SFTD -Chapter 154 Ghosts Beneath the Bridge (Part 9)

“The cause of death is fine—sudden cardiac death!”

Captain Wang froze. “What? The cause of death is correct, so we’re back to square one again?”

Xu Biao slapped Captain Wang on the back.

“Don’t be so impatient. Listen to everything Brother Hai says first and it’ll become clear. What are you rambling about here for?”

“The deceased died from sudden cardiac arrest because she had hypertrophic cardiomyopathy. This condition is usually very hard to detect. The deceased was over 192 cm tall and weighed about 70 kg. This body type is quite rare among Asians.

People like this are prone to certain conditions, such as bone and joint disorders, and cardiac myocardial hypertrophy. In cases of hypertrophic cardiomyopathy, sudden death can easily be triggered by alcohol consumption, exhaustion, or shock.

So we need to focus on this: what exactly was the deceased doing before she died? Who did she come into contact with?

Also, look—there’s a palm print on the deceased’s back.”

They turned the body over together. The palm print on the back of the neck, where no fungal growth had covered it, was extremely clear.

“Why would there be a palm print? It wasn’t mentioned in the autopsy report!”

Xu Biao rolled his eyes. “If the autopsy had been done properly, we wouldn’t have all these follow-up issues. Brother Hai is saying the killer applied a large amount of antifungal medication on his hand, so when the fungal layer formed on the corpse, that area was avoided and remained clean, forming a palm print impression.”

Zhou Hai nodded.

“Yes. The killer is right-handed, and likely has severe tinea or an injury on at least his right hand. He used a very strong antifungal agent—this isn’t something Daktarin could achieve. Let’s proceed along these lines first. Have you contacted the sports academy yet?”

Wang Xuchao nodded. “We did make initial contact with the school. The deceased Xu Miaochi was on the school basketball team. The team and coach are currently in closed training camp. I’ve arranged to go there tomorrow.”

“Good. I’ll go with you tomorrow.”

—

Early the next morning, Zhou Hai and Wang Xuchao arrived at the women’s basketball training base of the sports academy.

As soon as they entered the gym, they were greeted by a hoarse shouting voice.

“Faster! Faster! Faster!
What are you doing? Haven’t eaten?
Where’s the coordination?!
Layup!
Layup!”

Following the voice, Zhou Hai and Wang Xuchao quickly found the training court. Two teams—red and blue—were playing intensely. A slightly overweight middle-aged man stood there holding a clipboard, constantly clapping and shouting instructions.

Hearing footsteps, the man turned around. The stern expression on his face immediately softened when he saw their uniforms. He walked toward them quickly with a warm smile. The smile was very approachable, giving him a neighborly, friendly feel.

“You’re the police officers who called, right?”

Wang Xuchao nodded. “Are you the coach?”

“Yes. I’m the women’s basketball coach, Lu Zhongping.”

Zhou Hai looked at the players on court. Although the coach hadn’t stopped them, their intensity had clearly dropped. Still, two players contesting the ball were colliding heavily, neither willing to give ground.

Wang Xuchao took out a photo.

“Do you recognize this person?”

Coach Lu glanced at it but didn’t take it.

“Of course I do. He’s from the Yong’an Criminal Police Team—Zeng Da. He comes here several times every month. He was even here last Friday. He was handling a case involving one of our players who died. What’s going on?”

“He’s dead. He was murdered. Ask everyone to stop training. I need to ask them some questions.”

“He’s dead?”

Coach Lu froze. The noise behind him interrupted his thoughts, so he quickly blew his whistle.

“Alright, stop for a moment. Everyone come over.”

The players wiped their sweat with towels and walked over. Coach Lu looked at the two officers and said to the team:

“These two are colleagues of Officer Zeng. They want to ask you some questions.”

He then combed his fingers through his hair, messed up by the air-conditioning. His thinning crown exposed his scalp clearly, and the movement only made more hair fall out, though he didn’t seem to notice. He waved for the players to gather around.

Wang Xuchao held up Zeng Zhigang’s photo. “Do you recognize this person?”

All the players nodded. A girl in the front row said:

“I remember him. He came last week. He was in charge of investigating Xu Miaochi’s case. He’s been coming here frequently for the past half year.”

“When did your team move to the East Campus?”

Another girl, very thin and noticeably shorter than the others, wiped her sweat and said: “Our team has competitions year-round. No summer or winter break. We moved here around August 10 last year when the new gym was completed. The conditions here are better—it even has central air conditioning.”

She spoke clearly and logically. Zhou Hai observed everyone’s hands while also watching their expressions.

“Did Xu Miaochi have a boyfriend?”

Zhou Hai suddenly asked, catching everyone off guard. They exchanged glances. Coach Lu waved his hand.

“Just answer them. It’s fine. Officer Zeng, the one investigating this case, is dead. There’s no need to hide anything now. He was a good person.”

Wang Xuchao glanced at Zhou Hai. “So she did have a boyfriend?”

The thin, tall girl shook her towel with a disdainful expression, and others looked similar.

“Boyfriend? You mean a teacher-student relationship, right? She was involved with one of the school’s fitness instructors. They were often seen together.”

“Which teacher?”

“Coach Jin Zhicheng. We all saw them.”

The others nodded in agreement.

Zhou Hai pulled Wang Xuchao aside. “What’s your name?”

The small, slightly frail girl pointed at herself.

“Me?”

“Yes, you.”

“My name is Liu Haiyan.”

Zhou Hai looked into Liu Haiyan’s eyes. She was quite delicate-looking. At her height—likely not even 178 cm—she would be at a disadvantage in basketball unless she had exceptional skill and jumping ability. Her sharp attitude didn’t match her appearance.

Zhou Hai gestured toward the team.

“Who has the strongest individual ability in your team? Was it Xu Miaochi? And who is the top scorer?”

He asked three questions in a row, catching Liu Haiyan off guard. Her expression darkened as she looked at him coldly.

“Yes, you guessed right. Xu Miaochi was a small forward and used to be our top scorer. But because she was dating, she missed matches, so we all had issues with her.”

“So now you’re the small forward?”

Without pausing, Zhou Hai raised his eyebrow and continued.

Liu Haiyan stepped forward until she stood right in front of him, looking slightly up at him. She pressed her lips together and poked his chest with her finger.

“Yes. I’m the small forward now. But I didn’t kill anyone. I just don’t want our women’s basketball team at the sports academy to lose too badly.”

With that, she turned and walked away without looking back. The others said nothing.

Coach Lu walked over.

“How did it go?”

Zhou Hai shook his head. “It’s fine. I want to ask you about someone.”

“Who?”

“The fitness instructor Liu Haiyan just mentioned—Jin Zhicheng.”