บท 16: Chapter 16 No Signal in the Village (Happy Qixi Festival)_1
Zhou Ning reorganized his thoughts.
Zhao Xinli had also come over and handed him the camera. Zhou Ning spoke slowly:
"The information I've currently gathered is not much, so let me report to both of you. The male victim, Li Delin, died approximately 5-9 days ago, while the female victim, Zhu Meifeng, died within the last 48-36 hours.
That is to say, Zhu Meifeng died 3-6 days after Li Delin, and a sock footprint with bloodstains was found on the stovetop to the north of the living room. There were scuff marks on the wall.
Hair was found on the small window above the stove, which leads me to suspect that there was a third person at the scene who escaped through this window, fabricating the scene of Zhu Meifeng's suicide."
As for when the male victim Li Delin was murdered, he was fleeing from the bedroom in a panic. He was stabbed and fell in front of the bedroom door, where there were signs of struggle, until he reached the main house door, where he was stabbed in the back and died.
However, the interior of the bedroom was spotless; the sheets showed no wrinkles or hair. As for the cause of Zhu Meifeng's death, we will have to wait for the autopsy to reach a final conclusion."
Zhou Ning's words were like a bomb dropped into a tranquil lake, leaving the old police officer utterly astonished.
"Are you sure?"
"Certain."
While Zhou Ning spoke, his mind was racing.
The countdown on the transparent large screen was still ticking, one turning to 17:14, the other to 71:14. He muttered to himself, having done a thorough inspection of the scene and preliminary analysis. He had provided explanations for the deaths, so why hadn't it stopped? Could there be an error in his analysis?
Or was something missing?
Just then, the countdown that read 17:14 on the big screen froze, and a line of small text appeared beneath it.
Is the bound individual ready to submit the first part of the intermediate task?
Zhou Ning was stunned; previously, the system would automatically judge the answers he thought of, and if he was wrong, there would be no reaction. Now this prompt appeared, but what did it mean?
There was no issue with the inspection of the scene, and the traces of the third person were quite clear. There was no doubt about Li Delin's cause of death, it was obvious even to a layperson. Only Zhu Meifeng's cause of death seemed so much like suicide at the scene. However, considering the significant time difference between the two deaths and the presence of a third person, why would the killer lock the door if it were a suicide?
With this thought, Zhou Ning's gaze became much firmer. The task had two questions, and even if one answer was wrong, at least there would be no penalty. With that thought in mind, Zhou Ning silently uttered, "Submit."
In an instant, the countdown stopped, a "ding" sounded, and only one countdown reading 71:13 remained on the screen.
Zhou Ning blinked.
Dammit, can't it just give me a hint whether I'm right or wrong?
What's with the system today, no signal in the village?
Or is it that the result won't appear until both questions in the task are resolved?
Suddenly, Zhou Ning felt a poke on his arm. Zhao Xinli was glaring at him with squinted eyes, giving him a look. Zhou Ning was puzzled.
"Huh?"
"Stop daydreaming. The boss is asking if you have any direction on the killer, preferably with a profile sketch."
Zhou Ning responded with an "oh," but now he was no longer anxious. Not because he had been forced to study crime scenes for a month, but because the large screen had already summarized all the information he had discovered.
Following his recent analysis, an animation-like image appeared in the corner, showing the killer murdering Li Delin, then Zhu Meifeng, afterward cleaning the room, throwing everything into the courtyard, and finally jumping out the window and returning to the yard to take something before fleeing.
After this demonstration, Zhou Ning's confidence was bolstered.
Zhou Ning took the camera and found the photo of the back window, showing it to Xu Dayuan.
"Xu Da, look at this window. It's very small, only 33×25 centimeters, the longest diagonal being just 41 centimeters. There are only two strands of hair left on the window, and a faint scuff mark is present on the wall.
In addition, the killer was able to quickly stab Li Delin, and when he attempted to flee, stabbed him again from behind, killing him. This reaction was incredibly swift. The killer controlled Zhu Meifeng and staged the suicide scene days later, avoiding leaving fingerprints, wearing socks and gloves to escape through the window and closing it from outside."
Having said this, Zhou Ning put down the camera and looked into Xu Dayuan's eyes.
"Taking all these analyses into account, my profile sketch of the killer is that he's an adult male, very lean, not very tall, certainly not taller or heavier than Li Delin, very agile, with an ability to evade detection, meticulous planning, and a certain understanding of police investigation procedures.
There's one more thing. During the search of the bedroom, we found over a thousand cash in the nightstand, placed very conspicuously, which was not taken. However, we found none of Li Delin's belongings, neither his phone nor his wallet."
