Free Web NovelChapter 272: Chapter 269 The Skeleton in the Attic_1
Chang Yuzhang clamped his mouth shut, his gaze shifting away from Xu Dayuan.
Xu Dayuan grabbed a calculator from the table and started tapping on it furiously as he spoke:
"We looked into some relevant data, and found that the weight of a 100 face value of the new Hua currency is about 1.12 grams. Old money is slightly heavier, but let’s not worry about that for now. 2 million would then be equivalent to around 23 kilograms, 46 pounds, which is more or less the weight of an eight or nine-year-old child. Am I right?"
By this point, Chang Yuzhang was subconsciously clenching his fists, his lips pressed into a tight line. He didn’t know how much the cop in front of him had uncovered, but the pressure this man exerted triggered waves of palpitations in Chang Yuzhang.
Xu Dayuan didn’t wait for Chang Yuzhang’s response but stood up and lit a cigarette.
"The guy sitting in your spot earlier was Zhang Wei. We found uploaded QQ chat logs on his cellphone. When you guys added each other as friends, the insurance scheme you chose, the duration you planned the fraud for, even his urging you to do the deed, along with pictures of the money transfers—I’ll show them to you!"
As he spoke, Xu Dayuan placed the chat logs in front of Chang Yuzhang. Chang gritted his teeth so hard that Zhou Ning and the others could see his jaw move from their angle.
Xu Dayuan squatted slightly and blew a breath of smoke toward Chang Yuzhang, who coughed twice.
"You’re probably cursing in your heart. Zhang Wei is an idiot. Why didn’t he delete such things, even made backups, unlike you who deleted all information, even canceled your number, and switched phones.
But don’t forget, even though he gave you two million, he was afraid you’d deny it. If you used that to threaten him, he couldn’t clear his name, so naturally, he’d keep evidence of your crime. How about it, feel like talking now?
If you don’t want to talk, I won’t make it hard for you. Your refusal to confess is the best outcome for me. After all, we found your DNA on the electric scooter, which is conclusive evidence beyond dispute. This way, you could even receive a heavier sentence, which I’d welcome." freewebnσvel.cøm
Chang Yuzhang hugged his head and buried it on the small table, his shoulders shaking uncontrollably.
Mr. Zhao nudged Zhou Ning.
"What’s wrong with him?"
Zhou Ning glanced at Mr. Zhao. He didn’t want to explain but seeing Mr. Zhao’s clueless expression, clearly a bit confused, he swallowed back the snarl he had ready.
"He’s crying. Maybe he’s feeling remorse. Of course, it’s mainly because the police found evidence, so he regrets doing all this. If he could do it all over again, he thinks he’d do it better and more perfectly."
Mr. Zhao’s mouth hung open, unable to retort.
Zhou Ning was right. If Chang Yuzhang was remorseful, he wouldn’t have immediately befriended Zhang Wei the first chance he got, since he knew right away that Zhang Wei was targeting someone, and this man had no one but himself to blame for the judgment.
Chang Yuzhang didn’t know how long he had been face down, but when he raised his head, his eyes were bloodshot. Then he also confessed.
Just as Zhou Ning said, when Zhang Wei had approached him, he knew exactly whom Zhang Wei had in mind for this murder and insurance fraud scheme.
On the night of May 11, 2011, when Chang Yuzhang lured Xia Lirnin to Yue Lake Park, he hesitated. It was impossible not to have any feelings for someone he slept with on a weekly basis.
But as he hesitated, Xia Lirnin berated him and even compared him to Zhang Wei, saying he had never given her anything worth over a hundred, and that she fancied a purse and wanted Chang Yuzhang to gift it to her for Children’s Day.
Amidst Xia Lirnin’s ceaseless nagging, Chang Yuzhang, gripping her hair, jumped off the bridge with her.
After hitting the water, Xia Lirnin struggled violently, but Chang Yuzhang stood up and kept her head submerged. It wasn’t long before Xia Lirnin stopped moving. Feeling a bone-chilling cold, Chang Yuzhang pushed her body under the second bridge pier and then quickly climbed ashore.
He smashed Xia Lirnin’s phone with a stone and after some thought, pushed the electric scooter off the bridge onto her neck. Although the impact was slightly off target, her body eventually sank.
Chang Yuzhang wiped the water stains on the bridge with the bag and checked around before fleeing Yue Lake Park quickly. As for the bag and the broken phone, he threw them into the dry toilet pit at the north gate.
How to talk to the police and deal with the subsequent insurance claims was all taught to him by Zhang Wei, who, as a lawyer, was best at evading legal responsibility.
After uttering the last word, Chang Yuzhang closed his eyes.
"Will I be sentenced to death?"
Xu Dayuan didn’t answer, glanced at the signed statement, and waved at Zhang Sannian. Zhang Sannian stood up and ordered someone to take Chang Yuzhang away.
Zhang Sannian let out a long sigh and a smile appeared on his face.
"That wasn’t easy. I never expected this case to involve so much. It’s not just a crime of passion. Zhang Wei calculated every step until the end, plotting with Chang Yuzhang like this. Anyone with a shred of conscience would have stopped, but they didn’t. They only started thinking about whether they would be sentenced to death after we found the evidence. I don’t even know what to say."
Xu Dayuan took a sip of water from his thermos and stretched his sore, swollen neck.
