Chapter 506: Chapter 477 Eyewitness_1
This sentence, like a shot of adrenaline, drew everyone in instantly.
Director Zhou, do we need to scrape off the wall paint?"
"Boss, let me do it!"
"Is it this spot, Zhou Xiaozhou?"
The barrage of questions overwhelmed Zhou Ning, who waved his hand to scatter the crowd. He stared intently at the spot on the wall and reached out to Mr. Zhao.
"Luminol reagent, spray this area."
Without waiting for Zhou Ning to act, Mr. Zhao had already grabbed the reagent and rushed forward, beginning to spray the entire wall, especially the spot Zhou Ning had indicated.
Actually, from the wall, one could only see a faint series of slightly darker shadows. To say they were bloodstains, Fang Mu was not entirely certain, but based on experience, Zhou Ning certainly had the authority to speak. Fang Mu, curbing his curiosity, watched quietly.
As the Luminol was sprayed and the wall paint thoroughly wetted, four spindle-shaped fluorescent traces soon appeared.
Mr. Zhao whistled, his small eyes crinkling into a narrow slit with a smile.
"I didn’t expect to find blood traces so easily."
Seeing the traces of the blood droplets, Zhou Ning didn’t show much joy but instead frowned slightly.
"Don’t celebrate too early. According to the injury on the victim’s head, there was only one blow to the temple area, and these four drops of blood seem to have a direction, as if splashed from below upwards. If the victim’s head had been bleeding continuously, it would have been discovered in the corridor long ago.
It also couldn’t have caused this kind of injury. Scrape off the wall paint and take samples. Then search carefully. I want to find brushed, dripped, and pooled bloodstain residues. The doorframes, the walls beside the bed, and the window sills—these are the key spots. Let’s just pray that the decorators didn’t deliberately sand them down."
Mr. Yang was the first to react, calling out to Sun Gaotie to hurry towards the two bedrooms. Mr. Zhao sighed, shaking his head as he walked to the entrance, lifting a magnifying glass to carefully examine the door.
Zhou Ning stood in the living room, looking at the layout of the rooms for a moment before closing his eyes. Fang Mu seemed about to say something to Zhou Ning, but Mr. Zhao stopped him with a gesture, raising a gloved hand just millimeters from Fang Mu’s mouth.
"Zhou Xiaozhou is trying to put himself in the killer’s shoes during the crime. Don’t interrupt him now. Let him get a feel for the layout of the room. Based on the injuries suffered by the victim, it will be easier to find the locations of the remaining evidence."
Fang Mu’s eyes widened in disbelief.
"Eastern sorcery? Is it really that mystical?"
Mr. Zhao looked at Fang Mu as if sizing him up.
"It’s not Mr. Dui. I see you as sharp and spirited, a well-educated professional. Eastern sorcery? How could you ask such a question?
The wounds on the victim’s body have a chronological order. Whether the marks were caused by impact, restraint or violent dragging, compared with the items at the scene, all these have to be considered comprehensively to make findings."
Fang Mu rubbed his nose and cautiously stepped back, pointing in the direction of the household directly across the door.
"Then I’ll take a look across the door. There’s so little here, just two wooden beds and a table—how does anyone live here!"
Mr. Zhao nodded, and Fang Mu left the room.
At this time, Zhou Ning was still standing with his eyes closed.
Before him, he visualized the dimly lit guard’s lamp. Beneath that light, He Jiahong ran into the stairwell, pausing halfway up the first floor to catch her breath, leaning on the brickwork patterns. She peered through the cracks toward the entrance of the complex, seemingly to check if anyone was following her. Relieved not to see anyone, she exhaled.
Upon reaching the second floor, just as she inserted her key into the lock of the western household, a knife was pressed to her neck. Simultaneously, her hair was grabbed from the top, and a man threatened her to keep quiet or he’d go in and kill her mother, demanding her to drop the key.
He Jiahong did as she was told, gently placing the key between the two doors, trying to make no sound, as she didn’t want these people to harm Zhang Qiuju.
The man then yanked her hair and handcuffed her hands behind her back. Perhaps at that moment she was bound at the wrists. She was carried directly to the rooftop, where she was threatened and enticed; He Jiahong fought back with all her might. Her shoes were knocked off, and she was hit on the head and fell, but the bleeding wasn’t severe, and the assailants didn’t think she was badly injured.
Seeing her collapse, the men didn’t back away but instead carried her to the fifth floor and raped her in turns. Of course, during the descent, He Jiahong’s arms and shoulders hit the doorframes and walls, leaving abrasions.
During the assault, He Jiahong might have regained consciousness, but with severe head trauma and increased intracranial bleeding, she may have experienced delirium and vomiting. The men panicked and quickly left the scene.
He Jiahong’s vital signs gradually faded, and in her struggle, she might have fallen off the bed or tried to crawl, but she still lost consciousness. An hour or two later, when the men returned and found that she wasn’t breathing, they threw her body down from the building, locked the room, and left.
Zhou Ning opened his eyes and glanced at the position of the bed in the room. Mr. Yang had already sprayed the walls and floor with the reagent. Seeing Zhou Ning looking over, he shook his head slightly, obviously finding nothing. As for Sun Gaotie in another room, he too gave a hand wave to indicate no discovery.
Leaving the eastern household, Zhou Ning headed straight for the western household where Fang Mu was. Upon entering, he smelled a faint stench of decay mingled with the scent of latex paint. He observed the room for a moment, walked to the larger bedroom, and nudged the foot of the bed slightly.
