Free Web NovelChapter 215: Chapter 214: Long and Short Legs_1
Following the direction of Xu Dayuan’s finger, Zhou Ning looked at the screen and sure enough, he could see the motorcycle carrying Sun Xiaoli heading eastward before turning south and disappearing from the surveillance.
Zhou Ning’s brows were furrowed tightly, with not a hint of excitement on his face from finding the video.
"Why would Sun Xiaoli get on the motorcycle? Does she know the person?"
Xu Dayuan shook his head and gestured for Xia Momo to replay it, watching the interaction between the two. After observing, Xu Dayuan said with conviction,
"It doesn’t look like it, if she knew the person, Sun Xiaoli wouldn’t talk from such a distance. It’s just that I don’t know why, after talking, she got on the motorcycle. Plus, from this angle, we can’t see the motorcyclist’s face at all."
At that moment, Xia Momo was rapidly tapping on her keyboard. Zhou Ning glanced over and saw that she seemed to be capturing an image of the license plate. The video was blurry to begin with, and the snapshot was predictably a murky whole.
"How about finding a lip-reading teacher to figure out what Sun Xiaoli was saying just now?"
Xu Dayuan stretched out his hand toward Xia Momo, covering his mouth with his hand, and whispered,
"The lip-reading teacher from Mr. Xia’s case on 6.29 last time, you think too highly of me."
While they were talking, it seemed Xia Momo had some results.
The large screen was filled with the shape of the license plate. Through the changes in lighting and desaturation by Xia Momo, a number gradually became visible, Lu B58353.
"After analyzing, the front part of the license plate Lu B58 is certain. The last three digits could be 858, 853, 353, or 358, something like that. We could check all available information, but I don’t recognize the brand of the motorcycle. That’s something Mr. Zhao would know."
Zhou Ning dialed Mr. Zhao’s mobile number, and soon after, the sound of a ringtone came from outside the door. Mr. Zhao burst in, breathing heavily, with his phone in hand. Zhou Ning hung up and pointed to the screen, asking,
"Why did you take so long; where were you last night? Check Mr. Xia’s screen and tell me the brand of the motorcycle."
Mr. Zhao nodded and hurried over just as the sounds of running continued in the hallway. However, the footsteps this time were not as deafening as Mr. Zhao’s.
Following the crisp sound of small high heels, Zhu Xingxing poked her head in, hunching shyly and shielding her face as she moved into the office.
Zhou Ning arched an eyebrow. The two had arrived late together, dressed in the same clothes as the day before. Zhu Xingxing didn’t even wear makeup, her hair blowing freely, indicating she had woken up late. And it was obvious that the two had spent the night together.
This discovery made Zhou Ning take another look at Mr. Zhao.
Xu Dayuan noticed Zhou Ning’s gaze and followed it from Mr. Zhao to Zhu Xingxing and finally to Zhou Ning’s face, his eyes questioning, as if to confirm the relationship between the two from Zhou Ning.
Zhou Ning shook his head slightly. He wasn’t that gossipy, but those two had been ’involved’ since childhood, and it was hard to say whether there would be further developments, especially if Xu Dayuan got involved, which would surely hinder any progress.
Mr. Zhao focused on the screen, stating with certainty,
"The motorcycle isn’t cheap; it’s a Wuyang Honda New Sharp Wing 125 motorcycle, a 2010 model. Even a second-hand one wouldn’t go for less than 8,000 now. But here in Qidong, people prefer the 150cc models, so there are fewer of these 125cc. It’s especially unusual in rural towns, and the plate has been deliberately smeared with mud, obviously on purpose."
After pondering for a moment, Mr. Zhao continued,
"Wait, I might be thinking too narrowly. After all, most people here ride motorcycles for convenience in their work, so practicality is the main criteria when choosing, except for racing enthusiasts. Then there are those who like high-end motorcycles which are quite expensive, so fewer people go for these mid-range bikes.
"Moreover, anyone who owns a Wuyang Honda New Sharp Wing 125 must know a lot about motorcycles. After all, spending nearly ten thousand on a less practical vehicle is somewhat unnecessary, which means the bike isn’t ridden often, and the owner is very knowledgeable about bikes."
This supplementary information made Xu Dayuan’s eyes light up.
He patted Mr. Zhao’s shoulder and leaned in towards the screen.
"According to Zhou Xiaozhou’s previous analysis, the killer had committed his last murder a year ago, obviously working out of town and only coming home for the New Year. The murders are clustered so closely together, and the bodies are cleaned up so cleanly without leaving any physical evidence behind. It even looks a bit like he’s padding his victim count. He wouldn’t ignore a dirty plate and not clean it, which means he deliberately obscured the license plate."
Zhou Ning nodded; their analysis was sound.
Especially Mr. Zhao’s analysis. Combined with the killer’s preference for using a wrench as a weapon, it might mean he worked in vehicle repairs, but not locally, adding to the difficulty.
Without a storefront, how could they find this person?
At this point, Liu Yufei approached.
"Boss, I have a way to catch him."
All eyes turned to Liu Yufei as she walked up to the big screen and pointed to the map, saying,
"Based on our previous investigations, with the Public Security Brigade’s crackdown and An Wei’s club temporarily closed, those escort women are much less frequent in town. I could put on a disguise and go fishing, luring the killer into action."
Without a second thought, Xu Dayuan waved his hand in dismissal.
"No, it’s too dangerous; we can’t allow you to take such a risk for the case."
