SFTD -Chapter 137 A Drop of Blood (Part 2)

A caliper was used to measure the width of the imprint. Zhou Hai quickly picked up the wooden splinter and walked toward the microscope. After magnifying it and examining it closely, he found that the splinter had a very distinctive structure.

“Based on the neck injury marks, we can determine it was caused by a three-centimeter-thick board—a single-sided, milky-white glossy plywood.”

He stepped away from the microscope and let Xu Squad Leader lean in. Xu immediately looked through the eyepiece. As expected, a tiny wooden splinter appeared in the field of view—one side white, the other raw wood color. Zhao Xinli also leaned in. After confirming it, he quickly placed the splinter into an evidence bag. Meanwhile, Zhou Hai continued examining the body.

There were binding injuries on the wrists and ankles of the deceased, showing spiral patterns. Under magnification, some brownish-yellow hemp fibers were found. The victim’s mouth was slightly open, and Zhou Hai discovered a wavy blue-and-white knitted thread inside. Apart from postmortem lividity, there were no other abnormalities on the legs.

Zhao Xinli felt somewhat embarrassed. He had also examined the body carefully, using a magnifying glass to search every detail, yet he had missed all these findings.

After thinking for a moment about the neck’s cutting and stabbing wounds, Zhou Hai looked up at Zhao Xinli.

“Was the murder weapon a slaughtering knife? Has it been found at the scene?”

Xu Squad Leader shook his head. “The scene was a mess. We didn’t find anything useful. We only sealed it off since your center was notified, so we didn’t conduct a full forensic search.”

Zhou Hai glanced back at Zhao Xinli. “None of your team came with you?”

Zhao Xinli looked awkward. “The notice wasn’t very clear. Only I was told to come for the autopsy, so I didn’t bring my trace evidence officer or assistant. They were handling a traffic accident case. So I came alone.”

Zhou Hai understood that in a case like this—especially with a difficult family—every piece of evidence had to be airtight, or it could be torn apart in court. Zhao Xinli likely just wanted to examine the body first before deciding the next steps.

However, the situation was strange. Despite clear signs of coercion, there were no defensive wounds on the victim at all. The deceased weighed around 160 jin and was about 175 cm tall.

“Did you collect heart blood?”

Zhao Xinli nodded. “Yes. But since Mocheng City doesn’t have its own lab, the hospital’s testing department handled it. I was worried about toxicology accuracy, so I sent one sample for testing and kept another as backup.”

Zhou Hai nodded again. “Do we at least have scene photos?”

Xu Squad Leader opened his phone. “Yes, we took some.”

He handed the phone to Zhou Hai. “When we arrived, the scene was extremely chaotic with many people. According to neighbors, they jumped into the courtyard and found the victim lying on the main room floor. When we arrived, the body was already lying flat on the ground.”

Zhou Hai narrowed his eyes. Lying on the ground?

He scrolled through the photos. The scene was indeed chaotic, with bloody footprints everywhere. However, there was no sign of any wooden board. Could this really be a robbery case?

“Based on liver temperature, lividity, and rigor mortis, you estimate the time of death to be around 24 hours—between 22:00 and 23:00 on February 1st, correct?”

Zhao Xinli nodded. “Yes.”

“Then when was the report made? When did your team arrive?”

“We received the report at 17:30 yesterday and arrived at 17:50, then began clearing the scene.”

Zhou Hai looked at them. “The witnesses said they didn’t move the body, correct?”

Xu Squad Leader nodded. “Yes. They only checked for breathing. After confirming he was dead, they called the police. Then they started helping the victim’s wife look for missing items.”

“Why did they think something was missing?”

Xu Squad Leader hesitated. “A neighbor named Zhang said the wife kept shouting: ‘It’s over, we’ve been robbed, the money is gone.’ She asked everyone to help search for a black plastic bag said to contain a large sum of cash.”

Zhou Hai pressed his lips together. “So no one cared about the cause of death. Everyone focused on missing money. That’s a reversal of priorities.”

“Did you investigate the victim’s social background?”

Xu Squad Leader replied, “The victim, Zheng Hongtao, had a very bad temper. Extremely stingy. He was normal when sober, but once drunk, no one could control him. He was also extremely vindictive.”

“Before, he fetched water from a neighbor’s well. After the neighbor’s wife complained, the next morning he brought a truck of stones and filled the well. No one dared confront him. He offended almost everyone in the village. Most people didn’t mourn his death—some even felt relieved.”

“You mentioned a witness said the body was tied with ropes. How exactly?”

Xu Squad Leader answered, “When we arrived, the ropes were lying on the left side of the body. Some villagers said the ropes were loose and not tightly bound.”

Zhou Hai nodded. “I personally lean toward homicide by revenge. The robbery may have been to cover something or just a secondary motive. But you can still classify it as burglary for now—it helps keep the suspect off guard.”

“In any case, you can already perform a compulsory autopsy. What exactly are you worried about, Xu?”

Xu Squad Leader glanced at him. “The victim’s wife is useless, and his mother is extremely unreasonable. We’re afraid of causing trouble.”

Zhao Xinli removed his gloves and walked over. “Xu, we only handle the autopsy. Coordination like this is your responsibility locally.”

Xu Squad Leader looked embarrassed but nodded. “Alright. I’ll get the signature and proceed.”

He left with the preliminary forensic report.

Zhao Xinli looked at Zhou Hai. “You suspect revenge killing?”

“Yes. Although there are coercion marks and missing money, there are no defensive injuries at all. That’s abnormal—almost deliberate.”

“Also, the blood patterns on the body flow downward. That means the victim was standing or sitting during bleeding, not lying flat. A killer wouldn’t casually move the body, loosen the ropes, and then arrange it neatly. Notice: it was loosened, not cut.”

“That’s why I asked whether heart blood was collected and tested. Also, send the rope for DNA testing. In such a rushed scene, gloves might not have been used. Let’s gamble on it.”

After hearing the explanation, understanding suddenly appeared on Zhao Xinli’s face. Everything that had felt inconsistent finally made sense.

“I’ll send the rope for DNA testing.”

Just then, Xu Squad Leader returned. “The signature is done.”

Zhou Hai and Zhao Xinli both looked up at him.

“Who signed it?”