Free Web NovelChapter 72: Chapter 72 Why did you hit someone? [Thank you very much, Monarch Mo Ran, for the grand reward!]_1
Zhou Ning paused, turned on the camera, and found some photos of Zhang Xin’s wounds.
"When the port police station arrived, they didn’t take pictures of Zhang Xin, so I don’t know how the rope was tied around her body. These are the wounds on Zhang Xin’s body. Doctor Zhou, look, do these wounds appear to be from a struggle or from being coerced?"
Liu Yongxin moved the camera farther away, holding it like he was gripping a steering wheel, and stared at the photos as he flipped through them. Then he frowned and looked at Zhou Ning.
"The wounds seem to have force applied from both left and right, and they’re concentrated on the arms and legs. Her fingers also have cuts. Indeed, on the whole, they look more like resistance wounds from a fight, except for this one on the back of her calf."
"As for these swollen bruises, the one on her abdomen was inflicted two or three days prior, while the swelling on her arms and legs, although severe, isn’t critical. Continue," he said.
With Liu Yongxin’s affirmation, Zhou Ning continued,
"Though Zhang Xin has several bruised wounds, none of them are broken or, rather, life-threatening, whereas the deceased has bruises all over his head, and each one caused a fracture."
"When Mr. Zhao and I went to the emergency room, we took samples from Zhang Xin’s bruises. I want to know whether these bruises were inflicted before or after injuring the deceased."
"Moreover, according to Mr. He, they didn’t clean Zhang Xin’s wounds at that time, only provided life-saving treatment. If Zhang Xin was beaten after injuring the deceased, who wiped off the blood?"
"One spot might get rubbed off, but all over? And the most important point, when the murderer was seeing red, could they really control their thoughts, let alone the force they used on Zhang Xin?"
Driving the car, Mr. Zhao was confused and asked anxiously,
"Dr. Zhou, just make it clear, what exactly do you suspect? Could it be that this couple was really into their games, and the lover killed Wen Haicheng, so they went easy on Zhang Xin? Or was it Mrs. Qin, who staged the whole thing out of love turning to hate?"
"If that were the case, how did they escape the scene? Oh right, the window in room 201 was open. Do you think they heard the person calling the police, saw him going downstairs, and then quickly jumped out from window 201? Not to mention the lack of surveillance in the community, if they climbed the wall, we really couldn’t track them."
Mr. Zhao got excited talking about his theories, but Liu Yongxin smacked him on the neck from behind, the crisp sound startled Mr. Zhao.
"Hey, why are you hitting me?"
"I’m going easy on you. Are you writing a script here? Am I supposed to listen to you ramble or to Zhou Ning’s analysis?"
Mr. Zhao shut his mouth, and the car was already parked in front of Liu Yongxin’s residential community.
"Continue."
Zhou Ning let out a deep breath, as if he was making up his mind.
"I... suspect Zhang Xin."
Mr. Zhao inhaled sharply, but this time wisely kept quiet, only turning back in surprise to look at Zhou Ning.
No one asked why because, after all, Liu Yongxin had said this wasn’t an official setting, and it was okay to voice all thoughts. Liu Yongxin stared at Zhou Ning for a long time, then patted his shoulder.
"Suspicions are for finding evidence, but make sure of one thing, don’t fix your mind on Zhang Xin or any particular person, that way you’ll miss many details. I’m discussing this with you today to say not to kill your instincts."
"Although you can’t rely on it to solve cases, it’s very beneficial to maintain this passion and sensitivity for your future work. If later you don’t know who to talk to, give me a call."
Zhou Ning felt warmth in his heart, and his eyes became slightly teary.
He had no memories before the age of ten. His grandfather said it was due to a car accident. His family of three was involved in a traffic accident; his parents died on the spot, and although Zhou Ning survived, he completely lost his memories prior to the age of ten.
His grandfather and his uncle’s family doted on Zhou Ning, even more than they did their own children. But since the age of ten, Zhou Ning had stopped sharing his feelings with others, always keeping his thoughts to himself and not even daring to ask his grandfather about his parents.
This made people perceive Zhou Ning as a very proper, polite, and mature person.
