Chapter 301: Chapter 295: What Would You Do If You Were Him?_1
"I just finished up here; no gold bars were found. However, on the bottom layer of Wang Hongwen’s locker, I discovered a blood trace that had been wiped and a faint shoeprint that reacted to luminol. After comparison, it’s a complete match with the shoeprints found at the first crime scene. I’ve taken pictures and samples and am heading back now."
"No rush, call Yang Xuetong to ask if they’ve found anything. If so, arrange for someone to send it directly for testing. Mr. Bai is waiting at the forensics lab; there’s someone on duty over there."
Mr. Zhao was just about to argue when the phone call abruptly ended. Holding his cell phone, he ground his teeth in frustration.
"What’s the matter?"
Mr. Zhao sighed and looked at Zhu Xingxing.
"What can I say, hard work is our fate. The boss wants us to see how Mr. Yang is doing. If there’s anything found, we’ll send it for testing together. He also said Mr. Bai is waiting at the forensics lab. Poor Mr. Bai, I bet he’s taken over our office, probably sleeping on the couch. With the stench of his feet, we might have to get rid of the couch when we get back."
Zhu Xingxing laughed with a snort and punched Mr. Zhao. She couldn’t help but think that even with such a hectic schedule and deep into the night like this, she didn’t feel bored at all, thanks to Mr. Zhao’s company.
"Stop complaining, and hurry up to the car to make the call."
Mr. Zhao hummed twice, grabbed the investigation kit, and got in the car. Then he dialed Yang Xuetong’s number, which rang seven or eight times before the call was answered.
"Are you done at Xinli?"
"My goodness, Mr. Yang, you haven’t finished surveying Wang Hongwen’s house yet?"
"I’ve finished. There were positive luminol reactions on the doormat by the entrance and on top of the wardrobe. I’ve taken the samples, but you can’t see any blood traces on the surface. Not sure if the results will show up."
"Wow, not bad findings. I’ve found something here too, so let’s meet up at the criminal police brigade and have them send it together to the Technology Department of the city bureau for examination. The boss just called and said Mr. Bai is standing by there waiting to receive the samples."
Yang Xuetong was momentarily stunned.
"Haha, poor Mr. Bai."
...
March 10, 2012
Early in the morning, Mr. Zhao yawned as he walked into the office. Liu Yongxin was inside, taking medicine. Mr. Zhao hurried over to take a look at the medicine bottle.
"Uncle, you’re really working yourself hard, popping pills and still getting up so early?"
Liu Yongxin swatted away Mr. Zhao’s chubby face, clearly disgusted, and looked behind him, searching for the presence of his beloved apprentice.
"Cut the wisecracks, where’s my apprentice?"
"Don’t worry, your precious apprentice is fine. We just slept a bit late. He’s too fussy and has to gargle as soon as he wakes up. Then he brushes his teeth after every meal. Right now, he’s in the restroom brushing his teeth, and he’ll be in soon."
Liu Yongxin breathed a sigh of relief, as Mr. Zhao had already made his way to the computer. He logged into his email, but there were no unread emails in his inbox. He shook his head and glanced at the time.
"It’s not even 8 o’clock yet; I can’t rush them."
As he spoke, Zhou Ning and others gradually walked in. Zhou Ning placed his backpack on a chair and, seeing Mr. Zhao checking his email, tidied up his hair and moved to the side.
"They’ll send it over in five minutes. Director Xu spoke with the forensics lab first thing this morning. Mrs. Cui had someone on duty, the guy you know. They’ll send it over as soon as the comparison is done."
Mr. Zhao shook his head.
"Poor guy, working overtime without anyone to deliver a late-night snack. Mr. Bai wouldn’t have thought of that. Speaking of which, has Mr. Bai come back yet?"
Liu Yongxin pointed downstairs, where several people were standing outside the window, including the very Mr. Bai Mr. Zhao was talking about, as well as Mr. Zeng, Liu Yufei, and Tao Zhenshan, all appearing to be talking about something.
Zhou Ning was staring at the screen when an unread email flickered. He quickly opened it.
The reports from the samples Mr. Zhao and Mr. Yang took last night were already out. The blood sample comparison showed a DNA match with Ho Dongmei. Relieved, Zhou Ning stepped aside to let Zhu Xingxing click to print.
Xia Momo also walked in, placing a bag on the table and distributing its contents; they were insulated mugs, identical except for the patterns.
Looking closely, they were cartoon caricatures with glasses and surgical scalpel, dressed in a white coat with a police uniform shirt underneath. Puzzled, Zhou Ning shook the mug as it seemed to contain liquid.
"Did you hand-draw these mugs? What’s inside?"
Xia Momo smiled and rolled her eyes at Zhou Ning, huffing and saying:
"Poison. Are you going to drink it or not?"
Zhou Ning laughed, not saying another word—after all, more words meant more mistakes. Mr. Zhao leaned in, peered at the mug’s image of small eyes and a plump face, opened the lid, and sniffed.
"Ginseng tea, huh? This is pretty high-end. But Mr. Xia, where did you get all these insulated mugs from?"
Zhu Xingxing looked mysterious, bumped into Mr. Zhao, and glanced at Zhou Ning as she whispered:
"Mr. Xia brought them in her suitcase. She said with us staying up late and under such pressure, we need to take care of our health. She checked with Doctor He, who said drinking some ginseng slices would be just right."
Mr. Zhao raised an eyebrow.
"Dr. He isn’t a Western doctor, so why does it seem like he’s selling medicine?"
Zhu Xingxing glared and punched Mr. Zhao a few times—the thudding sounds indicated the punches were quite heavy.
"It’s like playing the lute to a cow, stop talking nonsense. If you don’t drink it, give it to me. You don’t need supplements, you need to lose weight."
