Free Web NovelChapter 394: Chapter 375 I’m Going to Kill You!_1
Tao Zhenshan was taken aback.
"Okay, that means our previous judgment was not wrong."
Zhou Ning nodded.
"Take the police dogs over. There might be many caves in the mountain, and the dogs can easily pick up the scent when we get closer. Oh, and bring the vomit that Gao Tie just found, its smell is distinctive."
Tao Zhenshan hurried to make arrangements. Zhu Weihua was placed in the last police car, while Mrs. Zhu was taken to another car in the front. After getting the people into the cars, he went to ask personally.
Zhou Ning glanced back at Mr. Qu and Sun Gaotie, both of whom had tense expressions on their faces, with Mr. Qu checking his watch from time to time.
"You two go to the Zhu Family’s place and look for any signs of beating, and of course, check for vomit as well. The smell is strong, and children might have a severe reaction after drinking Paraquat since some people die of suffocation from the vomit after consuming it."
The two hurried in, and as time ticked away, Tao Zhenshan got out of his car and immediately made a phone call.
Seeing this action, Zhou Ning breathed a sigh of relief, glad they had been summoned!
After that, a team was drawn from the remaining criminal police, carrying the stretchers from their cars, and quickly went up the mountain according to Tao Zhenshan’s instructions. Tao Zhenshan then came over.
Wiping off his sweat, he handed Zhou Ning a bottle of mineral water, while the remaining police force began to clear the onlookers from the scene.
"Your analysis was spot on. This morning, Zhu Weihua brought the half-dead child here, and the kid threw up as soon as he was left. Mrs. Zhu was startled. Zhu Weihua told her to dump the child on the mountain. Mrs. Zhu disagreed; they argued.
Zhu Weihua said if his mother didn’t go, he’d tell the police it was she who had poisoned the child. Frightened by this, after Zhu Weihua left, and before it was fully light, Mrs. Zhu hurriedly rode a bike on a shortcut up the mountain and dumped the child in a cave on the southwest side of the mountain, a place with a huge drop. I’ve sent someone from the local village committee to lead the way. Let’s wait for news now," he said.
Zhou Ning sighed deeply but quickly became serious again.
"Director Tao, still have someone look around the Chen Family’s area for a bottle of Paraquat, and don’t overlook any drink or milk bottles that might be with it. That stuff has a strong smell and is hard to swallow on its own.
Looking for the bottle is to confirm Zhu Weihua’s fingerprints; finding it would be solid evidence. If the child is alive, we can also identify the brand and composition, which is helpful for treatment. I’m going to contact the hospital now to get ready for treatment."
Tao Zhenshan quickly went to mobilize manpower. In fact, he had brought many people, and many were searching the mountain, in addition to those who had just been dispatched. There weren’t many people left now, but he still hurried to arrange things.
Zhou Ning called Mr. He, who, surprisingly, did not respond with annoyance but asked carefully what Zhou Ning needed.
"You know Liu Yufei, right? Her cousin’s child was fed Paraquat by the stepmother, likely around four in the morning. The child will be brought to you for emergency treatment soon, so prepare whatever you need to. As for how much was consumed and how much was vomited, we still don’t know. We haven’t found the child yet."
Mr. He was shocked and then cursed.
"Son of a bitch, what kind of people are these? How old is the patient?"
"Eight years old."
...
Before long, Sun Gaotie and his team hurried out, with Sun Gaotie holding several evidence bags.
"I don’t have a camera, so I had to use Mr. Qu’s phone to take pictures. The photos are quite clear. We found vomit and some pieces of rope, and oh, a clump of hair that seems to have been yanked off. The hair is very fine and light yellow; I remember Chen Xiangyu’s hair in the photo is light and fine like this."
Zhou Ning looked at the evidence and the photos taken, some material mixed with sand and dirt, appearing indeed to be vomit, blue-green in color and very noticeable. Seeing this, Zhou Ning was even more certain of his judgment.
However, there were also some jelly-like chunks of milk mixed in.
"It seems that it really is Paraquat, and the white chunks might be milk. Milk curdles into lumps when it comes into contact with Paraquat. Gao Tie has made significant progress, very meticulous, well done!" he said.
Praised by Zhou Ning, Sun Gaotie did not feel any joy but still looked worried.
"How about it, did they confess? If we wait any longer, that child really will die. I know Paraquat poisoning ultimately leads to pulmonary fibrosis, suffocating slowly. For an eight-year-old, it’s just too cruel. How can the family live with this!"
Mr. Qu patted Sun Gaotie on the shoulder, signaling him to control his emotions.
Zhou Ning didn’t say anything; he didn’t know how to comfort him since he also wasn’t sure if they could find the child. If Mrs. Zhu was lying at this moment, their hope of saving the child would become even more slim.
Just then, Zhou Ning’s phone rang. The caller was Mr. Zhao; he had gone with Liu Yufei’s team. A call probably indicated a discovery.
"Hello, Mr. Zhao, did you find it?"
"We found him, and he looks to be in bad shape. The locals and the police dogs found the cave. The kid is unconscious and unresponsive. There’s a lot of vomit around, and the drop inside the cave is significant. It seems his arm is also broken. I’ve collected samples, and we’re carrying the kid down as fast as we can. Has the ambulance arrived?"
Zhou Ning glanced over and had called for an ambulance on his way from Yingtaogou Valley; by now, it was already parked behind the convoy of vehicles. He signaled to Sun Gaotie to call over the medical staff before saying to Mr. Zhao:
"Don’t worry, they’re here already. I’ve contacted Mr. He to organize a rescue team; you can just go straight there."
