Eyes that are the same as those of evil

Chapter 53 The Ungrateful Wolf 10
After hastily eating some dry bread, they interrogated several people who were currently suspected of being involved overnight.

Tan Ming then took Fan Zhiquan back to the police station, asking someone to investigate the case of the abandoned child eleven years ago.

This was an unexpected bonus during the investigation, so he didn't pay much attention to Fan Zhiquan.

They are paying more attention to news from trace evidence examination and forensic medicine.

Forensic pathologist Lao Li examined all the wounds on Yu Dong's body, the most numerous of which were strangulation marks.

“Look at those marks. The murderer chose to pinch small pieces of flesh. Some places were pinched until the skin was broken and bleeding. This way of pinching people will hurt more—” Old Li pinched Tan Ming’s arm without warning, making him jump in pain. “You see, usually when it’s just to discipline the child, they pinch large pieces of flesh. Although it is easier to leave bruises, it doesn’t hurt as much.”

Tan Ming: "...You'd better have gotten some useful clues from this little experiment!"

Old Li zoomed in on the picture of the wound: "Can you see the depth of the wound? The murderer's fingernails must have been very deep, and he often worked. When he dug in, some of the stuff from under his fingernails was left in the wound. There was dirt and plant pollen residue, which was tested and found to be bayberry pollen."

“This is the time when the bayberry trees are in bloom, so the murderer must have touched the bayberry trees before committing the crime,” Tan Ming quickly realized. “He might be a fruit farmer who grows bayberry trees.”

But bayberries are a major feature of the picking garden, and one-third of the people in Jiuqu Village grow them.

"Are there any other clues? Has the murder weapon been identified?"

“This is actually quite difficult,” Old Li pulled up a photo of the ligature marks on the body. “The ligature marks are very deep and narrow, which means that the rope used by the murderer is not only thin but also relatively hard. Moreover, the ligature marks are uneven, which means that the rope is not a single strand like fishing line. It is likely that it is made of two strands woven together, with a thickness of about 2 millimeters.”

He took Tan Ming to see the samples he had found: "I have found four types of rope that fit the criteria. Two strands of steel wire, hemp rope, PP rope, and kraft paper rope. But these materials are very common. They can be seen in product packaging, decoration materials, and all walks of life. There is nothing special about them, so I cannot be sure where the murderer got the rope from. But one thing is certain: the strangulation marks this time are somewhat different from the marks left by the murderer on the body eleven years ago. Perhaps the murderer found a similar rope again."

Tan Ming wrote everything down and took the information to the trace evidence laboratory.

The number of objects being tested for trace evidence is so large it's like they've been dumped from a garbage dump; some people are even sifting through soil.

“You’ve come at the right time,” someone called to him. “We found some small items at the crime scene.”

Tan Ming leaned closer to take a look and found that they were dry, hard rice grains.

"Rice? Found in the rubble?"

Trace evidence: "No, it was found on the body's clothes, on the back. And Lao Li said that the analysis of the deceased's stomach contents showed that the deceased ate fast food such as hamburgers for his last meal."

That likely wasn't done by the deceased themselves, but rather left behind by the murderer during the crime.

"Does this mean the murderer ate a meal before committing the crime and accidentally spilled food on their clothes? Does that rule out the possibility of other people being involved?"

“That area is not open to the public, and no one has gone in these past two days,” the forensic investigator said, changing the subject. “However, your sister Wolf Tail went in to save someone. I haven’t had a chance to ask her what she ate last night. If she secretly ate a rice ball last night, she might have left some rice grains behind.”

Tan Ming: "...We ate noodles last night, so there's no way she would have secretly eaten rice balls last night."

"That must be what the murderer left behind."

He took a deep breath: "All they found were grains of rice? If something so sticky could fall at the scene, the murderer must have used a lot of force and made a lot of movements during the crime. Didn't they leave any hair or anything?"

"There was no hair. But we found shoe prints, more than one."

