85 Tapeworm

 

4 metres plus long... Just in comparison, the length of a normal adult intestine was about 4 to 5 times their height, in other words, Chen Lin’s intestines was about 7 to 9 meters. This worm was half or 2/3 that length. Just imagine that. I didn’t know about others but I wouldn’t have much appetite for at least the next 3 days. Guan Zhenglin said, “I was spooked when I first saw it. But now that I know what it is, it’s not that scary anymore. Actually, wait here, I’ll show you something amazing.” Seeing the inexplicable excitement on Guan Zhenglin’s face, I could feel my stomach churn, making me that much closer to vomiting out my morning breakfast. Guan Zhenglin used the tweezer to pinch the head of the worm and slowly walked backwards. It reminded me of the stringiness of cheese, it was also at that moment that I swore to not touch cheese in my life anymore. With a steady pull from Guan Zhenglin, the worm slowly eased out of Chen Lin’s body. 1 metre, 2 metre, 3 metre, 4 metres.

Guan Zhenglin was purposely moving towards me. I tried my best to back away but behind me was already the wall, there was nowhere to hide. When Guan Zhenglin stopped beside me, she raised her brow in challenge. I had never been so humiliated in my life. I wanted to do something about it but when I saw the worm that was already more than 4 metres long in her hand, I swallowed any words that I had. Guan Zhenglin started to saunter down the side of the wall, pulling the worm with her. Eventually, the whole worm exited Chen Lin’s body. Based on the morgue’s size, the worm was about 5 metres plus long. I didn’t get it, how could Chen Lin not realize there was a worm that was more than 5 metres long in his body?

Guan Zhenglin found a box and plated the worm like how a chef would noodle. “Want to come take a closer look?” Guan Zhenglin hooked her finger at me. “Don’t be so scared, it won’t eat you. Plus, this worm might give us many clues. Do you still want to solve the case or not?” Taking a few deep breaths and summoning all my courage, I slowly inched my way to the box. Guan Zhenglin knelt down and while holding the worm by its head, she turned to ask me, “Do you know what this worm’s name is?”

I shook my head. “This disgusting thing has a name?”

Guan Zhenglin grinned. “Well you have a name so why not it? Look at its milky way color and flat body, does it not remind you of angel hair spaghetti with Carbonara sauce?” Well, there was another meal off my life’s menu. “Are you telling me this thing is called Angel Hair worm?” I asked slowly. Guan Zhenglin shook her head. “Of course not, it’s called beef tapeworm.”

“Beef tapeworm?” I was speechless, “Great, you’re making me cut beef off my diet for life.”

Guan Zhenglin laughed, “It’s also called Taenia Saginata. Look at the head of the worm, it’s rectangular in shape. Unlike most worms, it doesn’t have hooks around its mouth but instead it has 4 suction cups.” I looked closer and realized she was correct. Guan Zhenglin continued, “It uses these 4 suction cups to attach itself to the human intestine and to absorb the nutrients from the human host. If you must know, there is a close relative of this species called pork tapeworm but instead of suction cups, they have hooks.”

“How did the worm enter the human body?” I asked before she destroyed my diet further. Guan Zhenglin shrugged. “By eating uncooked meat. Eggs for these parasites can be found in uncooked pork and beef. If ingested by humans, they would hatch inside the human body. In about 3 months, they would grow into adult worms.”

The worm was still wiggling. I asked, “Is this thing harmless? Could Chen Lin not feel its presence?” Guan Zhenglin shook her head. “Of course he could feel it. He was lucky this is a beef tapeworm. It’s far less dangerous to the human body compared to the pork tapeworm. For pork tapeworms, their cysticercus can spread to any part of the human body through the bloodstream, it might land in the brain, or the eyes. I’ve seen such unfortunate victims in my university classes.” While I shivered in discomfort, Guan Zhenglin continued, “Beef tapeworm is less dangerous but it will still cause symptoms like headache, diarrhoea, lack of spirit and in severe cases, even death. I believe Chen Lin would have suffered from at least some of these symptoms. Whenever he used the toilet, he would eject a large amount of parasitic eggs as well.” Guan Zhenglin studied the worm before frowning. “This beef tapeworm is about as long as it can be. It is more than 3 months old already. But if that’s the case, Chen Lin might have ingested not the eggs but an adult worm.”

I was confused by that. I asked for clarification. “Wait a minute. Can you explain in more detail?”

