Steph will start a fight if the see each other." He said as he opened the door to get out of the car.

{-}

"Come." We were led by the forensic pathologist who was in charge of the autopsy on Marcus.
"It stinks like hell." Peter complained.
"Wonder why? It's like there's dead bodies in here." Jun replied ironically.
"Cut it out." Sebastian nudged them.
"Shh!" Commanded Mr. George.

"Well... are you ready?" Said the coroner and placed his hands on the light blue sheet that hid Marcus' naked, dead body.
"Wait a minute!" Stephanie shouted.
"I can't do it! I need to go!" She went on and left.
Leaving us alone while we stood there because for her. No one really wanted to see Marcus but we did it for her.
The room remained silent. Three huge white lights stood above the bed on which the body was laying. There were no other lights except these. A spotless white and dark space.

"Are you ready?" He repeated.
"Yes." We all agreed and he pulled the sheet off him.
"Hell nah..." Mia said and ran to vomit.
Mr. George was calm and serious. He had no reaction. He didn't cry, he didn't get disgusted, he was just blank.
As if he was doing another autopsy, as if that wasn't his son, as if that was just another corpse.

"It's all tending towards suicide." He said, breaking the silence.
"Are you sure?" He asked without any expression. Without emotion.
"Yes, George." He replied.
They had seen many dead bodies together and now they were somehow friends.
"There is no sign of violence or defense anywhere. There was nothing odd in his blood, no drugs in case of overdose."
"Just drowning?"
"Just drowning. He'd been underwater for five and a-half hours."

So Marcus was not murdered. He had simply killed himself.

"That's weird. I found him out of the water with his hands in his pockets." I protested.
"Probably not that weird. He might as well have gone into the river in that position and then got out in that position as well."
"Leave it, Celyn. Guys let's go, we don't have anything else to do here." Said Mr. George showing emotion for the first time since we entered. A feeling of disappointment.
"Thanos, thank you very much." He continued and they shook hands.
"Let's go guys." He turned and left.
Everyone followed him but Levi and I stayed behind.
Something didn't feel right.

"Everything okay?" He asked me.
"For fifteen thousand dollars you show me how we do an autopsy from the start?" I said, hoping he'd say yes.
"Are you out your goddamn mind?" Levi pulled me over.
"Twenty." Thanos replied.
"Fine."
Levi who had not spoken throughout the whole process stayed behind with me.

{-}

We had put on the appropriate clothes and were already underway.
"Meaning?" Levi asked.
"To make it quick. Death is the fatal biological phenomenon in which all the functions of the organism are successively and permanently suspended, the last of which are the functions of respiration and circulation. Death can be either

Natural : It occurs due to physiological deterioration of the organism or by some disturbance of the state of health equilibrium.

Sudden : Rapid and unpredictable termination of life due to an unapparent pathological cause of an organic and/or functional nature. For the physician it is the undiagnosed, clinically and laboratory, death.

Violent : It occurs due to the effect of an external agent that caused deprivation of an element essential for life or, conversely, excessive action or caused injury or poisoning or altered environmental conditions.

The establishment of death, when it is natural, shall be followed by the issue of a death certificate. In the case of sudden or violent death, a necropsy shall be performed. The necropsy aims to determine the cause of death and the mechanism that caused it, often with a view to identifying the deceased."
"Can we do an necropsy now on this particular body?" I asked as in no way had this body committed suicide.
"I'll answer you..."

"This all sounds Chinese to me. I can't take any more knowledge." Levi said, and I looked at him with half an eye.
"What's the procedure for both?" I continued asking questions.

"As mentioned earlier, the forensic examination involves 2 sub-procedures: the autopsy and the necropsy.
The autopsy is the first part of the forensic examination and involves the external examination of the body. The physical characteristics of the person are recorded e.g. height, hair colour, eye colour, whether the person is able-bodied. All lesions found on the body, from the smallest to the largest, e.g. abrasions, lacerations, contusions etc., are also carefully recorded. The description of injuries is a very important part of the forensic examination, especially in cases of violent deaths.

Finally, medical manipulations e.g. stitches, injections etc. are recorded both recent and old e.g. an old surgical incision. During the necropsy, all cranial, thoracic and abdominal cavities of the body are opened and all organs are examined.

First, the cranial cavity is opened and the brain is removed. The brain shall be examined externally, in particular its vessels. It shall then be sliced, which shall also be examined for pathological findings. The base of the skull is also examined especially in cases of injuries for fractures or other injuries.

The chest cavity is then opened and all the organs of the chest are examined. The lungs and heart are removed from the chest cavity to make it easier to examine them. The lungs are examined both externally and internally for possible pathological conditions. The heart is then examined in particular detail. All the coronary vessels are opened and then the walls of the heart are also examined.

Finally, we proceed to examine the organs of the abdominal/pelvic cavity. The mouth, small and large intestine, liver, spleen, kidneys, adrenal glands, reproductive organs, and bladder are examined. All findings are recorded and photographed. This is the standard autopsy procedure without, of course, going into too much detail, which can, however, be changed if circumstances require it. In the case of death related to injury, the spine is also examined thoroughly for possible injury.

In cases of violent deaths and less frequently in cases of sudden deaths, a toxicological examination is also required to complete the forensic examination. In such cases, biological fluids, usually blood and urine, are taken during the post-mortem examination and sent for toxicological examination.

Also, quite often, histological examinations are required when, for example, there is no cause of death apparent to the naked eye or in several other cases. In these cases, during the necropsy, small pieces of all organs are taken and then examined under the microscope for the presence of pathological findings.

The necropsy procedure is a procedure that requires comprehensive medical knowledge, observation and experience. Usually the autopsy process involves one or more assistants in addition to the forensic pathologist. The whole process can take from half an hour to several hours depending on the complexity of the case. Have I covered you?"

"So this body hadn't got an necropsy because of the autopsy answers?" Levi asked, who was beginning to like the whole process.
"Exactly."
I began to look at the body more carefully, circling and turning the body.
Then I saw it.
"Get over here quick!" I yelled and they ran towards me.