SFTD -Chapter 48 The Tragedy of an Entire Family (Part 1)

Monday, August 25, 2014

At 7:10 in the morning, Zhou Hai had just driven onto Hebei Road when a shrill ringtone suddenly rang from his phone. He glanced at the screen. The words Command Center were flashing.

Helplessly, Zhou Hai switched on speakerphone.

“Hello, Forensic Doctor Zhou!
Six bodies have been discovered in a unit at Hetouyuan Residential Complex in Changhe District. I’ve already sent the address to your WeChat. Director Pang said your Second Unit is to take the case.”

Zhou Hai frowned slightly.

Hetouyuan Residential Complex in Changhe District?

That was not far from Xu Biao’s home.

“Alright, understood.”

Zhou Hai immediately called Xu Biao and told him to wait downstairs so he could pick him up. He also instructed Fengzi to bring Xiao Liang and head straight to Changhe District.

Half an hour later, the four of them arrived at Hetouyuan Residential Complex almost simultaneously.

The moment they entered the gates, they easily spotted the correct apartment building. Police tape had already been stretched around the area downstairs.

Zhou Hai and Xu Biao exchanged a glance.

The bright yellow cordon had been set up outside the building itself—had something been discovered in the surrounding area?

After parking, the four carried their equipment cases toward the building. Among the crowd of officers below, a familiar figure raised a hand and shouted energetically toward Zhou Hai.

“Forensic Doctor Zhou!”

It was Director Liu.

He was speaking to another officer. That person had their back turned, making it impossible to see clearly, though the figure was extremely slender.

Xu Biao grinned and greeted him.

“Director Liu, you’re really early! Judging by this, looks like you’ve once again personally… ahem… selected our Hai-zi!”

Director Liu laughed and nodded.

“That’s right! After all, Zhou Hai has his own unique theories regarding homicide cases. He’s often able to point us toward the right investigative direction.”

Zhou Hai’s brows knitted even tighter.

“So this is another case with absolutely no leads?”

“Correct. A family of six has been exterminated. Oh, let me introduce you—this is Captain Chu Menghan from Changhe District. She can brief you on the details.”

Only then did the nearly invisible, thin figure turn around.

Xu Biao’s eyes instantly widened.

Wasn’t this woman the beauty who had suddenly thrown herself at Hai-zi last Friday in Taidong?

“Y-you…H-hello!”

But before he could continue, he caught Zhou Hai’s warning glare and immediately corrected himself.

Fengzi and Xiao Liang looked at Xu Biao in confusion. Normally silver-tongued, why was he suddenly stuttering today?

Director Liu glanced between them suspiciously and raised an eyebrow.

“You know each other?”

Hai-zi and Captain Chu answered in perfect unison:

“Don’t know her/him.”

Director Liu shot Captain Chu a glance.

“Menghan, brief Forensic Doctor Zhou on the case.”

Xu Biao patted the equipment case and had already changed into his crime-scene coveralls. He took Xiao Liang with him to begin the investigation.

Zhou Hai glanced at Captain Chu.

Since both of them had chosen to pretend they didn’t know each other, that was probably for the best. Less awkward for everyone involved.

Chu Menghan pointed toward the cordoned-off area near the lawn.

“At six this morning, Auntie Liu, who lives in the west unit on the first floor of Building Three, went out to buy breakfast.

As she walked from the east side, she noticed something moving in the bushes here.

At first she thought it was a stray dog, so she hurried over. But when she got closer, she discovered it was the Zhang family’s three-year-old grandson from the third floor, lying there covered in blood. He was already dead.

Auntie Liu screamed in terror and collapsed to the ground. Her screams attracted the security guard on duty.

The guard and Auntie Liu ran together to the third floor of Building Three. But once they reached the apartment, neither of them dared enter.

The Zhang family’s door was half-open. Several people were sprawled across the floor inside. No matter how they called out, nobody responded. Blood was everywhere, and the blood drips in the hallway had already dried completely.

The guard stopped Auntie Liu and said they had to call the police immediately and preserve the scene. Judging by the child’s condition, he’d clearly been dead for quite some time—most likely the entire family was gone.

When we arrived and conducted a preliminary inspection, we confirmed that all six family members had been murdered. Director Liu then instructed the command center to notify your unit.”

