Free Web NovelChapter 495: Chapter 466 Old Fox_1
Zhou Ning reached out to take it, unfolded it and glanced at it, and indeed, as expected, there were only a few photos and a record of the external examination of the body. There wasn’t even an autopsy done, and even the female reproductive system wasn’t recorded in the post-mortem process.
Seeing this, Zhou Ning understood everything, especially the inspection report, from beginning to end, although the handwriting attempted to vary, it was clearly written by the same person and had been written recently. It wasn’t even folded, intentionally soiled to appear old—this perfunctory attitude said it all.
Without a second glance, the report was thrown into a file bag, and Zhou Ning turned his attention to Liu Mo, the deputy head of the detective squad.
"This forensic doctor you mentioned, the only one in the Xinghua Municipal Bureau, is he currently in the Bureau’s forensic office or is he waiting at the mortuary?"
Liu Mo blinked rapidly and hurriedly shook his head.
"I don’t know. Director Zhong just told me to deliver the report; he didn’t instruct me on anything else!"
Liu Yufei’s face darkened. By now her anger was reaching its peak. Zhou Ning gripped Liu Yufei’s arm, and she exhaled deeply, unclenching her fists.
"Call now and find out where this forensic doctor is. In twenty minutes, our special investigation team will go to the mortuary. When I arrive, I need to see him. If he’s not there, don’t bother going."
Liu Mo’s face twitched as if he was struggling to retain control, and he chuckled nervously twice.
"Director Liu, you’re a leader from the city, and we’re just a small place here, short on staff. I really don’t know where this forensic doctor is. But before I came, I heard Director Zhong saying something about a company reporting a psychiatric patient with a knife injuring people, and it seemed they all went there. If you need me to contact him, please, let’s not talk like this. I get uneasy easily, and I have high blood pressure; I can’t handle being scared."
Liu Yufei laughed.
"That’s fine, make the call now. I don’t want to repeat what I’ve said before. If you need to follow the investigation on-site, I can dispatch a forensic doctor to assist temporarily. Don’t give me any excuses. The twenty-minute countdown starts now."
Liu Mo nodded and walked over to the car while dialing.
Zhou Ning approached quickly and whispered urgently:
"The on-site inspection report was written on the spot, not from a prior report. As for the autopsy report, I looked at it; it’s incomplete, almost as if it were written haphazardly. There are many issues in Xinghua. On the roof, someone used chlorine disinfectant to clean meticulously, and there wasn’t much valuable information inside He Hongjian’s home.
"The most valuable thing was a blood-stained brick I found, probably overlooked during the cleanup, and left on the rooftop. I’m waiting for Mr. Zhao and the others to examine the site of the fall, but I doubt there’ll be anything to find there."
Liu Yufei looked at Zhou Ning urgently. Bringing Zhou Ning along was her greatest reassurance. His certainty in saying there was nothing to find was, in a way, a discovery in itself.
"So, you’re saying the entire place, both the rooftop and the location of the fall, was carefully cleaned, and it was done by absolute professionals—is that what you’re saying?"
Zhou Ning nodded.
"Yes, but there’s something I doubt. Just now, Mr. Yang checked the weather, and at 11:00 p.m. on March 28, the temperature was minus 1 degree Celsius with a five to six-level wind. In such cold weather, even if the perpetrator drank alcohol, especially on a rooftop without wind protection, wouldn’t it be cold to assault a girl?
"I think we should check all the residents and tenants in this unit on March 28, look into their entry and exit times, and inspect each room one by one. We can’t count on the locals for that; we need to do it ourselves. I think we should request Director Xu for additional manpower."
Liu Yufei nodded.
"Makes sense. Have someone come with my people to investigate each household floor by floor, and also the vehicles coming in and out."
Zhou Ning smiled. Liu Yufei was truly distinct, careful in thought, considering aspects he had overlooked.
"I’ll have Mr. Yang follow you, and I’m going to see Mr. Zhao and them now. If there’s nothing to find, I won’t delay and will head straight to the mortuary. I’m not sure about the conservation of the body. Have you asked He Hongjian about it?"
Liu Yufei leaned in close to Zhou Ning and spoke in a low voice:
"I said that on purpose just now. He Hongjian said, after the autopsy was done, they told him to take the body away. He rented a freezer at the mortuary, saying he wanted to put his child’s body there to say goodbye and had the attendant leave.
"He Hongjian didn’t actually put the body in there; instead, he wrapped a quilt into human shape and stuffed it inside. After all, he felt his child’s death was unjust, so he blatantly brought the body back home with a trolley and stored it in the home freezer. On our way here, I already had someone bring a truck to collect it; it should have reached the vicinity of the mortuary by now."
Realization dawned on Zhou Ning. He glanced towards He Hongjian, finding the man quite resourceful, capable of thinking of a similar tactic used by Chen Wenchi from Guanghai Pharmaceuticals back in the day. However, such means of preservation were limited, and everything depended on seeing it for oneself.
"Well, it’s fortunate. I’m going to check now. If there’s nothing, I won’t alert you, to avoid attracting the attention of the observant. If what He Hongjian said is true, then likely, there are many eyes watching us."
Liu Yufei hummed in agreement.
"Go ahead. I’ll take Mr. Yang in a bit to investigate each household. Once Fang Mu and Mr. Qu are done, we’ll join them together. Do you need us to prepare lunch for you?"
Zhou Ning waved his hand dismissively.
"No need to worry about that; we’ll handle it on the road. We’ll stay in touch by phone."
Having finished speaking, Zhou Ning headed straight for the annex on the west side of Building 3. As soon as he got close, he saw Mr. Zhao and Mr. Yang approaching, and from their frost-bitten expressions, he could tell nothing had been found here.
