Free Web NovelChapter 419: Chapter 396 Whoa, a hand, one hand_1
A moment later.
Zhou Ning arrived at the greenhouse, which was much larger than he had anticipated. As soon as he walked in, he saw Liu Yongxin and the others near the center of the greenhouse, close to the north side.
As he drew nearer, Zhou Ning squatted down and, sure enough, discovered some traces of blood on the leaves, though there was very little. The blood splatters on the side of the greenhouse were all tiny droplets without the spindle shape from swinging, just round little droplets with a diameter of no more than one millimeter. The quantity was not significant.
Zhou Ning was somewhat puzzled. He looked again at the leaves of the plants on the ground, as well as at the position of their roots and stems. There were no signs of digging in the ridges in the ground. This open space was about three square meters. Could it be that the victim was strangled to death and then dragged here to be dismembered?
If that was the case, something must have been laid on the ground before the body was disposed of, which would indeed be possible. However, Fu Chunyu had rushed out from home, without calling Yang Liang, she just came to the house for a face-to-face meeting?
She didn’t have a car. To get to the village, she had to either take a bus or hail a taxi; of course, she might also have gotten a lift from a friend. It seemed that they still needed Mr. Huang to check into this. However, this village didn’t have its own surveillance system. Maybe they’d have to check the roads. How had he forgotten to ask Mr. Qu to check this?
As these thoughts crossed Zhou Ning’s mind, he dialed Mr. Qu’s phone number. The call was answered almost immediately.
"What’s up, Director Zhou?"
"Has Mr. Huang’s team started questioning yet?"
"Yes, Mr. Huang is inside, interrogating Yang Liang. The old guy is very irascible. He blows his top with every question. Mr. Huang didn’t lose his temper, but he got fed up first, banging on the table and shouting loudly. He was so loud I couldn’t understand his dialect anymore. Seems like we’ll need to improve our software’s recognition of dialects, taking into account the major differences in tone and expression."
Zhou Ning knew Mr. Qu was right, but at that moment, he really wasn’t in the mood to talk about software.
"Two things. First, check the surveillance around Qitai Village One and the textile district for October 20th in the afternoon. See if Fu Chunyu got a taxi or took the bus to Qitai Village One from her home.
The second thing, it’s best to have Mr. Huang ask the elder sister from apartment 302 in building number seven, if she knows what kind of clothes Fu Chunyu usually wears—the style and color. This will help your search, and it would be even better if you could find the driver."
"Okay, I’ll go ask now and send you the information as soon as I find out."
After hanging up the phone, Zhou Ning let out a deep sigh. Liu Yongxin was slowly standing up; it appeared that his legs had gone numb from squatting too long. As he stood up, he lost his balance and toppled over into the crops alongside.
Zhou Ning reflexively grabbed Liu Yongxin’s arm. Although he didn’t fall over completely, he still ended up sitting on the ground with a thump. Liu Yongxin merely laughed.
"I’m getting old. My legs go numb just from squatting for a while. I’ve even managed to ruin these nice chives." ƒгeeweɓn૦vel.com
Mr. Wang with the forensic team came over, and together they helped Liu Yongxin up. Just then, Zhou Ning noticed that the soil beneath the upturned chive roots seemed to be a dark brown color.
He hurried over. He knew the soil in the Ludong Peninsula region was usually yellow or red, so this color of soil made him think of blood. With few splattered blood drops and having laid something down during the cutting, there must still be blood that had penetrated down into the soil.
No need for instructions, Mr. Wang and the others came over to help. The chives, along with their root system, were lifted and multiple soil samples were collected. Mr. Wang pinched a bit of it, placed it on the surface of an evidence bag, and sprayed it with Luminol reagent. Sure enough, there was a fluorescent reaction.
"Why is there blood underneath but not in the soil on top?"
Liu Yongxin slapped his back lightly and seemed a bit more relaxed.
"You can tell you’re a city kid. Have you never seen a pig being slaughtered for a wedding? Normally, when slaughtering a pig, they’ll put a basin underneath, but the blood will still splatter everywhere. It’s likely to get all over the place. The blood seeping into the soil is a problem in the summer because it attracts flies, so that’s why people sprinkle a thicker layer of sandy soil over it. The same thing happened here.
We only saw the splattered blood before, but as for the ground, after the perpetrator dealt with the body and what was spread on the ground, they probably later realized that there were seeped blood stains on the ground as well, so they had no choice but to cover them with dirt, tamp it down, and then rake it over. This made it look no different from the surrounding ground."
Zhou Ning nodded and took the measuring tape to gauge the area covered by the bloodstains.
"The area of the bloodstain is over one square meter. When blood is spilled on the ground, it seeps in quickly. To reach this area considering the resistance to seepage, the amount of blood should be around 4,000 ml, which is roughly the total blood volume of a person.
However, a significant amount of blood was extracted from Fu Chunyu’s heart, and there was obvious blood residue in the body parts. This doesn’t add up. Also, is it because the soil below has turned red that the blood that seeped into it looks darker? I’ve got a feeling that this blood isn’t fresh."
Liu Yongxin waved his hand dismissively.
"Stop analyzing, we better get these samples tested right away. Let evidence do the talking. Let’s go, we’ll leave someone here to guard the place. We should check out Yang Liang’s courtyard, they’re probably done excavating there by now.
If Yang Liang is the murderer, that old man has quite the nerve. After killing someone, his first thought was to cover up the pit cellar and harden the ground, and he still had the presence of mind to go to the market. I’m afraid the questioning by Mr. Huang won’t go smoothly. By the way, has Fu Chunyu’s live-in boyfriend arrived yet?"
