When You Zhaohua’s team finally returned to the police station, Jiayi had been waiting so long she felt like her buttocks had been pricked into a sieve by needles.
As she turned into the corridor of the serious crime unit, Jiayi, who had been all ears, heard them discussing the case:
“There was a third person at the crime scene, now in the escape phase. Tony, check all the clinics and hospitals near Fuk Oi Estate for medical records of knife wounds.” This was You Zhaohua’s deep voice.
“Yes, sir.” That was Tony’s voice.
“They started fighting suddenly while eating, a crime among acquaintances, escalating to annihilation over a disagreement… What could be the motive for murder?” This was Jerry’s voice.
“Check the financial situation of this couple. Mr. Fang has been looking for work, and Mrs. Fang is a housewife with no stable income. It could very likely be a conflict caused by a lending relationship.” You Zhaohua then instructed Jerry: “Find out by 5 PM and report to me.”
“Yes, sir.”
Jiayi put down the data she was comparing, dashed to the doorway, adjusted her emotions and tone to appear merely curious:
“Sir You, what’s happening? Is it a ghost doing the killing?”
“How could that be? The elderly can’t tell reality from fantasy.”
“What’s the murder weapon in your case?” Jiayi asked nonchalantly, probing for a crucial detail.
If the murder weapons in the two cases were the same, and the time of death was the same, more consistencies could be sought.
It would then be time to merge the cases.
“A kitchen knife, the one from the kitchen used for chopping meat,” You Zhaohua wasn’t in the mood for small talk with Jiayi; after answering, he returned to discussing the case with his team members.
Jiayi stood at the door, turned her head back to look at Fang Zhenyue and muttered, “Our victim suffered sharp instrument injuries, judged to be from common household knives. But not a meat cleaver, a fruit knife.”
Sitting in the office, Uncle Jiu joined the conversation: “You use a cleaver, I have to use a fruit knife then.”
“…” Fang Zhenyue’s eyebrows gradually furrowed. Suddenly, he walked to the door and called out to You Zhaohua’s back, “When was the time of death?”
You Zhaohua was just reaching the door of Team A’s office, turned his head and said, “Sir Xu initially determined it was four days ago—”
At this point, You Zhaohua abruptly stopped, squinted his eyes, chuckled, and said, “Impossible, right? What do you mean, Sir Fang?”
“What blood type was the third party’s blood found at the crime scene?” Fang Zhenyue didn’t answer, only continued to press for details.
“Datou, call Brother Da Guangming, see if the lab results are out yet,” commanded You Zhaohua.
Datou took the order and went into Team A’s office to call the forensic department.
Fang Zhenyue asked again, “How tall was the victim in your case?”
You Zhaohua immediately reported the heights of the two victims.
Fang Zhenyue’s expression froze for a moment, and he turned to make eye contact with Jiayi, who immediately gave Sir Fang a positive response: she made an expression of sudden realization and nodded vigorously.
Everyone was so alert, each person had memorized all the details of their cases perfectly.
Jiayi quietly breathed a sigh of relief, her expression calm, but inside she was eagerly anticipating the progression of the events.
The next moment, Fang Zhenyue turned and headed towards the forensics department.
“Hey?” You Zhaohua stretched his neck in anxiety, seeing Fang Zhenyue not slowing down, he hurriedly left his team members behind and quickly followed.
Jiayi, carrying all the reports from the forensics and medical examiner’s office, also jogged to catch up.
Upon reaching the forensics department, Fang Zhenyue followed Da Guangming and started to ask questions one by one:
“What shoe size was the third party’s footprint in the massacre case?”
“What blood type was left by the third party?”
“Is there a fingerprint on the chopping knife found in Apartment A on the 4th floor of block 6 in the Fuk Oi Estate massacre case?”
“And are there fingerprints of the third party elsewhere…”
After Da Guangming answered, Jiayi immediately pulled out the forensics department’s records of the shoe sizes of the seated corpse case victims, which matched.
The blood type of the third party found on the floor in the massacre case matched that of the victim in the seated corpse case.
The fingerprints on the chopsticks and the wine glass that fell on the floor in the massacre case matched those of the victim in the seated corpse case.
The time of death matched…
“There is a double-decker bus stop right at the entrance of Fuk Oi Estate,” Jiayi added.
“Let’s merge the cases,” Fang Zhenyue turned to look at You Zhaohua, who looked miserable, “It’s confirmed that there were three people at the scene during the massacre, and our Team B’s seated corpse case victim matches exactly.”
“I’m running errands for Team B again, making wedding dresses for them…” You Zhaohua muttered, having run around for most of the day.
“What are you complaining about? This is your honor,” Fang Zhenyue patted You Zhaohua.
“I thank you, huh!” You Zhaohua waved his hand dismissively and turned to leave the forensics department to report to the inspector.
The massacre case of Team A and the seated corpse case of Team B were merged into one, with Team B taking charge.
“Thank you, Sir You!” Jiayi said gratefully, smiling as she came to Team A to collect statements and other information.
Sir You helplessly waved his hand, “Good luck solving the case.”
“We’ll solve it!” Jiayi raised her fist enthusiastically, returning fully loaded.
Since it was confirmed that the victim of the seated corpse case and the victim of the annihilation case were acquaintances who had dined together, based on the investigation results of knife wounds, blood splatter traces, body fall direction, and posture at the scene, the detectives returned to the crime scene to reconstruct the incident.