Instead of looking at me, Guan Zhenglin continued to toy with the worm. “Human body has a natural immunity against beef tapeworm. In other words, having beef sashimi once in a while will not get you infected that easily. Unless you eat uncooked beef daily, then that’s another story.”

“You mean Chen Lin has been eating uncooked beef daily?” Now it was my turn to frown. “Or perhaps he got infected from drinking dog’s blood?”

Guan Zhenglin shook her head. “Impossible, dogs aren’t valid secondary hosts for beef tapeworms because they don’t eat grass. Normally, the beef tapeworm’s secondary hosts are animals like cows, sheep, deers and so on. It won’t exist in dog’s blood. Therefore, as I concluded earlier, Chen Lin ingested this worm himself.”

“He ate the worm?” I couldn’t believe my ears. “How?”

Guan Zhenglin stood up and signalled for me to follow her. She left the morgue and said, “Think about it, if a normal person ate uncooked meat and got infected by parasites, the symptoms would show immediately. His first reaction would be to go to the hospital and have the parasites removed, right?”

“Indeed.” I nodded.

“But Chen Lin did not. The worm is already 5 metres plus long, I might accept that he didn’t notice the symptoms if the worm was 1 metre long but this is a 5 metres plus long worm, he wouldn’t have not suffered from the symptoms.” Guan Zhenglin removed the gloves and waved me to join her at the sink. “Make sure you wash your hands clean. I do not wish to see such a worm end up inside your body either.” I had never been so serious in hand washing before. I used about the whole bottle of hand shampoo.

Guan Zhenglin continued, “So that’s the problem. Granted Chen Lin couldn’t go to official hospitals because of his fugitive status but there are over the counter meds for things like this. He could just buy more of them. So why would he allow the worm to grow to such length in his body? There’s only one explanation, he purposely allowed it to live there.”

“But why would someone do that?” I was befuddled.

Guan Zhenglin turned around and looked at me seriously. “The worm is attached to its host’s intestine and lives off of the host’s nutrients. And the intestines are the human body’s most important organ to digest and absorb nutrients. Have you seen Chen Lin’s body? He didn’t have one inch of fat on his body. That body proportion was to die for.”

Suddenly, it dawned on me. “You mean…”

Guan Zhenglin nodded and said confidently. “He did this to lose weight, the daily goal of every woman!”

That was the same idea that popped into my mind as well. I enquired weakly, “But would it really work?”

“Well, Chen Lin’s body is the best evidence to answer that question.” Guan Zhenglin added with condescension, “But you’re paying for it with your own life.” Guan Zhenglin walked away from me and towards the office. I was still a bit confused about things. I chased after her and asked, “So what are we supposed to do now?”

Guan Zhenglin didn’t answer me exactly, “Think about it, the human body is not a conducive growth environment for parasitic worms so Chen Lin chose to ingest an adult worm directly. To ensure that the worm could continue to thrive in his body, he would have to find ways to provide it with additional nutrients. That would explain the dog’s blood.”

I nodded, finally following up on Guan Zhenglin’s train of thought, “If that’s the case, someone out there must be a specific breeder of these worms, someone whom Chen Lin sourced the adult worm from! If we can find that person, they’ll lead us to more clues.”

“Bingo!”

…

At the office.

When we said we had found a worm more than 5 metres long inside the body, everyone was shocked. Like horses at the race track, they rushed off to see the thing for themselves. I tried my best to stop them but it was to no avail. I could already imagine the group of officers doubling over and vomiting. This night would be destined to be a disquieting night. Even Mary and Captain Zhao joined in the ‘fun’. Such was human nature!

Soon, I saw Captain Zhao and Mary walk back with discomfort on their faces. At the same time, I heard the sound of heaving coming from the morgue. I had already persuaded them but humans could be such obstinate creatures.

“That thing.” Captain Zhao said softly, “is something else.”

“That’s right.” I suggested, “Why don’t we set up a booth at the station, we can charge 5 RMB for each viewing…”

Guan Zhenglin rolled her eyes at me. “Sister Mary, I believe this worm’s breeder made the transaction online, after all, this is not something that would have an official business registration. Can you look into Chen Lin’s recent bank activities? If we have that, we might be able to narrow down our investigation area further.”

Mary’s face was green as she made an ok sign. Looks like the worm had left quite an impact on her.