Chapter 421: Chapter 398 Cunning Green Tea_1
November 7, 2012, 20:33
Inside the forensic doctor’s office at the city bureau, Mr. Pang cleaned up the lunchboxes he had used, Zou Jialong opened the window for ventilation, and Liu Yongxin patted his shoulder, lowering his voice to speak.
"Close the window after a while, everyone’s hair is still wet from just showering; it’s easy to catch a cold at this time."
Zou Jialong hurriedly closed the window a bit more and turned to look at Zhou Ning, who was standing in front of the whiteboard, on the other side, and was listing all the clues and evidence discovered today, one by one.
As for Mr. Qu, he was typing away on the computer next to them. After all, the hardware here was limited, so only a scan of the skull’s state could be done.
The door was knocked, Mr. Zhao stood up to open it, and Huang Youdao and Wu Chunming walked in. Seeing them, everyone crowded around, with Zhou Ning also looking puzzled.
Logically speaking, Huang Youdao and Wu Chunming were supposed to be interrogating at this time. Why had they come over? Was the interrogation not going smoothly?
Huang Youdao nodded to everyone, took off his hat, and only after sitting down with Zhou Ning did he speak:
"Tell me about the findings at the scene."
Zhou Ning hadn’t seen Da Wang’er and wondered why he hadn’t reported, but since they were all here, he still had to brief them on the situation.
"In the middle of Yang Liang’s greenhouse, between the leaves and the side of the greenhouse, we found blood spatter, and there were also traces of blood pool seepage underneath the soil layer; this blood looked very fresh;
In the septic tank, a female skull was found, and from the wear on her teeth, it was analyzed that the victim was under 25 years of age. The hyoid bone was fractured, so it can be confirmed that the victim was strangled to death, then decapitated, and afterwards dismembered;
In the septic tank, phalanges, metatarsal bones, and carpal bones were found, along with intact and broken pieces of tissue, totaling forty-seven pieces, which could be assembled into four hands and feet, as well as an axe and two kitchen knives, all of which have been sent for examination;
Besides, we broke open the newly hardened ground in Yang Liang’s courtyard and cleared the sand filling the cellar. Inside, we discovered the partially skeletonized body of a female aged between 40-50, who had died about two months ago. Below the neck, we found a double-strand of No. 8 iron wire, and the unwound part had spiral marks.
Take a look at this photo. I believe that after the victim was faint from the iron wire wound around her neck, she was discarded in the cellar. It seems the murderer panicked or lacked the strength, and even though the victim briefly came to, the murderer just filled the cellar with sand, suffocating her to death even if she unwound the wire.
Regarding the further clearing work beneath the cellar, we didn’t continue due to poor lighting and everyone being too exhausted. We will continue tomorrow morning; after all, we’re still waiting for the examination reports. As for this additional female victim, we also need to conduct analysis."
After listening, the expressions of shock on the faces of Huang Youdao and Wu Chunming lingered. After a while, Huang Youdao finally sat up straight to say:
"We haven’t thoroughly investigated the case of Fu Chunyu, and now another body has been found. However, according to your analysis, the time of death for this female victim is much earlier than that of Fu Chunyu. So why, after killing another, did the murderer not bury her in the cellar as well?
Why all the trouble with dismemberment, tossing parts into the moat, and throwing the head and limbs into the septic tank? I really can’t figure it out. You mention a grudge, but throughout the lengthy interrogation, I realized that Yang Liang’s resentment towards Fu Chunyu isn’t that strong.
I asked him repeatedly, and in the end, he said that if he hadn’t been with a lawyer and the village committee members when going to his house, he wouldn’t have become so infuriated. If you talk nicely with him, what can’t be given? After all, it’s his son’s child, his own flesh and blood.
Let alone the city house, if this old house gets demolished one day, could her share be smaller? After all, he’s already lost his son; it wouldn’t make sense for him not to care about his grandchild. He felt uncomfortable because of the lawyer, and words led to more words until they had a confrontation, and even more so, he followed to the house in the city.
However, after returning from the city, he hadn’t seen Fu Chunyu again. I believe this account is very credible; the elderly in the village all care about face. But with the appearance of the body of this female victim aged forty or fifty, I’m starting to doubt Yang Liang’s earlier confession."
Zhou Ning thought for a moment before raising his head to look at Wu Chunming.
"Earlier, I gave Mr. Pang the swabs and test tubes for you. Did you sample Yang Liang’s tricycle?"
Wu Chunming listened attentively and made continuous notes. When Zhou Ning suddenly asked him, he was startled, slapped his thigh, and jumped up from the chair.
"I messed up. I was only thinking about the interrogation and forgot all about that. I’m going to do it right now!"
Huang Youdao’s face darkened, showing that he was anything but lightly angered. Mr. Zhao approached and held Wu Chunming’s shoulder.
"Mr. Wu, you sit and talk. We should go down and take the samples instead; we excel at this stuff. Later, just arrange for someone to bring us directly to the technical department at the city bureau. But where is the tricycle?"
Wu Chunming pointed out the window to Mr. Zhao and then dejectedly sat back down. Mr. Zhao left with others, and Zhou Ning glanced over to see Mr. Qu seemed to be finished and walked over.
"How is it, has the victim’s skull been reconstructed?"
Mr. Qu nodded.