The forensic team pointed to the photos and said, "One was found half a meter under a tree root. According to the survivor, it was likely half a shoe print left when the killer's right leg knelt on the victim and his left foot pushed off the ground. Another print was found in the grass where the body was dumped; the killer's shoe had crushed the cell walls of these wide, flat leaves. And two barely verifiable shoe prints were found on the hillside in the direction of the escape. Overall, the killer was wearing a rather unusual type of shoe—"

Looking at the shoe sole pattern matched on the computer, Tan Ming wasn't surprised: "Size 38 rubber shoes."

Several clues connected, and he made a reasonable deduction—

The perpetrator was likely a fruit farmer who was currently pollinating the fruit trees and spraying pesticides. He was wearing rubber boots and possibly some kind of protective suit that concealed his body and face, making it difficult for the children to see clearly. No hair was left at the scene. However, the perpetrator wanted to strangle someone in anger, so he briefly removed his protective gloves, allowing residue from his fingernails to enter the victim's wounds.

Furthermore, the perpetrator had eaten a meal before committing the crime, or perhaps even cooked one himself, as a few grains of rice unknowingly stuck to the protective suit, which hardly needed washing.

After sorting out the information, Tan Ming called Zheng Yan to inform him and then went to the hospital without stopping.

Zhu Muyang's survival is of great significance. Police officers were stationed around his ward to ensure that the murderer would not come to kill him to silence him.

It was already late at night, and the inpatient department was quiet. Zhu Muyang had just fallen asleep with his parents by his side.

Based on his behavior throughout the day, he has been sleeping very little, often waking up from nightmares after less than half an hour. His parents have asked that they at least not wake him up at these times.

Tan Ming had no choice but to sit in the corridor and wait, while also grabbing something to eat to tide him over.

He wondered if Jiajia had eaten yet, when the phone rang.

It was a colleague from the bureau who said that there was no concrete evidence of Fan Zhiquan allegedly abandoning a child eleven years ago, and the other party did not admit it, so there was no way to convict him and they could only release him.

“No evidence. Oh well, even if there is, it's an extra bonus; if not, that's best. But I'd still appreciate it if you could tell the missing children system to continue with this…” His weary voice echoed in the corridor.

A few minutes after finishing the phone call, a cry came from the ward; Zhu Muyang had woken up.

Tan Ming quickly perked up and went inside, gently helping to soothe the child.

Then, seizing the opportunity, he asked, "Yangyang, do you remember what that bad guy smelled like when he got close to you? Like the smell of food, medicine, or pesticide? A pungent smell?"

Zhu Muyang had already learned of the death of another child. A psychologist had talked to him, and he knew that he needed to cooperate with the investigation to find the terrible villain as soon as possible. So, with tears still welling up in his eyes, he tried his best to recall the events.

He then covered his neck and said with difficulty, "The smell... I don't remember... but I feel like sneezing..."

The child's statements were always vague, requiring repeated questioning and attempts to avoid leading the child into a conclusion. In addition, when the child couldn't speak, he could only resort to writing, which made Zhu Muyang's parents look unhappy and want to kick him out. Only then did Tan Ming manage to draw a conclusion.

—The murderer smelled of pesticide.

You can go to Jiuqu Village to do some targeted research.

He left the ward and prepared to drive straight to Jiuqu Village from outside the hospital building.

But as soon as I got in the car, the red and blue lights of a police car lit up in the rearview mirror, accompanied by a low siren, and an ambulance followed behind, stopping abruptly at the entrance of the hospital's emergency room.

I have a feeling that something terrible is about to happen.

Tan Ming immediately got out of the car and ran over to ask, "What happened?"

The police officer, who had just met him that evening, was still in shock: "Yu Dong's parents almost killed Fan Zhiquan, just like what happened back then!"

Tan Ming: Sis, did you secretly eat rice balls in bed last night?

Jia: ...nerve.

No, if I secretly eat rice balls until I'm too full to sleep, will I not dream at night?

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(End of this chapter)