SFTD -Chapter 5 The Man in the Bathtub (Part 5)

Xu Biao leaned over from behind, flashing a mouthful of white teeth.

He draped an arm suggestively over Captain Huang’s shoulder and raised his brows toward the women outside the window.

“Come on, Captain Huang!
Why aren’t you using your brain?

One phone was obviously for work and daily life.
The other one was for hooking up!”

Captain Huang burst out laughing.

“You say that like you’ve got experience. I actually thought of that too.
But all that proves is…his private life was a complete mess.”

Zhou Hai narrowed his eyes slightly. Suddenly turning around, he stared directly into Captain Huang’s eyes.

In an instant, he entered a state of analytical focus.

“A wealthy, handsome bachelor—what would he need to hide?

Everyone who knew him already knew his private life was rotten.

So then, why would he still use two phones? Why hide the fact that he had multiple girlfriends?

Look at the women outside. Seeing each other doesn’t seem to surprise them at all. They’re even insulting one another openly.

In other words, Peng Yuhua never hid their relationships from each other. In fact, he seemed proud of it.

So what exactly was he hiding? Or rather… from whom did he need to hide all this filth?”

Captain Huang suddenly understood and punched the wall lightly.

“That’s right! Which means there’s one woman he didn’t contact this way.

Her relationship with Peng Yuhua was actually the closest, and she was the one he cared about most.

And that person…is the most likely killer.”

Zhou Hai opened a folder on the tablet and pulled up a photo of the victim’s hand.

“And look at this picture.

The victim’s left ring finger clearly shows signs of wearing a ring. If a man wears a ring on that finger, then either he’s engaged… or already devoted to someone.

But why is the ring missing?”

Captain Huang took the tablet and casually flipped through the photos, black lines practically appearing across his forehead.

“You actually stored all the crime scene photos and the victim’s pictures on your personal computer?

Planning to go home and admire them at night too?”

Zhou Hai’s expressionless face turned two degrees colder.

“You looking or not?”

“Yes!”

Captain Huang instantly lowered his head, enlarged the image of the victim’s finger until it filled the screen, and examined it carefully.

“You mean the killer took the ring?

Huh? The ring mark on his finger feels kind of familiar.”

Xu Biao shoved his large face closer for a look.

“It kinda looks like… there were letters engraved on it!”

Zhou Hai enlarged the image again and studied the victim’s ring finger carefully. Compared to examining the body at the scene, the photo made the finer details much clearer.

Around the indentation left by the ring, there indeed seemed to be neatly arranged English letters.

At that moment, Xiao Liang knocked and entered the room, pushing up his glasses as he spoke.

“Captain Huang, the test results are back. The blood sample from the crime scene didn’t match.

But the DNA from the hair sample did. It belongs to the long-haired model standing at the door—Annie.”

Those words caused Captain Huang, who had just found a direction for the investigation, to narrow his eyes, his expression turning more serious.

“Looks like Forensic Doctor Zhou’s analysis was completely correct.

The killer was trying to mislead us.

That level of meticulous planning isn’t something an ordinary person could pull off. Looks like we’ve run into a formidable opponent.”

He stood up.

“Alright. I’ll take the team and continue the investigation. We need to find the woman Peng Yuhua had hidden away.”

June 11, 2014

Early morning.

Zhou Hai drove into the courtyard of the center.

He had slept terribly that night.

Although the car accident nightmare hadn’t returned, every time he closed his eyes, all he could see was Peng Yuhua lying in the bathtub.

Just after parking, Director Pang—whom he hadn’t seen in days—suddenly appeared in front of the center’s glass doors, looking toward the entrance.

At the same time, his phone rang. It was Captain Huang.

“Forensic Doctor Zhou, the investigation’s hit a dead end. Have you arrived at the center yet?”

“Mhm.”

“If you have time, could you come by the East District Criminal Police Division? We’d like your help reviewing the investigation materials. Headquarters is pushing hard, and we’ve got a special task force meeting this afternoon.”

