Free Web NovelChapter 70: Chapter 70: Theft and Robbery vs. Revenge Killing_1
Zhou Ning raised his hand and pointed at the hand-drawn slide.
"Leaders, don’t rush, look at this image. The victim was found in the master bedroom, and although all the cabinet doors in the kitchen and the second bedroom were open, not a single unpackaged item was missing. The living room was also intentionally trashed.
According to criminal psychology analysis, once the murderer wants to destroy the crime scene evidence, it means he wants to hide some information that might be unrelated to the scene. Plus, with valuable items left on the scene, and the reporter who heard sounds,
taking into account all the evidence we have, my judgment is:
The murderer is one or two people, one of whom is suspected to be a female or a slim man, right-handed, an acquaintance of the victim, wore gloves during the crime.
The intimidation started sometime between 7:30 and 9:30 in the morning, the victim’s time of death is close to the time of the report, the murderer holds a grudge against Wen Haicheng, and I believe it’s a staged burglary to cover up a revenge killing."
"That’s all?"
Zhou Ning nodded.
"Regarding the fingerprints on the murder weapon, besides two strands from gloves, there were six complete fingerprints and seven partial ones found, which included both the victim’s and his wife’s. There were also two partial prints not found in our fingerprint database. However, those fingerprints were covered with latex paint, which I believe were left by previous workers.
This is all the information we can get for now. The examination report should be out by tomorrow morning. As for the footprints and movement trajectory, we’ll do a detailed comparison once we’re back. It’s going to be a large workload, and we hope to finish by tomorrow at the earliest.
However, to better construct the motion trajectory diagram, I’ll need the shoe prints and fingerprints of the person who reported the crime, Zhang Xin, the victim’s son, and the victim’s mother. Also, I have the victim’s laptop with me, which is logged into the victim’s QQ account.
It’s possible to let the tech department check it out; I remember there’s something called linked account management. The phone was smashed, indicating a hope that its information wouldn’t leak. Whoever smashed the phone might not have known that even a broken phone can yield data. Of course, it’s also possible there wasn’t enough time to deal with it."
Xu Dayuan looked at Liu Yongxin.
"Doctor Liu, are these the opinions of your forensic department?"
Zhou Ning looked worriedly at Liu Yongxin. These conclusions were written in the car and hadn’t been communicated with Liu Yongxin, who had only glanced at them just now.
"Zhou Ning’s opinions are my opinions, too. You can let the tech department take an initial look at the computer; perhaps they’ll find something."
Mr. Sun, who was next to Xu Dayuan, smiled, pulled out his phone, dialed a number, gave a few orders, and then hung up.
"The tech personnel will be here shortly. Have the computer and two mobile phones brought to them for data recovery. Just have someone coordinate with them."
Xu Dayuan nodded and looked at Zhao Xinli.
"Zhao Xinli will be in charge of coordination. Okay, this special case meeting is concluded. He Chunyang will lead a team to continue investigating Wen Haicheng and Zhang Xin’s social relationships, especially focusing on their design institute. Collect all fingerprints and footprints as soon as possible and rush them to the forensic department.
Liu Changhai, lead your team to the victim’s child’s kindergarten to review the surveillance, question the teachers about when Zhang Xin dropped off the child, when she left, and cross-check the timings with the community guards. Have all information gathered by ten o’clock tomorrow, meet dismissed!"
At the command, everyone left. Zhou Ning stood up to leave, but Xu Dayuan coughed and gestured for Zhou Ning to stay.
"Mr. Sun wants to ask you something."
Zhou Ning stopped in his tracks and handed the autopsy report to Liu Yongxin, who gave him a comforting look.
"Little Zhou, I heard from Xu Dayuan that the software project you’re working on with Qindao University is going very smoothly, right?"
Zhou Ning nodded, although he hadn’t been to Qindao University these days. He had only communicated with Doctor Lu. In addition to the software development, it seemed the university was recruiting experts from a medical school and prestigious institutions to prepare for the establishment of a forensic department, not only at the undergraduate level but also intending to start recruiting for masters and PhD programs soon.
"The first round of basic data collection is now complete, and we’re working on the AI software programming. Once that’s done, we can start the second round of data collection. At that point, the AI technology will be able to autonomously record related data, conduct analysis, and populate the database."
Zhou Ning spoke formally, as he wasn’t sure what Mr. Sun was really getting at.
Mr. Sun nodded, his smile undiminished.
"Very good, I didn’t expect Qidong Sub-bureau to have such talent. But you’re also very busy with your primary job; the burden on young shoulders is not light, and you must uphold it well. By the way, I heard that you wanted to transfer to the city bureau’s forensic department?"
Zhou Ning was startled and looked perplexed.
"I haven’t heard of this. When did that come up?"
Xu Dayuan laughed, looking up at Mr. Sun.
