Chapter 316: Chapter 310 Who?_1
Mr. Qu’s shout made Zhou Ning spin around abruptly. If the fingerprint comparison hadn’t been successful, Mr. Qu would definitely not have yelled like that. It seemed that among the known related individuals, someone indeed was the murderer.
"How many people?"
"Just one person, all fingerprints belong to the same individual. I just asked Mrs. Cui, and apart from these fingerprints, she also found more than twenty latex glove prints.
I asked Mrs. Cui if there was anything special about the latex glove prints, like club-shaped fingers, and she said that on the plastic sheet that Yu Guangyao and Zhang Qiujiang had padded, there were several latex glove prints that were a bit odd. When I mentioned this, she also realized it; it was club-shaped fingers."
Mr. Zhao slapped Mr. Qu on the back and leaned in close to the screen.
"You’re talking to yourself here. Who do these fingerprints belong to? Whose are they?"
Mr. Qu gave an awkward smile, scratched his head, and said:
"I got so excited that I forgot to say—the fingerprints are Li Hua’s. Plus, I observed the distribution of the fingerprints, all of them are on the inside of this plastic sheet. We didn’t pay attention at the time, this plastic sheet is double-layered, cylindrical in shape, it’s a material specifically used for fastening plastic greenhouses."
This discovery also took Zhou Ning by surprise. He had hoped to see the physical evidence, but it had been sent to the city bureau by Bai Hua before he saw any. Fortunately, Mrs. Cui was capable and found the issue. However, how did the fingerprints end up inside the interlayer?
Liu Yongxin leaned over, and from the look on Zhou Ning’s face, it was clear he didn’t understand. Liu Yongxin asked Mr. Zhao to help, picked up a disposable surgical gown, folded it, and shook it at Zhou Ning, saying:
"Look carefully. When this cylindrical plastic film is cut and folded, fingers are inserted inside. Operating with gloves on is impractical, it’s impossible to untwist, just like flipping through a book. You need to moisten it with saliva, then twist it like this. Unfortunately, it’s too old. If DNA testing had been done at the time, perhaps the murderer’s DNA could have been found."
Zhou Ning had a realization. He understood that cutting two layers together would easily cause them to separate, allowing water to get inside and compromising the integrity of the plastic sheet. They had to get the victim off the bridge, carry them into the car, and finally, onto the rooftop. Throughout the journey, the plastic sheet served as a wrapping to prevent blood from spilling on the ground.
To cut a suitable size, it also needed to be folded. No one saw anyone wearing latex gloves at the scene, but wearing gloves to buy plastic sheeting would have likely attracted attention.
Whipping out his phone, Zhou Ning directly dialed Xu Dayuan’s number, and it wasn’t long before Xu Dayuan arrived at the forensic autopsy room.
"Director Xu, look here, Mrs. Cui has found Li Hua’s fingerprints on the plastic sheet using a special method. On the plastic sheets of the second and third victims, she also found imprints of club-shaped fingers. I think it’s time to interrogate Li Hua. The murder weapon has been found too. Whether anything can be found upon examination—that depends on luck now.
Additionally, there’s Ai Qingsong, with the latex glove prints matching club-shaped fingers. These can be compared with his finger patterns. Although it cannot be considered conclusive evidence, there are very few people with such characteristics. A person who is seriously ill and only has a few months to live might tell the truth."
Zhou Ning pointed at the picture on Mr. Qu’s computer and continued:
"There’s one more thing. We found a label, and after processing the image, we saw that it was marked Hongqi Road No.29. Doctor Bai consulted with her father, and it’s within the demolition area, right next to Hongqi Road Community, and it’s owned by Haichanglong. I think it’s worth taking a look there."
Xu Dayuan smacked his head.
"No wonder the search Zhenshan and his team conducted didn’t uncover anything unusual. It seems our analysis of the location was slightly off. Okay, I’ll make arrangements for the arrest now. We can investigate the scene again tomorrow. As for Ai Qingsong, I’ll contact Mr. Huang now to see if we can bring him back."
Liu Yufei raised her hand.
"Boss, I want to meet with Ai Qingsong in Hushang City. You can make the necessary contacts here. If his health allows, we’ll bring him back for questioning. If not, I’ll interrogate him on the spot and link up with you via video. What do you think?"
Xu Dayuan thought for a moment before nodding.
"Have Mr. Zeng assist you, and take a couple more people with you. Get the hospital to cooperate. I’ll have Li Chunbo issue a letter for assistance and send the arrest warrant to you later. But given his health condition, he can’t really be detained. I’ll report this later."
Liu Yufei nodded, dialed Mr. Zeng’s phone, and walked out while talking. Mr. Bai scratched his head to one side.
"Why didn’t the boss let me go too?"
"What would you do there, cause trouble? Are you capable of interrogating or assisting Yufei? Don’t just stand there. Hurry up and take the items prepared here by Director Zhou to the laboratory, contact them on the way, and make sure everything is ready. Doing what you can do is the way to help, you know?"
Mr. Bai nodded, not daring to speak further. He was well aware of his limitations and tended to cause more harm than help, so he quickly kept quiet.
Mr. Zhao and Yang Xuetong had already boxed up all the items that needed examination, including the murder weapons and various other items. Of course, they hadn’t missed the plastic sheets used to wrap the weapons, carefully packing everything and noting the content for examination.
Sun Gaotie and Zhu Xingxing assisted in taking the items away. With only a few people left in the room, Xu Dayuan glanced at the door number, his brows furrowed.
"Finding Li Hua’s fingerprints is quite surprising to me as she hasn’t caught much of my attention. But it’s Zhu Yufen who feels a bit off to me when talking about Zhu Kelin, like there’s a deep-seated hatred within her."
Liu Yongxin nodded.
