Free Web NovelChapter 74: Chapter 74: Xu Da, I actually have a method_1
The car sped along the road, Mr. Zhao occasionally glanced at Zhou Ning sitting in the passenger seat, but Zhou Ning kept his eyes closed without speaking, which left Zhao scratching his head in anxiety.
"Look," Zhao said, "pretending to be asleep won’t do anyone any good. Satisfy my curiosity, will you? What exactly did you find? You had me take photos and told the boss to head over to the Eighth Hospital, even ordered someone to open up the morgue to look for your stored samples?"
Zhou Ning said nothing, and Zhao pressed his lips together tightly, unable to help but step harder on the accelerator. Twenty minutes later, the car finally stopped in the back courtyard of the Eighth Hospital.
As soon as they got out of the car, Xu Dayuan was already there waiting with his team.
"What did you find, Zhou Xiaozhou?"
"Let’s go inside and talk, Xu Da."
Zhou Ning signaled everyone to enter the autopsy room. Upon entering, Mr. Zhao started rubbing his hands together. The car’s heater wasn’t very effective, and the windows had been down at the crime scene; he was absolutely frozen and shivered nonstop under the air conditioner’s blast.
Zhou Ning went straight for the samples collected that morning. After searching through them, he pulled out a bottle containing a yellow liquid, dabbed a swab in it, and then in one hand fetched some phenolphthalein solution and hydrogen peroxide. He applied them to the swab, which instantly turned pink.
Seeing this, Zhou Ning let out a sigh. However, everyone around him looked at him with puzzled expressions. He coughed once, realizing he had been too immersed and had forgotten to clarify.
"So, we revisited the primary crime scene and found a piece of a porcelain doll that was made for the victim and Zhang Xin at the time of their wedding. Blood fingerprints were discovered on one shard, which matched Zhang Xin’s.
Besides, we found blood fingerprints inside and outside the living room window, which are also Zhang Xin’s. The photos that Mr. Zhao sent you just now are the matched results. However, these fingerprints only prove that Zhang Xin was at the scene, and she had smashed the porcelain doll and open the window.
I did a simulation of the murder process in the master bedroom. Judging by the direction of the splattered blood droplets left at the scene, the murderer was straddling the victim, striking the head. And these actions, I can now prove, were performed by the murderer after they had cut off the victim’s genitals.
Look, this is urine on the bathroom floor. There’s a pool of blood next to it, but at a distance from the urine. Zhang Xin staged incontinence to make it seem like she was crazy.
We can ask the forensic department to extract blood cells from this urine sample for DNA profiling. Have them also test Zhang Xin’s shorts and trousers because only if someone straddled the victim would there be traces of the victim’s blood in the groin area, something Zhang Xin must have overlooked."
Zhou Ning spoke rapidly and afterward felt a bit frustrated, worrying he had been too disorganized and wondering if Xu Dayuan and the others had understood. But from Xu Dayuan’s expression, it seemed he had grasped the key point.
"Are you saying that the bloodstains on Zhang Xin’s trousers are the best evidence if they came from the murderer straddling the victim’s groin?"
Zhou Ning nodded vigorously.
"Right!"
Xu Dayuan waved his hand and commanded those behind him:
"What are you waiting for? Head to the emergency department and ask the doctors where Zhang Xin’s trousers are, whether they’ve been removed or she’s still wearing them. I need them now, hurry up!"
At his instruction, Liu Changhai led the team rushing out.
Zhou Ning shook his head and slumped down into a chair, Mr. Zhao coming over to him.
"How are you doing?"
Zhou Ning waved his hand dismissively.
"I guess I spoke too fast. Might be a bit oxygen-deficient." freēwebnovel.com
Mr. Zhao spat out an expletive.
"Don’t give me that. You’re hungry, aren’t you? Tell me, have we eaten since one o’clock?"
After speaking, Mr. Zhao even glanced at Xu Dayuan. Xu appeared surprised and checked his watch—it was already past eleven o’clock.
"You haven’t eaten?"
Mr. Zhao pursed his lips, seeming truly aggrieved. After all, a fat person doesn’t handle hunger well, especially someone who had suddenly gained over thirty pounds like him, and his eyes seemed to glisten with emotion.
"It’s not just skipping a meal, not a drop of water, either. I’ve been rushing around after Zhou Xiaozhou, and the car’s nearly out of gas."
Trying to contain his laughter, Xu Dayuan patted the shoulders of Mr. Zhao and Zhou Ning.