Zhou Ning shook his head and got up as well. Mr. Wang and the others were packing up. Zhou Ning helped Liu Yongxin and walked towards the exit of the greenhouse ahead of the rest. It was really stuffy inside, and Liu Yongxin had high blood pressure, which could get worse if he stayed inside too long.
"I just called Mr. Qu in such a hurry that I didn’t ask about that. Judging by the time, Zhang Hongwei should have arrived by now. Given Mr. Huang’s temperament, he wouldn’t question the guy right off the bat!"
Liu Yongxin smiled and waved at the two people behind him.
"Let’s get going. But the situation here in Dayao City can’t compare to Qindao. Qindao is a sub-provincial city, while Dayao City’s economy originally relied on the gold mine. But now that the gold mining has stopped, trade can’t take off, the local industrial chain is missing, resources are scarce, investment can’t be attracted, leaving it in an awkward position. Retaining talent is a key issue."
Zhou Ning nodded. Every place has its awkward aspects. If the economy doesn’t pick up, naturally, it would be marginalized in various aspects within the province. Even if external help is requested, one still has to wait in line, which is indeed awkward.
In an instant, he also understood the difficulties faced by Huang Youdao. He too wished for capable subordinates, but with so few people, one could only pick the tallest among the short. Everything had to be done personally, which was hard on him.
The group made their way back to Yang Liang’s house. The sound of the excavators had become very soft, but as soon as they approached, they could smell the stench of the septic tank. While the others were okay, Mr. Pang hesitated, and Zhou Ning turned around to glance at him. frёeweɓηovel.coɱ
"If you can’t stand it, wait in the car, or wear a few more layers of masks. If we start vomiting and spitting, it will affect others and will bring shame to Qindao’s forensic technology department."
Mr. Pang nodded vigorously, handed the box to Mr. Wang, and pulled out several masks, layering them one by one. Zhou Ning looked on for a while without speaking further; after all, with that many layers, one could easily suffocate.
Upon entering, they saw Da Wang’er standing in the middle of the courtyard. His police uniform was nowhere to be seen, and part of his anti-corrosion suit was unzipped. Seeing Zhou Ning, he ran over with a toothy grin without saying a word.
"Director Zhou, you’re back! I was just about to call you. The cellar has been almost completely excavated. The middle part is filled with sand, and from the looks of it, there’s quite a bit. Can we use the excavator to dig directly? If so, I’ll have the big excavator come in and dump the excavated soil off to the side, then we’ll sift through it ourselves."
Zhou Ning gestured with his hand, not rushing to give his opinion and went straight to the large pit that had been dug. Indeed, the middle part was filled with sand, and at the very bottom, it seemed like there were bags that could be discerned as filled with sand or stones.
The cellar, covering ten square meters and assuming a height of only two meters and twenty or thirty centimeters, would mean an astonishing amount of fill, with the weight of sand at about 2500 pounds per cubic meter. For these 23 cubic meters, that would amount to 57.5 tons.
Without mechanization, solely relying on human labor and with only a flatbed cart and a single-wheel cart in the yard, transporting 57.5 tons of sand without arousing suspicion would mean no overt movement during daytime. Even working non-stop at night, they could only move ten tons at most.
At that pace, if the murder occurred on October 20, 2012, then by the morning of the 22nd, the filling could not have been completed. Of course, disregarding everything else, just covering up bloodstains and murder traces would be possible with help in filling.
Zhou Ning shook his head, feeling as if his thoughts had drifted a bit far since the digging had reached this state. Speaking of anything else was futile; everything had to be cleaned up for a closer look.
Da Wang’er hadn’t left. Seeing that the excavator had cleared the outlines dug around and even removed a layer of sand from the middle, he spoke again:
"Director Zhou, what about the middle now, do we keep using the excavator?"
"Yes, but we’ll need people down there carefully watching. If they see any traces of blood or anything else, they must signal to stop immediately. The driver needs to be experienced and quick to react."
Da Wang’er nodded and hopped down into the pit, which was now about one and a half meters deep. Standing on the edge, Da Wang’er’s voice was not soft as he shouted:
"Watch my command. You see it, don’t you? Just scrape off the front layer of sand, gently scrape a layer and then lift it up. Be gentle, we don’t know what’s underneath. If you destroy the evidence, I’ll never let you off the hook, and I haven’t settled my bill yet, you decide!"
Upon hearing this, the driver became nervous and, following Da Wang’er’s direction, gently scraped off a layer of sand. The technique was truly commendable, gently lifting a large amount of sand. After seven or eight scoops, the layer of soil went down another thirty to forty centimeters.
Just as the excavator claw moved away, Mr. Zhao, with his sharp eyes, started jumping on the spot, shouting loudly and waving his hands vigorously.
"Stop, stop, stop! As soon as this clawful of soil dumps out, immediately stop."
After shouting, Mr. Zhao sprinted over, jumped down from the side, and ran to the position opposite of Da Wang’er, who looked bewildered, barely daring to move an inch.
"What’s the matter, Mr. Zhao?"
Mr. Zhao crouched on the sand, took a photo with his camera, then slung the camera behind him and gently brushed away the sand. A foul smell of decaying flesh immediately surged out, and beneath Mr. Zhao’s hands, the sight of an upraised hand appeared, its fingers already partially skeletonized, presenting an eerie appearance.
Da Wang’er’s eyes bulged as he pointed and shouted:
"Damn, we found it! A hand, it’s a hand, this is a hand!"