The old policeman stroked his chin, and Xu Dayuan nodded vigorously.
"Okay, the hearse has already arrived, and the body is to be sent for an autopsy first. I've already informed Doctor Liu to go there and keep an eye out for you. We'll expand the investigation based on this direction. Mr. Zhao, you take Mr. Liu and follow Doctor Zhou to give a hand."
Zhou Ning didn't waste words. He was the most anxious now, after all, the countdown felt like a death knell, and it made his heart flutter just looking at it.
Zhao Xinli busied himself with having people help load the body into the vehicle, while Zhou Ning squatted to the side, packed up his things, and then they all left in their respective cars.
Xu Dayuan gathered all the police officers inside and outside the courtyard, looked at them seriously, and said:
"You all saw the forensic doctor take the body away. The preliminary investigation results are out, with the likelihood of a financially motivated crime being almost zero. I personally lean toward revenge murder. We have many things to investigate right now.
I'm going to assign tasks now. Don't tell me you're from Tieshan Police Station, not a detective. The case is in your jurisdiction, so everybody better investigate with all they have. Understood?"
Everyone stood at attention and answered loudly.
"Understood!"
"Good. Let's assign the tasks now. Mr. Wang, you take your people and handle the investigation of the deceased Zhu Meifeng's social relations, especially with Liu Bingyi's family next door since they live closest. Also, find out about Zhu Meifeng's last known whereabouts, who saw her and where, and with whom?
He Chunyang, lead the detectives to investigate Li Delin from Yujia Village, his family background, social relations, and whom he had seen recently. Obtain Li Delin's communication records; the more detailed, the better.
Someone also has to visit Li Delin's company. As for Zhu Meifeng's husband, Liu Wangcai, He Chunyang, have someone check where he is? All of his movements within the last nine days, including communication records, must be thoroughly verified.
Alright, with two people dead and no direction on the murderer, it's been a long time since our county has had such a big case. Everybody knows how serious this is, especially during this crucial period. We must not disgrace Qidong. Keep that in mind, and let's get moving."
...
12:22
Zhou Ning and the others rushed to the county hospital.
The moment the car stopped, Doctor Liu, accompanied by Elder Cui from the morgue, was already standing at the entrance of the autopsy room. The old man was enthusiastic, showing his missing teeth while waving at Zhou Ning.
"Busy times, eh? Just a month apart, and here's a big case again."
Zhou Ning smiled wryly and walked over to Doctor Liu. It had been a month, and his leg was still in a cast, using crutches instead of a wheelchair.
"Master, two bodies, one highly decomposed. I really need your help this time!"
Doctor Liu didn't refuse but nodded and shouted to Zhao Xin and the others:
"Hurry up, everyone lend a hand. First, send the highly decomposed body to Elder Cui for a bit of freezing to reduce the stench. The female victim's body goes to the autopsy room."
Everyone sprang into action and transported the bodies away. Zhou Ning's stomach conveniently grumbled twice. After all, it had been a morning full of physical labor, and his insides were rebelling.
Doctor Liu glanced over and motioned towards the pavilion with a nod of his chin.
"Get washed up and eat. These autopsies won't be done until evening at the earliest. Besides, after we're done, you won't have any appetite left."
Zhou Ning knew Doctor Liu was right and hurried to wash his hands. When he returned to the pavilion, Zhao Xin and others were already seated, looking at the dishes in the lunchbox, and Zhao Xin's face immediately fell.
"Doctor Liu, this is discrimination! The last time Mr. Liu was here for autopsies with you, I heard there were four dishes, three with meat. Now this pile is all vegetables. How can my build handle this? I can't get enough to eat!"
Liu Yongxin tapped Zhao Xin on the head with the back of his chopsticks and bellowed with wide eyes:
"If you're not eating, then go! Head to the station's canteen and enjoy your big pot meals. We're about to perform an autopsy on a highly decomposed body. Having a bunch of meat will only make us unable to do our work. How about I collect some little maggots for you, stir fry a dish of it, huh? That's high protein for you!"
Zhao Xin was still smiling until he heard the words "little maggots," then his face whitened instantly and he put his hands together over his head.
"Uncle, my mistake. Please stop talking about it. These vegetables are just fine, really good."
Everyone laughed, but Zhou Ning stayed quiet and scooped up some hot and sour shredded potatoes alongside scrambled eggs with tomatoes into his rice. Then, cradling his lunchbox, he mixed everything together before methodically spooning it into his mouth.
Seeing Zhou Ning's somber mood, Doctor Liu nudged him with his elbow.
"What's with you, kid? Did your girlfriend dump you?"
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