Seeing this, Zhou Ning was stunned.
He had suspected that these two must have had so story, but he never imagined there would be so many unknowns involved, especially the dead man Zhang Min’an’s son, who was nearly fifty years old, and yet he was still demanding money from his old father. How noble was that?
However, since Zhang Min’an had the habit of keeping a diary and felt such guilt towards Luo Suqin, might he have arranged sothing for after his death?
With that thought, Zhou Ning grabbed his cellphone and dialed Mr. Zhao’s number.
"Hello, have you guys finished the second inspection?"
"Zhou Xiaozhou, you’re even harsher than Xu Da. He keeps nagging and nagging, constantly buzzing in my ear, and I’m already annoyed enough, and now you..."
Zhou Ning knew that if he didn’t interrupt this guy, he would have a dozen more things to say.
"Since you’re at the scene, go look for things like caras, voice recorders, tapes, external hard drives, and so on. I think Luo Suqin has already woken up too, you can let Xu Da go ask her. I believe Zhang Min’an must have left sothing like a will."
Mr. Zhao was taken aback, and Xu Dayuan snatched the phone from him.
"What’s up, Zhou Xiaozhou, did you discover sothing?"
"A diary. I found Zhang Min’an’s diary. It was tucked among his translation manuscripts, a diary recording every ti his son Zhang Guoqing ca to ask them for money, the dates, the amounts, and the whole process. It includes threats and intimidation, even physical harm."
Xu Dayuan took a deep breath and then paused slightly before speaking.
"Don’t worry. Before we arrived, I had soone take a blood sample from Zhang Guoqing for DNA analysis. The comparison will happen afterward. As for his father’s matter, we’ve already inford him. He’s flying to Qindao this afternoon. I’ve gotten Mr. Zeng to pick him up. We’ll interrogate him as soon as he arrives. We have a case of intentional injury, and that won’t be over lightly.
As for the hospital, I’ll go there myself. Alright, I’ll get Mr. Zhao to look for the evidence you ntioned. I have to go now!"
Zhou Ning hung up and let out a sigh of relief.
Though the countdown to identifying the cause of death was still ticking away, he had done everything he could for now, waiting for the results of the comparison. According to what Xu Dayuan said, blood was drawn and sent for analysis early on, so the DNA results should co through very quickly.
Just then, Mr. Sun ca in, holding a lunch box.
"Forensic Doctor Zhou, I brought you a al. I wasn’t sure about your dietary restrictions."
"Thanks, I don’t have any."
After eating, Zhou Ning went straight to the testing departnt.
As he approached the entrance, the door to the testing departnt opened. A short and slightly chubby woman in a white coat looked Zhou Ning up and down. Mrs. Cui, the head of the departnt, had been introduced to him the day before by Mr. Pang during a tour, so he recognized her.
"Hello, Mrs. Cui, I’m Zhou Ning."
"I rember. Do you need sothing from ?"
Her straightforward question spared the need for any small talk.
"The DNA information of the 2.21 case victim’s son will be sent over shortly. I’ll need your assistance, Mrs. Cui, to compare it with the victim."
Cui Lili nodded and held up her phone.
"Add on QQ. As soon as the file arrives, just send it to . The comparison results will co quickly."
"Okay, thank you, Mrs. Cui."
After speaking, Zhou Ning didn’t linger and quickly returned to his work. Cui Lili interestingly watched Zhou Ning’s retreating figure and said to a female lab technician behind her:
"This new forensic doctor Zhou isn’t just handso, his work ability is also comndable, and moreover, he doesn’t flirt around. Don’t any of you have thoughts?"
The female lab technician drank her water, shaking her head continuously.
"Chief Cui, you’re just busy with testing and have no ti to keep up with the gossip in the tech departnt, huh? Forensic Doctor Zhou is no ordinary person. He was specially assigned here by the city, involved in so project, and highly regarded.
Yesterday, so many people from Qindao University ca over with him, and there was this one female professor; her looks are no worse than those celebrities. They were all smiles and laughter as they arrived, the relationship clearly more than ordinary. I know where I stand."
Cui Lili blinked, seemingly recalling sothing.
"I rember now; Mr. Pang seed to have ntioned before that the Red Dress Serial Murder Case was solved with his participation. No wonder he’s competent; he’s not just another pretty face."
...
Two hours later.
Cui Lili, holding a stack of reports, walked into office 302. Upon entering, she saw Zhou Ning standing in front of the whiteboard, on which were drawn relationship charts and all known conditions. His focused deanor was striking.