But only he knew that this maturity and propriety were achieved by suppressing his inner thoughts. He wanted to be petulant, to go home and do nothing, throw his smelly socks on the floor, or argue back with his parents.
But he had no parents.
Liu Yongxin’s words guided out his inner thoughts bit by bit, even he himself hadn’t expected to voice these ideas. Just as Zhou Ning was struggling to control his emotions, Liu Yongxin smiled and waved his hand.
"Alright, stop with the sentimentality, and head to the crime scene."
Zhou Ning nodded.
"Master, you should rest early and take your medicine on time."
"Enough of that, my wife nags me about taking my medicine every day, it’s annoying enough as it is. You’re just one more distraction. Get out of here and stop wasting my time!" ƒгeeweɓn૦vel.com
Zhao Xinli floored the gas, and the car shot out. Half an hour later, the car reached the seaside Xinhua Garden Community. Although it was close to a village, the scenery was truly nice, but the cold in the chill wind seemed to pierce the bones even more than in the city.
"Damn, did it get colder?"
"The seaside is open, and the temperature at night is lower than in the city. Is someone from our team here on watch?"
Mr. Zhao nodded and, with a flashlight in hand, got out of the car.
"Yes."
Assured by the affirmative answer, the two took their gear and got out of the car. Just as they reached the entrance to the building, the door opened, and the victim’s mother came out, still with tears on her face.
"Young comrade, please let me go in. I haven’t taken my grandson’s clothes, I won’t have anything to change him into tomorrow, and I need to check if some things are still there."
The police officer supporting her was quite polite.
"Auntie, this is a crime scene. Before everything is investigated clearly, no one but the police can go in. If the scene is contaminated, how will we catch the criminal? We can’t let your son die unavenged, right?"
Zhou Ning nudged Mr. Zhao. Handling such matters, Zhao Xinli was the most adept. Mr. Zhao quickly stepped forward, smiling at the woman.
"Auntie, we need to re-inspect the scene. Don’t worry for now. Tell me what you need, and after I finish the inspection, I’ll bring it out for you, alright?"
The woman nodded, her tears spilling out in her haste, and she wiped them away with her sleeve.
"Young man, thank you so much, I just need to take some clothes for my child to change into—they’re in the wardrobe in the second bedroom. It would be even better if I could take his coat too, and also... and also... "
The woman hesitated for a moment, then tugged Zhao Xinli back a few steps into complete darkness before whispering:
"My son hid a passbook at home, and there are some old pieces of jewelry that I kept stored. I’m afraid my memory isn’t good, so I left them with him. I don’t know if these things have been lost."
Zhao Xinli was startled, glanced at Zhou Ning. They had searched the scene, the police from the harbor station had checked, and the remaining officers had also carefully searched, but they had not found any valuables. Could it be...
"Do you know where he hid them? If you do, come up with me and wait at the door. I’ll check for you. If they’re there, we’ll photograph them and keep them at the station temporarily, and you can claim them after the case is closed. If we can’t find them, I’ll register them for you and see if we can recover the items once we catch the criminal. What do you think, auntie?"
The woman nodded, clinging to Zhao Xinli’s sleeve without letting go.
"I know where they are, I’ll listen to you. I’ll go up with you. But he wouldn’t let me up the stairs!"
Zhou Ning rubbed his nose. The old lady wasn’t foolish, at least she knew to seek help. Zhou Ning glanced at the person guarding the scene. He didn’t look familiar; he wasn’t sure if it was someone from their detective team or from the harbor police station.
"I am forensic doctor Zhou Ning, the scene requires a second inspection, and I believe you also received notice, right?"
The person nodded with a smile.
"I know, Doctor Zhou, you all can go up. However, the auntie can’t enter the scene."
"Alright, auntie, follow us, and you can watch at the doorway but can’t enter. If you can do that, let’s go up together."
The woman nodded, her grip on Zhao Xinli’s hand unyielding.
"Agreed."
With that, they climbed up to the seventh floor, where the emergency lights in the hallway were on. The room was pitch black, and after the woman caught her breath, Zhao Xinli held the flashlight under his chin, put on his gloves, and then turned on the living room light.
"Auntie, tell me where the things are hidden, and I’ll go look for them. But does your daughter-in-law not know about them?"
