Novice Forensic Doctor

Chapter 351: Chapter 339: A Filigree Gold Lock_1

Xu Dayuan waved his hand to soothe:

"Don’t be surprised. After this kid left Qidong, he passed the intermediate certification exam and trained for over a year. He also got a lot of books from Professor Li Chengbin, so his progress is somewhat noteworthy.

Last time his analysis of the murderer’s footprints was very reliable. After finding the suspect, the comparison of height and weight was almost an exact match. He might just be a natural at this job."

Mr. Sun nodded appreciatively.

"I’m just a generous person, you see. Look at the few people who left under my watch, each one of them has developed well and improved a lot in ability. Ah, it’s just a pity that Qidong can’t retain people. I couldn’t delay your development either."

Choked by the compliment, Xu Dayuan was speechless for a while.

Mr. Zhao chuckled and handed Mr. Sun a glass of water.

"Mr. Sun, no need for sentiments. Someday we’ll all be people who came out of Qidong. You have a talent for recognizing potential that ordinary people don’t possess, and you also know how to utilize people effectively. Reflecting on that makes you seem like quite the leader."

Mr. Sun smiled.

Xu Dayuan coughed.

"What about the case briefing? Let’s get serious and continue. Mr. Sun, do you have any details to add?"

Mr. Sun waved his hand.

"Nothing more. At that time, the suggestion from the city bureau was to close the case and declare Chen Gang as the murderer. My abilities were limited then, and I didn’t have much say in the matter. After the argument, the case was closed. By the way, Mr. Liu, was it you who performed the autopsy on Chen Gang, or was it dissected by the city bureau’s forensic department?"

Liu Yongxin pointed at the file and said:

"It was the city bureau. The autopsy revealed that Chen Gang’s fourth rib on his back was shattered, the bullet went through his heart and left lung, resulting in his instant death. However, during the dissection, it was discovered that the deceased had a ruptured brain aneurysm. The likely cause was excessive stress and excitement. Such a condition doesn’t affect you unless it bursts; once it does, it’s like a ticking time bomb."

Mr. Sun nodded continually as if nothing were amiss, which made Xu Dayuan somewhat anxious.

"And then? I remember there was a detailed investigation of Chen Gang at that time, but it is not reflected in these materials. Wasn’t he also supposed to have an uncle and an elder uncle? Could there be something unclear about his social relations? I reckon since he worked at the wholesale department in town, his social circle wasn’t extensive. There must be some channel through which he could know the murderer, right?"

Mr. Sun opened another file bag, pulled out the materials inside, and handed them to Xu Dayuan.

"These were not included in the file, as per the arrangements at the time which deemed a more detailed investigation unnecessary. I found this information while flipping through the previous work handbook; thankfully, it wasn’t destroyed. The data here come from the investigation in Banqiao Town’s Hanxingou Village, and some were supplemented by Cheng Zhi.

Chen Gang was born on January 11, 1982, and he was 18 years old at the time of his death. Both of his parents passed away due to illness when he was fourteen, the nature of which is unknown, causing him to drop out of school.

His uncle ignored him, so he went to learn masonry from his elder uncle and worked as a laborer for six months with no pay. His elder uncle claimed he was saving money for him, to be used when Chen Gang got married. Chen Gang ate meals at the construction site, but as a growing boy, he ate a lot, which angered the boss and led to him being fired.

His elder uncle beat him severely, and the kid ran away from the worksite. Starving, he wandered around the town until he encountered Cheng Zhi from the Rainbow Fireworks Wholesale Department. Taking pity on him, Cheng Zhi fed him a full meal, and in gratitude, Chen Gang knelt down, begging Cheng Zhi to take him in and provide food.

Cheng Zhi, moved by pity and seeing a reflection of his younger self in the boy, decided to let him stay and help in the store. The store wholesaled cold drinks in the summer and dealt in fireworks and firecrackers in the winter. All in all, Chen Gang worked there for about four or five years.

Before the incident, Cheng Zhi took Chen Gang along to buy stock, considering him an old employee. Upon their return, the task of tallying the payments was entrusted to Chen Gang. Though he had little education, his mental arithmetic, particularly his speed in verbal calculations, was faster than a computer. He had always been responsible for managing payments, so he was aware of the figures involved."

Zhou Ning, holding a pen, looked up.

"Mr. Sun, when the kidnapper called Cheng Zhi in the central park, did he listen carefully? Could he identify the accent? At the very least, he should be able to recognize if it was Chen Gang’s voice or not, right?"

Mr. Sun nodded.

"I asked about this today. Cheng Zhi listened carefully, and the person on the phone had a rough voice, unlike Chen Gang’s, which was more neutral. Moreover, the kidnapper spoke with a Qindao accent. There’s a slight difference between the Qindao and Qidong accents. But as to whether it was from Hai’an, Rudong, or some other area, he couldn’t tell.

It’s really my fault, too. Things were rushed at that time; we only had half an hour, and the kidnapper left no room for negotiation. They started by sending the finger and the note, and with no telephone contact, it was impossible to negotiate with the kidnapper, let alone prepare tracking equipment and recording devices."

Zhou Ning glanced at his notebook, which detailed the case on April 14, 2004. Zhu Yantao had first received the finger and envelope. He underlined the important parts with a wavy line. Previously, he had inquired whether there was any physical evidence from the case and wondered where the letter that Zhu Yantao received might be.

Zhou Ning raised his hand, looking at Mr. Sun.

"Excuse me for interrupting, Mr. Sun, but even though the case is closed, is the note that the kidnapper sent preserved in the dossier?"

Mr. Sun waved his finger excitedly and searched through a box.

Eventually, under some photographs, he found a bag, a completely sealed plastic bag containing a note stained with blackish-brown blood and two bloody fingerprints.

