Zhou Ning told Mr. Zhao about the case, and Mr. Zhao was incredibly surprised.
Actually, he already knew that even without Dr. Li’s instructions, if this case had co up, they would have had to go through it carefully, given that it involved Mr. He’s ex-girlfriend. After thinking it over, he said,
"We can’t keep this from Mr. He. Let him know, and whether he wants to co along or send soone else, that’s his business. We’ve said what we needed to, and it wouldn’t be right not to say anything."
Zhou Ning nodded and dialed Mr. He’s number, repeating what had just been said. Mr. He listened in silence for a long ti before finally sighing and saying,
"I’ll have Doctor Chen go with you. He’s more of an expert in burns. In fact, Fang Hua’s death doesn’t sadden or enrage much. I should have forgotten what needed to be forgotten long ago. It’s just that I don’t understand why she left without saying goodbye back then. Still, I should avoid any appearance of bias."
"Alright, we’ll go pick up Doctor Chen."
The car started, and Mr. Zhao was indeed an excellent driver. On the way, he kept chatting with the newcor Mr. Yang and Doctor Chen, so it wasn’t too awkward.
Neither Zhou Ning nor Xu Dayuan spoke. Zhou Ning had his eyes closed, while Xu Dayuan was intently reading a dossier. Half an hour later, they arrived at the detention center.
Xu Dayuan and Mr. Zeng went down to coordinate, and Mr. Zhao turned back to look at Zhou Ning.
"Zhou Xiaozhou, we don’t all need to go in, do we?"
Zhou Ning nodded.
"Doctor Chen will go in with and Xu Da later. You guys wait here for a bit, and afterward, we’ll take a look at the scene of the incident. You all can rest for now."
Mr. Zhao had no objections. He hopped out of the car, grabbed so bottled water, and handed them out to everyone. Of course, he didn’t forget the people in Liu Yufei’s car behind them.
Shortly after, Xu Dayuan waved at Zhou Ning. Zhou Ning called for Doctor Chen, and they went over to him.
"The three of us will go in, the others will wait here."
Mr. Zeng nodded without any unnecessary words and went back to the car. After all, this was a detention center, and even if a case needed to be reviewed, it wasn’t possible for so many people to go in.
Passing through several checkpoints, they arrived at the detention center’s visitation hall, where a corridor looked very deep and felt cool even without air conditioning. Doctor Chen rubbed his arms and buttoned up his short-sleeved white lab coat.
Looking around, they noticed various slogans on the walls.
Awaken your conscience, rebuild your soul; one person away, a whole family worries; one person safe, a whole family blessed; your repentance is the greatest filial piety to your parents...
This atmosphere made it impossible not to stand properly. Just then, a plump, dark-skinned police officer ca over and shook hands with Xu Dayuan enthusiastically.
"I didn’t expect to see you here. What case are you taking on?"
Xu Dayuan seed equally surprised and thumped the man’s shoulder, saying with a smile,
"Wow, Mr. Ma, you’ve moved up. Should I address you as Mr. Ma now? Mr. Hu assigned us a case that the prosecutorial authorities had sent back. Our brigade took over and needs to reinvestigate the Jingkou District 6.29 arson case."
Mr. Ma had a mont of realization, and grasped Xu Dayuan’s hand firmly.
"I know. The suspect is a very famous attorney nad Dong Chengwen, right?"
Xu Dayuan nodded, noting that being rembered ant there must be sothing special about the case.
"So, soone’s asked you to look out for him?"
Mr. Ma shook his head and pointed towards a waiting room.
Through the window, they could see a tall woman standing there.
In a black dress, it was only when she turned around that one could notice her belly looked to be six or seven months along. Holding a briefcase, she occasionally checked the ti on her wristwatch.
"Soone passed along a ssage, but no one has co forward to ask for special treatnt. See that pregnant woman? She’s said to be Dong Chengwen’s cousin, also a lawyer, but she’s not very well-known. She wants to see Dong Chengwen to act as his defense attorney. Despite being heavily pregnant, she’s co several tis, but Dong Chengwen has refused her.
It’s said that this woman has sought many lawyers in Qindao, but no one has been willing to help. I inquired about his law firm’s people. Dong Chengwen may be very good with financial cases but is known to be unprincipled, even having sent his opponent’s lawyer to prison, so his reputation isn’t great, and there are many who are just enjoying the show now that he’s in trouble."
Xu Dayuan ca to a realization, understanding that getting so information could be helpful for the case.
"He doesn’t seem to be from around here, and he has no relatives in the area, this cousin is..."
Mr. Ma looked pensive.
"Hmm, he’s from Jingzhou, Hubei. This cousin is his maternal aunt’s daughter. They weren’t very close before, and she’s the only relative he has in the area. That’s understandable. When things are going well, everybody shows up at your door, but once trouble strikes, many keep their distance."
"It’s human nature. How has he been behaving in the detention center?"
