March 13, 2012, 8:00 AM
A notification sound rang out, Zhou Ning hurried to the computer to click ’receive email’, while Liu Yongxin also leaned in to take a look, Mr. Qu went to the printer, and brought over the printed report.
Fixated on the computer, Zhou Ning scrolled through the contents and upon reaching the end, he leaned closer to the screen, holding his breath.
The fingerprints collected from the three axes were Ai Qingsong’s, but, to everyone’s surprise, residual DNA was collected from two of the axes, which, upon comparison, matched the DNA of Zhu Yufen.
Seeing this result, Zhou Ning was stunned. He had indeed suspected that either Li Hua or Zhu Yufen was involved, but he had not anticipated that Li Hua would leave fingerprints on the plastic sheeting, or that Zhu Yufen’s DNA would be found on the murder weapon. Could it have been a collaboration among three people?
For a mont, Zhou Ning was also sowhat confounded.
Just then, the email inbox flickered with several new ssages, Zhou Ning glanced at them and realized they were all sample identification numbers, obviously submissions made by Mr. Zhao and the others after their investigation of the scene. Regardless, Zhou Ning clicked ’print’.
"Mr. Zhao and the others, I wonder what ti they finished up."
Before he had finished speaking, the office door opened, and Mr. Zhao and his team walked in, followed by Bai Hua. Their eyes were slightly bloodshot and they looked weary, but their spirits seed exceptionally high.
"You started missing the mont you couldn’t see ?"
"I saw that Mrs. Cui sent so items you had checked in. Last night, when I went to sleep, it was already past midnight and you hadn’t returned. How late did you work to finish?"
"At eleven, I sent soone to deliver the samples. We cleared the scene completely by a little after one. Doctor Bai stayed with us the whole ti. I realized that the forensic doctors in the county are nearly all-rounders and very skilled. Doctor Bai demonstrated so sampling techniques that were simpler than ours and quite an eye-opener to ," Mr. Zhao explained.
Liu Yongxin humd twice, giving Bai Hua a smile.
"Of course, we don’t have equipped trace examiners here; we have to do everything ourselves, with, at most, soone to help run errands."
Bai Hua was a bit embarrassed; she was well aware of her own abilities. After all, she had studied the headless serial murder case every day without noticing so many details, but once Zhou Ning and his team arrived, they had nearly solved the case in less than a week. That was professionalism.
"Don’t praise like that, I’m embarrassed to hear it."
Zhou Ning smiled, stepping away from the computer to address Mr. Zhao and the others:
"Alright, co over and take a look. Mrs. Cui sent the report, but you didn’t label the samples with detailed nas, just numbers. What are all these things?"
Mr. Zhao’s eyes lit up, he quickly dropped his bag to Zhu Xingxing and dashed to the computer, clicking print and examining the results closely, gesturing for Bai Hua and Yang Xuetong to co over too.
After a glance, Mr. Yang was full of surprise, while Bai Hua looked incredulous, and Liu Yongxin coughed.
"Making fun of the old man, are you? Hurry up and tell what all this is."
Mr. Zhao grinned, tossing a USB drive to Yang Xuetong and after fiddling with it for a bit with Mr. Qu, they managed to display so pictures on the projector. Upon seeing the wall full of ’collectibles,’ Zhou Ning froze.
He turned back instinctively, looking towards Mr. Zhao.
"I must be asking, did you get sothing mixed up?"
Mr. Zhao’s smiling expression froze as he crossed his arms and huffed at Zhou Ning.
"Zhou Xiaozhou, don’t pick on . What’s that look supposed to an? In your eyes, am I that sleazy?
These were found in a room at Hongqi Road No.29, the largest office there, which contained a break room. Several doors were locked, but the key to the break room was hidden under a doormat. It seems like it hasn’t been visited in a long ti," Mr. Zhao relayed.
As he said this, Mr. Zhao looked at the test results, pointing to a section with a laser pen, he continued:
"Didn’t expect this... Most of the DNA found on these ’collectibles’ belongs to Zhu Yufen and Zhu Kelin. Zhu Yufen, this uncle, is truly despicable.
As for the bathtub, floor cracks, steps, the crevice of the headboard, and the top beam of the desk lamp, we found various residual blood splatters and sars. Even though there had been attempts to clean them, we still managed to extract DNA from three of the victims."
Zhou Ning dialed Cui Lili’s cell phone; the latest report he had received was missing the DNA comparison results for Zhu Yunping and Zhu Yunhai. Cui Lili would definitely not forget them, so could there be so problem here?
"Sis, have you arrived at the office?"
"Hmm, wait a mont. Two more comparisons have just been completed; I’ll send them to you imdiately. Let see, you said their nas are Zhu Yunhai and Zhu Yunping, right?"
"Yes, did you compare their DNA to Zhu Kelin and Zhu Yufen’s?"
"I wanted to ask you as well, do both of them have the surna Zhu?"
"Zhu Yufen is the daughter of Zhu Kelin’s elder maternal aunt. After her father died and her mother went missing, she was adopted by Zhu Kelin. She is considered the Zhu family’s adopted daughter, although Zhu Yufen’s maternal aunt has been deceased for twenty years."
"Oh, what a ssy relationship. I sent the report over, and both children are indeed the biological offspring of Zhu Kelin and Zhu Yufen."
’Click,’ the phone hung up, and at the sa ti, an email arrived in the inbox. Mr. Qu went to open the email, while Zhou Ning gestured to Mr. Zhao.
"Call Director Xu to the conference room. Our side has pretty much finished its investigation. Let’s summarize the investigation results with him. The relationships are so tangled, I don’t even know how to describe them."
