Ghost Behind You

1.04. The Mystery of Spontaneous Combustion

As soon as Rose stepped out of the room, the unsettling feeling vanished. Even though the hallway was dimly lit, it felt far better than being in that bathroom.

The officer guarding the crime scene approached with a thin, wiry man. His long, nimble fingers instantly revealed his profession—they were the hands of someone used to dissecting bodies. He introduced himself, "I'm Elliot Yue, a forensic pathologist with the police department."

"Hi, I'm Rose Li, an assistant professor of forensic anthropology at the medical university. The victim was a friend of mine, so I'd like to assist in the investigation."

"Oh, I thought they'd sent a specialist from higher up. But you're still an expert. It's not exactly by the book to let you join, but I'll check with the captain."

Before long, the captain gave his approval. Given the bizarre nature of the case, an extra pair of expert hands was more than welcome.

Elliot began briefing Rose on the situation.

"Though I'm just the pathologist, the scene was so strange that the responding officers called me in right away. I was the second officer to arrive; the first on the scene was a patrolman."

"What did the 911 caller report? And when did it come in?" Rose asked, pulling out her notebook.

"The call came around 2 PM. Dispatch received a report of someone trapped in a bathroom, with smoke coming from under the door. The call was logged at 1:36 PM. The patrolman arrived at 1:45 PM, by which time the door had already been forced open. The bathroom was in the state you saw when we got here. The patrolman called it in, and the case was transferred to the accident investigation unit."

"Was the caller Mary?" Rose asked.

"No. You mean the victim's wife? No, it was his company supervisor. Mary had fainted by the time anyone realized something was wrong. No one even knew Gary was still in the bathroom until she started screaming his name and then collapsed."

"What was the scene like when you arrived?"

"Pretty much what you saw—except the right hand that didn't burn was lying about three inches from the ashes, near the toilet. It had burn marks along the edge, consistent with post-combustion. The rest of his body was completely reduced to ash."

"Have you tested the yellow oily residue around the ashes?" Rose asked.

"Yes, it's melted body fat."

"Any other useful findings from the scene?"

"Not much. The accident investigation team found no traces of accelerants like gasoline. The walls and sink showed signs of high heat exposure, and the doorknob was extremely hot, but nothing else caught fire."

"Do we know what Gary was wearing?"

"He was in a cotton shirt, but we're unsure about his pants. His wife couldn't recall."

"Had he been drinking?"

"No."

"Did he smoke?"

"Yes, he did."

Rose paused, jotting down the details. "That's about all I need for now. I'll talk to Mary later. But based on what I've seen, spontaneous combustion doesn't seem like the right conclusion. He didn't just burst into flames on his own."

"You think it was arson?" Elliot asked, raising an eyebrow.

"That's one possibility. But for a fire to burn this thoroughly, in such a short time, is rare."

"Exactly. That's what's been bothering me. The human body is 80% water—there's no way it should burn this completely without accelerants. It's almost impossible. But if it was arson, we should've found some evidence."

Rose nodded. "True. If it were arson, they'd have found traces. But if there was a firestarter... it might've been him."

Elliot's eyes widened. "He set himself on fire? Suicide?"

"My initial guess, yes."

"Do you have any evidence to support that?"

"No direct evidence yet. But considering that the human body can't ignite on its own, and no one else was in the room, the most likely explanation is some kind of accident."

"An accident? A cigarette wouldn't burn someone down to just a hand, would it?"

Rose looked at him seriously. "Have you ever heard of the 'wick effect'?"

"No. What's that? Does it relate to this?"

"It's one of the more accepted theories to explain cases of spontaneous human combustion. The body doesn't actually combust on its own—it's ignited by an external flame, like a candle. Here's how it works: if someone is unconscious—due to alcohol, fatigue, or some other cause—and their clothes catch fire, the skin burns first, then the body fat underneath melts. This liquid fat soaks into the clothes, which act like a candle wick. The fat, like wax, fuels the fire, which burns slowly and steadily until all the fat is consumed."

Elliot furrowed his brow. "But what about the hand?"

"Any part of the body not covered by clothing wouldn't burn completely because there's no fabric to act as the wick. However, melted fat can reach exposed areas, causing burns. The victim's hand, for example, shows burn marks along the edge, consistent with this theory. The burning fat would also produce thick smoke, which explains why the ceiling was blackened. Some of the fat likely dripped onto the floor, but since it wasn't absorbed by clothing, it didn't catch fire."

Elliot slowly nodded. "That makes sense."

Rose, however, remained deep in thought. "We can explain why his body burned so thoroughly, but we can't explain why he didn't call for help. The sink and shower were right there—he could've easily extinguished the flames. Most spontaneous combustion cases involve victims who are unconscious or intoxicated, but Gary wasn't. Something caused this accident, but he died without making a sound..."