Attending ex-girlfriend's wedding, arresting the groom's officer on the spot

In Zhang Baode's dormitory, Zhang Hui made further discoveries. The dormitory was a four-person room; all the other workers' beds were neatly made, but Zhang Baode's bed remained exactly as it had been on the night of July 10th. The blankets were unmade, a half-read novel lay beside his pillow, and his pay card and ID card were still in the drawer, only a few changes of clothes were missing. "He couldn't have quit and left," said Lao Yang, a worker in the same dormitory. "He just told his family last month that he was going to send money home to pay for his child's tuition. His ID card and pay card are still there, how could he leave?"

A more crucial clue came from Zhang Baode's phone call records. Through the operator's records, it was found that Zhang Baode had a call at 9 PM on July 10th, lasting two minutes. The caller's number was a temporarily registered virtual number, making identification impossible. "Although the call content couldn't be recovered, the call time roughly matches the time Lao Wu saw him arguing with the stranger," Zhang Hui analyzed. "It's very likely that the man arranged to meet Zhang Baode at the factory on the 11th, and then the incident happened."

Combining all the information gathered from the interviews, Zhang Hui's line of thought gradually became clear: Zhang Baode, as a painter, was in daily contact with white paint, which matched the composition of the white paint on the body parts and severed fingers found at the scene; he suddenly disappeared on July 11, without taking his tools or identification, which did not fit the characteristics of a normal resignation or leave; the 18cm hand saw blade he borrowed on July 10 matched the model of the saw blade found at the scene; before his disappearance, he argued with a stranger, whose physical characteristics closely matched those of the suspicious person in the surveillance footage and the "man in blue overalls" described by Jia Qingwu.

“We can now be fairly certain that Zhang Baode is the deceased,” Zhang Hui reported to Lu Chuan over the walkie-talkie. “He likely met with a stranger at the factory on July 11, and a conflict ensued for some reason. He was then murdered and dismembered by the stranger, and his body parts were scattered throughout the factory area. The stranger then fled in a silver-gray van.”

Lu Chuan instructed over the phone: "Immediately collect biological samples from Zhang Baode's dormitory, such as toothbrushes and towels, and send them to the laboratory to compare with the DNA of the body parts at the scene to confirm the identity of the deceased; at the same time, increase the investigation of the strange man and the silver-gray van, and pay special attention to people who have economic disputes or personal grudges with Zhang Baode."

As Zhang Hui left the factory, the sun had already set, casting long shadows. In his notebook, Zhang Baode's name was circled, surrounded by crucial clues: painter, white paint, borrowing a saw blade, arguing with a stranger, sudden disappearance. Although DNA confirmation wasn't yet available, all the signs pointed to one conclusion: Zhang Baode was the dismembered victim dumped in the garbage room.

He looked up at the factory wall, the very wall from which the stranger had climbed and escaped on the night of July 11, disappearing into the darkness with his crimes. Zhang Hui clenched his fists, a silent vow forming in his mind: he must find the murderer, seek justice for Zhang Baode, and let his family know the truth.

Back at the Criminal Investigation Division, Zhang Hui organized the interview records and sent them, along with Zhang Baode's biological sample, to the technical department. He knew that the DNA comparison results would be crucial in confirming the victim's identity, and this would also guide the subsequent investigation. Although the murderer had not yet been found, identifying the suspected victim was already a major step forward in solving this dismemberment case.

The body parts have been transported to the Criminal Investigation Division for post-mortem autopsy.

The autopsy room of the Criminal Investigation Detachment maintained a constant temperature of 20°C, but when the body parts from the furniture factory were brought in, a stench mixed with the smell of paint and decay still penetrated the ventilation system and permeated the enclosed space. Zhang Kai, wearing a double-layered gas mask, lightly touched the evidence box containing the body parts with his fingertips wrapped in latex gloves—five pieces of human tissue were neatly arranged inside the box: the right index finger, the middle section of the right calf, the upper chest, abdominal tissue, and a small amount of muscle fragments. Each piece was covered with sawdust and white paint residue, and its shape was deformed to varying degrees due to decomposition.

“First, record the basic characteristics of the body parts, and number them one by one according to the order of discovery.” Zhang Kai’s voice came through the mask, with a slight muffled sound. Assistant Xiaolin had already prepared the dissection instruments. The scalpels, hemostatic forceps, and tissue scissors on the stainless steel tray gleamed coldly under the operating lights. She placed the right index finger, numbered “1,” on the dissection table and measured it with a ruler: “Body part number 1 is the distal to middle segment of the right index finger, 6.5cm in length and 2.3cm in diameter. There are obvious calluses on the fingertip, about 0.3cm thick, consistent with the characteristics of long-term physical labor; there are pine wood chips embedded in the nail crevices, and there are fresh tears on the edge of the nail. The fracture surface is irregularly serrated, presumably caused by a sharp instrument.”

Zhang Kai took the magnifying glass and carefully observed the putrefaction of the index finger: "The skin is pale bluish-gray, with the epidermis and dermis partially separated, forming putrefactive blisters 0.5-1cm in diameter. The fluid in the blisters is light brown and has no obvious odor." He used a dissecting needle to puncture the blisters and dripped the fluid onto a glass slide. "Based on the degree of putrefactive blister formation and the extent of epidermal detachment, the preliminary judgment is that the time of death was between 36 and 48 hours."

“Teacher Zhang, is there any error in judging the time of death based solely on the state of decomposition of the fingers?” Xiao Lin’s pen paused on the recording paper. “After all, the body parts are scattered, and the ambient temperature and humidity may be different, so the rate of decomposition will also vary.” Zhang Kai nodded and moved the “number 2” lower leg piece to the dissection table: “Therefore, we need to cross-verify the characteristics of multiple body parts. Look at this lower leg tissue, the muscle is dark red, the muscle fibers are partially dissolved, and a small amount of light brown liquid seeps out when pressed.” He picked up the muscle tissue with tweezers. “Based on the degree of muscle autolysis, especially the activity of enzymes released by the rupture of the sarcoplasmic reticulum, combined with the distribution density of the skin’s putrefactive venous network, the time of death can be narrowed down to 40-45 hours, which is between 3 pm and 8 pm on July 11.”

Determining the time of death also requires referring to the biochemical indicators of the body parts. Zhang Kai used a micro-syringe to draw blood samples from the calf muscles: "The potassium ion concentration in the blood is 12 mmol/L, and the sodium ion concentration is 130 mmol/L." He compared the results with the biochemical standard table, "The post-mortem changes in blood electrolytes show that the potassium ion concentration increases by about 2 mmol/L every 10 hours. Combining this with the current values, the time of death can be calculated to be about 42 hours, which is basically consistent with the previous judgment."

Determining the cause of death requires examining the injuries to the body parts. Zhang Kai fixed the upper chest section of "Number 3" onto the dissection frame and made an incision along the midline of the sternum with a scalpel: "There is a 3×4cm subcutaneous hemorrhage on the left side of the sternal body. The edges of the bleeding area are clear and dark red, with the center being darker in color." He used hemostatic forceps to separate the subcutaneous tissue. "The bleeding depth reaches the pectoralis major muscle layer, and the muscle fibers are irregularly torn, consistent with the characteristics of a blunt force trauma—the contact surface of a blunt force should be flat with a certain curvature at the edges, such as a wooden stick or steel pipe." (End of Chapter)