Mr. Zhao hurriedly ran out. Zhou Ning, along with others carrying all the reports, also arrived at the conference room. Before long, Xu Dayuan ca in with Tao Zhenshan, Zhang Chunbo, and a group of other staff.
"Have the various tests and inspections on your end yielded results?"
Zhou Ning nodded.
"Let give an introduction of the findings. Starting with the test results, on the three axes found at the grave of Cui Yushang, we found the fingerprints of Ai Qingsong and the DNA of Zhu Yufen. Earlier, in the plastic cloth inner layers where the body was dumped, using special thods, we found the teat-shaped fingerprint of rubber gloves, as well as the fingerprints of Li Hua.
Furthermore, at Hongqi Road No.29, we found a specially decorated room, where many collectibles of unique preferences were kept, bearing the DNA residues of Zhu Yufen and Zhu Kelin. In the cracks of the floor at the scene, we found DNA from the bloodstains of the three deceased victims.
Based on these residues, we believe that this room is the primary cri scene where the three victims were murdered, and it is also the place where Zhu Yufen was abused by Zhu Kelin. And Zhu Yunping, the son of Zhu Kelin, and Zhu Yunhai, the son of Zhu Yufen, are both sons of Zhu Kelin and Zhu Yufen."
After Zhou Ning finished, Zhang Chunbo’s face showed a stunned expression, and it took him a while to recover. Xu Dayuan, however, appeared composed, glancing at Zhou Ning and everyone else and nodded firmly.
"Thank you for your hard work. Zhenshan, please brief us on the investigation here. Now that we’re all here, we can also do a summary. The related personnel are also being brought in en route."
Hearing this, Zhou Ning glanced at Xu Dayuan. Li Hua and Zhu Yufen were both local; Xu Dayuan had people watching them since last night. These two couldn’t escape.
"We investigated Zhu Yufen’s ex-husband, Fang Guoli, who, along with Fang Guoying, who had previously co here for inquiry, is a twin. When he married Zhu Yufen, it was because Zhu Yufen was pregnant and begging him for help, so after a short marriage, they divorced, just to give the child a na.
As for the investigation around Ai Qingsong, we found that he used to be a staff mber of the planning bureau, and was a classmate as well as a colleague of Li Fang. After Li Fang was hard, he took over her work and was targeted at work, even poisoned. In the year 2000, he reported this several tis to no avail and was forcefully dismissed.
The two hundred and seventy thousand RMB Zheng Chuguang accepted in bribes were for helping Yu Guangyao and Zhang Qiujiang’s company falsify related design blueprints, company qualifications, and bidding matters. Before the county was changed to a city, Zheng Chuguang’s uncle was the deputy county head responsible for construction projects and bidding pilot work.
The municipal engineering fraud that was uncovered after Yu Guangyao’s death had been reported by Ai Qingsong as early as 1999, but it was not accepted. The shoddy construction issues with building 7 in Liuyuan Community, belonging to Zhang Qiujiang, had also received a whistleblower letter before Zhang Qiujiang was killed, but that too was suppressed.
That’s all for my investigation report. After Liu Yufei arrived in Hushang City, she talked with the doctors and Ai Qingsong himself. Liu Yufei and Mr. Zeng are currently on the flight back with Ai Qingsong, expected to arrive at nine. A car has been dispatched to pick them up."
Xu Dayuan nodded and looked around.
"Alright, everyone is aware of the situation now. The investigation has also made so progress. Li Hua and Zhu Yufen have already been brought in, and shortly we will interrogate them separately.
Li Hua, Zhu Yufen, and Ai Qingsong, all three have fingerprints and DNA left at the primary cri scene and the body-dumping site, which counts as conclusive evidence. My principle is to clarify the case details without omission. In a while, Zhenshan and Chunbo will handle the interrogation. The eting is now adjourned."
The crowd imdiately began buzzing with discussion; after so many days of toiling, the relationships were at least sowhat clearer.
However, there was no sign of relaxation on Zhou Ning’s face. His job was essentially done, and what ca next would depend on the abilities of Xu Dayuan and his team. At this mont, Zhou Ning had a feeling.
That these three people could co together to exact revenge on the three victims was definitely not just because of their corruption or the unsuccessful whistleblowing. There must be so hidden reason.
What this reason was, Zhou Ning couldn’t say. Perhaps it had sothing to do with Cui Yushang, or maybe it was similar to Cui Yushang’s situation, only more vile, even affecting the lives of the three individuals.
He rembered reading a moir written by a lawyer, which included a story.
In the north, there was a girl who was ’bullied’ by a man, severely bullied. Not only was her reproductive system damaged beyond repair, but her face was also disfigured, one eye blinded, with the other retaining only a sense of light.
The man who bullied the girl thought she had died and imdiately fled. The girl, fortunate to survive, crawled out of the coal mine to report the incident and was rescued. The girl did not succumb to her injuries; her only goal in living on was to make the man who had hard her pay with his life for the brutality she suffered.
The man was caught, and the court’s verdict was imprisonnt, not the death penalty, because the man was not yet eighteen years old when he committed the heinous act.
But the girl exhausted her whole life’s strength and could not step out of the shadow of that event. She kept seeking all kinds of people to help her get a retrial, hiring lawyers, contacting local leaders, reaching out to the dia—she thought of every possible thod. She was trapped in this event, unable to move on with anyone’s help.
Many years later, on the sa day the man was released on parole, the girl committed suicide by jumping from a building.
Zhou Ning closed his eyes, imrsing himself in this case. If soone was humiliated in their youth, they might live the rest of their life consud by hatred, unable to escape it.
Throughout their whole life, they would only think of how to seek revenge, and perhaps Zhu Yufen was not the only one who had been humiliated back then.
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