"Mr. Yang and Mrs. Fei are conducting a door-to-door inspection here, Mr. Zhao, come with me, and call Gao Tie, we’re heading to the funeral home."
Mr. Zhao let out a sigh and patted Mr. Yang on the shoulder.
"Don’t look so tangled, Zhou Xiaozhou had already guessed that we wouldn’t find anything special, it’s been a month since the crime was committed, even if their initial cleaning was inadequate, seeing how much He Hongjian made a fuss, they would naturally send someone to clean thoroughly multiple times. I think we still need to look for clues in the autopsy."
Mr. Yang grunted in approval and quickly tossed the evidence box to Sun Gaotie, then hurried to find Liu Yufei. Zhou Ning, calling out to the two men, rushed to the Iveco, where Mr. Wang had already extinguished his cigarette and got into the vehicle without being asked.
With such keen foresight, which already surpassed that of ordinary people, the vehicle exited the salt company’s residential area, hit the main road, and only then did Mr. Wang look towards Zhou Ning through the rear-view mirror.
"Director Zhou, where are we going?"
"Straight to the Xinghua City funeral home, they don’t have an autopsy room in Xinghua."
Mr. Zhao hummed twice.
"Xinghua City has developed quite well these past two years. To be honest, it’s economically better than Qidong, but when it came to the last reshuffling from county to district, Qidong got ahead, and Xinghua City was somewhat dissatisfied. It’s been a year since the municipal bureau issued guidance to the districts, and they are still performing autopsies in the funeral home here. Are they trying to slap their own face?"
Mr. Wang naturally wouldn’t join in such a conversation, and Sun Gaotie, being the youngest, was even less likely to interject. Zhou Ning glanced at Mr. Zhao, who actually was also unaware of what specific documents the municipal bureau had issued, but funding for different places was real.
Qidong is an example; it didn’t have a forensic autopsy room either, but it always borrowed the one in the Eighth Hospital. The conditions might not have been great, but after all, it was a hospital, which completely changed how families felt, and while Xinghua typically transferred major case technical support to the municipal bureau, it still had to handle ordinary traffic accidents on its own.
"Stop brooding over it. Is the equipment and stuff we brought complete?"
Mr. Zhao nodded.
"Rest assured, there’s enough equipment in the back of the car to create another autopsy room. I was prepared before coming; I even brought a portable shadowless lamp. I felt this was going to be fiery, but with things like this, why isn’t Director Xu coming along? Don’t they know the situation here?"
Zhou Ning shook his head, then seemed to have an epiphany.
"Perhaps it’s because they do know, and they know quite well what it’s like here, so they let Mrs. Fei lead the team. After all, Mrs. Fei can withstand the pressure. The new guy, Fang Mu, doesn’t have any connections to hold him back, and as for me, everyone knows I just won an award, so no one dares to mess with me—you don’t need me to tell you that."
Mr. Zhao blinked and then grinned through his teeth.
"Damn, they’re all sly foxes. Director Xu has learned to be bad, using us as pawns. But regardless of the reason, if He Hongjian didn’t lie, none of them will get away clean, nor will they be able to shake off their association. I am always willing to be involved in rooting out a cancer." freewebnσvel.cѳm
Zhou Ning fell silent as the car roared onward. A city’s funeral home was sure to be far from the downtown area. Seeing that Mr. Wang and the others had stopped talking, he hurried to say:
"Mr. Zhao, there’s a foam box on the back seat with boxed meals inside. I’ve left two boxes for Mr. Yang and the others. Ours are here. You should eat now while you have the chance, or else you’ll be hungry when things get busy."
Mr. Zhao looked surprised, then laughed so hard his eyes disappeared, as if the person who had been angry just a moment before was not him.
"Mr. Wang, you are something else. When did you prepare these boxed meals, and how come I didn’t know about it?"
"While loading the car, I saw you guys talking and quickly made a trip to the canteen. They were preparing lunch, and many dishes were already made. I told them how many people we had and they quickly prepared twenty lunches for us. The variety of dishes is a bit limited, but it’s better than nothing, so just make do with it."
Mr. Zhao had already run to the back to grab the boxed meals and distribute them. They were still warm and inviting, and when you’re hungry, a simple meal with a mix of meat and vegetables looks so tempting.
"Mr. Wang, you shouldn’t be driving; you’re underselling yourself. You would have no problem managing logistics for the municipal bureau."
Mr. Wang smiled and said nothing while the others quickly devoured their lunch. After finishing, Sun Gaotie cleaned up the trash and opened the windows to air out the car. Zhou Ning quickly rinsed his mouth, and Mr. Zhao, grinning, came closer.
"How are you going to manage your cleanliness habits without being able to brush your teeth in the car?"
Zhou Ning pushed his chubby face away. By now, they had arrived at the funeral home. Entering through the main entrance, he saw a police car parked to one side with the engine still running, which made him think of what Liu Yufei and the deputy chief of the criminal police team Liu Mo had said—this was probably Xinghua’s Doctor Zhang.
Pulling out a travel-sized mouthwash, he rinsed and spat it out by a trash can. Behind him was Mr. Zhao’s astonished gaze, clearly not expecting Zhou Ning to have such a slick routine. Following Zhou Ning’s gaze to the police car, they both put away their expressions and grabbed their equipment to get off.
Driver Mr. Wang took the lead to knock on the car window, and the person inside quickly opened the door. Loud, aggressive music favoured by plaza dance aunties poured out, and the man seemed a bit embarrassed. He shut off the ignition promptly and hopped out of the car, grabbing Mr. Wang’s hand in a warm greeting.
"You must be the forensic doctor from the municipal bureau’s special task force. I am Zhang Qiang, Xinghua City’s forensic doctor."
Mr. Wang maintained a placid expression and withdrew his hand.
"I’m driver Mr. Wang."
