Silent Testimony - Chapter 34

Puchen governs six sub-districts and eight towns, with Wanyang Town located in the northeast, bordering Longmen Mountain south of Shujiang City. At 10 PM, Qiu Wan led the Serious Crime Unit and the Technical Team, a group of 15 people, driving for an hour and a half to the crime scene.

They parked the police cars on County Road Y203 near the village section and then walked toward the hillside.

“Hey, Old Fang, are those people from the City Bureau?” Two outdoor floodlights illuminated the area within a 50-meter radius of the crime scene. The central area was cordoned off with police tape, forbidding unauthorized people from approaching. Officer Xiao Zhang from the police station, who was responsible for criminal cases, looked at the four or five beams of white light in the distance and couldn’t help but ask.

“Probably. They said they reached Tunheba about 15 minutes ago.”

Xiao Zhang quickly stepped forward to greet them. “Hey! Captain Qiu!”

Qiu Wan rushed forward. “Get to the point.”

“The deceased is a male, 175 centimeters tall. The reporter is a local shepherd. He noticed the number of his flock was off when counting them, and finally followed the sound of the goats bleating to a dirt pit. He shone his flashlight down and discovered the body…”

He Ying led them toward the crowd, deploying the Technical Team. “Xiao Wu, you follow Xiao Tao to take photos. Xiao Meng, Xiaoting, the detailed investigation around the dirt pit is up to you.”

Zhao Xiaoting was mentally prepared. She picked up the rope at her feet and asked her, “Where is the pit?”

“Xiaoting, give me the rope.”

“Sister He, your back isn’t good. I’ll do it.” They had all learned how to tie rescue climbing ropes. Zhao Xiaoting quickly secured the rope.

“Hey, Xiaoting.” There was only one rope on site. He Ying was helpless but quickly took the time to double-check the buckles to ensure safety.

Zhao Xiaoting put on her headlamp helmet and discussed precautions with the police officer.

The officer, seeing that she was only about 160 centimeters tall, was worried about an accident and suggested, “The pit is 2.8 meters deep—about the height of one story. Let’s have one of the male comrades from our station go down. Don’t risk it, female comrades.”

“No need, thank you.”

Over there, Qiu Wan had instructed Xiao Liao and Xiao Zhou to go to the village for interviews and investigation. She came over to inquire about the situation and happened to overhear their conversation. She subtly refused: “This is their job. You just handle the security up here.”

The officer nodded. “Understood, yes.”

“Where is the body?”

The officer pointed to a relatively flat, open area behind the pit. “Over there. The forensic doctor is there too.”

“Got it.”

Qiu Wan hurried over. Tao Ling was performing an external examination of the body, and Xiao Wu was taking photos for documentation.

“Multiple obvious external injuries are visible on the body surface: the back, shoulder, arms, and flank—a total of nine marks resembling strikes from a club or stick.”

Qiu Wan asked her, “What about the fatal wound?”

Tao Ling carefully supported the victim’s left shoulder. “Autumn Team, lend me a hand.”

The two worked together to turn the body over. Tao Ling explained to her, “There are six sharp force injuries on the front. The one near the heart on the left chest ribcage appears to be the fatal wound, with a depth of about six centimeters, enough to damage the victim’s pericardium, causing traumatic cardiac rupture, which subsequently led to death from acute pericardial tamponade.”

“What do you estimate the weapon to be?”

“A relatively sharp knife.” Tao Ling measured the length with a ruler and said, “The wound is 3.5 centimeters long, meaning the blade width is approximately 3 centimeters.”

“It looks like the murder weapon will be hard to find.”

“Yes, a fruit knife could also do it.” Tao Ling speculated, “The killer likely attacked the victim from behind. The victim turned their back to resist, and during the struggle, the killer stabbed him with the knife.”

“The killer and the victim definitely knew each other.”

“Yes, and the victim seemed to trust the other person a lot.”

“What about the time of death?”

“The rigor mortis has completely disappeared, meaning the time of death was more than 24 hours ago.” Tao Ling took out two cotton swabs from her investigation kit, gently wiped the skin, found sporadic debris falling off, and added, “But within 72 hours.”

“So, the crime was committed sometime between September 25th and September 26th?”

“Yes, you could say that.” Tao Ling collected samples and put them into a sealed bag. “However, the cause of death is only my preliminary deduction, which requires further autopsy confirmation.”

“Alright.” Qiu Wan checked for nearby funeral homes and arranged, “Xiao Tao, there’s a funeral home about 10 kilometers away. I’ll have someone transport the body there.”

Tao Ling nodded. “Understood.”

Qiu Wan contacted the person in charge of the funeral home to coordinate lodging. “Tonight, you and Zhao Xiaoting will rest at the funeral home’s guesthouse. Don’t stay up late; complete the procedures and perform the autopsy tomorrow morning.”

“What about Sister He and the others?”

“It depends. If they find clues and the police station’s equipment isn’t sufficient, they’ll have to rush back to the City Bureau tonight.”

No sooner had she spoken than a police officer’s cry of surprise came from behind her. “Holy cow, sister, you’re amazing! You actually found a cigarette butt.”

