After thousands of years of pioneering and innovation, the Vienna Municipal General Hospital [1], built in the Renaissance, has finally helped Austria's medical strength occupy a place in Europe. The three major wards can accommodate nearly 2,000 beds in total, of which the internal medicine department occupies two, and the surgery and obstetrics departments share the remaining one.
Ignatz's independent anatomy room is in the northwest corner of the ward.
It was not far from the surgical ward, and judging from the facilities alone, it was a very ordinary room. In order to provide sufficient light in the anatomy room, four or five oil lamps were hung on the wall. There was only one set of tables and chairs used to place anatomy books and notes, and the rest were empty flat carts.
The dead pig carcasses that were just used up yesterday have been disposed of, but due to insufficient ventilation, there is always a strange smell of corpse odor and spices mixed with each other. It's light and not too heavy, but it gets into your nose from time to time and makes you uncomfortable.
Now because of a fresh female corpse that had just arrived, three doctors, three interns and ward assistants from the surgical ward gathered here.
In addition, there is Inspector Witte who escorts the body.
The last time Kawei saw him was on the afternoon of the 25th. The two had a conversation about the cause of death of the girl on the bed. The frankness of the conversation left a deep impression on each other.
At that time, Werther was like a hyena sniffing around for food. When he caught Kawi, he would gnaw and chew him. But less than 40 hours later, the whole thing seemed to have disappeared, and his crispy bone suddenly no longer smelled good.
"Murder" became "accidental," and the cause of death on the card was clear, indicating that the case had been concluded.
The detective, who originally looked at everyone like a suspect, now has no hostility in his eyes, no helplessness or unwillingness, but only fatigue after staying up late, and a hint of surprise at Kawei's identity change. And this kind of accident seemed inconsequential, and he didn't let him look at Kawei twice, nor did he ask Ignatz next to him to ask a question.
Everything seemed unnatural.
The police department handled the case decisively and bravely, and the mystery was revealed in less than two days, giving people the illusion of health and peace in the world.
For Kawei, a former suspect, there is nothing bad about catching the real culprit and bringing peace to the world. But he still needed to confirm whether it was his landlord Andre who was lying on the Danube River last night as the river bank was decorated.
While they were chatting, Kawei walked up and interrupted: "Is this Miss Rosa who lives next door to me?"
"Yes, for the case that was concluded last night, I asked Musil...the forensic doctor of the police station to complete the application for body donation as soon as possible." Ignatz couldn't help but praise himself. "At a time like this, having a complete body is a real help in times of need. This trip to the police station is so worth it."
Werther heard what he meant and said with a smile: "I didn't expect you to actually bring this kid to the hospital."
"Inspector, you didn't read today's newspaper." Ignatz was quite proud of his ability to discern pearls. "The subtitle on the front page is: The best surgeon in Austria should have the best assistant. Although there are Those reporters exaggerated, but I have to say that yesterday’s surgery was very successful.”
Werther had been busy all night and was a little confused. He really couldn't believe his ears.
He always thought that Kawei was an insignificant worker. Even if he was lucky enough to be favored by Ignaz, he would still be doing odd jobs in the hospital. With his status, how could he be published in the largest newspaper in Vienna with those nobles and celebrities?
But combined with the anatomy question and answer, this result is understandable, but it feels inconsistent everywhere.
Kawei's identity changed from a garden pruner to an art college candidate to a surgical assistant. He changed three times in two days and was too strange to be a normal person. In addition, bizarre murders have been circulating on Basinger Street in the past few days. In normal times, this kind of person would have been in jail waiting to serve jail time...
He looked back at Kawei and suddenly said: "Basinger Street is not peaceful recently. Mr. Kawei must be more careful."
"Is everything written in the newspaper true?"
"What's true?"
"Our landlord in Building 73."
"You mean Mr. André Edmond?"
"right."
"I'm so busy that I don't have time to read the newspaper, and I haven't even eaten breakfast..." Witte explained, "I only know that the police station received a report at 11 o'clock last night, and when we arrived at the scene, we found his face Lying face down on the river bank, soaked all over, with a big dent in his head. It's not difficult to identify him, he is your landlord."
Kawei looked at the back of the head he was pointing at and continued to ask: "Has the murderer been found?"
"The murderer?" Witte was silent for a moment and shook his head. "There is no murderer. It has been decided that he lost his footing and fell into the water and drowned. The hole on his head was probably caused by an accidental slip before falling into the water. The others were just Can wait for Musil’s report.”
The detective fell backward again, simulating the so-called "slip" process.
Now that the police have finalized the case, it is inappropriate to ask some questions. Asking too many questions will cause trouble.
And as a tenant, and having friction with Andre over the rent, Kavey had to be more compassionate. But this kind of sympathy should not be too exaggerated. It must be restrained and slowly revealed bit by bit.
However, before Kawei had finished brewing and his sad mood was just halfway through, Ignatz suddenly jumped out: "What? You still have a confirmed corpse there? Come over here quickly, you can't miss the money." !”
"Musil hasn't finished writing the report yet." Witte yawned, "I guess I can't finish it until after lunch."
For Ignatz, when there are not enough corpses, the more the better: "Kavi, this afternoon... oh no, now, now you go to the police station immediately and tell me this matter. nailed it!"
"I?"
"You're the assistant, this is your job."
