Free Web NovelChapter 57: Chapter 57: Continue with your thoughts, I won’t interrupt you_1
"Keep up with the car ahead, I’m checking the license plate number right now, be careful not to let them notice us."
As he spoke, Xu Dayuan began searching on the police terminal.
However, the car ahead kept changing lanes, not slowing down at intersections either. Zhou Ning glanced at the speedometer in front of Zhao Xinli, they were both going over sixty already. The car speeding ahead must be going even faster, Zhou Ning turned back and said,
"Mr. Xu, let Mr. Chen get someone to stop it, it’s speeding. Going over sixty at the intersection."
Xu Dayuan grinned and dialed Mr. Chen’s number directly.
"Chen Yuhu, hurry up and have someone at the Zhenjiang Road and Dunhua Road intersection stop a Toyota Prado for me, the tail number ends with 388, quick, he’s speeding. Check all his documents, the ticket will hold him up a bit longer."
After he finished speaking, there was the sound of the call hanging up with a snap, and Zhou Ning rubbed his nose.
Comparatively speaking, Xu Dayuan was quite polite to himself, after all, he had never hung up like this before, always with negotiation.
At this moment, their car was still moving forward, but the sound of police sirens could be heard at the intersection. Xu Dayuan’s phone rang, and he answered on speakerphone; they also saw the Toyota Prado being stopped.
"Xu, this one’s on you. I had them use the walkie-talkie to handle the speeding, to read the person’s vehicle information, listen for yourself."
"Thanks!"
"Cut the hindsight, listen carefully, I’m turning up the volume to the max."
At that moment, a crackling sound came through the phone, followed by the voice over the walkie-talkie.
"Take out your driver’s license. Don’t you know you can’t exceed sixty at the intersection? What, you want to fly or something? Do you even know how fast you were going just now?" freewebnovel.cσ๓
"Sorry, I’m a doctor from the orthopedic department of the first affiliated hospital, I have an emergency surgery this morning, and the patient can’t wait, so I couldn’t control my speed. You can give me a ticket if you need to, but let’s just make it fast."
Zhou Ning paused, the first affiliated hospital?
This was a branch hospital of the first affiliated hospital of Ludong Medical College in the province, which started construction two years before the county was restructured into a district. Many of the doctors were recruited back from Qindao or were assembled from various hospitals. The facilities were good, but the medical capability was not as good as the eighth hospital. The hospital name sounded good, but there were hardly any patients every day, let alone people going there for surgery.
This excuse really did seem like just an excuse, and judging from the practiced tone, this was clearly not the first time he had said it.
Through the walkie-talkie, more voices could be heard.
"Shen Weijie, right? Don’t rush, I need to verify some information. The vehicle registration lists Sun Ailing. What is your relationship with Sun Ailing?"
"Sun Ailing is my wife."
"All right, the ticket’s written. Even if you’re in a hurry, you should pay attention to safety. If something were to happen, would it be about saving others or saving you? You know it’d be counterproductive."
Chen Yuhu’s voice rang from the other end of the phone.
"Alright, heard that? Next time be a bit more polite with me, don’t..."
"Thanks!"
Xu Dayuan didn’t wait for Chen Yuhu to ramble on, and hung up the phone directly, clutching the police terminal so tightly his eyebrows nearly twisted together.
"Shen Guanlin’s daughter-in-law is called Sun Ailing. This Shen Weijie is his son."
"Boss, so do we follow Shen Weijie or go back to the eighth hospital?"
Xu Dayuan waved his hand.
"No rush, it’s enough to know who it is. Don’t stir the snake, Shen Guanlin’s alibi has been verified, no issues there. Let’s head to the eighth hospital first. Didn’t Doctor Zhou mention a second autopsy? They’ve got the body ready there."
Zhao Xinli didn’t argue, turning the steering wheel, he headed straight towards the eighth hospital.
Silently they arrived at the autopsy room.
Elder Cui had already brought the body to the autopsy room, Zhou Ning greeted Elder Cui and then led the two men inside. With Xu Dayuan present, Zhao Xinli didn’t dare to hang back.
Zhou Ning opened his backpack and took out a package wrapped in white foam; Zhao Xinli helped by grabbing a pair of scissors, asking while opening it,
"What did you bring with you?"
"Ordered from a friend in Yiwu, it’s a magnifying glass with an LED light. I was afraid Mr. Xu wouldn’t reimburse, so I found a cheaper one."
Xu Dayuan rubbed his nose.
"How much was it?"
"Over four hundred."