"See? You were overthinking it, leader. I told you, this kid was my personal pick. If he had any intentions, how could he not tell me? Please help us coordinate with the tech department on this matter, and there’s no need for you to worry."
Mr. Sun coughed twice and glared at Xu Dayuan.
"Ordering leaders around without courtesy, huh? All right, I’m glad to know your team is focused. Mr. Liu is about to retire, and if Zhou Ning leaves too, won’t we be left singing to an empty city?"
Xu Dayuan waved his hand dismissively.
"You’re overthinking it. Who said that doing research means you must go to the city bureau? Zhou Ning has been working for half a year, and I know this kid well, he’s a hands-on kind of person.
He doesn’t know the first thing about deception and trickery; to him, research is just something he can do on the side while hunting for rabbits. If he wanted to focus solely on research, why bother going to the city bureau when he could go to Qindao University instead?
Besides, if the leadership really wanted to keep someone, they wouldn’t just pay lip service; they’d offer something tangible. That’s the only sincere sign of wanting to retain someone—the treatment issue needs to be addressed, that’s where the real benefits lie."
Mr. Sun was taken aback. He hadn’t expected Xu Dayuan to be so upfront about compensation and nodded thoughtfully after a moment of contemplation. freeωebnovēl.c૦m
"You’re right. To retain people, we need a system in place. I’ll bring this up with the leaders when I get back. We can’t change the salary, but we could adjust specific position allowances."
Zhou Ning pursed his lips, unsure of what to say. It seemed that the leaders’ discussion was about him, yet it also seemed unrelated. However, the prospect of more money, who would oppose that? He just listened attentively.
Mr. Sun stood up, patting Zhou Ning on the shoulder.
"Alright, I shouldn’t be here slowing down your investigation. You get back to it; I’ll coordinate other matters. Remember, nothing is more important than the case—don’t let us down at the crucial moment. It’ll give me more leverage at the city bureau."
Xu Dayuan put on a smile and stood up as well, escorting Mr. Sun towards the door. Once he was gone, Xu Dayuan then rubbed his cheeks.
"Alright, get back to work."
"Thank you, Xu Da."
Xu Dayuan waved his hand.
"Too much talk. Oh, is Zhang Xin awake yet?"
At this, Zhou Ning halted in his steps.
"Before the autopsy, I went to the emergency department first. Her vital signs are good, and the chief of the department said she should be able to wake up, but she’s unresponsive. I checked her injuries, and in addition to the cuts, stab wounds, and bruises from blows, there’s a bruise the size of a fist on Zhang Xin’s abdomen that’s started to fade. It must have been caused two to three days ago."
Xu Dayuan was startled.
"You didn’t mention that before. Are you suspecting domestic violence against Zhang Xin by the deceased?"
Zhou Ning shook his head.
"I’m not certain it was caused by the deceased. I’m only stating when this bruise occurred. I’ll go and do some comparisons later. But the more we investigate, the more confused I get. After all, there are many things in the various pieces of evidence that don’t make sense."
Xu Dayuan patted Zhou Ning’s shoulder, his satisfaction with this subordinate beyond words.
"Don’t look so worried. Remember what you said—where there’s contact, there must be traces. Just because we haven’t found them doesn’t mean they aren’t there. We’ll find them, slowly."
Zhou Ning smiled.
"Then, I’m off to work, leader."
Xu Dayuan gestured for him to go, and Zhou Ning returned to the forensic doctor’s office. As soon as he entered, he saw Mr. Zhao leading two people sitting across from him, tinkering with a computer—clearly the technology support staff sent to assist.
Doctor Liu glanced at Zhou Ning, who quickly approached and relayed Mr. Sun’s expressed attitude. Doctor Liu frowned slightly.
"There’s no smoke without fire; someone in the sub-bureau must know something. But I recall you mentioned that when you went to Qindao University for the press conference, you encountered someone from the city bureau, and it wasn’t pleasant, was it?"
Zhou Ning nodded. In fact, his biggest concern was just this. With his mentor here, even if his mentor retired, a phone call could still provide guidance.
If he actually went to the city bureau, considering the two people he had met at Qindao University that day, he really wouldn’t feel like he belonged. At least fawning over others wasn’t his style; he just wanted to work hard. After all, the sense of achievement from finding evidence and helping to crack cases was indescribable.
"I don’t even know them. They just treated me like a student, didn’t even apologize for bumping into me and disliking me for being in the way. They formed an impression because I looked like a student. I still find it more comfortable here."
Doctor Liu smiled.
"Ha, my apprentice takes after me. Go on, hurry up with the comparisons. Print all the crime scene photos, start with comparing the footprints from the harbor police station, and circle them with a marker pen. For the rest, send one for comparison at a time."
Just then, Mr. Zhao exclaimed from his spot.
"Huh, why is there a hidden QQ number?"
