Free Web NovelChapter 136: Chapter 135 Coughing Blood_1
Mr. Zeng shifted awkwardly.
"I asked, Zhang Guanglei’s colleagues say that this is his private life, they rarely inquire."
Xu Dayuan’s voice was grave, and Mr. Zhao kicked Mr. Zeng lightly on the side, whispering a hint:
"That’s an excuse, Mr. Zeng, do you have a girlfriend?"
Mr. Zeng shook his head.
"No girlfriend, I’m exhausted every day, when do I have the time to date or go matchmaking?"
Mr. Zhao nodded, raising his eyebrows.
"See, that’s just the matter of a single question. We’ve known each other for just a couple of months, yet if I ask you’ll tell me. They’ve worked together for many years, they would know even if their relationship isn’t good. After all, they are colleagues and there’s personal interaction. Isn’t it unlikely that Zhang Guanglei never contributed to any pooled funds?"
An older police officer in the team nodded at Mr. Zhao. They knew him as Tao Zhenshan, considered one of the veterans of the criminal investigation brigade, but he had taken bereavement leave during the last case on Xiaolong Mountain and wasn’t there.
"Mr. Zhao is right, this is something that can be known without having a close relationship, either the deceased had no steady female partner, or it was a relationship that couldn’t be disclosed or was too shameful to even mention."
Xu Dayuan nodded, looking towards Tao Zhenshan.
"Zhenshan, you’re back too, go make another trip, this time to the water conservancy bureau to find out more. Zhang Guanglei’s hometown isn’t here, he can’t have no friends at all. Conduct a thorough investigation, especially into his social relations and private life."
Tao Zhenshan replied affirmatively. Just then, the door to the conference room was pushed open, and Mr. Liu walked in with others.
"Mr. Xu, we’re back."
Xu Dayuan gestured with his hand, happily signaling for them to sit down.
"Good timing, tell me, did you find anything at the victim’s home?"
Mr. Liu’s expression was tense. He gestured to a junior police officer to display some photos on the big screen, evidently showing the situation in the victim’s home.
"Through household registration and boarding information, we found the victim’s home. Since we didn’t find any identity documents or keys in the victim’s car, we checked around and confirmed he lived there. At that time, several neighbors downstairs were trying to contact the victim about continuous water leakage from above.
We urgently called a locksmith to open the door. As soon as we entered, there was water everywhere. On inspection, we found that the inlet pipe behind the toilet in the bathroom had been disassembled, and there were wrench marks on the metal hose. We turned off the water valve.
The water in the room had reached over the ankles, and it flowed out towards the hallway as soon as we opened the door. We took samples. After a thorough examination of the scene, we found no suicide note, documents, valuables, or even many clothes belonging to the victim—it seemed he didn’t live there often."
"So you’re saying there was no yield? Did you talk to the neighbors?"
Xu Dayuan was blunt, not being the least bit more gentle because Mr. Liu was a woman. Mr. Liu’s face showed strain, but she quickly explained:
"We did. The first-floor aunt, who is the building manager, knows about each household. She said that Zhang Guanglei wasn’t home much since he always had to go to reservoirs, dams, and flood prevention sites. He only stayed at home for about ten to eight days a month.
I asked the aunt if Zhang Guanglei lived there alone or if he occasionally brought someone over. The aunt said it seemed like he lived alone. I pressed further, asking if there was ever a woman with him? freewёbn૦νeɭ.com
The aunt said there was once, but she didn’t see clearly as it was at night. She just saw Zhang Guanglei dash inside, followed by a woman with big wavy hair; she didn’t see her face but knew that the woman was not very tall, much shorter than Zhang Guanglei. However, she’d only seen her a few times, not sure if it counted for much.
Oh yes, the aunt mentioned that Zhang Guanglei had been coughing for over a year, needing to rest while climbing the stairs. He couldn’t make it up to the fourth floor in one go and was breathing hard. His throat sounded like a wind chest, occasionally coughing and spitting out something, which he would wrap in paper. She saw it once; it seemed like coughing up blood."
Upon hearing this, Zhou Ning leaned forward, propping his hands on the desk.
"When did this happen? I mean, the coughing up blood, when was that observed?"
Mr. Liu quickly flipped through the records, checked them, and pushed his notebook in front of Zhou Ning.