"I feel the same way. Zhu Kelin brought that child back; we should also do a comparison with a blood test."
Hearing this, Zhou Ning was stunned. Liu Yongxin, seeing this, gave Zhou Ning a push.
"What’s wrong with you, apprentice? Have you thought of something?"
Zhou Ning pressed his lips tightly together, and Xu Dayuan spoke first:
"Given the progress of our investigation, if you’ve thought of something, just say it. We’re not in a meeting where we need to talk about evidence. Tell me your thoughts, and let me decide, isn’t that enough?"
"I remember Zhu Yufen said that after her aunt took her in, her aunt didn’t treat her well, just like a nanny, except she changed her surname to become an adopted daughter of the Zhu family. Then her cousin died, her aunt committed suicide, and Zhu Kelin went mad at her. He subjected her to all sorts of bizarre practices like drinking talisman water for over half a year."
After that, they brought back a child who was less than a year old. Zhu Yufen spoke very calmly, but I sensed that she was filled with hatred, not from the start, but from when she started talking about how her aunt treated her poorly.
I always felt that this child was related to Zhu Yufen, but that seemed absurd and there was no evidence, just her gaze full of hatred."
Liu Yongxin stared wide-eyed and leaned in close to Zhou Ning, speaking in a volume that the three of them could hear:
"Wait, are you saying that Zhu Kelin had an illicit relationship with Zhu Yufen, so her aunt treated her badly, but didn’t dare to express her anger. After her son died, she couldn’t bear it anymore and chose to commit suicide, while Zhu Kelin thought it was because he didn’t have money, which led to his son’s death and his wife’s suicide.
Because of this, he started unscrupulously and managed to gain control of the Haichanglong company... wait, so the child they adopted later could be Zhu Yufen’s? It’s a bit confusing, my brain can’t keep up."
Zhou Ning rubbed his nose. Actually, he only had one idea, and it wasn’t as melodramatic as Liu Yongxin’s imagination. But speaking of which, it somewhat made sense. She married briefly, couldn’t maintain the marriage, and only had one child.
Xu Dayuan raised his hand.
"It’s a bit confusing, let me sort things out. Zhu Kelin’s son and this high school kid, Zhu Yufen, might both be theirs. Are you suspecting Zhu Yufen was also involved in this?"
Zhou Ning held his forehead, feeling that the speculation was getting a little out of hand.
"I don’t know, I just suspect that Zhu Yufen isn’t clueless. The deaths of these three people and the affair with Haichanglong, she might not be involved, but she must be aware of the murderer’s identity, and might even have helped them."
Xu Dayuan nodded.
"No need for more talk, I’ll have someone go find these two kids and take their blood samples. The people who came before, did they all leave blood samples?"
Zhou Ning affirmed with a sound.
"Yes, but how can we compare without Zhu Kelin’s DNA?"
Xu Dayuan smiled.
"You know what, we actually have it. When Li Libo came over, he mentioned dealing with a traffic accident, and among the injured was this Zhu Kelin. Their company sued the other driver, accusing them of not calling the police or giving aid, but fleeing the scene directly.
The other party requested a DNA comparison, and on the driver’s body was Zhu Kelin’s blood. The incident occurred in June 2011. I’ll have Cui Lili retrieve the archive and then compare it. You ask Zhu Xingxing and Sun Gaotie to go along, take the blood samples and send them for testing."
Zhou Ning hurried to make the phone call. As soon as he hung up, Mr. Zhao came running back with a wide grin.
"Do we still need to send them for testing? Should I call Mr. Bai back?"
Liu Yongxin waved his hand.
"Don’t just stand there making smart remarks. The samples Mr. Bai’s sending for testing are urgent, both for DNA and for analyzing the residual traces on them, also considering how old they are, there’s no telling whether we can retrieve any useful information. As for these people, the results came back within six hours; just have one of them go there later."
Zhou Ning looked toward Xu Dayuan. Zhu Yufen’s child was originally named Fang Yunhai, but later changed his surname and was called Zhu Yunhai, attending high school and boarding at Number One High School. This kid was easy to find. The son Zhu Kelin brought back was adopted in ’92, meaning he was born in either 1991 or 1992, aged between 20-21, probably attending university.
"Mr. Qu, check the identity information of Zhu Kelin’s son, and see where he’s studying?"
Mr. Qu quickly got to work, searching. Upon seeing the address, he seemed surprised and quickly turned the computer toward the others.
"Found him, his name is Zhu Yunping, born on February 1st, 1992. He’s studying at Qin University, a junior in the Computer Science department. Do you need a contact number?"
Mr. Zhao burst into laughter.
"Oh, look at that, the search has brought us right back to our own den, who else could it be but him?"
Mr. Qu quickly briefed him, and Mr. Zhao looked utterly bemused, his face full of gossiping curiosity. However, seeing the three of them had no desire to talk, he poked Zhou Ning’s arm.
"Get Mr. Xia to contact him. Hasn’t she been supervising students lately? It should be easy to find an excuse to take some blood."
Xu Dayuan and Liu Yongxin both looked at Zhou Ning, who pulled out his phone and called Doctor Lu. He didn’t want Xia Momo involved in this.
He explained the situation to Doctor Lu, who readily agreed and even thought up an excuse for Zhou Ning, volunteering to take care of the testing as well. After hanging up, Liu Yongxin patted Zhou Ning on the shoulder.
"You’re just worried about Mr. Xia, afraid she’ll be resented and retaliated against, aren’t you?"
Mr. Zhao leaned in between Zhou Ning and Liu Yongxin, grinning as he spoke:
"Mr. Liu is just envious. Let me tell you something serious, I’m not waiting until tomorrow, I’m going to take people to check out Hongqi Road No.29 right now."