"Stop making that face at me. Let’s head over to emergency. You hand over the evidence for testing, then you two rush back and rest. No, I’ll treat you two to a meal, how about that?"
Mr. Zhao’s grin instantly stretched ear to ear, the gloom quickly clearing.
"I think that’s a great idea. I know a place with a 24-hour buffet."
As the two of them spoke, Zhou Ning also began to feel discomfort in his stomach. The prolonged hunger was causing his stomach to ache faintly, but he felt that the discovery made everything worthwhile.
As these thoughts filled his mind, the trio had reached the emergency department where several nurses were frantically searching through the trash cans. Liu Changhai, clutching his hair, had an expression of panic that was spilling over into his words. Zhou Ning instantly thought of two words.
It’s doomed!
"What happened?"
Liu Changhai hurried over, his voice filled with urgency.
"Zhang Xin made a fuss during lunch, smashing quite a bit of monitoring equipment. Food was spilled all over the bed and on her, and it just happened to be right before the shift change. The new nurse on duty didn’t know that she was our suspect and just changed Zhang Xin into a new set of hospital clothes.
She packed the clothing into a bag, planning to give it to the cleaning staff for laundering. I guess she forgot about it later because she was busy. When we asked her about it just now, she realized that the bag was missing. I’ve sent people to check the trash bins, but we have no results yet."
Zhou Ning reflected briefly. When he and Mr. Zhao had arrived, Zhang Xin was wearing her own clothes, not hospital attire, which clearly indicated that she had changed after that time period.
"Wasn’t someone supposed to be watching over Xu Da’s area?"
Xu Dayuan’s brow furrowed deeply.
"After the special case meeting, I sent someone over, but it was already three in the afternoon by then. The people who brought Zhang Xin to the hospital were from the port police station, and after giving their statements, they didn’t leave anyone behind."
"Can’t you check the surveillance?"
Sweat beaded Liu Changhai’s forehead as he hastily said to Zhou Ning.
"The security room was manned by Mr. Xing last night. He’s passable as a doorman, but he doesn’t know many characters. When I just went to ask him, he didn’t know how to access the surveillance, let alone the password."
Mr. Zhao came closer, pressing his hand down in a calming gesture.
"Don’t panic. I’ll find an expert. They’re professionals."
Zhou Ning knew that Mr. Zhao meant calling on Mr. Hu and his team for help. Today, indeed, they had made full use of their skills, from restoring the deleted content on a computer to exporting mobile phone data to matching fingerprints. Now, they were even being asked to handle the surveillance footage.
Without a better solution, Zhou Ning chose to remain silent as Mr. Zhao’s call connected.
"Hey buddy, are you guys hungry? I’m going to prepare some late-night snacks for you. How about some kebabs?... Don’t be polite with me... Ah, you guys are awesome, you’ve already exported part of the mobile content?
... Don’t rush off. I’ll be at the station in five minutes, just come downstairs, we can’t just take advantage of you for nothing, we have to treat our boss to a meal. Just get dressed and come downstairs, hanging up now!"
After ending the call, Mr. Zhao shoved the camera and the cases into Zhou Ning’s hands.
"I’ll pick them up. When they arrive, go straight to the security room. By the way, boss, you’re going to bleed tonight. There’s that buffet on Cha’an Road, just south of the Eight Hospital. Shall we head straight there after the work is done?"
Xu Dayuan kicked Mr. Zhao’s backside with a swift motion.
"Too much nonsense. Hurry up and pick them up. We’ll head to the security room in a while."
"Got it!"
Mr. Zhao ran off with a playful grin. His thick skin helped lighten the atmosphere. Everyone was not as tense as before. The two nurses from the emergency department still wore worried expressions. Zhou Ning gave them a reassuring smile.
"Don’t be nervous. We’ll find out after reviewing the surveillance. Go on with your work. We’re already very sorry for disrupting your duties."
The two nurses nodded their heads in gratitude. Xu Dayuan gestured, and they quickly ran off.
Then Xu Dayuan glanced at Liu Changhai and held up two fingers.
"We have four shifts in a day, two people per shift. Keep a close watch on Zhang Xin. If there’s any more trouble, I’ll hold you accountable first. Do you understand?"
Liu Changhai winced with a bitter smile and quickly agreed. Zhou Ning pondered for a moment, then stepped closer, lowering his voice and said:
"Xu Da, it’s not easy to monitor her in the emergency room, and with the constant flow of people, it’s hard to catch Zhang Xin off guard. I think I have a strategy."
Xu Dayuan’s eyebrows raised, his interest piqued.
"Let’s hear it."