Ignatz took out his wallet, took out three 20-kronor notes and handed them over: "Find Musil, give him the money, and then bring the body back. Don't let others snatch it away! Oh yes. Yes! There are also travel expenses...the carriage money of 2 crowns, let's take it together."
This is probably the so-called assistant job. Kawei really hasn't run errands for others in several years.
He was more interested in Ignatz's anatomy than the whole story of the case. Rosa's body was probably used to prepare the mother with an abnormal fetal position. Judging from the gestational age and fetal position, the operation was probably unavoidable, which is why Ignatz seemed so nervous these days.
After all, the success rate of cesarean section is very low. One case just failed a few days ago. Now having one more corpse to prepare is a great improvement. As long as this operation is successful, he will be the protagonist on the front page of the Vienna daily newspaper.
In fact, losing the opportunity to participate in the autopsy is not a loss at all to Kawei. The incision and process of cesarean section are fixed. Even if you have never been an obstetrician, even if the incisions in this era [2] are different from modern times, based on Kawei’s experience in surgery, the operation itself is not difficult.
But there are still two shortcomings between him and orthodox obstetricians.
First, I have never actually fished a child in the womb, nor have I dealt with newborn problems, so I still need to get familiar with the feel. The second is that he has never dealt with uterine atony and massive bleeding. Kawei lacks the judgment accumulated through extensive clinical experience in obstetrics.
Forget it...at least Andre is really dead, Rosa is determined to be an accident again, and the matter of the man in black and the rent has been resolved.
Kawei comforted himself and hurriedly left the anatomy room.
...
There is a long corridor from the anatomy room to the gate of the third ward, along which you can see several wards on the west side. Two are surgical wards under the direct jurisdiction of Ignatz, and the remaining two are obstetrics and gynecology wards managed by obstetricians and gynecologists.
Labor is a critical moment, but before labor, the mother's body is basically healthy. Therefore, compared to the surgery department, which is full of lamentations, the obstetrics department is obviously much more lively.
But today seems to be a bit too lively.
"What kind of hospital are you staying in? Come home with me!" Before he reached the door of the ward, Kawei heard an unkind man's voice, "It costs so much money to stay for a month, and I don't have any money! I still have a lot of work at home. What you have to do, hurry up and leave!”
The man is not tall in stature, but his ruthless attitude that he will never suffer any loss makes people dare not approach him, giving him the feeling that once he is entangled, he will never be able to escape.
In comparison, the obstetrician on duty looks much more elegant. He just stepped forward to block the way, but before he could reason, he received a solid punch in the face: "Get out! You just take advantage of these women, but you still want to take advantage of my wife? There is no way!"
After saying that, he forcefully pulled a woman with a bulging belly out of bed and walked all the way to the door.
Kawei didn't want to stop him at first. Whoever stops this kind of person will be in trouble. Not only will they be taken away, but they will also throw dirty water everywhere, and the job they just got will be lost. But when he saw the pregnant woman, he couldn't help it:
"Where are we going?"
"none of your business!"
Kawei kept some distance from him, at least to ensure his own safety first: "She needs surgery, and giving birth at home will definitely lead to death."
The man glanced at his wife behind him without any sign of pity: "She is my wife, and I have the final say where she will give birth. I will go home if I say she will. If she doesn't give birth, I will find another one."
What he said was not human at all, he was no different than an animal.
But in the 1860s, in this civilian hospital, it was a normal and trivial matter [3]. Because more direct domestic violence was legal not long ago, and restrictions on the wife's freedom of movement were not included in the newly promulgated "Personal Safety Law."
When things like this happen, nothing is easy to use, but money is the best thing to use.
Since he has objections to the monthly bed fee of less than 2 crowns, then satisfy him: "Your wife will give birth in less than 20 days, and I will pay for the bed fee before then."
The man saw it was a krona coin and reached for it. Just when the coin was about to follow its new owner to the gaming table, it was suddenly intercepted by a third party: "Isn't this your fare to the police station? Why did you give it to me so casually?"
"Who are you?"
Werther is much more experienced in dealing with this kind of person, and he doesn't need to identify himself. He can deal with it with just one sentence: "Hey, you just stole someone's jewelry a few days ago, and now you have no money in the blink of an eye?"
"Steal? Where did I steal jewelry? Did you admit the wrong person?"
"This detective now suspects that you are related to a jewelry theft case." Witte didn't want to talk nonsense, opened his mouth again and yawned, put a hand on his shoulder, and continued, "Don't worry about the woman for now, we will take care of it for you here. Yes. As for you, come on, come with me to the bureau to explain."
The man is not stupid. He knows that he has kicked the iron plate, so he can only give in and say: "Forget it, forget it, I am unlucky."
"You know you're wrong?"
"knew."
"For people like you, I can keep as many criminal records as I want. Be more careful in the future." Witte kicked him in the back and said, "Get out!"
The minor commotion was quickly quelled.
After the man left, the woman still had no money, so Kavina didn't leave even 1 crown, but still helped to pay for the bed.
Werther did not expect that Kawei would do this, and his previous impression of him was greatly changed: "You are so generous."
"It doesn't matter, it's Teacher Ignatz's money anyway." Kawei didn't feel distressed at all and said with a smile, "Inspector Witte is going back to the police station, right? Since you're on the way, you can take me with you. Anyway, the police station's carriage There are four seats on it, and if they are empty, they will be empty.”
