SFTD -Chapter 4 The Man in the Bathtub (Part 4)

Zhou Hai’s opening statement caused everyone to pause for a moment, followed immediately by a wave of hushed discussion.

Captain Liu tightened his grip on his pen and pressed, “Do you have evidence?”

“Yes.

First, based on the analysis of the stomach contents, the victim had seafood for dinner and drank a considerable amount of red wine.

I assume Captain Huang has already investigated the victim’s food delivery records?”

Captain Huang nodded and quickly explained:

“Right before the meeting, one of the investigators called in.

We’ve confirmed that at 9:30 PM on June 9th, the victim phoned Victoria Hotel to order dinner.

The delivery arrived at the victim’s home at 10:30 PM. The order included two seafood set meals, red wine, and a dessert.

They had arranged to collect the tableware the next day, but they were unable to contact the victim afterward.

We also checked the victim’s call records and found the deliveryman’s number among the missed calls.”

Zhou Hai gave a slight nod. This already confirmed his suspicions, and he continued:

“Second, tests conducted on the victim’s cardiac blood revealed a large amount of ketamine—what your criminal investigators commonly call ‘K powder.’

Generally, poisoning before committing the crime is more commonly seen in cases involving female offenders due to differences in physical strength.

The ketamine is also an important lead for the investigation.

Third, during bloodstain analysis at the scene, we discovered DNA from two individuals.

The blood was located above the western bathroom tiles. Since the tiles there are black with patterns, the killer failed to clean the blood thoroughly.

Additionally, when we removed the body from the bathtub, we found two strands of hair over sixty centimeters long at the bottom of the tub. DNA comparison is currently underway.

If the DNA from the hair matches the blood that doesn’t belong to the killer, then this person may either be the murderer—or someone the murderer intended to frame.

But if it’s the latter, then we’re in for a lot of trouble.

Fourth, the weapon used to stab the victim was likely a single-edged blade approximately 1.8 centimeters wide and eight to ten centimeters long.

The blade was extremely thin, less than 0.1 centimeters thick.

At first, I couldn’t figure out what kind of knife it was.

But just before entering the conference room, I suddenly realized.

It was a wallpaper knife.

A wallpaper knife has no hand guard, so while stabbing into the victim’s chest, it also cut the killer’s hand.

Judging from the direction of the blood spatter, we can conclude that the perpetrator is left-handed.

There was only one fatal wound to the victim’s chest. The blade entered between the third and fourth ribs and pierced the heart directly, causing cardiac tamponade.

Death was instantaneous.”

Captain Huang looked puzzled.

“A wallpaper knife?

Why a wallpaper knife? Wouldn’t it break easily?”

“I believe the killer wanted to conceal the fact that she had medical knowledge.

That’s why she deliberately chose a wallpaper knife.

While such knives are fragile, as long as the blade enters and exits at a perfectly vertical angle relative to the wound, breakage wouldn’t be an issue.”

Captain Liu’s eyes widened as he stared at Zhou Hai.

After hearing such a detailed reconstruction of the crime scene, Liu almost wanted to applaud.

“So you mean the killer is a medical worker—or someone highly familiar with human anatomy.

That way, even with less physical strength, she could kill with a single strike?”

Zhou Hai nodded slightly.

“Medical personnel, or someone who once studied medicine.

The two were likely very familiar with each other. Otherwise, the victim wouldn’t have been inside the apartment late at night wearing only pajama pants.

So my criminal profile is as follows:

• Female;
• Had a sexual relationship with the victim;
• Left-handed;
• Injured on the left hand;
• Previously studied medicine or worked in the medical field;
• Calm, intelligent, exceptionally clever, and highly skilled in counter-surveillance.

With these conditions, solving the case shouldn’t be difficult, right?”

Captain Liu repeatedly ran his hand through his hair and exchanged a few words with the other senior officers nearby.

Then he laughed loudly.

“Not difficult at all. We finally have a direction!”

Captain Huang leaned forward slightly.

“Peng Yuhua’s private life was extremely decadent.

Based on his contact list and information from his workplace, we’ve identified nearly twenty women who had intimate relationships with him.”

Captain Liu slapped the table decisively.

“Twenty women, then twenty women. Bring them all in for forensic screening.”

The meeting ended just like that.

Shortly after Zhou Hai returned to the center, Sister Zeng called.

“Forensic Doctor Zhou, the test results just came back.

The hair sample and the second blood sample from the wall do not belong to the same person.”

Zhou Hai instantly fell into deep thought.

He mentally reviewed his criminal profile again but found no flaws or mistakes.

It seemed the case was truly heading in the direction he least wanted to see.

If those two hairs had indeed been planted by the killer, then this person’s mind was terrifyingly calculating.

Even in such a tense and frightening environment, she had still managed to leave someone else’s hair behind.

Her psychological composure and level of planning far exceeded that of an ordinary person.

Around 11:30 AM, women summoned for screening gradually began arriving at the center.

So-called “screening” was simply blood collection for DNA comparison.

Although the testing process was relatively fast, it still required four to five hours.

As a result, the lobby became noisy like a crowded marketplace.

Many of the women appeared to know one another.

Some mocked each other openly.

Some exchanged cold remarks.

Some looked heartbroken.

Others sat expressionlessly, picking at their nails.

Group One Leader Liu returned around noon with four colleagues after finishing fieldwork.

The moment he saw the crowd in the lobby, he frowned continuously.

After asking Zhao Xinli what was happening, he finally understood Zhou Hai’s plan.

In a low voice, he instructed Zhao Xinli:

“This afternoon, don’t just focus on writing reports. Keep an eye on things.

No matter what, don’t let this turn into a disaster.

If the investigation direction is wrong and delays the case, our center will be the one losing face.”

Zhao Xinli nodded.

Although Zhou Hai’s working style differed greatly from theirs—he never bothered with pleasantries and jumped straight into work—his serious attitude toward cases had earned Zhao Xinli a new level of respect.

Near the end of the workday, Captain Huang arrived carrying a thick stack of documents.

He was a clever man. After receiving a few hints from Captain Liu, he had directly attached himself to Zhou Hai.

Standing beside him, he gestured with his chin toward the impatient women outside the glass doors.

“They say three women make a drama troupe. My head’s about to explode.

These are all the women connected to Peng Yuhua. Doctor Zhou, do you think any of them are suspects?”

In truth, Zhou Hai had already observed all of them carefully and hadn’t noticed anything suspicious.

Moreover, none of the women had injuries on their left hands.

“Let’s wait for the test results.

But my instincts tell me the real killer isn’t here.”

Captain Huang’s face immediately fell, the corners of his mouth drooping downward.

“Huh? Not here?

We checked every contact in his phonebook.

The tech team even recovered all the deleted text messages and WeChat chats from recent months.

These are all of Peng Yuhua’s girlfriends!”

Zhou Hai didn’t answer directly.

Instead, he kept staring at the women outside the window, carefully studying every expression once more.

“The victim had two phones, correct?”

“Yeah.”

Zhou Hai asked:

“Why did he have two phones?”

“Huh?

Why?

I have two phones too. One’s for work calls.

The other came free with my broadband package from the telecom company. It includes monthly call credit, so it’d be a waste not to use it.”

“That’s you.

But for someone like Peng Yuhua, whose annual salary plus bonuses exceeded two million yuan, what significance would two phones have?”

Captain Huang froze instantly.

“Yeah… why?”