Arjun’s scalp prickled. He drew blood from the femoral vein and watched it drip into a vial—it was unnaturally bright red, almost festive. A spectrophotometer confirmed it: 68% carboxyhemoglobin.
He called the investigating officer. “Check her workplace. Auto garage, printing press, or furniture refinishing. Look for an open can of paint stripper.”
The case was closed. Not murder. Not suicide. An industrial accident written in the color of her blood. Forensic Medicine And Toxicology Ignatius. P. C Pdf
He spent the next four hours in the mortuary’s small library, pulling down the old, battered copy of Ignatius’s toxicology section. Chapter 9: Metabolic Poisons . He read it twice.
Carbon monoxide , whispered the voice of the textbook in his head. Forms carboxyhemoglobin. Gives blood and tissues a characteristic cherry-red hue. Arjun’s scalp prickled
Dr. Arjun Nair pressed his palm against the chilled steel of the autopsy table. The body beneath the white sheet was that of a 23-year-old woman, brought in at 2 a.m. — “unexplained sudden death,” the police report read.
He lifted the sheet higher. No external injuries. No petechial hemorrhages in the eyes. But that cherry-pink discoloration… it wasn't livor mortis. It was too bright. He called the investigating officer
That evening, Arjun sat in his office, the old Ignatius textbook open on his desk. He ran his fingers over the cracked spine. "Thank you," he whispered.