Chapter 62: Chapter 62: Eightfold Fast Forward_1
Xu Dayuan seemed to have forgotten that, Zhou Ning said in a hushed voice.
"There were traces of fluorescent paint found on the victim’s shoulder, and I would like to compare them with Shen Weijie’s shoe soles, because the action of striking the victim’s head leads me to suspect it was done by a left-handed person, and Shen Guanlin just now received the report with his right hand."
Xu Dayuan smacked his forehead.
"I forgot about that. Why didn’t you remind me earlier? But couldn’t he have changed his shoes?"
"Let’s take a look first. When we caught him, I noticed his shoes were expensive. Besides, people don’t change their winter shoes that often. Even if he did change them, we could still search his house."
Xu Dayuan nodded and instructed another detective to fetch the shoes.
In a moment, Mr. Zhao and the detective returned, each carrying two pairs of shoes. Seeing Zhou Ning looking over, Mr. Zhao bared his teeth in a smile and said:
"I heard from Wang Jianhua that you wanted to compare Shen Weijie’s shoes, so I brought all the men’s shoes from the Prado. They’re all expensive brands. If something got stuck on them, I suppose he wouldn’t be keen to throw them away."
Zhou Ning smiled satisfactorily and spread a large piece of plastic cloth on the table. As the two set down the shoes, Zhou Ning put on gloves and examined each one. Upon inspecting the second right shoe, he found wiping marks on the bottom and edges, and his latex gloves were stained black upon touching it.
Zhou Ning felt a surge of excitement and immediately examined the sole closely. There were three raised lines from top to bottom, consistent with the marks on the victim’s shoulder.
However, it appeared that the sole of the shoe had been forcefully rubbed on sand and soil, as both the raised parts and indentations were embedded with sandy particles. He used tweezers to gently pick at it, and the sand fell away, revealing a white viscous substance in the crevices.
"Turn off the lights!"
Mr. Zhao swiftly shut off the lights in the room, and it instantly darkened. Only the one-way glass allowed light to come through. Zhou Ning held up the sole of the shoe towards the direction of the glass, and the white substance indeed reflected light.
Not only Zhou Ning, but Mr. Zhao and Xu Dayuan also breathed a sigh of relief.
"It’s really fluorescent paint. It seems that Shen Weijie stepped on the victim’s back."
Zhou Ning nodded, took a sample, put it in a plastic box, and handed it to Mr. Zhao.
"It can be sent for comparison now. If this is a perfect match, the evidence of Shen Weijie’s murder is conclusive and irrefutable."
Xu Dayuan looked up at Zhou Ning in some surprise.
"You think the murderer is Shen Weijie? Why not Shen Guanlin?"
"This is just my opinion. After all, from the existing evidence, the victim was suddenly hit in the back of the head, and the strength and height of the assailant are not much different from Mr. Zhao’s. Otherwise, such severe skull fractures wouldn’t be possible. These are more consistent with Shen Weijie. As for disposing of the body, that was where the two collaborated. Shen Guanlin’s confession earlier, I think, was more about protecting his son."
Zhou Ning’s words made everyone pause and think—it made a lot of sense.
As these words left his lips, a familiar beep sounded in Zhou Ning’s ear. A line of text popped up on the transparent screen in front of him.
Does the bound person wish to submit this intermediate task?
The appearance of this sentence meant at least that the evidence Zhou Ning needed to find was complete, and the fluorescent paint matched perfectly. He let out a breath and clicked to submit the task.
1. Victim’s identity: The victim, Zhang Jiahui, female, 24 years old, a surgical nurse at Qindao City Eighth People’s Hospital, remaining task time 29:12 minutes;
2. Murderer’s identity: Main culprit Shen Weijie, male, 25 years old, an orthopedic doctor at an affiliated hospital; accomplice Shen Guanlin, male, 58 years old, director of the anesthesia department at Qindao City Eighth People’s Hospital; fingerprints, bloodstains, murder weapon, fracture marks, footprints, and other evidence 100% found, remaining task time 13:43 minutes.
Congratulations to the bound person, Zhou Ning, for completing the intermediate task. Would you like to draw rewards or make a selection now?
There were two options: yes and no. Zhou Ning clicked no, and the writing on the large screen disappeared as if nothing had ever been there.
Right then, Mr. Zhao nudged Zhou Ning forcefully.
"Don’t space out; the boss is talking to you!"
Zhou Ning hurriedly raised his head, relieved that he hadn’t entered the lottery draw just then, otherwise, he would have been caught in that closed-off state again.
"Sorry, I was thinking about the case."
Xu Dayuan waved his hand, pondering as he spoke.