"Forensic Doctor Zhou, the DNA comparison results for the victim’s son are out. They confirm the father-son relationship. All other comparisons, including the bloodstains found at the scene and DNA samples taken from the toothbrush and razor, belong to the victim himself."
Zhou Ning hurriedly took the report and skimd through it.
"Thank you so much, Mrs. Cui, this report ca right in ti; you’ve worked hard."
Mrs. Cui waved her hand, a rare smile crossing her face.
"You’ve got a sweet tongue. Alright, just let know if anything needs testing. This 2.21 case is really tough; the pressure from City Bureau on Mr. Xu must be huge. If it’s necessary for us to work overti, let know in advance so I can make arrangents."
Zhou Ning nodded at Cui Lili, touched by her kindness. After all, in the two days he’d been there, there weren’t many in the technical departnt who were genuinely willing to help—most were just watching from the sidelines. And as for Mr. Pang, he’d likely be distant if it weren’t for the acting director title hanging over his head.
"Once Mr. Zhao and the others are back from their second site inspection, I reckon there will be so samples; there’s no rush, though—it’s fine if we can work on them by tomorrow."
Cui Lili nodded and headed towards the door.
Just as the door opened, Mr. Zhao charged in carrying a case, almost bumping into Mrs. Cui. Though Mr. Zhao had been rapidly gaining weight, his reflexes were still sharp, and he quickly sidestepped, dropping the case on the floor.
"That scared half to death. I can’t afford to bump into our Mrs. Cui."
Cui Lili glanced at Mr. Zhao’s hand, which seed to have twisted a bit.
"Looking all in a daze, is your hand okay?"
Mr. Zhao flashed his trademark toothy smile and lifted his wrist up, giving it a shake in front of Cui Lili.
"Thanks for your concern, Mrs. Cui, I’m fine. Look at , tough as nails."
Xu Dayuan kicked him from behind.
"Stop clogging the way, and start getting out what needs to be tested. Are you trying to make everyone work overti with you or what?"
Mr. Zhao pouted but didn’t dare retaliate.
"Give it to ; I’m about to head back and sort out the tests anyway."
Xu Dayuan paused, then hurriedly fell silent. Mr. Zhao, on the other hand, was eager to go, taking the case with him as he followed Mrs. Cui. It was only then that Xu Dayuan approached Zhou Ning, who had been sizing him up. Seeing his empty hands, Zhou Ning felt a sense of unease.
"Didn’t find it?"
Xu Dayuan was just about to speak when he realized Mr. Zhao had gone out.
"Found it, it’s with Mr. Zhao. I haven’t checked yet."
"Recording? Video?"
As they were talking, Mr. Zhao ran back, glanced at the two n, and from the investigation case, he retrieved a bag containing a box, holding it up high.
"You’d never guess—I found a box on the bookshelf. It was sealed with paper, written with the three characters ’Zhang Min’an’, along with a date, and this is the photo I took."
The bag was placed on the table, and Mr. Zhao opened the cara to show a photo. The signature was in a handso script with a date beside it: June 27, 2010.
"I opened it on the spot, and inside was a brand-new video cara, complete with the purchase receipt, and there was also a video of the salesperson from the store, seemingly as a tutorial on how to use the device."
"Did you lift fingerprints from the video cara and the box surface?"
Mr. Zhao nodded.
"Found seven or eight fingerprints. Xu Da checked the police database and found Zhang Min’an’s prints, which matched perfectly."
Zhou Ning said nothing as Mr. Zhao took out the cara. Sun Gaotie had already considerately located the data cable and connected it to the computer; he quickly found two videos inside and opened them one by one.
The first video was dated May 21, 2010, 14:22.
A female salesperson carefully taught Zhang Min’an how to use the video cara, adjusting focus and framing. Zhang Min’an asked how far and high he should be if he wanted to record himself. The two demonstrated for a while.
The saleswoman casually asked a question.
"Sir, are you buying this video cara for a trip, to record for your family?"
Zhang Min’an shook his head and, looking up, said to the saleswoman with a smile,
"I’m going to record a will."
The saleswoman clearly froze, then asked no more. She familiarized Zhang Min’an with the distance once again, and the video ended shortly after.
Without being told by Xu Dayuan, Mr. Zhao already clicked on the other video.
The background was an office, the cara slightly shaky. Zhang Min’an entered the fra, sat down on a chair and kept pushing it to adjust the distance. An elderly man walked beside him and stood still. Then, facing the cara’s direction, Zhang Min’an said,
"How’s this distance? It can fit into the fra, right?"
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