Mr. Zhao sighed in relief as Sun Gaotie ran towards the ambulance to summon the paramedics.
A large crowd rushed down, carrying the child hastily. Liu Yufei, upon seeing Zhou Ning, nodded at him.
"I’ll pass on the thanks. I need to get the child to the hospital first. You coordinate the investigation with Director Tao here. But with such a delay, is there still a chance to save them?"
"Mrs. Fei, don’t panic. I’ve already contacted Mr. He. The investigation here is nearly finished; all that’s left is the questioning. We need to bring the person in for sure. Mr. Yang and Mr. Sun will stay behind to continue inspecting the cave and the two houses, as we haven’t found the Paraquat bottle nearby. I’ll go with Mr. Zhao to the hospital, and I’ll fill you in on the way."
Liu Yufei nodded at Zhou Ning gratefully.
At that moment, Chen Xiaodong and his mother ran over, and Liu Yufei stopped her aunt.
"You have high blood pressure. If you just stay at home and take your medication... I’ll let my cousin go to the hospital with me. I’ve contacted all the necessary doctors. Your crying and wailing won’t help the rescue efforts, and if you get worked up, who will we be rescuing: you or the child? Every minute you delay is a risk to the child’s life, do you understand?"
The old lady, surprisingly obedient this time, did not push forward. Chen Xiaodong followed the ambulance, while the others boarded the police cars. With two police cars leading the way, Mr. Zhao drove the Iveco truck closely behind the ambulance, and the vehicles headed for the central hospital.
Watching the convoy disappear, Tao Zhenshan took a deep sigh as he looked at Mr. Yang and the others, then at his watch; it was nearly nine o’clock by now. They had found the person, but everyone was exhausted.
"Let’s get to work quickly. I’ll dispatch a few more people to search. As Zhou Ning said, we must find the Paraquat bottle. I’ll go interrogate Zhu Weihua urgently. If she can talk, things might go smoother."
Sun Gaotie hesitated, raising his hand. Tao Zhenshan raised his chin towards him.
"Speak up, I’m not Director Xu."
At that comment, everyone laughed, guessing that Xu Dayuan might be sneezing right now.
"Director Tao, I’ve already searched the Zhu Family home once and have collected the evidence. According to Mrs. Zhu, the child was brought over by Zhu Weihua, and started vomiting in the yard. I’ve found the vomit, and it indeed contains the blue-green Paraquat.
But mixed in with the vomit were gelatinous chunks of milk. I suspect she mixed the Paraquat with the milk to give to the child. From the Chen Family in Yingtaogou Valley to the Zhu Family in Hanjia Village, it’s less than a kilometer—a few minutes by bike.
The reaction was so swift most likely because the child drank it at home. So, I think we should search the Chen Family home thoroughly. Perhaps it wasn’t discarded in the trash or by the roadside at all, but hidden at the Chen Family’s place."
Tao Zhenshan clapped Sun Gaotie on the arm, smiling broadly as if relieved now that the person had been found.
"Then we’ll do as you’ve suggested. However, keep looking on the way. Let’s go check out the Chen Family."
As they got into the cars, onlookers continued to point and comment, while a little boy stepped out of the Zhu Family yard, wearing a pale yellow T-shirt and shorts, fearfully watching the police. Some people noticed him and quickly called someone from the village committee to handle the situation.
The Zhu Family mother and daughter’s actions—poisoning and abandoning someone in a cave—should not implicate their family. It seemed that there was no one else at home, and since it was the first day of school, the boy probably hadn’t even gone to school.
The village committee director and a women’s director came over, trying to pick up the boy, but he pushed them away fiercely, glaring at the police and yelling desperately: freeωebnovēl.c૦m
"You’re the bad guys—give me back my mom and grandma, give them back! I’ll kill you all!"
Such a reaction made the crowd sigh and the murmur of discussion grew louder; a woman even spat out in contempt.
"This kid is vicious. Wanting to kill the police—you realize your mother is a murderer, right? Seems like the incident with her ex-husband wasn’t so simple either."
Mr. Zeng, standing not far away, paused when he heard this. The people next to him had already started discussing amongst themselves.
"Exactly. Back then, Zhu Weihua was beaten so badly by that son-in-law that she ended up in the hospital. Afterwards, she went back quietly, and then the son-in-law was rushed to the hospital for emergency care. I heard he nearly died, and that’s when he finally agreed to the divorce and gave a hefty sum of money."
A slightly younger woman nearby shook her head.
"You only know part of it. What ’nearly died’? He got his thing cut off. He woke himself up and called the ambulance. He would’ve been dead if it weren’t for that. Living with such a wife is like putting your head on the chopping block, and who wouldn’t divorce? Preserving life by sacrificing wealth makes sense."
"Really, cut off? Then isn’t he basically a eunuch?"
The village women were coarse in their speech, their faces unblushing, unflinching. One even took out a handful of sunflower seeds, cracking them and sighed, saying:
"I heard they managed to save it, but it was shorter. He gave them all the money and went to work in the South. If he had been even a bit slower, perhaps the next thing cut off wouldn’t have been that head. Back then, when I heard the son-in-law complaining, I thought it was over money. Now I see, it was all for his life."
Mr. Zeng edged closer.
"Was Zhu Weihua’s ex-husband also from a nearby village?"