"According to Shen Guanlin’s timeline and various pieces of evidence, Shen Guanlin met with the victim during the two time periods on the 21st—the 38 minutes and the 22 minutes without surveillance—and was discovered by Shen Weijie, which triggered a conflict.
Afterwards, he didn’t immediately dispose of the body. Instead, there was a period of time in between. The victim’s head wound had clotted blood, and the bleeding was substantial, indicating a self-healing process. Therefore, the most likely scenario is the 38 minutes after leaving the hospital at six-thirty."
Zhou Ning and Mr. Zhao both nodded in agreement, with Mr. Zhao quick to speak up eagerly:
"He returned with takeaway food from outside. With 38 minutes, he only bought one meal. That’s enough time to eat two meals. I think we should check Shen Weijie’s Prado’s dashcam for that time period.
No...restore the deleted dashcam content. I’ll go see if the tech department has recovered it yet."
Xu Dayuan laughed.
"Not bad, Mr. Zhao. After following Dr. Zhou for some time, your brain seems to have sharpened."
Mr. Zhao pursed his lips in dissatisfaction.
"The leader really doesn’t know how to give compliments. But why are you giving Dr. Zhou a nickname? Though, Zhou Xiaozhou does sound pretty good."
Xu Dayuan was taken aback and kicked Mr. Zhao’s rear.
"Stop blabbering and go get the dashcam."
Mr. Zhao muttered something under his breath and quickly darted out, as if he saw a glimmer of hope in the case, his footsteps much lighter.
"To be honest, Zhou Xiaozhou does sound better than Zhou Ning or Dr. Zhou," Mr. Zhao said.
That remark made the other two detectives in the room burst out laughing, and Zhou Ning helplessly looked at Xu Dayuan. How could a leader be so unreliable, even giving him a nickname?
But what could he do about it? He sneakily glanced into the interrogation room—He Chunyang was still talking nonstop, while Shen Guanlin had lost his previous composure and was clutching at the DNA comparison report.
While everyone was laughing, Mr. Zhao had already returned, holding a laptop in his arms—presumably, someone had recovered the deleted content from the dashcam. He placed it on the desk, pointing to a timestamp: January 21, 2011, 18:30. He immediately clicked on the eightfold fast-forward playback.
As the driving footage flashed on the screen and two headlights illuminated the road ahead, the car soon stopped. Mr. Zhao hurriedly clicked on the normal playback speed; the car shook slightly, and then reversed a few meters. In the corner of the dashcam view, two people were seen shielding their eyes from the light, looking towards the direction of the headlights.
"It’s Zhang Jiahui and Shen Guanlin!"
Mr. Zhao shouted excitedly, and Xu Dayuan glared at him fiercely.
"We can see, we are not blind."
Mr. Zhao covered his mouth and quickly turned his attention back to the laptop screen.
The headlights switched to high beam, but the lights were not turned off. The entangled Zhang Jiahui and Shen Guanlin released their grip on each other. Shen Guanlin touched his neck, blood visible on his right hand, as he shouted something viciously at Zhang Jiahui.
The two argued for a few more words, and then Shen Weijie stormed out of the car, wrench in hand, screaming at them. Zhang Jiahui stood with her hands on her hips, pointing and gesturing nonstop at the two men, and even spit on the ground. Shen Weijie, furious, was about to rush over.
Shen Guanlin blocked the wrench with his right hand and cursed at Shen Weijie. Zhang Jiahui, smiling, adjusted her hair and took off her long down jacket, pointing at the bloodstains on it before saying something to the two men and then throwing it on Shen Guanlin.
Zhang Jiahui turned to walk away, but seemed to step on something. She slipped, fell to one knee, losing one of her slippers, her hands bracing against the ground.
Just as Shen Guanlin looked at Zhang Jiahui and let go of the wrench, Shen Weijie charged forward, raising the wrench with both hands and swinging it down onto the back of Zhang Jiahui’s head.
Shen Guanlin froze for a moment, then rushed to hold Shen Weijie. Seeing the victim motionless, fear appeared on both their faces, but the wrench was still lodged in Zhang Jiahui’s head. Shen Weijie stepped forward, his right foot pressing on Zhang Jiahui’s shoulder, and only then did he pull the wrench out.
Shen Guanlin crouched down to check Zhang Jiahui’s breathing and carotid artery. Shen Weijie returned to the car with the wrench, and when he appeared again, the wrench was gone. He was holding several large yellow medical waste bags, and after gesturing with Shen Guanlin for a while,
Shen Weijie went back to the car again. Then, the two used Zhang Jiahui’s down jacket to wrap her up, lifted her into the car, and the next footage was the car driving away.
Xu Dayuan waved his hand, his voice shaking as he listened.
"Keep fast-forwarding!"