"Enough with the emotions, Sannian, we need to transfer this case as soon as possible. It’s a lot of work. Later, I’ll have Director Zhou and the others assist you. Get the second autopsy report and related test reports completed. Then you can discuss the other case with us. We’re not here on vacation. There are plenty of others waiting in line."
Zhang Sannian sighed, handed the transcript to the clerk, who swiftly got ready to prepare the files. Actually, the materials were very complete. They just had to enrich the few transcripts and add the relevant evidence to write a report.
After giving instructions, Zhang Sannian and Xu Dayuan went back to the small meeting room.
Zhou Ning and the others also entered one after another. Seeing everyone assembled, Zhang Sannian quickly said:
"I won’t say much in thanks, but the 5.11 drowning case has been a hassle for almost a year. Although the outcome was unexpected, we finally cracked it. I’m very grateful for the support from the leaders at the city bureau.
Just now, Director Xu said to talk about the other case, so I’ll get straight to the point. Actually, this is not exactly a backlog case, but it is extremely peculiar. Our ability to identify skeletal remains is limited.
On February 29 this year, I applied for forensic support from the city bureau. Mr. Peng told me not to rush. The city was organizing a group to assist in cold cases, and the first stop was our Rudong City. He instructed me to prepare the materials so we could look at it together."
Zhou Ning slightly lifted his head and glanced at Xu Dayuan, finding his expression similar to his own.
Clearly, Zhang Sannian’s contact with Mr. Peng was unknown, and he was only aware that besides the number one cold case, there was another problematic case requiring cooperation in the investigation.
However, they had received the notice on March 1. How did Mr. Peng come to know of this in advance?
Zhou Ning saw Liu Yongxin open his eyes and point towards the ceiling. Zhou Ning had an epiphany; Mr. Peng was no simple character!
During the previous case involving the Guanghai Pharmaceutical Group, when Ren Fangliang and a bunch of city bureau leaders were implicated, he managed to stay clear of troubles and did not join the investigation team. This indicated that he had the ability to judge the situation, at least understanding which way the wind blew and what to get involved in and what not to touch.
Zhang Sannian flipped open a notebook, and at that moment, an officer stood up, turned on the computer, and opened an app. The large screen displayed a photo.
All that could be seen were white bones, apparently in a basket, covered in dust. Around the bones were some tattered cloths, seemingly old garments upon closer inspection. At the bottom, a wooden handle was hidden beneath the remains, and it seemed there was a rusty blade edge.
An axe?
What caught Zhou Ning’s attention was not the soil underneath the basket but an unpainted and not-so-smooth wooden floor, akin to that of a simple wooden hut.
Were the bones actually inside a room?
Zhang Sannian cleared his throat and began to describe the situation.
"Let me briefly describe the situation. On February 28, 2012, at 11:44, we received a report from Sunshou Town’s Renjiazhuang Village. Someone reported that while cleaning the attic, they found a basket of bones. We went to take a look.
These are videos and photos taken at the scene. We do not have a forensic examiner here, so the site survey was carried out by Doctor Xu alone with several detectives assisting in recording and photographing. The attic was very cluttered, filled with miscellaneous items."
As Zhang Sannian narrated, a video was played. The camera shook violently, a small wooden door stood ajar, and as the lens turned, an attic was revealed with only a small ventilation window in the middle, dimly lit, with the basket by the window edge.
However, next to the basket was a torn quilt with imprinted marks, turned to a dark brown color, clearly indicating it was stained with aged blood.
Doctor Xu approached and lifted the woven bag atop the basket to reveal a skull with a missing face, bones scattered below, several with chop wounds and shattered in parts. At the bottom, as it was turned over, Zhou Ning indeed saw an axe, nothing of a special shape.
After the video ended, the image transitioned to a photo showing a skeleton laid out on an autopsy table. Zhang Sannian continued:
"The family’s surname is Xu. In Renjiazhuang Village, they’re considered indigenous. The couple in the house has a son and a daughter, both married with children. Mr. Xu is the only doctor in the village clinic, and his wife is a retired teacher from Sunshou Town Middle School in the west of the village, quite gentle and well-regarded in the community.
Their son, Xu Qing, is also a middle school teacher but teaches at Rudong No.1 Middle School. Their daughter, Xu Dan, works at the tax bureau. Both children have their own happy families and children. freeweɓnovel.cѳm
On February 28, Mr. Xu’s wife took a notion to clean up the north room, which used to be occupied by the elderly of the house. The old man hadn’t passed away long ago, and she thought to tidy up as the old man liked hoarding junk, making the house dirty.
After cleaning the two floors of the north room, she intended to tidy the attic too, but there was a rusty lock above. Mr. Xu couldn’t resist her, so he opened the lock and went up with a flashlight to check around, only to find it unbearably stenchy. The two started to search and discovered this basket and then called the police."
Xu Dayuan nodded repeatedly. Seeing that Zhang Sannian had stopped talking, he looked up at Zhang Sannian with a puzzled face.
"Is that it?"
"That’s it. After the site survey, the skeletal remains were brought back. The clothes on the body didn’t have any distinctive markings, and there was no identification. However, Doctor Xu submitted them for testing and obtained DNA information. But it didn’t match any of the missing persons in our records. I asked for support, and then you all showed up."