“Alright.”

Zhou Hai understood that in China, cases involving public figures often came with immense social pressure. The longer an investigation dragged on, the harder it became.

Besides, Captain Huang was a practical, down-to-earth person—something Zhou Hai appreciated.

After getting out of the car, Director Pang had already spotted him and hurried over with his trademark kindly smile.

“Forensic Doctor Zhou, I heard your team took on the 6.10 special case. How’s it going? Any leads?”

Zhou Hai paused briefly.

“Things are fairly smooth. Our team’s just about to head over for the special task force meeting.”

Director Pang nodded after hearing that and patted Zhou Hai on the arm.

“If you run into difficulties, let us know immediately. Solving the case comes first.

You’re still new here, so if there’s anything you’re uncertain about, come talk to me. We’ll support you anytime.

Alright then, get to work.”

Zhou Hai didn’t respond to Director Pang’s attempt at conversation. He simply watched the man smiling as he walked upstairs.

Heh.

Zhou Hai let out a cold chuckle.

What kind of expressions of Sympathy and concern was that supposed to be?

The man clearly just wanted to see him make a fool of himself.

Thinking of this, Zhou Hai called Xu Biao and Xiao Liang over, and the three drove to the East District Criminal Police Division.

At 9:15, the trio arrived outside Captain Huang’s office on the second floor. The door was slightly ajar, and they pushed it open.

The long table inside was piled high with paper files like a mountain.

On the wall opposite the door hung a whiteboard with “6.10 Special Case” written across it, along with Zhou Hai’s profile sketch of the killer and several crime scene photographs.

Hearing movement, Captain Huang and several investigators looked up.

“Come in, quick! Our reinforcements are here!”

Xu Biao swaggered in first and bumped Captain Huang with his shoulder.

“We came with Forensic Doctor Zhou to take a look!

Early this morning, Director Pang from the center notified our team leader to focus mainly on this case and fully support you guys.

Surprised?
Excited?”

Zhou Hai shot Xu Biao a glance. Xu Biao really did understand him—those were words Zhou Hai himself would neither say nor be able to say.

Captain Huang threw his head back and laughed.

“Of course I’m excited!

Forensic Doctor Zhou’s crime scene reconstruction yesterday left me wanting more!”

He invited the three to sit and pointed at the pile of paper files on the table.

“See all this?

This is what we brought back last night: employee records from Kaihua Real Estate Company, plus personnel information from all their business partners.

We’ve already marked everyone Peng Yuhua knew.

But the number’s still huge, so we’re hoping you can help narrow it down.

After all, Forensic Doctor Zhou already provided us with a profile. We conducted a preliminary screening last night but didn’t uncover anything valuable.

This Peng Yuhua was the type of rabbit that doesn’t eat grass near its own burrow—he had principles when it came to chasing women.

Finding the right person really is like searching for a needle in the ocean.”

Chewing gum, Xu Biao wrinkled his nose unhappily and grumbled.

“Captain Huang, you’re using us as free labor!

Good lord, are we supposed to read until the end of time?”

Zhou Hai said nothing. He sat down and immediately began flipping through the files seriously.

Naturally, Xiao Liang followed Zhou Hai’s lead and sat beside him reviewing the materials together.

Xu Biao put down his case, sat reluctantly, and joined in as well.

In an instant, the room was filled with nothing but the sound of turning pages.

As Zhou Hai flipped through the files, he mentally reconstructed every aspect of the victim’s life.

Work.
Daily routines.
Friends.

Right—there was also the dog.

Judging from the golden retriever’s glossy fur, it was obviously groomed regularly.

“Captain Huang, where was the victim’s dog usually bathed and groomed?”

Captain Huang poked his head out from behind the mountain of files.

“We actually looked into that.

He took it to a pet hospital in front of New City Garden for grooming. Since he traveled frequently, he sometimes boarded the dog there too.”

Zhou Hai nodded and picked up the sixth archive box. As soon as he opened it, several photographs slipped out through the gap.