Under the foot of the bed was a dirty circle that looked like a black eye. Clearly, although someone had cleaned the place, the bed had not been moved. Just as Zhou Ning was about to turn around to check the head of the bed, he noticed the joints in the floorboards seemed somewhat darker.
He quickly knelt down and sprayed Luminol on it, revealing a fluorescent glow after a moment.
Zhou Ning was somewhat excited and quickly stepped back, spraying the area extending to the doorway with Luminol reagent. As he sprayed, several fluorescent traces appeared, seemingly fingerprints mixed with bloodstains, and on the bedroom door frame, even a layer-like fluorescent trace could be found.
"Mr. Zhao, come here quickly, the primary crime scene is this room," he called out.
With that shout, everyone hastened over. Seeing the traces on the ground and the door frame, smiles finally appeared on their faces.
"Wow, looks like we found it. It must be right here, let’s get to work. Spray carefully all door frames, handles, walls, and floors, and don’t miss any details," Mr. Zhao said.
At Mr. Zhao’s words, Mr. Yang and Sun Gaotie quickly nodded and busily set about their work, attaching scale rulers, sampling, and taking photographs.
After the bustle, Fang Mu came over.
"Director Zhou, can we confirm this is the primary crime scene? Shall I report to Liu Da now?" he asked.
Zhou Ning nodded.
"Yes, we’ll wrap up here shortly and send the evidence for examination as soon as possible. Then we head straight to Jiulaofeng Park," he said.
Fang Mu paused.
"Ah, aren’t we heading to the auto repair shop first?" he asked.
Zhou Ning shook his head.
"We have already provided the information to Liu Da. If things are progressing smoothly on her end, she should have given us feedback by now. No news means that the person is not there or is completely uncooperative, so rushing over there would be pointless. On the other hand, the diatoms in the victim’s lungs have not yet been confirmed."
Fang Mu had no objections at this point, as both Director Xu and Liu Da trusted Zhou Ning immensely, and his abilities were indeed impressive; naturally, he respected Zhou Ning’s opinion.
Once everything was organized, all the samples were packed into a box; Mr. Zhao even dismantled part of the floor. To their surprise, they found a palm-sized bloodstain in the floor crevices and some dried, unidentifiable fragments.
"Zhou Xiaozhou, the site examination is finished, but with He Jiahong’s head being smashed so severely, why is there so little blood?"
"There was severe internal bleeding in the skull, and the external bleeding was due to abrasion, so only part of it bled externally. I estimate there were also bloodstains on the original bed sheets in this room, but they’ve been dealt with. If it had been the new type of composite flooring, maybe even these remnants wouldn’t have been found," he explained.
Mr. Zhao nodded.
"No significant traces on the walls were found. It indeed seems to be thoroughly cleaned here. Can we contact the landlord now and ask him to provide information about the tenant?" he asked.
Zhou Ning looked at Fang Mu and smiled.
"Mr. Dui has already made contact, and Ma Liang has gone to the hospital. Alright, let’s head downstairs quickly and make our way to Jiulaofeng Park," he said.
Without wasting any words, everyone headed downstairs. As they reached the second floor, the door opposite to He Hongjian’s house closed slightly, creating a small noise. Zhou Ning glanced over, and Fang Mu went straight over to knock on the door. A young man looking like a student opened the door and asked warily through the security door:
"Who are you looking for?"
Fang Mu showed his police badge.
"We are from the Qindao City Bureau Special Case Team, investigating the case where He Jiahong was murdered. I’d like to ask you a few questions," he said.
No sooner had he finished speaking, a woman approached and opened the inner door wider, her face showing hesitation and vigilance.
"We didn’t see or hear anything, so stop asking and leave quickly," she said.
Her words, however, did not make Fang Mu back down.
"The chief of Zhuquan Police Station who originally investigated this case, along with the forensic doctor who performed the autopsy, have been suspended and are under investigation. Of course, there are others not suspended who will still face subsequent actions. I understand we’re all parents here; that girl was an only child, just killed like that. Anything you could tell us would be helpful, right?" he reasoned.
The young man looked at his mother, that look pleading for permission, but the woman bit her lip and still shook her head.
"Stop asking. My child is only in the second year of high school, and we can’t possibly leave this place anytime soon. If I said anything, once your special case team leaves, we would have to face the consequences alone. Just treat us as uncooperative citizens; I have my reasons," she said, moving to close the door.
Fang Mu, quick as lightning, had already stuck his hand in, grabbing the door frame of the inner door.
"Hold on, I understand what you’re saying and don’t want to force you to do anything. This is my number. Today, just pretend you never saw us; you can call this number later or send a message to tell me what happened," he said, showing understanding.
The woman glanced at the card in Fang Mu’s hand, took it, and Fang Mu didn’t stop her from closing the door this time. From inside, the boy’s voice could be heard.
"Mom, why won’t you let me speak? We heard everything! You stopped me from calling the police then, and that student sister is already dead. She’s gone. We couldn’t prevent it then; can’t we at least speak up now?" he questioned.
Fang Mu exchanged a look with Zhou Ning, who raised his finger to his lips, gesturing for silence. Everyone stepped back toward the first floor, and soon after, the door opened. The young man pushed the security door open and waved at them, lowering his voice to speak.
"Officer, please come in. My mom agreed to let me talk to you!" he said, inviting them inside.