"Here it is. At the time, Cheng Zhi wanted to keep it, but I insisted that it had to be stored in the dossier as it constituted evidence. The blood fingerprints on it are Cheng Zhi’s. The note was placed inside an envelope, which also contained a ball of pink tissue paper. The finger was wrapped in it.

The severed finger was smeared with soot and other filth, and the amputation happened too long ago, over 24 hours, so it was impossible to reattach."

The note read:

"Your son is in our hands. We’ve sent a finger to confirm it’s your boy, but don’t worry, he’s just fine. As long as you don’t call the cops, we won’t harm him."

Our aim is simple: we’re after money, not to hurt anyone. So we hope Mr. Cheng can cooperate, show some good faith. Not much, just 900,000 in Chinese currency. As I understand it, you’ve got enough cash in your store."

"Once we receive the money, we’ll release him. I have a good reputation. Of course, if you report to the police, I can’t guarantee what might happen."

As for the exchange, remember this: half an hour from now, at 16:00 sharp, pack 900,000 in cash into a backpack and bring it to the western gate of the park opposite the county Culture Palace. I’ll call you then. And one last thing, if you call the police, we’ll tear up the ticket."

Zhou Ning also looked at the ransom note. The handwriting was crooked and looked like that of a primary school student. It puzzled him. In similar kidnapping cases overseas, kidnappers often used letters cut out from newspapers, or printed messages, to avoid revealing their handwriting.

If this kidnapper had executed a first kidnapping in the 2000 2.3 case, planned an escape route, and found a scapegoat, how could he have overlooked this?

With this thought, Zhou Ning turned to Mr. Sun.

"Mr. Sun, did Cheng Zhi ever mention whether or not the note was written by Chen Gang?"

Mr. Sun slapped his forehead.

"Look at my memory, I forgot to mention it. It’s recorded in the statement that as soon as Cheng Zhi saw the handwriting, he checked the account books. Chen Gang’s handwriting is good; although he’s not well-educated, he learned it from managing receipts and keeping accounts. His handwriting is practiced.

I was curious once and took the opportunity of a trip to the provincial capital to consult a handwriting expert, who said that most of the stroke directions are reversed, implying it’s left-handed writing. Although he tried to change his writing style, some habits remained. If we analyze his normal handwriting, we can make a comparison. Now it’s up to you to investigate."

Xu Dayuan handed the bag to Zhou Ning and took the initiative to sign the list handed over by Mr. Sun since these items would need to be returned for archiving later.

"Thanks, Mr. Sun. When it comes to supporting the younger generation, there’s no need to say more; you always go all out to help."

Mr. Sun smiled and stood up, waving goodbye to everyone.

"As for your investigation, I won’t meddle too much. Those who work in this field know it’s not easy. Just take care of Qidong in the future, no need to see me out, I’m off."

Mr. Sun quickly left. Mr. Zhao took on the task of seeing the guest out, escorting Mr. Sun to the door. Xu Dayuan glanced at Zhou Ning, noticing that he was still fixated on the note. freewёbnoνel.com

"Are you wondering why there wasn’t a ransom note from the kidnapper in the 2004 4.14 case among these files?"

Zhou Ning nodded.

"I wanted to ask earlier, but I held back since Mr. Sun was here. I only saw the photos, and as for the physical evidence, it was mostly the victim’s clothing; nothing else remained."

Xu Dayuan nodded.

"Before the holiday, I had Mr. Zhao contact Zhu Yantao to indirectly inquire about it. The ransom note was originally in the file, but Zhu Yantao later took it back. He said if the case couldn’t be solved, then he wanted the ransom note, as well as the children’s belongings, so he could have some mementos.

This is an inventory of the belongings. He took the note, the wedding rings of his son and daughter-in-law, and his granddaughter’s gold lock."

Zhou Ning was startled, and then it dawned on him.

"Wait, Director Xu, are you saying that, although the kidnapper abducted them and extorted eight million, he didn’t remove any valuable items from their persons and even left them intact on the three bodies? And nobody who found the bodies took them?"

Zhou Ning barraged Xu Dayuan with questions, which left him disoriented, blinking as he looked back at the inventory. It was meticulously recorded and even included photographs. The gold lock on the child was one of those filigree gold ’longevity locks.’

There were photos of both sides; using a magnifying glass, Zhou Ning carefully observed the lock’s edges and saw some dark brown bloodstains in the crevices.

The front was engraved with four seal characters meaning ’longevity and prosperity.’ At the joint of the lock, there was a line of small characters. After a careful examination, he copied down what was written: "Seventeenth Year of the Republic of China Deji Gold Shop made, on the seventh day of the twentieth."

Xu Dayuan leaned over to take a look and saw Zhou Ning copying the inscriptions, blinking in confusion.

"I recognize the characters but don’t know what they mean."

"It’s an antique. This filigree gold lock was forged in the Deji Gold Shop on the seventeenth year of the Chinese Republic on the twentieth of the seventh lunar month. If you calculate it, that must have been when Zhu Yantao’s father’s generation was born. However, I’m not sure where the Deji Gold Shop is located?"

At that moment, Mr. Zhao returned and saw everyone looking at the item. After asking Mr. Liu what was going on, he waved his hand and came closer.

"Deji Gold Shop is in the provincial capital. They have a history of over two hundred years and still make handcrafted items. But this gold lock looks like it’s gold-plated. I think the killer lacked education, so he didn’t recognize its value."

Zhou Ning shook his head.

"I think it’s quite the opposite. He knew its value, and he was smart. Taking such an item would have been a burden anyway, as an antique of this sort would be easily traceable by origin. He must have been someone with experience of the world."