SFTD -Chapter 86 Don’t Insult Beasts (Part 7)

The woman finally let out a sigh of relief and brushed the loose strands of hair from her temples.

“Please, both of you, have a seat. I’m not very mobile, I can’t move around easily. Early this morning, the neighborhood committee and your officers came to replace our window glass. Otherwise our living room window would still be drafty.”

Captain Huang kept nodding. “That’s what we’re supposed to do.”

Zhou Hai looked at him with some surprise. Since when did this “iron rooster” become generous?

Huang leaned his head slightly and whispered two words into Zhou Hai’s ear.

“Reporters.”

Zhou Hai immediately understood and refocused his attention on the woman.

“I just heard from your son that the ‘Sister Yan’ upstairs is often beaten by her stepfather. We’d like to ask you about what you know regarding this.”

As soon as the woman heard this question, an awkward expression appeared on her face. She glared at the boy.

“We don’t really know about that. My little Bao is just a child. What does he know?”

The boy named Xiaobao suddenly stood up, pouting as he retorted.

“Who says I don’t know anything! That bad old man hits Sister Yan! He even hits her at night! Even when she begs him, he won’t stop. I was scared awake several times and ran to sleep in my parents’ room. He’s a bad old man!”

The woman panicked and, unable to reach the child, grabbed a magazine from the bedside and threw it at him.

“Shut up! What do kids know about adults talking!”

The boy pouted and looked like he was about to cry, but then seemed to think of something and moved closer behind Zhou Hai.

“My mom heard it too. Lying isn’t good!”

The woman looked extremely embarrassed and glared at the child again.

Captain Huang’s smile faded. He patted his leg and looked at the woman seriously.

“Just tell us. Understanding this family situation will help with the investigation.”

After hesitating for a moment, the woman said, “Alright. Xiaobao, go play in the living room. Mommy will tell the police uncles what happened, okay?”

The little boy obediently ran over and kissed her.

“Mommy is the honest baby!”

After Xiaobao went to the living room and even thoughtfully closed the door, the woman gathered her thoughts and began speaking.

“This is an old building—if someone sneezes upstairs, you can hear it. The family upstairs was noisy every day. At first it was just small arguments, but later Zhao Baogui started beating the woman more often. The sound of his belt hitting her was terrifying just to hear.”

“But this summer, Zhao Baogui seemed to change. He even bought new clothes for Yan’er—she didn’t even have anything to wear except school uniforms.”

“Later, we heard several more quarrels upstairs and things got worse. Zhao Baogui would get drunk and try to sleep in the children’s bed. Xu Caiyu tried to get him out, but once he drank, he’d even dare to hit his own parents.”

“Then they fought again. This time it was severe—Xu Caiyu broke four ribs and was hospitalized.”

“Not long after that, I injured my foot at work and was in the hospital for a month. When I came back, I heard neighbors downstairs talking. The family opposite had called the police, saying child abuse was happening.”

“But when the police came, the family refused to admit anything. Xu Caiyu kept swearing everything was fine.”

“As soon as the police left, Zhao Baogui went and fought with the neighbors, saying they were sticking their nose where it didn’t belong. The neighbor got angry and moved to live with his son.”

“After that, at night or in the afternoons, we would occasionally hear that girl Yan’er crying and screaming, and Xu Caiyu begging and knocking on the door. That Xu Caiyu really lived a miserable life.”

Sigh.

“Poor child… having such an unreliable mother.”

“My legs aren’t convenient, and my husband is often away on business trips, so I really didn’t dare to get involved with such a violent person.”

Zhou Hai listened carefully and glanced at Captain Huang before nodding at the woman.

“We understand. Thank you for your cooperation. We’ll be leaving now.”

The woman smiled and asked the child to open the door and see the two police officers out. Huang Zhongsheng patted the boy’s head lightly before they left.

After exiting the building and getting into the car, Captain Huang sat in the driver’s seat without starting the engine, staring at Zhou Hai in confusion.

“That woman… what she implied isn’t what I think it is, right?”

……

Morning, November 5th, 2014 — Third day after the incident

Xu Biao, Fengzi, and Xiao Liang had not slept all night.

They had also pulled in several trace evidence technicians and assistants from Group Four, working together to sift through the ashes. Finally, at dawn, they made a discovery.

In bag K-1—Area 1 at the entrance of the living room—they found a metal shell, a component from a lighter. Xu Biao excitedly called Zhou Hai.

“Zhou Hai! We found a metal piece from a lighter. Come back and take a look!”

Zhou Hai told them to wait in the office.

After washing up, the three looked exhausted, but finding this small piece meant they could confirm it was an ignition device for arson—after all, the victim Zhao Baogui did not smoke.

Zhou Hai held the transparent evidence bag and examined the metal clip carefully.

“Did you run trace analysis?”

Xu Biao’s smile faded by a third. He pulled over a chair and sat opposite Zhou Hai, placing the house layout diagram in front of him.

“Yes. No fingerprints found.”

“But this area—K-1—is here.”

“This is the inner side of the anti-theft door, the entryway shoe cabinet, and the junction with the east bedroom door.”

“How much gas leakage would it take to ignite and explode if it were lit here?”

“Also, wouldn’t the killer get burned or injured in the blast?”

“Was it used as cover? Light it and run, and the door closing direction seals it shut?”

Before Zhou Hai could speak, Fengzi shook his head first.

“Impossible. Gas explosions happen in milliseconds. No human can escape it.”

“Moreover, calculating explosive gas concentration is extremely complex.”

“You’d need to calculate the room’s volume, ventilation conditions, and the leakage rate of the gas cylinder. Do you think just anyone can be that precise?”

“Do you think someone like Zhao Baogui would know anyone capable of that?”

Zhou Hai narrowed his eyes and tapped the table.

“Based on current background checks, Zhao Baogui has no relatives or friends.”

Xu Biao curled his lip.

“A loner?”

“Yeah. But the neighbor opposite was driven away three months ago and moved in with his son.”

“Captain Huang is already taking people to verify that. We’ll have news today.”

“Alright. You three have been working over twenty-four hours straight. Go get some sleep.”

Xu Biao shook his head.

“No need. I slept a bit in the second half of the night. I’m not tired yet. I’ll go home early tonight.”

“What’s the next step?”

Zhou Hai looked at Xiao Liang and Fengzi behind him, frowning slightly.

“Then you two go rest. Xu Biao comes with me to the hospital.”

After assigning tasks, Zhou Hai and Xu Biao left first. Fengzi knew this wasn’t the time to push himself; his eyelids were already heavy enough that driving would be dangerous, so he took Xiao Liang and left.

Xu Biao hugged his police uniform and hummed.

“Zhou Hai, tell me what progress you’ve made. I’ve been fighting ashes all night—I’m about to go crazy.”

Zhou Hai briefly explained what they had found at the scene.