MYSTERY STORIES – Aqua Regia (Episode XXIII)

— As you can see, the face is disfigured — said the coroner, pointing to the corpse stretched out on the steel table.

Durval kept his head turned as far as he could to the other side, but his eyes were glazed on the dead body.

— The murderer used a type of acid so that we couldn’t identify the victim. I still haven’t been able to determine the substance, but I suspect it was a mixture of concentrated nitric and hydrochloric acid.

— Aqua Regia — said Botelho.

— Yes — the coroner agreed. — Look at the orange coloration on the bone of the gums near the teeth. — He opened the mouth of the corpse.

Durval tried not to look, but he did. It was horrible. The skin was all swollen and translucent.

— Can’t we identify by the teeth? — Botelho asked.

— In this case, no. The police have practically no clues as to who the victim might be, so it’s difficult to select possible previous X-rays.

— But wait! Wait a minute! — Durval shouted.

— How do you know this dead person is the same one that appeared in my kitchen six days ago? — Durval took a deep breath and, turning to Botelho, continued: — And how did you know the corpse was inside a metal coffin in that river? And how did you get the coffin out of there?

— Calm down, my old friend. What happened was that Rogério…

— Who the hell is Rogério?
The coroner raised his finger.
Durval huffed and widened his eyes at Botelho, wanting him to continue at once. Botelho resumed.

— Days after you came to my house and told me that the corpse had disappeared from your kitchen, Rogério told me that one of the coffins here at the morgue had gone missing. In the meantime, I discovered that a film crew is producing a movie here in Santa Maria.

— And what does that have to do with everything else?

— It turns out that their main actor has been missing for almost a week. The last place they filmed was that bridge I took you to. That’s where I found the coffin floating in the water and brought it to the shore. Your knife was inside the coffin with the corpse.

— My knife?

— Yes, the knife with the carved wooden handle. That’s why I took you there. I thought you were the murderer and wanted to confront you. But I soon realized I was mistaken. That knife wasn’t yours. I found out when I found your knife at my house. You left it with me during the fishing trip.

— I know that very well!

— All the while, the real murderer tried to hide any trace of evidence that would lead the investigation to him.

— But he didn’t count on this here — interrupted the coroner and pointed to the leg of the corpse.

Durval imagined it would be a tattoo or something like that, but, aside from being swollen and having that translucent gelatin-like appearance, the leg of the dead person didn’t seem to have anything abnormal.

Durval looked at the coroner, waiting for an explanation. The man smiled slightly and, with the knuckle of his fingers, tapped three times on the leg of the deceased. A firm, metallic sound filled the air.