As he spoke, Zhou Ning finished unpacking the foam and assembled the LED magnifying lamp. It had wheels at the bottom for height adjustment, and at the top, there was a magnifying glass about the size of a plate surrounded by a ring of LED lights.
Zhao Xinli grinned, bumping Xu Dayuan with his shoulder.
"Boss, Doctor Zhou is asking you for money. With our bare-bones setup, it’s really tough on Doctor Zhou. Just approve it for him!"
Xu Dayuan rolled his eyes.
"It’s just you who talks too much. When did I say I wouldn’t reimburse? Give the receipts to Ms. Feng, and she’ll take care of it. Next time you need something, let me know in advance. If it’s a small amount, the team can squeeze it out."
"Then, boss, you’ll reimburse for my book too, right?"
"Get lost, kid, and don’t bother Doctor Zhou. Hand me a set of those clothes."
Zhao Xinli, not at all offended by the scolding and without any decrease in spirits, prepared a set of gear for Xu Dayuan and changed into his own. Then, carrying his camera, he moved closer. There were more people in the autopsy room, and his fear lessened because the body had already been autopsied once.
Zhou Ning didn’t rush to start. He moved the LED magnifying lamp above the head of the corpse and then waved at Zhao Xinli.
"Help me flip the body over; I think the head wasn’t examined thoroughly enough during the last autopsy."
Both men stepped forward and, working together, turned the body to lie face down on the autopsy table.
The post-mortem lividity covered the back of the body, the deepest in color on the buttocks and shoulders. Apart from the outer side of the feet, no signs of subcutaneous injuries were found. After examining with the LED magnifying lamp, nothing new was discovered.
Zhou Ning exhaled and returned to the head of the corpse, pushing aside the hair at the occipital near the neck, revealing the wound. It seemed to have been frozen over and didn’t look as bloody as before. Moreover, some of the surrounding hair had already been shaved off by Zhou Ning.
In the center of a C-shaped wound, the fractured bone was clearly visible. At this location, a fracture that was shattered to this extent meant subarachnoid hemorrhage was inevitable.
However, upon closer inspection, the eversion of the wound was severe and surrounded by congealed blood clots, indicating that the victim had been alive for a considerable time after being injured before being thrown into the reservoir.
What had the murderer been doing during that time?
Shaking off that thought, the reason Zhou Ning came for a second autopsy was to open the skull. After all, the X-rays only showed so much, and sometimes the most direct observation can reveal the problem. Although he was averse to it, he now had no choice.
Pushing aside the hair, he made an incision from one side just behind the ear, crossing over the top of the skull to the other side, just outside the ear. His movements were swift, and before the other two could react, Zhou Ning had flipped the scalp upwards, exposing the skull.
Zhao Xinli turned and ran out, soon followed by the sound of dry heaving. Xu Dayuan shivered and looked at Zhou Ning.
"Couldn’t you have given us a warning? I’m shocked, let alone Mr. Zhao."
Zhou Ning chuckled.
"Mr. Zhao isn’t suited for gradual training. Once he’s seen the worst, it’s easier to accept the rest. Being a trace evidence examiner is all about staying calm and paying close attention. He’ll be fine after a few autopsies."
Xu Dayuan nodded in agreement with Zhou Ning’s words.
"Makes sense. Continue, I won’t distract you."
Zhou Ning didn’t stop his hands. Lifting the scalp, the skull was fully exposed. The fracture site was completely collapsed with a circular border and full of fragmented bones. Zhou Ning picked out the fragments and briefly pieced them together next to the remaining part. It formed a somewhat intact C-shape with serrated edges.
Zhou Ning looked up towards the door.
"Is Mr. Zhao done vomiting?"
As he spoke, Zhao Xinli, pale-faced, returned.
"What’s up?"
"Did you bring the 32mm ratchet spanner I asked you to find?"
Zhao Xinli nodded and ran to his backpack to take out a spanner. Zhou Ning took it and compared it to the wound; it was a perfect match.
"The murder weapon is this spanner. However, to cause a bone fracture that’s completely collapsed like this suggests the murderer struck with great force, from above, and with both hands, resulting in this complete C-shaped fracture."
As he spoke, Zhou Ning stripped off a layer of gloves and walked to his backpack. He pulled out three pieces of marble slabs about the size of a thick book and as wide as a windowsill, the kind of scrap left over from decorations. He had found these in his residential area the night before.
He handed the marble slab to Xu Dayuan, then passed the spanner to Zhao Xinli.
Both men were taken aback by such abrupt actions and looked puzzled. They looked up at Zhou Ning.
"What’s this for?"
