SFTD -Chapter 2 The Man in the Bathtub (Part 2)

Zhou Hai said nothing. Xu Biao poked his head in from outside the bathroom and jabbed Liang Honggang in the lower back, gesturing toward Zhou Hai with his chin.

“Don’t disturb your Brother Hai!
Watch carefully and take photos exactly the way he wants.

Still, these luxury apartments really are built well.
With this much water soaking the place, the downstairs ceiling still hasn’t leaked. Amazing.

Our old apartment building could never compare. Spill one cup of water on the floor, and the auntie downstairs would come charging up within ten minutes.”

“Have samples from the bathtub water been collected?”

“Yeah, collected already. Also, we found seven or eight blood spatter stains smaller than 0.3 centimeters on the bathroom wall. Judging from the angle, they were probably splashed out from the direction of the bathtub.”

Using a laser pointer, the fat man indicated several dark red droplets on the black tiles west of the bathtub.

Sure enough, against the black tiles, they were hard to spot.

“Have the other rooms been examined?”

Xu Biao nodded, frowning slightly.

“We checked them all. The front door lock is intact, and there are no signs the rooms were ransacked. There was at least fifty thousand yuan in cash in the master bedroom nightstand drawer, so robbery can be ruled out. The killer had extremely strong counter-surveillance awareness. The entire apartment was thoroughly cleaned. No valuable traces were left behind.”

As he spoke, Zhou Hai pointed at a pale ring-shaped mark on the ring finger of the victim’s right hand.

“Xiao Liang, take pictures. That’s a ring mark. The ring was removed after death, so the pressure imprint has already set.”

“Also photograph the stab wound on the chest for documentation. Everything here is submerged in water now, so most traces are meaningless. Have the staff send the body to the center as soon as possible.”

Liang Honggang quickly took the photographs and carefully stepped out of the room along the investigation pads.

After relaying Zhou Hai’s opinion to Captain Huang, the captain immediately made arrangements by phone.

Xu Biao walked to Zhou Hai’s side and helped carry the investigation case out of the bathroom.

The two stood in the center of the living room and surveyed the scene.

Zhou Hai headed toward the master bedroom.

The apartment’s décor looked simple on the surface, yet gave off an exceptionally refined and grand feeling. One glance was enough to tell the owner was a successful man with excellent taste. The meticulously cleaned room was practically spotless.

Squatting beside the bedside table, Zhou Hai noticed a reflective semicircular mark on the surface.

“It looks like a cup used to be placed here.”

Xu Biao narrowed his eyes and smiled.

“We already collected samples from that. I think there was some kind of substance in the mark.

See? Looks like some water-soluble white powder. After the water evaporated, it settled there.”

A faint vibration sound suddenly came from somewhere nearby.

Following the sound, Zhou Hai lifted the pillow at the head of the bed.

Nothing.

But the vibration became louder.

Zhou Hai lowered his head until his face was nearly against the floor. Only then did he notice a charger plugged into a hidden outlet beneath the bed.

Tracing the cable, he found a brand-new iPhone 6.

At the time, the model had not even been officially released in China.

Xu Biao froze for a moment before walking over, a trace of embarrassment on his face. Clearly, his search hadn’t been thorough enough.

He quickly prepared an evidence bag for the phone and charger.

Hiding a phone in such a secret place just to charge it was something he’d never seen before.

By now, the phone had stopped vibrating. The screen showed more than twenty missed calls.

After examining it briefly, the fat man quickly dusted for fingerprints. He had his own methods when it came to fingerprint memory.

After observing for a moment, he sighed softly.

“We already found one phone in the living room. Didn’t expect another one hidden here too. What a shame—only the victim’s fingerprints are on it.”

Zhou Hai didn’t respond.

He was a man of very few words.

Other than explaining procedures during autopsies or reconstructing crime scenes during case analysis, people rarely heard him speak.

After half a month at the center, the fat man had already gotten used to his personality. Smiling, he sealed the phone into the evidence bag.

“Has the victim’s identity been confirmed?”

Xu Biao handed Zhou Hai an extremely high-end photo frame.

The photo showed the victim himself, seated behind a desk with the image of a successful businessman.

“Captain Huang already confirmed it. The victim is the homeowner, Peng Yuhua.

Thirty-five years old, unmarried. Vice president of Kaihua Real Estate under China Railway Fourteenth Bureau. Pretty much a young and successful elite.”

“Have they contacted immediate family?”

“I heard both his parents live overseas, and he’s an only child.

As for girlfriends… he’s got plenty. Captain Huang’s still hesitating over which one to call.”

Xu Biao grinned mischievously, smiling so hard his eyes disappeared, but Zhou Hai didn’t even look at him.

Talking as they walked, the two entered the study.

Holding a UV fluorescent lamp, the fat man demonstrated for Zhou Hai.

