Bai Jin kept his hand pressed over his mouth, wailing inwardly. He was brilliant his whole life — surely he wasn’t going to die today in some tiny restroom. If word got out, Zheng Yun and the others would laugh him to death.
Just as Bai Jin was fidgeting with restless anxiety, a sound suddenly came from outside — the heavy scraping of something being moved. Then the lock rattled, and the door swung open.
Outside the door, the burning firewood in the copper basin was doused with a bucket of water. Amidst the hissing sizzle, white smoke continued to curl upward.
“Cough, cough.” Bai Jin bolted out first, bent over and coughing repeatedly.
“Director Shi, are you both all right?” The one who had opened the door was the waiter, who was now watching the two men in front of him with an anxious expression.
“We’re fine, we’re fine.” Bai Jin waved a hand and gave him a pat on the shoulder. “Thanks a lot, young man.”
Shi Ting gave him a nod. “Thank you.”
The young waiter still looked flustered, pointing at Tian Jian who had collapsed on the ground by the entrance. “Director Shi, I just hit him on the head with something — could I have killed him?”
Shi Ting crouched down and turned Tian Jian over. He was rolling his eyes, his mouth twisted to one side. Shi Ting checked his pulse. “He’s fine — just unconscious.”
The waiter finally let out a breath of relief.
Earlier, as they walked behind, Shi Ting had told him — he was the Director of the Military Police Directorate, the Marshal’s son.
Just those two short sentences were all the waiter needed to understand everything.
When Tian Jian had tried to smoke them to death, he had already made his decision in an instant. Tian Jian was merely the manager of a small estate, while the other was the Marshal’s son. Choosing between the two of them required almost no deliberation.
So while fetching water, he quietly found a wooden club. He knocked Tian Jian out while his back was turned, then doused the coals in the basin. He wasn’t afraid of Tian Jian taking revenge — because Tian Jian had deliberately attempted to murder the Director of the Military Police Directorate, a charge that, even if it didn’t earn him an immediate firing squad, was enough to keep him rotting in prison for the rest of his life.
And he himself had become a hero who had saved lives — one with so much power and influence behind him.
“Damn it.” Bai Jin vented his frustration by kicking Tian Jian several times, then bound him up tightly with rope. “Better that he’s alive. I want him to understand exactly what the charge is for attempting to murder officers of the Military Police Directorate.”
Then he threw an arm over the waiter’s shoulder. “Young man, come back to the Directorate with us to give a statement in a bit.”
The waiter nodded quickly, though his eyes still drifted uncertainly to Shi Ting, as if he wanted to say something.
“I’m well acquainted with the owner of E’Yuan Dance Hall. If you’re willing, I can have him arrange a floor supervisor position for you at E’Yuan.” Shi Ting knew what the waiter was thinking — he was afraid that if he stayed here, he’d face retaliation.
The waiter thanked him repeatedly. “Thank you, Director Shi.”
Shi Ting continued, “In three days, go to Shi Mansion and find Steward Shi — he’ll have further arrangements for you.”
The waiter understood that Shi Ting had something more to reward him with, and naturally was overflowing with gratitude. He weighed it all in his heart — he had done the right thing today, beyond any doubt.
Once the waiter had left in high spirits, Bai Jin asked curiously, “Seventh Brother, did you know all along that Tian Jian was going to harm us?”
“Tian Jian showed clear signs of lying when he gave his statement, which means he knew something about Xie Jun’s case but was concealing it. Then he was skulking around and tipping someone off while we were checking the restrooms, only to turn around and helpfully lead us to a hidden restroom. What else could that be but plotting against us?”
Bai Jin kept nodding as he listened. “So Seventh Brother revealed our identities to that waiter — he was our trump card. Whatever Tian Jian did, the waiter wouldn’t just stand by and watch. And even though Seventh Brother knew Tian Jian wanted to harm us, you played along anyway — just to nail his crime down solid.”
He scratched his chin. “Seventh Brother, weren’t you afraid the waiter wouldn’t help us?”
“I never do things without being certain.”
Shi Ting was already walking out through the front gate of the villa estate.
“Seventh Brother, sister-in-law said the primary crime scene was in the men’s restroom, but we’ve checked all the men’s restrooms here and found no clues.”
The Qingyuan Villa Estate was built on a hillside. Standing at the gate like this, a mountain breeze drifted in from all sides.
Shi Ting’s lapel was lifted by the wind. His deep-set eyes swept across this modest hill.
Soon, certain trees scattered through the forest caught his attention.
“Let’s go take a look.” Shi Ting strode with long steps toward the other side of the slope.
Coming out of the Qingyuan Villa Estate, there was only one road leading down the mountain — a slope roughly a thousand meters long, with several large trees standing on either side.
Shi Ting walked up to these trees and examined them one by one.
“What’s that smell? It really reeks.” Bai Jin couldn’t help but cover his nose.
“Looks like we’ve found it.” Shi Ting quickly crouched down in front of one tree. On the trunk and the undergrowth below were large splattered bloodstains.
