SFTD -Chapter 146 Ghosts Beneath the Bridge (Part 1)

Back in Dongnan, Zhou Hai finally enjoyed a few rare days of peace.

Taking over the forensic review cases was relatively easy work. After all, it was close to the Spring Festival—no one was bored enough to start new litigation requiring forensic evaluation at this time. So an entire week passed without much happening. This lazy, idle life even made Zhou Hai feel a bit of enjoyment. It seemed people really were naturally inclined toward inertia.

On February 9th, Lu Xi and Luo Luo were taken early in the morning by Zhou Hai to the center for a visit. Xu Biao acted as their guide, showing them around the building floor by floor. Zhou Luo Luo never held back her words, criticizing the facilities of the entire center without restraint, while Xu Biao stood with his arms crossed, laughing the whole time.

“Little Luo Luo, if our director heard you, you’d be in trouble. He’d definitely grab you by the collar and throw you out—no hesitation!” Xu Biao laughed.

“Hmph, boring!”

“Oh right, what did you and Xi Xi mean last time by ‘Little New Year’? Isn’t that just the New Year? Why is there a big and small one? Weird!”

Xu Biao shook his head. “Little New Year is the 23rd day of the twelfth lunar month—that’s the day after tomorrow. When I was a kid, there was a rhyme: ‘On the twenty-third of the twelfth month, sticky sugar melon,’ it’s the day we worship the Kitchen God. We eat dumplings and clean the house!”

“Oh! Why don’t you all come to my house the day after tomorrow? My mom’s mackerel dumplings are amazing. Eating mackerel dumplings on Little New Year means ‘abundance every year’—a great omen!”

Zhou Luo Luo slowly processed Xu Biao’s Chinese and suddenly stopped walking, remembering the hotpot restaurant in Mocheng City. Her mouth almost started watering.

She glared at him unhappily for a few seconds, then grabbed Lu Xi’s hand.

“Why do we have to wait until the day after tomorrow? I want to eat it today!”

Lu Xi was stunned. “How about we go ask your Brother Zhou?”

Luo Luo ran over to Zhou Hai, showing a rare cute smile.

“Brother Zhou Zhou, I want fish dumplings for lunch. Is that okay?”

Zhou Hai looked at the little girl begging for food beside him. All words of refusal disappeared instantly.

“Alright… but what exactly are fish dumplings?”

Before Xu Biao and Lu Xi could explain, Zhou Hai’s phone rang. It was Liu Da. Zhou Hai raised his hand to stop them and answered on speaker.

“Liu Da, what’s wrong?”

“Zhou Hai, I’ve sent you an address—under the Qianhai First Line, north of Dingshi Bridge. Bring your second team over immediately. Hurry!”

He hung up.

Everyone had heard it. Xu Biao’s expression immediately changed, the smile disappearing.

“Liu Da sounds off. Something’s wrong. Let’s go quickly and check.”

He then looked at Lu Xi and Zhou Luo Luo. “Sorry about today. You two go ahead without us—I’ll treat you next time, alright?”

Lu Xi smiled. “Go ahead. No need to explain. I’ll take Luo Luo home for dumplings. My mom’s mackerel dumplings are the best in Dongnan anyway—you can’t even buy them.”

Luo Luo immediately stopped caring about Zhou Hai leaving and hugged Lu Xi tightly.

“Zhou Zhou, go! I want Xi Xi! I don’t care about you anymore!”

Xu Biao rubbed his nose. “Hmm, that sentence was learned well. Used correctly.”

“Stop joking. Call Fengzi and the others. Let’s move.”

Twenty minutes later, under Dingshi Bridge at Qianhai First Line.

Seven or eight police cars lined the roadside.

A pale-faced man lay on the ground. A large pool of blood soaked the asphalt around him.

Liu Da was crouched beside the body. Wang Xuchao, captain of the West City Criminal Police Brigade, stood nearby with his hat off, eyes red, occasionally wiping his face.

Zhou Hai narrowed his eyes. The reactions of these two suggested the victim was likely someone they knew—possibly even from their own system. He quickened his pace.

Hearing footsteps, Liu Da turned around.

“You’re here. I need you to help determine whether this is homicide or a traffic accident.”

Zhou Hai nodded. Since Liu Da had asked, there was nothing inappropriate about helping—both professionally and personally. He knelt down to examine the body.

The victim’s upper clothing was open. There was no expression of pain on his face. A set of tire marks ran from his right hip to his left shoulder. The blood pool had soaked the surrounding ground.

Zhou Hai dipped a finger into the blood and slowly lifted it. The blood stained his fingertip completely, and a drop slowly fell.

He paused.

The blood in the pool was still flowing?

Zhou Hai frowned in confusion and gestured to Fengzi.

“Finger joints show bruising and abrasions. Early rigor mortis has started in the small joints. Collect the blood on the ground—there’s massive blood loss, so it’ll be hard to extract usable samples from the body. Ground samples will have to do.”

He checked the joints and body, then looked at Liu Da.

“When did you receive the report?”

“7:30 this morning. Someone passing by saw him and reported it. We arrived at 8:20. Rush hour traffic was heavy.”

Zhou Hai nodded.

“Not a traffic accident. There are no impact injuries consistent with a collision. Only compression injuries from the right hip to left shoulder. The blood at the scene is from an open rib fracture piercing the chest wall. There are fractures in both legs, but no localized swelling—these are not ante-mortem injuries.”

Liu Da and Wang Xuchao stared at him, eyes red.

“You’re saying… this is murder?”

Zhou Hai nodded slightly and glanced up at the elevated bridge.

“I can only say he did not die in a traffic accident. The exact cause of death requires a full autopsy. But it is now 9:10. Rigor mortis has already formed. Based on liver temperature and rigor distribution, time of death is about eight hours ago—between 12:00 and 1:00 a.m. Check surveillance from that time window first. Move the body back. I’ll perform the autopsy as soon as possible and give you a more detailed report.”

“…Stop… don’t run…”

Suddenly, shouting came from not far away.

A police officer chased toward the grass slope as several people with cameras and video equipment tried to flee. After a brief pursuit, they were subdued. Liu Da waved his hand for them to be handled quickly—this road could not remain blocked for long.

He took a deep breath and said:

“The victim is named Zeng Zhiqiang, 42 years old—same age as me.

He was my classmate from police academy. He was the captain of the Yong’an City Criminal Police Team and once my partner. Later, he took medical leave due to injury and was transferred to Yong’an. Last year, he moved his family back here for his child’s schooling, but his official transfer has not been completed for some reason. I don’t know why he was killed here.

Old Zeng was a very good police officer. I’ll leave everything to you, Forensic Doctor Zhou. Call me anytime if there’s news—I still have an urgent meeting to attend.”

Watching Liu Da leave quickly, Zhou Hai understood he was struggling to control his emotions.

“Xu Biao, take Xiao Liang up to the bridge and check for traces—especially at the damaged section of the guardrail.”