"My aunt said that last Dragon Boat Festival, she saw him coughing, and during the Ghost Festival when guests visited their home, while standing at the entrance of the building to see them off, she saw Zhang Guanglei coughing up blood. His son also warned her to be careful in case it was some contagious disease,"
Zhou Ning frowned deeply. The digestive tract was soaked like that, with ulcers and bleeding points everywhere. With over a year of symptoms of coughing up blood, no organic changes were found in the lungs. Could it be that his autopsy wasn’t thorough enough?
Thinking this, Zhou Ning shook his head slightly. The autopsy had been very thorough, and the lungs had been cut open with samples taken from each lobe. He stood up directly, took out his phone, and went to the hallway to dial Mr. Cui’s number.
"Mrs. Cui, this is Zhou Ning."
"Yes, go ahead!"
Mrs. Cui Lili, on the other end of the phone, was very direct, but this kind of opening actually made Zhou Ning quite comfortable.
"It’s like this, the organ samples from the deceased that Sun Gaotie just sent for examination, I need you to do a CA125, cancer embryonic antigen CEA, and squamous cell carcinoma antigen SCC for me."
Mrs. Cui Lili on the other end of the line was apparently startled and then a bit puzzled as she said:
"You suspect the deceased had cancer, and it’s the kind that has metastasized to multiple organs?"
Zhou Ning nodded.
"Yes, the deceased’s digestive tract, from upper to lower, wherever you can see, has ulcers and bleeding infiltrates, but I haven’t found any substantial lesions, which is very puzzling.
Generally, to reach this state, it would at least be late-stage cancer, but the internal organs show no trace of disease, especially the deceased’s lungs, which show no discoloration from smoking or tar deposits. Of course, once those three tests are done, if nothing is found, Mrs. Cui, you’ll still need to help me with a toxin screening."
"Got it, first rule out cancer, then check for toxins. Wouldn’t it also work if I checked for toxins first, as that’s quicker?"
Zhou Ning was startled but then smiled relievedly. Actually, the order didn’t matter; after all, the samples were already sent, so it was up to Mrs. Cui Lili to decide.
"You do whatever you see fit, Mrs. Cui, any order is fine."
The call was cut off without any pleasantries such as "goodbye," and Zhou Ning quickly returned to the conference room, where Xu Dayuan had already begun to assign tasks.
"Okay, let’s assign tasks. As we just mentioned, Zhenshan will be responsible for investigating Zhang Guanglei’s private life. Don’t worry about surveillance, just focus on people close to his workplace. Investigate thoroughly, especially girlfriends. That is of utmost importance.
Also, cross-reference the time he went home with the results of Mr. Zeng’s investigation at the Bureau of Water Resources. I don’t think the job is so demanding that it could cause this. Didn’t Mr. Liu find that building supervisor aunt? Ask around the neighborhood meticulously, especially the security guards. I want to know who usually went in and out with him, and information about that ’big wave’ woman by tomorrow.
Mr. Zeng, tomorrow go to the mobile company and pull Zhang Guanglei’s phone records – text messages, calls, and even multimedia messages. Check them one by one and establish a timeline. Also, his ex-wife Yu Meili, and her current husband’s car accident – was it an accident?
Zhou Xiaozhou, you go contact Mr. Pang about this and see what they’ve got from the autopsy. If necessary, you can help me re-examine the body. The moment you have the lab results, let me know immediately. Also, go over the car again to see if there are any unidentified fingerprints left inside.
Of course, don’t forget about Sun Manqing’s son. How old is that kid now?"
Mr. Zhao stepped forward a bit, as he was the one most up-to-date with the gossip; Zhou Ning hadn’t paid attention to these details.
"That kid is 16 years old, named Sun Yannian, with a name like an old scholar. They say he’s not good at studies – apart from sports, he’s never scored above 40 in any subject. He came from Yan City to join his father and is now a freshman at Qindao No. 102 Middle School. It was said to be arranged by Yu Meili. Captain, you’re not suspecting this kid, are you?" ƒreeωebnovel.ƈom
Xu Dayuan glared, and Mr. Zhao quickly shrank back, hiding behind Mr. Zeng. Mr. Zeng pinched Mr. Zhao, causing both of them to fidget, which elicited a grunt from Xu Dayuan.
"Stop the chatter. I suspect everyone, but everything has to be based on evidence. A fully grown man can’t just run into a lamppost, leaving nothing behind. If he wanted to commit suicide, there are plenty of ways to do that. Disguising it as a traffic accident and expecting to fool an insurance claim?"
After saying this, Xu Dayuan also paused momentarily.
"I forgot about that one. Zhenshan, take some trouble and have someone check Zhang Guanglei’s car insurance policy to see who the beneficiary is, and whether his property and such are in his own name?"
