SFTD -Chapter 27 Giant Cadaveric Swelling (Part 7)

Half an hour later, the group arrived by the seaside. Before them stood an upscale residential complex with some history behind it — Maidao Golden Coast. It was a villa district developed around the year 2000 in Dongnan City.

The neighborhood had been constructed in four phases, all connected together along the coastline.

Every property was a frontline sea-view home. Residents could enjoy an unobstructed ocean view, while the elevated terrain kept the area from suffering too much from the damp sea air. As a result, the moment sales opened back then, the villas were snapped up immediately.

Because both the location and scenery were considered the very best in Dongnan City, people said prices still hovered around seventy thousand yuan per square meter. Even so, there were hardly any homes available on the market. After all, a single villa easily cost thirty to forty million yuan — far beyond what ordinary people could afford.

Xu Xiangyun was already waiting at the entrance to the complex. When she saw the police cars arrive, she spoke briefly with the security guards on duty, and several vehicles were allowed into the villa district.

Inside the neighborhood, all kinds of rare and expensive trees were arranged in an orderly fashion. The anti-slip stone pavement was spotless.

Xu Biao got out of the car and whistled.

Squinting his sleazy little eyes, he bumped Xiao Liang with his shoulder.

“Xiao Liang, got your wedding house ready yet? This place is insane! This is the golden spot among golden spots in Dongnan City. The environment’s practically like a vacation resort. Work hard and buy a place here someday!”

Xiao Liang recoiled in fright.

“With what money? If I ever get married, I’ll probably have to squeeze in with my parents. I don’t even dare dream about a marital home. Housing prices in Dongnan City are terrifying! Before I started college, it was only twenty thousand per square meter. Now even four-per-square-meter apartments are out in the urban-rural fringe. With my salary, even if I don’t eat or drink for a year, I could maybe buy one and a half square meters.”

Xu Biao smacked him on the head.

“You showing off or what? How are us old bachelors supposed to feel? You’ve got a girlfriend willing to live in cramped conditions with you. What’s the use of us having houses? We belong to the group women stay far away from, and you’re still here making sarcastic remarks. You’re gonna piss me off!”

Xiao Liang glanced at Zhou Hai, then looked back at Xu Biao.

“How would I dare show off? Brother Xu, stop teasing me.”

Xu Biao stared at him dangerously.

“Kid, give you an inch and you start running wild. Hey, guess you can’t pick up your girlfriend today, huh?”

Xiao Liang pulled a long face.

“Yeah! My mom messaged me earlier. She went to pick up Xiaoke and then accompanied her to registration. Turns out there’s nothing for me to do at all!”

Xu Biao looked furious and slapped him hard on the back.

“You brat, you’re still showing off!”

Terrified, Xiao Liang quickly dodged away. Zhou Hai raised a hand to stop Xu Biao.

“Enough fooling around. Let’s go inside and take a look. Being murdered and left unnoticed for months… even if someone was rich, what’s there to envy about that kind of life?”

The group fell silent and followed Xu Xiangyun toward the third villa in the eastern row.

Each villa in the community was divided into two households separated by a low wall. The vegetation in every courtyard had clearly been carefully maintained.

Moreover, every yard had a different layout, with layered landscaping and distinct plant arrangements.

After the door was opened, Xu Biao put on his glasses and swept the floor with an investigative light.

Twenty minutes later, he stepped back out while walking on protective pads.

With an unusually serious expression, he said:

“Family members shouldn’t come in yet. Forensic Doctor Zhou and Captain Huang, come inside. We found something in the bathroom.”

Zhou Hai had already changed into protective clothing. Xu Biao was rarely this serious, which meant there must be substantial evidence. Zhou Hai turned sideways and glanced at Xiao Liang.

“Xiao Liang, stay here with Ms. Xu at the entrance while we go in and take a look.”

Xu Xiangyun stared nervously at Zhou Hai.

“W-What happened?”

Xiao Liang stopped her from entering.

“Please don’t worry. Forensic Doctor Zhou and the others need to examine the scene. Since this was the victim’s property, they may be able to find important evidence.”

Following Xu Biao upstairs, Zhou Hai and Captain Huang saw several wave-patterned shoeprints clearly visible on the floor. Xu Biao had already marked them with labels and chalk outlines.

Following the footprints, they arrived at the master bedroom bathroom on the second floor. The tracks moved repeatedly between the study and the bedroom. Unlike ordinary dusty footprints, however, these were much fainter.

With a trace of excitement, Xu Biao explained:

“These shoeprints are unusual. They aren’t ordinary dust prints. The owner of the shoes stepped in water, and after the moisture dried, these traces were left behind. They’re almost impossible to see with the naked eye. You can only detect them under ultraviolet light or side lighting. And because this room was sealed relatively well, the moisture evaporated slowly. Dust accumulated on top over time, which is why these faint prints formed. The tracks are spread all over the second floor, especially between the study and the master bedroom. On the first floor, there are only a few near the exit. Clearly, this person was searching for something upstairs. Looks like he was very familiar with the scene. Even hidden items could be found by him.”

Zhou Hai walked into the study and his eyes narrowed as he looked at the opened cabinet.

“For example…finding the victim’s outdoor sports equipment.”

“Using materials already on site…”

Captain Huang looked between the two men.

“You mean this was the primary crime scene?”

Zhou Hai walked toward the bathroom.

A rusted pair of scissors had been casually tossed onto the floor and had practically adhered to it. Xu Biao pried it up with force and placed it into an evidence bag.

The bathroom was extremely luxurious. Up two levels of steps stood a built-in white bathtub.

The fan-shaped tub measured nearly two meters by two meters. There were still five or six centimeters of water remaining inside, not yet fully evaporated. But the water had already turned murky brownish-red.

Ring-shaped residue marks circled the edges of the bathtub. Stuck to those rings were numerous blackish-purple flakes. Zhou Hai picked up several pieces and placed them into an evidence bag.

Raising a magnifying glass, he carefully examined the largest fragment under his right eye.

Very thin.

There were faint veins running through it.

The texture looked like—flower petals?

“These are petals!”

“Petals?”

Xu Biao leaned over and peered through the magnifying glass. Sure enough, there seemed to be traces of rose-red coloring around the edges of the fragments.

Captain Huang narrowed his eyes.

“If they’re flower petals… could the perpetrator have been a woman?”

Before Zhou Hai could refute him, Xu Biao had already begun shaking his head.

“Based on the footprints at the scene, the person moving around the rooms wore size-46 shoes and was between 180 and 182 centimeters tall. Weight is harder to estimate because dried wet footprints create distortion, but this was definitely a powerfully built individual. Looks like we can’t rule out the possibility of a third person being present at the scene. But why didn’t anyone report the crime? Could they have been an accomplice?”

Zhou Hai was thinking as well.

The bathtub was very likely the primary location where Xu Zekai had been drowned.

He collected a sample of the water. As long as it could be compared with slices of the victim’s lung tissue, they would know the answer.

Xu Biao lifted the massive forensic lamp and shone it sideways across the entire bathtub area. Near the edge of the tub, Zhou Hai discovered two curled hairs.

“These are pubic hairs. Part of the follicles are still attached. Hopefully we can extract DNA.”

Xu Biao asked seriously:

“Curly hair is bent too. Armpit hair is bent too. How can you tell with one glance that it’s pubic hair?”

“Head hair is hard and relatively straight. Even naturally curly hair usually shows trimming marks at the ends, with cleaner cross-sections. Armpit hair is short and curly, but extremely soft. Only pubic hair is short, curly, hard, flattened, and highly elastic. So this is pubic hair.”