Mr. Zhao looked aggrieved and clutched the thermos tightly.
"Didn’t you hear Zhou Xiaozhou say that this was hand-drawn by Mr. Xia? It has great sentimental value."
Zhou Ning took a sip and, to his surprise, found the taste mild and acceptable. He nodded towards Xia Momo, thanked her, then set the cup on the table and picked up the report.
"Enough with the idle chatter, take the report to Director Xu."
Mr. Zhao took the report and headed out. After a short while, Xu Dayuan came back with Mr. Zhao, the report in his hand.
Xu Dayuan’s eyes were bloodshot, indicating that he hadn’t had a good rest that night.
"The evidence of Wang Hongwen killing Ho Dongmei is complete. I’ve asked Mr. Tao and Zhang Chunbo to check the bank information of Wang Hongwen and Wang Hongzhan. Also, we searched Wang Hongzhan’s home, used metal detectors, we were just short of ripping up the floor tiles, but we still haven’t found the gold bars.
"Their workplace won’t open till nine, and as for Wang Hongzhan’s car, it’s in their company’s garage. I’ll have them send a video for the inspection later. You can watch it. Honestly, I thought about sending Mr. Zhao on a trip, but the back-and-forth would take too much time."
Mr. Zhao shrank back and quickly waved his hands at Mr. Qu.
"No need for that, a video call will do. I’ll have Mr. Qu download the plugin right now. It’ll be ready in no time."
Xu Dayuan didn’t waste words. He pulled Zhou Ning aside, standing next to Liu Yongxin, who lit a cigarette and, for once, didn’t retort against Xu Dayuan, instead patting his shoulder.
"Director Xu, relax a bit. This string is wound too tight. Actually, the situation is fairly clear now. From a DNA perspective, Wang Hongwen meddled in Ho Dongmei’s marriage and Wang Jiahan is his child. Whether he was aware or whether Ho Dongmei knew, that’s hard to determine at the moment.
"However, Wang Hongwen’s approach to Ho Dongmei was definitely with a purpose, considering the kind of relationship he has with Wang Hongzhan’s family, and his grandfather Wang Chaozu knew the secret of the Wang family’s house construction.
"As for Wang Hongzhan, yesterday’s interrogation made him seem like a love-obsessed paranoid, but summing up all his words, he intentionally or unintentionally steered various information towards Ho Dongmei and Wang Hongwen—one possessing the password key, and the other interfering in their marriage and even becoming his son’s father.
"I don’t think this is something a man could tolerate, people in Shen City are already waiting to inspect the scene. Let’s wait for the final result."
Liu Yongxin also moved closer and nudged Xu Dayuan.
"Stop thinking about useless things. If you had that many gold bars, would it be safer to dispose of them or hide them away?"
Zhu Xingxing blurted out thoughtlessly without a second thought:
"I’m not stupid, I’d cash them in quickly, find some unknown place, get a fake ID for two hundred bucks, and sell it in a gold recycling shop, even if it means losing some value."
Mr. Zhao jabbed Zhu Xingxing, stretching his hand out in a threatening gesture and making a few gestures.
"Calling you stupid is an overestimation of your IQ. I watched the recording of Wang Hongzhan’s interrogation this morning; the man is careful with his words, his gaze, his demeanor—they all belong to an Oscar-worthy performance. This is the first time I’ve heard someone talk about being cuckolded as if it were a noble act.
"I don’t believe Zhu Xingxing’s scenario could happen to Wang Hongzhan. He surely hid them away well beforehand, in an absolutely safe place. If Wang Hongwen did get the gold, it’s more likely he would go to a different place to stir things up, or he might even buy a furnace to melt the gold down himself."
Xu Dayuan shook his head with furrowed brows and said:
"The financial accounts of Wang Hongwen and Wang Hongzhan have both been checked, with no unusual large transactions or sudden income. Wang Hongzhan’s account balance has reached 8.5 million yuan.
"This matches his claim of planning to buy a house in Shen City, and the company’s finance department has confirmed the legality of these earnings. So, it’s unlikely that Wang Hongzhan would cash in the gold if he had it."
Yang Xuetong rubbed his nose; he usually didn’t talk much, but this time he raised his hand and said:
"I’m all confused by what you’re saying. I remember at the special case meeting, Zhang Da said Wang Hongzhan flew back early the next morning. A direct flight from Shen City to Qindao takes three hours and ten minutes, and we’ve checked the train and plane ticketing information—how did he come back?
"And even if he did return, how could he calculate the exact time Wang Hongwen would go to commit murder? Then he immediately followed and killed Wang Jiahan, deliberately leaving Ho Dongmei’s bloodstains on the wooden slats outside the safe.
"If you suggest Wang Hongwen deliberately collaborated, I find that possible, but why on earth would Wang Hongwen cooperate with Wang Hongzhan? Guilt? Compunction for the sin of stealing another’s wife? And in the end, serve himself the death penalty on a silver platter?"
Zhou Ning gave Yang Xuetong a thumbs up for his words. With Zhou Ning’s encouragement, Yang Xuetong also shed his initial awkwardness, and on Xu Dayuan’s face appeared a smile—these questions had also troubled him.
What is solving a case?
It’s about piecing together an incomplete jigsaw puzzle using the remaining traces and clues of evidence, sketching out the original look of the puzzle through analysis, investigation, evidence gathering, and deduction.
Being too eager to solve a case only leads to more doubts, sinking deeper into confusion.
Xu Dayuan sighed deeply, looking at Yang Xuetong and Zhou Ning.
"This case is different from that insurance fraud case in Rudong City. I don’t think Wang Hongzhan and Wang Hongwen would collaborate for profit, given the deep-seated animosity their older generations harbored—basically a feud to the death, and with their complex relationships, they couldn’t possibly conspire together."
