SFTD -Chapter 204 Mystery in the Blood (Part 1)

Chu Menghan pushed open the door to Autopsy Room No. 1. Zhou Hai had already changed into protective clothing and fully geared up. Beside him, Xu Biao was on the phone notifying Fengzi and Xiao Liang. Several officers from the Changhe precinct had already unzipped the body bag, and the corpse of a male victim was lifted onto the autopsy table.

“How’s your leg? Is it okay?”

Zhou Hai shook his head.

Chu Menghan wanted to say something else, but after opening her mouth, she swallowed the words back down.

Xu Biao and the others had every reason to visit him, but she did not. Besides, she had heard that Teacher Lu Xi had been taking meticulous care of him at home. The thought made her clench her fists unconsciously.

“I’m fine. Tell me about the victim. Do you have crime scene photos?”

At some point, Wang Man had appeared beside Chu Menghan and handed Xu Biao an extremely flashy Canon camera.

“All the photos are in here. I didn’t know how to transfer them, so I just brought the camera over.”

Xu Biao raised it to take a look.

“Damn, this is too much. What model are the cameras in our unit compared to this? Look at theirs!”

Zhou Hai lifted his eyes and glanced at Xu Biao. Instantly, Xu Biao swallowed the rest of his complaints and turned directly toward the computer.

“Give me a second, I’ll put them on the monitor.”

Xu Biao’s instinct for self-preservation was truly admirable. Wang Man gave him a thumbs-up from the side.

Looking at the neatly dressed victim, Zhou Hai tilted his chin toward Chu Menghan.

“Where was the victim found? Judging from how tidy he is, you’ve probably already identified him, right?”

Chu Menghan hated Zhou Hai’s all-knowing tone, but she still pulled out a small notebook.

“At 7:10 this morning, a student called the police. The victim was found lying in the bushes beside the pedestrian overpass north of Changhe New Street Intersection. The command center dispatched Ding Zhiming’s team to the scene. The ground was covered in fallen leaves, and the victim was lying alone in the bushes. But not far away, they found a backpack. There was no cash or bank cards in the wallet. Only some documents and a spare set of clothes.”

As she spoke, Wang Man placed a shoulder bag onto the stainless steel operating table beside the autopsy bed.

The backpack wasn’t leather but made from a parachute-like fabric of fairly good quality. The brand was Columbia. Judging from the victim’s casual clothing, Zhou Hai took the bag and immediately caught the scent of coffee.

He began searching through it carefully and soon found a small coffee stain on one of the shoulder straps. It was still damp and hadn’t dried completely.

“What did the caller say?”

“The caller was a university student. He came out to buy breakfast this morning and spotted the victim from the pedestrian bridge. But he also saw a man carrying this bag running toward the intersection. The student shouted at him, and the man grabbed something, threw the backpack into the bushes, and ran off. By the time the student got downstairs, the guy was already gone. He checked the victim’s neck and found no pulse, so he called 110.”

Zhou Hai raised his head again and looked at Chu Menghan.

“A student from Ludong Medical University?”

Chu Menghan pressed her lips together, her expression darkening slightly. The fact that he could infer that much from only a few sentences was impossible not to admire. Wang Man watched her being stumped and held back a laugh as he nodded.

“Yeah, the student’s from Ludong Medical University. We checked him out. He said he ran all the way there to buy breakfast for exercise.”

As Zhou Hai sorted through the documents and receipts inside the backpack, Chu Menghan continued.

“The victim’s name is Yang Ye, thirty-five years old, a senior auditor at Riyue Accounting Firm. His income was pretty good. This driver’s license was only issued in February this year. He lived in the eastern district. On the way back, we used his contact list to notify both his family and workplace. We also extracted footage of the man carrying his bag from surveillance cameras, though the image quality isn’t very clear.”

At that moment, Xu Biao found the surveillance images and enlarged them on the big screen. Zhou Hai glanced up briefly.

“Did you send people to arrest him?”

“We just got word they caught him. They’re bringing him back now.”

“Xu Biao, pull up an electronic map of the area around the crime scene.”

As he spoke, Zhou Hai lined up several receipts neatly in a row. Before long, a map appeared in one corner of the monitor.

“The victim left home by taxi at 6:05 this morning.

At 6:33, he arrived at the Dicos across the street.

At 6:35, he ate breakfast at the Dicos on Dongxiang Road — one Supreme Crispy Chicken Burger and one coffee.

You don’t need me to explain how long it takes to finish those two items.

Afterward, he crossed the pedestrian bridge and was heading for Southeast North Railway Station to board train D6044 to Yantai. Judging from the documents and items in the backpack, he was probably going to Huachen Hat Industry in Yantai for a financial audit. Most likely a two-day round trip.”

As Zhou Hai spoke, he pointed to the receipts spread across the table and the marked locations on the map.

Chu Menghan turned to look at Wang Man.

“You checked the bag carefully?”

“I did.”

“And you saw all these?”

“I did, but I thought he was keeping them for reimbursement. Who keeps every receipt clipped together so neatly inside an expense report?”

Xu Biao leaned his chubby face closer.

“He worked in finance, buddy. Did the family agree to the autopsy?”

Wang Man and Chu Menghan both nodded.

“They agreed. Right before I came in, the family signed the autopsy authorization papers.”

“Since the family’s been notified, let’s begin the autopsy.”

Just then, the door to the autopsy room swung open, and Fengzi and Xiao Liang hurried inside.

Xu Biao glanced at the two of them.

“What took you so long? A little later and we’d already be done with the autopsy.”

Fengzi shot a glance at Zhou Hai.

“Director Pang called the two of us over. He asked whether I’d considered starting my own team. The center still lacks a chief examiner, so he hopes I’ll think about it. As for Xiao Liang, it’s about making him a full employee officially. I think Director Pang’s trying to sideline the boss.”

Zhou Hai looked at the two of them. Though he couldn’t tell exactly what Director Pang intended, the suggestion itself wasn’t bad at all.

“If you want to leave, you can do it now. Your skills are no worse than the people in Group Four. Starting your own team is a good idea. Taking charge on your own would help you improve faster. Besides, we’d still all be working in the same center. If there are problems, we can discuss them anytime.”

Fengzi looked stunned. Xiao Liang shook his head repeatedly.

“Brother Luo and I already said it back then — I’m Brother Hai’s assistant. I still haven’t learned enough yet. I’m sticking to Group Two no matter what.”

Zhou Hai shrugged.

“Then change into protective gear and start the autopsy.”

Only after hearing those words did the tension ease from their faces slightly. They hurriedly grabbed protective clothing and suited up. One switched on the surgical lights while another started the recording equipment.

Chu Menghan secretly glanced at Zhou Hai.

With such a cold personality, what kind of charm did he possess that made these people stay so loyally by his side?

Then another thought crossed her mind.

Wasn’t she the same?

Thinking about her approaching return date to the capital, Chu Menghan’s hand tightened deeper inside her pocket.

Zhou Hai already had a girlfriend, and their relationship was obviously good. From the late-night food delivery last time, she could clearly sense how much Lu Xi cared about him. If it were her, she truly wouldn’t be able to do that.

But asking herself to offer blessings?

She simply couldn’t.

A faint sigh rose from the bottom of her heart, and the confusion in her eyes gradually cleared.

Perhaps…it was finally time to leave.