Zhou Hai looked up toward the third-floor windows.

Bright red double happiness wedding characters were pasted on every window.

He turned toward Chu Menghan.

“The victims’ family just held a wedding recently?”

Chu Menghan paused.

She genuinely hadn’t considered that point.

After all, she had only arrived at the scene about ten minutes earlier. She had just finished taking Auntie Liu’s statement before Director Liu summoned her over for a briefing. Everything she knew about the scene itself had come from verbal reports.

She pursed her lips slightly, annoyed at her own lack of thoroughness for letting this guy catch the oversight.

“Please wait. I’ll bring the witness over.”

Chu Menghan hurried away.

Director Liu bumped Zhou Hai’s shoulder.

“You’re good at everything, kid, except for that ice-cold expression of yours. It makes people uncomfortable. Don’t scare my officers! That girl’s good—hardworking and driven. I’m putting special effort into training her.”

Zhou Hai lifted his eyes toward the loud-voiced Director Liu.

“Seems like your face is darker than mine, Director Liu. I’m just a small-time forensic doctor. How would I scare anyone?”

Director Liu was momentarily speechless before bursting into hearty laughter.

Though Zhou Hai was cold by nature, nobody could criticize his work. A man like that was trustworthy.

A moment later, Chu Menghan returned while supporting the trembling Auntie Liu. Behind them, another officer helped a pale-faced security guard walk over.

Chu Menghan gently asked:

“Auntie, can you tell us why the Zhang family has wedding decorations posted up?”

The moment the question shifted to that topic, Auntie Liu seemed to relax slightly from her terror.

“Mhm! Yesterday the Zhang family’s second daughter got married. But she wasn’t marrying out—the newlyweds’ home is directly across the hall on the third floor. Everyone understood what that meant. To put it bluntly, they brought in a live-in son-in-law.”

Zhou Hai nodded and took out a notebook to begin recording.

“Do you know who the six victims are?”

Auntie Liu slapped her thigh and immediately burst into tears.

They had been neighbors for years. Overnight, the entire family had vanished. Zhou Hai’s question made it difficult for her to control her emotions.

The security guard raised a hand.

“I’ll explain. I looked inside earlier. The east-side apartment on the third floor had its front door wide open. Inside were the elderly Mr. and Mrs. Zhang, the second daughter and her husband, and the eldest daughter. The child lying downstairs was the eldest daughter’s three-year-old son.”

An entire bloodline wiped out.

“The eldest son-in-law wasn’t there?”

Auntie Liu wiped her tears and interjected:

“The eldest daughter’s husband is a sailor on international shipping routes. He spends more than half the year away from home. That’s why the eldest daughter and her child have been living here with her parents.”

“From the looks of it, the Zhang family was fairly well-off financially. They could afford to bring in a live-in son-in-law and even buy the apartment across the hall.”

Auntie Liu raised a hand to cover her mouth.

“The old man, Zhang Heping, was a retired vice president of Southeast University. His wife, Lü Xiangya, retired from the First Affiliated Hospital of Southeast Medical University. The family wasn’t short on money. The eldest daughter, Zhang Junming, worked in logistics at Southeast University. The second daughter, Zhang Junya, was a head nurse at the affiliated hospital. The newlywed second son-in-law, Tong Xinwei, is a teacher at Southeast University. He’s originally from Linfen in Luxi Province. Seems like a good kid. Looking at that family, they had everything. Except a son.”

Clearly, Auntie Liu was the neighborhood know-it-all. Before anyone even asked further questions, she volunteered every detail herself.

Director Liu gave an “Mm.”

“In Dongnan, older generations still feel that not having a son is a regret. Property prices around here must be pretty high, right?”

Auntie Liu nodded vigorously.

“You bet! Just last week, an apartment in Building Sixteen sold for thirty-eight thousand yuan per square meter!

The first eight buildings here are practically like small villas.

Don’t be fooled by how ordinary these apartment buildings look—every unit is over four hundred square meters. Each building only has four households. First and second floors are east and west units, and third and fourth floors are also east and west units.

After all, these were originally faculty housing for Southeast University during the housing reform era.”

Zhou Hai nodded, then suddenly asked:

“Did any of you hear any unusual noises last night?”