“A cigarette butt?” Qiu Wan strode back to the edge of the pit. Two or three police officers were already pulling Zhao Xiaoting out of the bottom.

“Yes, a cigarette butt, and it looks quite fresh.” Zhao Xiaoting held the sealed bag containing the butt, smiling broadly. “I wonder if we can extract DNA from it?”

“Let’s hope so.” He Ying patted the dirt off Zhao Xiaoting’s clothes and asked her if she had any scratches.

“No, Sister He, don’t worry.”

Qiu Wan saw that she had recovered and gently instructed, “Xiaoting, you and Xiao Tao will stay at the funeral home’s guesthouse tonight. She’ll perform the autopsy, and you’ll assist.”

“No problem.” Zhao Xiaoting handed the cigarette butt to He Ying. He Ying, in turn, put it into the investigation kit and suggested, “You and Xiao Meng and the others go back. I’ll stay with Xiao Tao.”

“Oh, Sister He, usually Tao Ling and I team up. Sister Wei isn’t here, and you have more important things to handle.” Zhao Xiaoting, fearing He Ying’s nagging, looked up for Tao Ling. “Where is she?”

“Next to the body, doing some follow-up work, it seems.” Qiu Wan added, “I’ll have Xiao Zhang from the police station drive you two to the funeral home later.”

“Thanks, Autumn Team.” Zhao Xiaoting ran off. “Sister He, I’m going to find her.”

He Ying turned her head but couldn’t spot her anymore.

At 2 AM, after Tao Ling finished the handover with the funeral home, she finally pushed open the guesthouse room door.

“Xiao Tao, hurry up and wash up.”

“Sister Xiaoting, you go ahead. I still have something to do.” Tao Ling sat down in the chair by the window, took out her phone, and her eyes fell on her chat box with Li Hewei.

[Where are you staying tonight?]

[You’re not doing an autopsy in the middle of the night, are you?]

The exhaustion on Tao Ling’s face was completely swept away: [Sister Wei, I just got to the place we’re staying.]

Li Hewei instantly replied: [Okay, get some rest.]

Tao Ling’s heart skipped a beat without her noticing. She smiled as she typed: [Why aren’t you sleeping?]

[I need your second check-in.]

[There are plenty of colleagues here, it’s safe.]

[Alright, go to sleep.] Outside the window, the wind and rain were dark, and the downpour was heavy. Li Hewei leaned against the headboard, staring at the screen, contemplating her recent actions. Truly, she knew the night’s operation wasn’t dangerous, but looking through their recent chat history, she had waited until now without even realizing it.

[Are you coming back?]

[Maybe in a few days. I trust you all to handle things.]

[Okay.]

Her gaze lingered on the conversation from three hours ago, and a certain thought screamed in her heart: Go back.

Li Hewei was not one to overthink things. She pursed her lips in slight hesitation, then immediately opened the 12306 website to check for high-speed rail tickets back to Puchen. There were two second-class tickets left for the 6:15 AM train heading to Shujiang East Station. She immediately booked them and successfully purchased the tickets.

Although she was straightforward, her planning was extremely thorough. She had already figured out the transportation from Shujiang East Station to Wanyang Town. A Didi ride would be about 160 yuan and take about 40 minutes to reach the destination. The bus would be 19 yuan, taking nearly an hour and a half. She chose a middle ground: planning to carpool for 30 yuan.

Having made all the preparations, Li Hewei got up, packed her luggage, then took a short two-hour nap. Around 5 AM, she grabbed her suitcase and headed out under the stars.

The funeral home autopsy room opened at 9 AM. Tao Ling and Zhao Xiaoting sat outside waiting until 9:10 AM when the staff finally arrived late.

“Sorry about that, traffic jam.”

Zhao Xiaoting muttered, “A small town, and it’s the weekend. What traffic jam?”

“The autopsy table was cleaned and disinfected yesterday. You two do the prep work first, and I’ll call someone to move the body.” The staff member pushed open the door and walked toward the office next door.

Zhao Xiaoting checked the tools in the sterilizing cabinet and complained, “Why is this knife rusty?”

“Don’t count on him. I’ll use what I brought myself.” Tao Ling unhurriedly took out various tools from her autopsy kit and arranged them neatly.

“Thank goodness you’re reliable.”

Tao Ling smiled in return. “I’m just in the habit of bringing my own kit.”

“I hope we can finish the autopsy by noon. We can grab a bowl of Wanyang’s daoxiaomian (knife-cut noodles) and then leave.”

“Should be fine.”

The autopsy began at 9:30 AM. As expected, the victim died due to traumatic cardiac rupture.

However, during lunch, Zhao Xiaoting noticed Tao Ling was distracted and suggested she return to the room to rest while she went to the office for stamps and signatures. Tao Ling did not decline. She walked back, constantly checking her phone for messages, but Li Hewei remained silent.

[Sister Wei, morning. I went to the autopsy room at 9 AM.]

[Sister Wei, potato and beef brisket knife-cut noodles.]

[Why is your phone turned off?]

She even forgot to close the door when she entered the room. She sat by the window, her expression darker than the clouds on the horizon, until a sudden sound from the hallway behind her interrupted her thoughts.

“Hello, how do I get to room 309?”