“Look. Every cabinet and table was carefully cleaned. Completely spotless. Even the light switches were operated with knitted fabric to avoid leaving prints.”

Zhou Hai nodded, and the two left the room.

Captain Huang had already arrived with several officers. Zhou Hai helped them place the body into the body bag. The movement caused a large amount of water to slosh out of the bathtub.

Because rigor mortis was at its stiffest stage, the victim’s arms were raised high.

Left with no choice, Zhou Hai and Liang Honggang had to break the rigor mortis in the elbow joints before they could barely zip up the body bag.

As Zhou Hai turned back, he suddenly spotted two strands of long hair in the remaining water at the bottom of the tub.

He immediately picked them up with tweezers and sealed them in an evidence bag.

Although the new team leader looked expressionless all the time, both Xu Biao and Liang Honggang liked him a lot.

Because someone who talked little usually meant someone highly capable.

If Group Two wanted to redeem itself, they were counting on Zhou Hai to turn things around.

Zhou Hai tossed the evidence bag to Liang Honggang.

“Let’s go back and do the autopsy.”

Although Liang Honggang was a little scared, he was also excited.

After all, during the half month he’d been following Zhou Hai, everything had been peaceful. This was the first homicide case he had ever encountered.

He nodded repeatedly. Seeing Xu Biao speaking with Captain Huang, he chose not to interrupt and hurried after Zhou Hai.

The expression at the corner of Zhou Hai’s lips relaxed slightly.

Liang Honggang’s reaction—that was the proper mindset a forensic examiner should have.

Though Xu Biao was somewhat overweight, his stamina was surprisingly good. Carrying two investigation cases, he hurried after them.

“Hey, Forensic Zhou!
Zhou Hai!
Haizi!
Wait up, I’m coming too!

I still need to deliver the samples to pathology for testing. Captain Huang’s pushing hard—it’s the Eastern District’s first homicide case of the year.”

Zhou Hai held the elevator door for him.

Xu Biao squeezed in with the cases, and the three quickly headed toward the autopsy center.

The center was located on the outskirts of Dongjiang District in Dongnan City, far from downtown and far from all noise and commotion.

On both sides stood four-meter-high walls topped with barbed wire.

Facing the end of a concrete road stood a four-story building clad in off-white ceramic tiles.

Mounted on a steel frame were more than a dozen large red characters:

Dongnan City Public Security Bureau Judicial Authentication Center.

The words gave off an eerie feeling.

On the first floor, from left to right, were the case registration office, four autopsy rooms, a changing room, a freezer room, a makeup room, and on the far right, the restroom, shower room, and stairway upstairs.

The second floor contained the video surveillance room, trace evidence analysis laboratory, and six offices.

The third floor housed the forensic pathology lab and DNA testing center.

The fourth floor held the conference room and the director’s office.

The three men strode quickly into the center.

Xu Biao, who had looked relaxed earlier, now seemed nervous too. He stayed close behind Zhou Hai, swallowing hard before deliberately joking to chase away his fear.

“Hey, Zhou Hai, slow down!

You’re one eighty-two, I’m one seventy-two. There’s a whole ten-centimeter difference between us. Can’t you consider the length of my legs a little?”

Suppressing a laugh, Liang Honggang followed closely behind.

After completing the required procedures in the duty office, he hurried after them into the changing room.

Even in the early summer dawn, after all that activity, both Liang Honggang and Xu Biao were sweating lightly.

Seeing Zhou Hai button his T-shirt collar all the way to the top, Xu Biao looked puzzled.

“Team Leader—”

“Call me by my name.”

Xu Biao nodded vigorously.

Their new team leader had spent too much time abroad and disliked being called “Team Leader.”

He only allowed people to call him Zhou Hai or Forensic Zhou.

But Xu Biao ignored that and continued calling him “Haizi” in his usual overly familiar tone.

“Fine, Haizi. We’ve been grouped together for almost half a month now. Other than discussing cases, you haven’t spoken more than ten sentences to me, and none longer than five words.

It’s always me talking while you listen. Feels like I’m performing a solo comedy routine. Do you find me annoying?”

Zhou Hai shook his head.

“No.”

“See? Two words again. I seriously surrender to you!”

Taking advantage of the moment, Xu Biao tugged at Zhou Hai’s collar.

“Why do you always button your clothes all the way up? In weather like this, aren’t you hot?”

By now, Zhou Hai had already changed into sterile protective clothing. Raising his gloved hands, he cast Xu Biao a calm glance.

“I’m fine.

Xiao Liang, today you’ll officially assist me with an autopsy.

There’s no one around tonight, so we can do it carefully.”

“Okay, Brother Hai!”

The sudden announcement startled Liang Honggang so much that he coughed twice.

A chill crept up his spine, and the hairs on his arms stood on end.