"It’s done. Based on the restored image and your age estimation, I’ve searched and found three pieces of information. Mr. Huang and his team can take a look at these."
Mr. Huang and Wu Chunming hurried over to look. After a glance at the information of these three women, they quickly took note. Wu Chunming, with his keen eyes, pointed at one and said:
"Look at this 47-year-old, Feng Shujuan. She’s from Heping Zhuang, which isn’t far from Qitai Village One, although not under the same local government. I will inquire with the local village committee and their police station now to see if there’s been a report of a missing person."
Wu Chunming rushed off to make a call. In reality, Zhou Ning knew that Wu Chunming also knew he hadn’t performed well and now needed to make a good impression.
Zhou Ning glanced at the computer nearby, which was still searching through surveillance footage at high speed, occasionally pausing at a comparison frame for a second before skipping. Zhou Ning understood this was part of the software’s development, performing surveillance comparisons.
"So, there’s still no sign of Fu Chunyu on the surveillance, right?"
"Yes, we can see Fu Chunyu leaving the textile district at 16:22, crossing the junction here. She was blocked by a vehicle for two minutes, but this isn’t a bus stop. I’m certain she didn’t take the bus, just don’t know which car she took and where she went.
However, at the eastern intersection, I’ve searched through all the vehicles that passed by within seven minutes of that time to check their directions, but the volume is quite substantial. I think the software needs at least seven or eight hours to analyze everything."
At this moment, Wu Chunming returned with an excited expression on his face.
"It’s somewhat good news. The police station had no report of missing persons, but after contacting the village committee, the head of the village said Feng Shujuan has lived alone for many years, her son and daughter both work in the south and only come back once every year or two. The last time they saw her was in mid-August; she hasn’t been seen since then.
I got them to ask her neighbors, and they just called back. The neighbors said they didn’t see her leave with luggage, nor did she mention going to visit her children. When they went to borrow something from her home on August 16, they found that she wasn’t there; both the yard and front door were locked, but the windows were left open.
I asked the neighbors who Feng Shujuan was particularly close with. The neighbors said she had been going out frequently for the past six months, leasing her land and claimed to be doing odd jobs outside. They described her as secretive and noted her preference for dressing up more than before, especially wearing red clothes."
On hearing the last sentence, Mr. Huang’s eyes lit up.
"You go to Heping Zhuang now, take the village committee people with you, and find Feng Shujuan’s home. Look for her toothbrush, hair, and such inside the house. Actually, let’s have Director Zhou send a professional along.
After collecting the samples, send them directly for testing to see if she is the deceased found in the cellar. As for the rest, have a rest, and yes, collect the blood samples of Yang Liang and Zhang Hongwei for testing too. If there’s DNA found on the wire pulled from the septic tank and the cellar, we’ll have hit the jackpot."
Zhou Ning nodded at Mr. Wang, who went without a word to gather the items needed, while Zhou Ning turned to Mr. Huang to ask:
"Has Zhang Hongwei confessed to anything?"
"He just claims he’s innocent, saying he was upset after being dumped. When he interacted with Fu Chunyu, he felt pity for her—a woman whose husband had died in a car accident and then found out she was pregnant—out of concern for his friend, he desired to live with her.
But after he had taken care of the property formalities, his usefulness came to an end, and to his surprise, Fu Chunyu broke up with him first, saying she didn’t want to put too much pressure on him, as his parents were against it, and it was unclear what to do with the child, as leaving it with Yang Liang to raise was not an option.
So, in a fit of anger, he left Dayao City. Luckily for him, a friend introduced him to a subcontracting project—it didn’t pay well, and most people didn’t want to take it on because it’s quite a hassle—so he took over and went to Shen City."
"Regarding his whereabouts from October 20 to October 27, we had the colleagues in Shen City conduct a search. No travel information, including trains or flights, was found for him. I believe he doesn’t have a strong motive for involvement in the case, so we temporarily released him, but we’ve informed him that he cannot leave Dayao City for the time being."
Zhou Ning’s brows were furrowed; the interrogation seemed flimsy, but he caught a key point.
"Wait, out of concern for a friend? So, you’re saying Zhang Hongwei is friends with Yang Guochang?"
Mr. Huang nodded, indicating he had noticed it too.
"I asked him right away. Zhang Hongwei is Yang Guochang’s elementary school classmate, and they used to be best playmates but lost contact over the years. They connected again at a class reunion during the Spring Festival, where the married classmates came with their spouses.
According to Zhang Hongwei, Fu Chunyu stood out, not like the girls from the Ludong Region; her small frame made her look exceptionally delicate and gentle, so he was deeply impressed.
After Yang Guochang’s accident, Fu Chunyu notified his friends using Yang Guochang’s phone. Upon hearing this, Zhang Hongwei actively helped with the funeral arrangements, doing most of the running around, which led to increased contact and developing feelings.
He initiated the offer to take care of Fu Chunyu, conveniently volunteering to help her fight for her rights because the property couldn’t remain under the dead man’s name. Fu Chunyu was very reliant on him.
It wasn’t until they broke up that he felt Fu Chunyu was a calculating green tea type, merely feigning weakness all along. She had used his local connections to acquire property, then changed her attitude. Of course, it wasn’t an outright confrontation, just an excuse that his parents disapproved."
This narrative seemed watertight, yet Zhou Ning couldn’t help feeling that something was off.