"Boss, I am the Sanda champion. In the city bureau, there is not one who can beat me; not to mention him with a wrench, even if he had a knife, I could beat him so his own mother wouldn’t recognize him."
Mr. Zhao snickered, raising his hand with an apologetic look on his face.
"Sorry, Mrs. Liu, I couldn’t help it. You’re obviously emotional. Let’s not rush; that move isn’t off the table, but we still need to analyze the killer’s information. Rashly acting, like Xu Da said, is too risky. If we prepare thoroughly and set up surveillance in the surrounding area, then we might give it a try."
Xu Dayuan fell silent; after all, Mr. Hu hadn’t given them much time, and the New Year was approaching. After several consecutive days, apart from a muddied and useless license plate, there had been no progress.
Zhou Ning understood this all too well. He glanced at the whiteboard containing all the victims’ information and mused for a moment before saying:
"The killer is very strong, but the victims he attacked were all under 165 cm in height and very slender. And from the recent surveillance footage, he sat on the motorcycle the whole time and didn’t get off. Mr. Xia, could you determine his height?"
Xia Momo nodded her head and quickly began to make measurements. From the angle of the surveillance camera, they could see the back of the motorcycle; the man’s right leg was bent on the bike while his left leg was stretched out. After comparing with the victims, Xia Momo calculated and then looked up.
"The motorcycle man is between 173-175 cm tall. He has a backpack on his back that appears empty, but there is a mark at the bottom."
As Xia Momo enlarged the image of the bottom of the backpack, the others noticed as well that the top of the backpack was collapsed inwards, while the bottom had a semi-circular bulge. There was a white pattern embroidered on the backpack, which seemed to be two cherries.
"A wrench?"
Xia Momo measured the size and nodded slightly.
"Based on the size, it matches the wrench found on the victim’s face. The backpack contained a wrench."
Zhou Ning rested his chin in his hand, staring at the screen. He felt something was off but couldn’t pinpoint it right away. Shaking his head, he said:
"I think the motorcycle man’s backpack was empty to hold the victims’ clothes. After all, no clothing or personal items were found in the well where the bodies were dumped, not even any bloodstains around the well’s opening."
Mr. Zhao looked puzzled.
"I mean, doesn’t anyone find it strange that there were no defensive wounds on the victims? If they were knocked down and then stripped, there would definitely be blood splatter around. So, they must have been undressed before the attack. But in such cold weather, how did the victims just willingly strip?"
Zhou Ning was taken aback.
Mr. Zhao’s analysis was crucial. Yes, how did the killer control the victims?
Did they strip just because he said so?
In such cold winter weather, threats wouldn’t be effective, and none of the victims had any defensive wounds. Sometimes, defense is instinctive; it’s not that being physically imposing can prevent the victim from reacting at all. For instance, if someone hits you with a wrench, you would instinctively raise your hand to block, but there were no defensive wounds on any victims. None. fгee𝑤ebɳoveɭ.cøm
"Go find Mr. Cui and have the first body sent back. I want to take another look."
Mr. Zhao understood that Zhou Ning must have thought of something, which is why he gave such an order and hurried out to find someone.
At this moment, Zhou Ning was still staring at the screen. Xia Momo enlarged the snapshot as well; while the image of the motorcycle man filled the screen, Zhou Ning pushed up his glasses and leaned close to the monitor, carefully examining the man’s right leg.
"Mr. Xia, enlarge the motorcycle man’s right foot, keep going, stop right there!"
The screen was filled with the motorcycle man’s right leg. Zhou Ning leaned in close, staring at the screen for a long time without speaking. Xu Dayuan also looked for a while but didn’t notice anything. However, since Zhou Xiaozhou was so intently focused, there must be an issue.
"What’s up?"
Zhou Ning turned towards Xia Momo.
"Measure the length of the right leg using your method. Even though the motorcycle man’s right leg is curled up, I think the length is different from the left leg, and the position above the right ankle bone is visibly thinner than the left."
Xia Momo went off to calculate while Xu Dayuan poked Zhou Ning’s arm, getting a bit anxious since he hadn’t spotted the problem.
"What do you mean? Is the guy uneven-legged?"
Zhou Ning shook his head, his gaze fixed on the man’s seated posture on the motorcycle; his buttocks were noticeably twisted to the right. However, due to the backpack, it was impossible to tell if there was any curvature of the spine.
By the time Xia Momo finished calculating, she seemed incredulous at the results.
"The right leg is nine centimeters shorter than the left."
Zhou Ning knew Xu Dayuan was anxious, so he quickly pointed to the snapshot and explained:
"I suspect that the motorcycle man has a congenital hip dislocation, and it’s a serious high dislocation at that. He would have difficulty walking, and the right leg appears atrophied. Riding a bike wouldn’t reveal much, but standing or walking would cause a significant limp. Xu Da, you could filter through the local residents of Jiulong Town for someone with this characteristic."
As soon as he spoke, Xu Dayuan’s eyes brightened. The previously provided height and occupation were very general traits, but finding a limping person would be much easier.
"I’ll have someone check on it right now. You need another autopsy?"
Zhou Ning nodded and glanced at the big screen once more. The motorcycle man’s face was not visible, but despite any advantage in strength, his height limit would still restrict his ability to control the victims.
"I agree with Mr. Zhao’s earlier point. The absence of defensive wounds on the victims is something I overlooked. I’m certain there’s something I haven’t noticed yet."
