SFTD -Chapter 138 A Drop of Blood (Part 3)

Chief Xu took off his cap and scratched his hair.

“One of our veteran investigators went to talk to the old woman. We told her we had the authority to conduct a direct autopsy, but seeing that she’s an elderly widow raising children alone, we still hoped to persuade her properly. To recover the missing money, the case has to be officially filed. And to file the case, we must conduct an autopsy. Once she heard that, she immediately pressed her fingerprint to consent. We recorded everything on video.”

“Alright, then let’s begin the autopsy.”

Zhao Xinli unfolded a disposable protective suit and handed it to Zhou Hai. He also suited up fully and stood opposite him.

“Dr. Zhou, I’ll assist you.”

Zhou Hai shook his head.

“You assist me then. Let’s start.”

Zhao Xinli didn’t insist further and began the dissection.

He slowly opened the chest and abdomen of the deceased. The hyoid bone was intact, and the visceral serosal surfaces showed scattered pinpoint hemorrhages—consistent with death by asphyxiation.

There were more than ten injuries on the neck. Most of them did not sever any arteries, but among several stab wounds, one had precisely pierced the junction of the carotid artery and the subclavian artery. It appeared that most of the heavy bleeding came from this wound.

The more Zhao Xinli worked, the more he admired Zhou Hai. The findings matched Zhou Hai’s earlier deductions almost perfectly. After collecting tissue samples, he closed the chest and abdomen.

“So it seems the cause of death was suffocation after massive blood loss, with pressure applied to the neck,” Zhao Xinli said.

Zhou Hai nodded.

“Yes. Based on the autopsy, that’s correct. But something doesn’t quite add up. Chief Xu, let’s go to the scene.”

Of course, Chief Xu agreed immediately and arranged a car. Zhao Xinli and Zhou Hai removed their protective suits, packed up their equipment, and headed downstairs.

As they walked, Zhao Xinli couldn’t help asking: “Dr. Zhou, what do you mean by ‘doesn’t add up’?”

After getting into the car, Zhou Hai instructed Chief Xu: “Push the hospital lab. Toxicology tests on the heart blood need to be done as quickly as possible.”

Chief Xu immediately made arrangements by phone.

Only then did Zhou Hai glance at Zhao Xinli.

“It’s too early to say anything definitive. These are just some of my thoughts that haven’t been confirmed yet. Let’s see the scene first.”

“I suggest you call your team over. It’s easier working with your own people, and trace evidence and other detailed tasks will require them.”

Zhao Xinli smiled.

“I already secretly called them before the autopsy. They should be arriving in Mocheng soon.”

As if to confirm this, his phone rang at just the right moment.

“You’ve arrived? Alright, I’ll send you the address. It’s north of the highway exit into the city, Sun Tan Village.”

Zhou Hai said nothing more. He closed his eyes and replayed the autopsy process in his mind.

Soon, the group arrived at Sun Tan Village. After waiting a few minutes at the entrance, Zhao Xinli’s team also arrived and they regrouped.

The deceased’s wife and mother-in-law followed the convoy back to the village as well. Once they got out of the car, many onlookers gathered around. However, no one stepped forward to console the elderly Zheng family woman or the victim’s wife. They simply followed Zhou Hai and the others toward Zheng Hongtao’s house.

When they turned into the alley, everyone stopped. A police cordon had already been set up.

Chief Xu had ordered the gate opened. Behind them, Zheng Hongtao’s mother suddenly began crying again. This time, her cries were no longer the hysterical shouting from the hospital—now they were filled with genuine grief. The surrounding crowd also quieted down.

Officers from Chief Xu’s team blocked the outsiders. Zhou Hai, Zhao Xinli, and several members of Team Three put on shoe covers and forensic suits, carrying equipment cases into the courtyard.

Zhao Xinli’s team immediately split up to begin the inspection. Zhou Hai did not rush to act; instead, he stood in the courtyard observing carefully.

The entire yard was very clean. It consisted of six main rooms connected together and divided into two entrances. At the entryway there was a short screen wall. On the west side was a small detached room that looked like a toilet and storage shed. The entire ground was cemented, extending from the gate all the way to the main rooms.

Faint bloodstained footprints stretched from the entrance into the house.

The environment meant a massive amount of work would be required. They took photos along the way and entered the house.

Once inside the main hall, the first impression was chaos.

Cabinets, boxes, and belongings were scattered everywhere. Even the framed photos on the walls were crooked. The mattress had been flipped over, and one corner had a triangular cut about fifty centimeters wide, exposing the springs beneath. The scene looked like it had been ransacked by bandits.

Even Zhou Hai frowned slightly. Was this done by the killer?

If the victim had already been threatened into revealing the hiding place, why continue searching so frantically? Or was there something else the killer was trying to conceal?

He crouched down and examined the edge of the mattress with a magnifying glass. As expected, there were bloodstains—heavier near the point where the knife entered and fading toward the tail end. This indicated the cut was made shortly after the injury, before the blood had coagulated.

When he turned around, he noticed an old wedding photo on the headboard. From the woman’s face, it was clearly the victim’s wife. But Zheng Hongbo in the photo looked like a completely different person—he was strikingly handsome, the kind of “fresh-faced youth” people talk about today.

Chief Xu somehow appeared behind Zhou Hai.

“Time really is a butcher’s knife. No one escapes it. I used to be quite the looker too. Sigh.”

Zhou Hai twitched at the corner of his mouth. What was Chief Xu reminiscing about?

“Chief Xu, what’s the wife’s name? Do they have children?”

Chief Xu flipped open his notebook.

“The victim Zheng Hongtao’s wife is named Zhu Li, 42 years old. She’s a farmer, quiet and honest. She’s usually the one maintaining relations with the neighbors. They have one son, Zheng Yuan, 22 years old, studying at Beijing Foreign Studies University. He’s one of the best students in the village.”

“No wonder we didn’t see anyone else at home,” Zhou Hai said.

At that moment, the forensic team from Group Three had already finished their inspection. Zhou Hai raised an eyebrow and checked the time.

“That fast? From entry to completion, it didn’t even take you twenty minutes. That’s impressive speed.”

Zhao Xinli immediately sensed trouble and walked over, but it was already too late—the lead trace examiner named Da Zhao spoke first.

He held up the camera and said confidently: “Blood is everywhere. The scene has been completely contaminated by villagers. There’s no value left for investigation.”

His certainty and blunt tone made Zhou Hai’s expression grow colder.

Zhou Hai took the camera, flipped through it briefly, then tossed it back.

“The wounds on the victim were coercion injuries. All the blood traces are vertical drips. So did you find the binding location?”

“The victim’s neck was pressed down. We suspect it was a three-centimeter-thick plywood board, white on one side and raw wood color underneath. I believe Zhao Xinli already told you that—did you find what it is?”

“And the knife wounds on the victim—judging from the angles, they were caused by a triangular-tipped butcher knife. Such knives have no guards, and repeated stabbing would meet resistance after piercing the body and even damage the subclavian vein.”

“So the killer likely injured their hand.”

“That means among all the blood droplets in this room, there may be one drop that belongs to the killer.”

“Did you find it?”