They quickly recreated the conflict that occurred at that time. Mr. Fang from the annihilation case was the first to act, kicking over a chair and shattering a wine glass. Because the house was small, their scuffle quickly moved to the kitchen doorway where Liu Dahong, the victim of the seated corpse case, grabbed a cleaver from the chopping board to attack Mr. Fang.
At that moment, Mrs. Fang, who had been trying to break up the fight, suddenly saw her husband being chopped and, in a rage, pulled out a fruit knife and stabbed Liu Dahong.
Enraged, Liu Dahong, not wanting to stop halfway, slashed Mrs. Fang’s neck as she approached him.
Then, Liu Dahong quickly wiped his fingerprints off the cleaver before fleeing in a panic. He probably didn’t want to leave medical records at nearby clinics or small hospitals, so he thought to take a double-decker bus home or to a farther place for treatment.
Unfortunately, he underestimated his injuries and died on the road.
The only thing still missing now was the motive for the murder.
Why did Mr. Fang, who was hosting a guest, suddenly start fighting with Liu Dahong?
Was it just a disagreement while drunk, or was there some underlying resentment? How did they know each other? On what basis did Mr. Fang invite Liu Dahong to his home?
Before Jiayi arrived, she had carefully read the statements of the butler and the neighboring grandma, wore a hat to cover her short hair, and changed out of her white coat before daring to come.
Fortunately, when she went to Apartment A to recreate the crime, the grandma across the door did not recognize her.
When Jiayi went downstairs to ask the butler if he recognized Liu Dahong, she purposely raised her voice to make it sound gentle and crisp.
Luckily, people’s voices over the phone usually sound different from in real life, and Jiayi’s disguise was quite effective. The butler had no suspicions at all and provided a crucial piece of information:
“I remember this person. He often came to Mr. Fang’s house when Mr. Fang was not home. Oh, I always suspected that he had something going on with Mrs. Fang.”
“Thank you, butler,” Jiayi asked the butler to sign his statement.
“Did I help at all?” the butler still remembered the female ghost asking for help over the phone.
“Yes, you helped a lot,” Jiayi nodded affirmatively and then returned to the crime scene to look for Director Fang.
The butler smiled, relieved that he had fulfilled the entrusted task, and sat back down on his small stool. Then, he suddenly looked up towards the elevator.
Did that policewoman just say the word ‘help’? That intonation…
The butler sat there for a while, then chuckled lightly, dismissing his wild thoughts and the shadows in his mind.
He waved his hand, turned on the TV, and continued watching the news.
…
New clues, new breakthroughs, finally rescued the B team detectives struggling amidst countless leads.
All those seemingly bottomless investigations were canceled, and everyone was freed from the hell of running around, back to normal life.
After another day of gathering clues, on the fifth day, the seated corpse case finally moved towards resolution.
At the forensic department, Jiayi sincerely thanked all the forensic experts for their hard work.
Xu Junhao took off his gloves and headgear, smoothed his long hair, and sighed with relief: “Fortunately, the body was found early. Otherwise, if it had dried up and started to decompose, it would have been difficult to determine the time of death, making it hard to link it with the seated corpse case.”
“And indeed, if we only found the body because of the smell, our autopsy would have been miserable,” Forensic Davis also took off his mask and laughed:
“Although the reason that old gentleman reported the case was far-fetched, luckily he was alert enough to notice that Mr. Fang and Mrs. Fang hadn’t appeared for a long time and sensed something unusual, so he reported it.”
“Yes, if it really dragged on, who knows how the sit-in murder and massacre cases would have developed.” Xu Junhao leaned on the desk, grabbed his water cup, took a big sip, and then sighed again:
“So many veteran detectives, even into retirement, still have several unresolved cases weighing on their minds. These are the cold cases that haunt them, some seem just one clue short of being solved, no matter how hard they look. Others seem on the verge of catching a new direction, but the breakthrough inspiration just never comes. Or perhaps, if science advanced further, and everyone’s DNA was stored in a database, or all previously convicted individuals had their DNA in a database, maybe we could find a match, but unfortunately, we don’t have that…”
Jiayi, holding a report, listening to their conversation, chimed in:
“It’ll get better, we’ll have a DNA database… Hopefully, the old detectives’ burdens will also be resolved.”
“Right, isn’t Uncle Jiu from your Team B about to retire?” Davis suddenly spoke up.
“Why bring up Uncle Jiu, he doesn’t have any unresolved issues.” Jiayi laughed and waved her hand, thanking again, and then left the forensic department, heading to the forensic science department to gather materials.
In the forensic department, Davis threw disposable gloves into the trash can and then suddenly asked Sir Xu:
“The media interviewed that old gentleman who reported the case on TV, and he really kept insisting that a female ghost had called him for help. Do you think it’s possible… After all, I always feel something is off, even if Mr. and Mrs. Fang hadn’t been seen for a while, without a smell or more concrete evidence, how could one be so sure they were dead?”
“Like they didn’t want to pay rent, and the couple ran away together.”
“Or went back to the countryside to relax, or went on a trip or something, there could be many speculations.”
“Moreover, who cares so much about others? Mr. and Mrs. Fang, even if they haven’t been seen for a year, would anyone care where they went?”
“It couldn’t possibly be a ghost calling for help, we who do forensics must believe in science!” Xu Junhao gave Davis a look, a person who dissects bodies every day, how could he be superstitious.
“I don’t think it was a ghost either, just that… the fate in the unknown is truly wonderful,” Davis chuckled.
“Get to work, has Team C’s report been printed yet?” Sir Xu patted Davis on the shoulder, urging him.
“Going to print it now, sir!”