"He’s been kept in solitary. When he arrived, his burn injuries were serious. He had a fever for many days and didn’t talk much. So I placed him in a single cell closest to the duty room. He’s been very despondent, having lost maybe thirty or forty pounds since he got here."
Xu Dayuan seed surprised and smiled at Mr. Ma.
"I brought a forensic doctor and a physician to examine his injuries, to further determine the process in which he tried to save soone during the incident. After that, we can compare it with the cri scene. Please make the arrangents."
"No problem, but our staff must be present."
"Of course, we’ll follow your procedures."
After Mr. Ma made so arrangents, Zhou Ning and others were led into a eting room with a table and a chair on each side, along with a few more chairs by the doors. Xu Dayuan gestured for everyone to sit down.
After a short wait, accompanied by the sound of unlocking, a man in a fluorescent yellow vest was brought in.
Zhou Ning looked up for a long ti, the current Dong Chengwen bore little resemblance to the photo in the file.
With a buzz cut, two bare patches on the side of his head showed clear signs of burns, as if he had aged ten years. His cheeks and eye sockets were sunken, his eyes lifeless, his beard unkempt.
The handcuffs were unlocked by the police, his left hand cuffed to the table while his right hand curled up. He sat down without speaking or looking up, his gaze falling on the table.
Xu Dayuan knocked on the table and held up his badge as Dong Chengwen finally looked up at him.
"I’m Xu Dayuan, captain of the first brigade of the Jingkou District Bureau’s Criminal Police Squad. We’re re-investigating the 6.29 case and collecting evidence anew. I’ve brought a physician and a forensic doctor, to examine you first and then to ask you so questions."
At the end of this speech, Doctor Chen stepped forward to examine Dong Chengwen. As Dong looked up quickly, his eyes no longer held that despondent look. However, seeing Zhou Ning in his police uniform, his gaze instantly carried a trace of resignation and disappointnt, even a self-mocking smile.
"Such a young forensic doctor?"
Xu Dayuan was also sowhat surprised by this abrupt comnt.
Glancing at Zhou Ning, this remark suggested that Dong Chengwen knew about his father’s request for Li Chengbin and expected a senior forensic practitioner to be sent.
Dong Chengwen was surprised to see such a young forensic doctor who seed unreliable at first glance.
Zhou Ning remained motionless, arms crossed as he sat. Doctor Chen’s examination was quick; he gestured to Zhou Ning, who then walked over.
Zhou Ning saw that the burn scars in Dong Chengwen’s palm were very deep, covering the whole palm, with one-fifth of the scar tissue contracting together, making the hand look more like a chicken claw.
"This is a severe second-degree burn. Without tily reconstructive surgery, even future operations will hardly restore 80% functionality," explained Doctor Chen professionally. As Mr. He had said, Chen was excellent in treating burns. Zhou Ning naturally trusted this assessnt. After all, once soone was taken into custody, how could they arrange follow-up surgery?
Doctor Chen sat down, and Zhou Ning’s gaze landed on Dong Chengwen’s face. Perhaps because of his remark about a ’young forensic doctor,’ Zhou Ning began to scrutinize Dong Chengwen closely, from the sides of his nose bridge to his eyes and lips, before speaking indifferently.
"The marks on either side of your nose bridge and the slight bulging of your eyes suggest you wear glasses regularly. Maybe you lost them at the fire scene. There’s a surgical scar on the sclera near the inner corner of your left eye, indicating you had surgery for pterygium two or three years ago, which seems to have recurred sowhat.
Your lips have just shed so dead skin, wait... it’s not just dead skin, but even scabs that have been peeled off. This is due to compulsive skin-picking disorder. Judging by the pigntation marks, this isn’t a short-term behavior; in other words, it didn’t start because you are in custody.
You have been living under high pressure, with anxiety, depression, and significant negative emotions, which at least indicates that your work and life haven’t brought you any joy."
Xu Dayuan lowered his head, holding his arms. He knew Zhou Ning took the comnt about being too young to heart. With Zhou Ning’s achievents over the year, what he had accomplished was beyond the reach of many forensic doctors over a decade. Not just Zhou Ning, but even he felt uncomfortable hearing it.
Dong Chengwen paused, looking steadily at Zhou Ning, the confusion in his gaze dissipated, and he nodded apologetically.
"I’m sorry for being presumptuous, for thinking you were too young and feeling like Professor Li was brushing off my father. But you should know, I really have nowhere else to turn; I’ve even co to terms with it."
Doctor Chen brought over a chair, Zhou Ning nodded at him and then, with an inquisitive look, turned to the policeman sitting beside him. The officer nodded slightly, and Zhou Ning then sat down.
"You can’t see anyone but your lawyer while you’re in custody. According to Mr. Ma, your cousin is a lawyer, yet you refuse to see her. Even so, you were able to reach Professor Li through your father and ntion my youth upon seeing . Clearly, although you seem helpless, you’ve carefully arranged many things.
No need for further preamble. You’ve gone through so much trouble to have us co here, now tell us the course of events. We need to understand the process to decide how to proceed with a second assessnt. Speak up—we want the truth!"
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