of the heart and impacting the upper vertebrae, severing the spinal cord. The victim would have immediately dropped to the floor. The next two shots were to the right and left lower sternum. It is impossible to place an order on these two shots. Right and left lobes of the lungs were pierced and the projectiles lodged in the back musculature. The result of the three shots was instant loss of cardiopulmonary function and subsequent death. I’d say he lasted no more than thirty seconds.”
The report on the spinal cord damage seemingly put in jeopardy Bosch’s working theory of the victim intentionally swallowing the bullet casing.
“With the spinal cord damage, could he have had any hand and arm movement?”
“Not for very long. Death was almost instantaneous.”
“But he wasn’t paralyzed, right? In those last thirty seconds, could he have picked up the casing and put it in his mouth?”
Laksmi considered the new scenario for a few moments before answering.
“I believe he would have indeed been paralyzed. But the projectile lodged in the fourth thoracic vertebra, cutting the cord there. This would have certainly caused paralysis but it would begin at that point. The arms could still function. It would be a matter of time. As I said, his body would have ceased function inside a minute.”
Bosch nodded. His theory still worked. Li could have quickly grabbed the casing with his last strength and put it in his mouth.
Bosch wondered if the shooter knew this. He most likely had to move around the counter to look for the casings. In that time Li could have grabbed one of them. Blood found underneath Li’s body indicated that it had been moved. Bosch realized that it most likely occurred during the search for the missing shell.
Bosch felt a growing excitement. The casing was a significant evidence find, but the idea that the shooter had made a mistake was even greater. He wanted to get the evidence over to Tool Marks and Ballistics as soon as possible.
“Okay, Doctor, what else is there?”
“There’s something you might want to look at now rather than wait for the photos. Help me turn him.”
They moved to the autopsy table and carefully rolled the body over. Rigor mortis had come and gone and the procedure was easy. Laksmi pointed to the ankles. Bosch moved down and saw that there were small Chinese symbols tattooed at the back of Li’s feet. It looked like either two or three symbols were on each foot, located on either side of the Achilles tendon.
9 Dragons
“You photographed these?”
“Yes, they’ll be in the report.”
“Anybody around here who can translate these?”
“I don’t think so. Dr. Ming might be able to but he is on a vacay this week.”
“Okay, can we slide him down a bit so I can hook the feet over the edge and take a picture?”
She helped him move the body down the table. The feet went over the edge and Bosch positioned the ankles right next to each other so the Chinese symbols were in a line across. He reached under his gown and pulled out his cell phone. He switched it to camera mode and took two photos of the tattoos.
“Okay.”
Bosch put the phone down and they turned the body back over and moved it back up into place on the table.
Bosch took off his gloves and threw them into the medical waste receptacle, then picked his phone up and called Chu.
“What’s your e-mail? I want to send you a photo.”
“Of what?”
“Chinese symbols that were tattooed on Mr. Li’s ankles. I want to know what they mean.”
“Okay.”
Chu gave him his department e-mail. Bosch checked his camera work and sent the clearest photo to him, then put the phone away.
“Dr. Laksmi, is there anything else I need to know here?”
“I think you got it all, Detective. Except there’s one thing that maybe the family will want to know.”
“What’s that?”
She gestured to one of the organ bowls she had spread across the work counter.
“The bullets only brought about the inevitable. Mr. Li was dying of cancer.”
Bosch stepped over and looked into the tray. The victim’s lungs had been excised from the body for weighing and examination. Laksmi had opened them up to probe the bullet tracks and both lower lobes were dark gray with cancerous cells.
“He was a smoker,” Laksmi said.
“I know,” Bosch said. “How long do you think he had?”
“Maybe a year. Maybe longer.”
“Can you tell whether this had been treated?”
“It doesn’t look like it. Certainly no surgery. And I see no signs of