“So this is the primary crime scene?” Bai Jin was startled. “But sister-in-law said…”
Shi Ting said, “Yan Qing only said the deceased was killed while relieving himself — but the place for relieving oneself isn’t necessarily a restroom. For a man who’s had a lot to drink and feels an urgent need, trees along the roadside would be his first choice — not too exposed to others’ view.”
“I see.” Bai Jin understood at once. “We made an assumption.”
No one said that relieving oneself had to be done in a restroom. For a man, anything was possible.
Bai Jin hurried to search the undergrowth for clues, but to no avail.
Shi Ting examined the poplar tree. On its white bark there were large dried bloodstains in the form of dripping columns.
Yan Qing had once said that bloodstain patterns could reveal a great deal of information. Dripping column stains like these, for example, proved that the victim had been in a standing position when attacked. After the blood sprayed onto the white poplar, it had flowed downward under the force of gravity.
“Seventh Brother, I found something.” Bai Jin called out from not far away.
After photographing the scene, Shi Ting walked quickly toward him.
Bai Jin pointed at a flattened patch of grass. “There are drip bloodstains on the grass blades, and the grass lies flattened along a trail — the killer dragged the body to the roadside after the murder. There are fresh tire tracks here, with a tread pattern belonging to a limited-edition model produced in the year 201. Based on these tire prints, we can determine that the deceased’s car was parked by the road at the time. After killing, the perpetrator loaded the deceased into the car and drove it to the bottom of the slope. After getting out, he moved the deceased to the driver’s seat. To make it easier, the killer reclined both seat backs. He had originally intended to push the car into the ravine at the bottom of the slope, but for some reason was unable to do so, and ultimately chose to set the car on fire.”
Shi Ting nodded. “What about the deceased in the passenger seat?”
Bai Jin was stumped by the question, and scratched his hair. “Right — two people died in that car. Surely they weren’t both relieving themselves out here?”
“First have people seal off the Qingyuan Villa Estate — no one inside is to leave, regardless of who they are.” Shi Ting glanced at his watch. “I’ll go back to the Directorate and check on the autopsy.”
Inside the autopsy room of the Military Police Directorate, Yan Qing was dissecting the second body.
“This body is indeed female — so the hair clip at the scene must have been hers.” Yan Qing likewise had Gu Zhen go boil the pubic symphysis to determine the deceased’s age.
“How did she die?” Gu Zhen asked curiously.
“The deceased has a semicircular subcutaneous hemorrhage at the right temple. The entry wound is in a lacerated state — a gunshot wound to the head.”
Yan Qing cut open the deceased’s trachea. Gu Zhen noticed with sharp eyes that there was carbon residue attached inside the female deceased’s airway. He immediately exclaimed in surprise, “Sister-in-law, didn’t you just say that the airway of an already-dead body wouldn’t have carbon residue?”
Yan Qing was not surprised. She appeared thoughtful for a moment, then blinked. “So that’s it.”
Gu Zhen asked in confusion, “Sister-in-law, what exactly is going on?”
Yan Qing smiled. “You also said it yourself — it’s an already-dead body. But before death, there is still a terminal phase. During this phase, brainstem function still exists, but breathing begins to weaken or become irregular. The deceased encountered the burning precisely during this terminal phase, and therefore inhaled a small amount of carbon residue. See — the amount of these carbon particles is extremely minute, which proves that the deceased’s breathing was already on the verge of stopping.”
“I see.” Gu Zhen wore an expression of sudden comprehension. “But what does this prove?”
“It can establish the order in which the two victims died — the male deceased died first, and the female deceased died second.”
“What use is that for cracking the case?”
“It can be used to reconstruct the scene.” She glanced at the clock on the wall. “We need to work faster — Shi Ting should be back soon.”
When Shi Ting returned, Yan Qing had already completed the autopsy. An autopsy report was placed on his office desk.
“You’ve worked hard, my dear.” Shi Ting personally poured a cup of tea and placed it in front of her.
“How did things go on your end — did it go smoothly?”
Shi Ting didn’t mention Tian Jian setting the fire. If he did, she’d certainly give him an earful. He enjoyed taking calculated risks, but in her eyes that was unforgivable.
“The suspect should be somewhere within the Qingyuan Villa Estate. I’ve already had people seal it off.” After sitting down, Shi Ting opened the autopsy report on the desk. “What did you find?”
Yan Qing sipped her tea. It was fresh green tea, a vibrant jade color with a clean fragrance.
She understood that he didn’t actually want to read the autopsy report — he much preferred hearing her relay the findings in person. So she said, “Deceased number one: male, approximately 25 years of age, 176 cm in height, cause of death — hemorrhagic shock from gunshot wound. Deceased number two: female, approximately 18 years of age, 160 cm in height, cause of death — cranial brain injury from a gunshot wound. Time of death fell between 1 and 2 a.m. on the 4th.”
Shi Ting thought for a moment. “Both died from gunshot wounds?”
“Although both died from gunshot wounds, there is a certain difference in time of death. Perhaps once I explain it, you’ll be able to make an accurate judgment based on the scene conditions.”