Chapter 21 The Bloodstains on the Door_1

Liu Wangcai's reaction was intense.

Zhou Ning, as if he hadn't seen, hung the camera around his neck, found scissors from the investigation box, and stood beside the chair.

Xu Dayuan waved his hand, and two policemen stepped forward, each grabbing one of Liu Wangcai's hands and directly cuffing them before pressing down hard on his wrists.

Zhou Ning leaned in close, and with two snips of the scissors, the gauze on the back of the hand was cut open. Liu Wangcai clenched his fist, the gauze caught in his palm, which meant that even if the gauze was pulled out, the wound might get damaged.

Zhou Ning looked up at Liu Wangcai, who was squirming like a maggot.

"Your current actions are being recorded by surveillance. Such a reaction, does it mean you're feeling guilty? We can only prove your innocence by checking the wound, so don't struggle in vain. It will only make you look more suspicious," Zhou Ning said.

His voice was neither loud nor fast, but Liu Wangcai suddenly stopped moving as if he found Zhou Ning's words reasonable. Only when he stopped struggling did the two policemen let go of him, both panting as they stepped back.

From the state of the two policemen, it was clear that Liu Wangcai was very strong, which didn't match his physique.

Zhou Ning wasn't in a rush. With his hands released, Liu Wangcai slowly unclenched his fist holding the gauze. Xu Dayuan shot a look of admiration at Zhou Ning and waved off the two policemen. Only the three of them were left in the interrogation room.

Zhou Ning gently pulled the gauze, which, because of the force Liu Wangcai had just applied, caused the wound to bleed again. The gauze, now less clingy to the sticky wound, was lifted easily with tweezers, revealing the injury.

On Liu Wangcai's palms were extensive abrasions, but on the inner side of the right thumb, a deep cut was visible, not obscured by the grazed and broken skin.

The cut was very deep, and Zhou Ning lifted the camera to take a photo. On the left palm, he discovered a small piece of scab hidden within the jagged abrasions.

Zhou Ning handed the camera to Xu Dayuan and grasped the scab with tweezers, directly placing it into an evidence bag. His movements were fluid, leaving Liu Wangcai somewhat dazed.

"Mr. Zhao, I'm going to compare this. I'll come down and report to you later."

Xu Dayuan nodded, and Zhou Ning took his things and left.

He strode up to the second floor, entered the photos into the comparison software, and didn't wait long this time before a 'click' indicated a comparison result.

The palm print collected from the handle of the murder weapon had an 80% overlap with Liu Wangcai's palm print. Zhou Ning swung his fist with force.

While the abrasions looked severe, as long as they weren't deep, they wouldn't affect the palm print. An 80% overlap, especially near the area where thumb and forefinger meet, could establish that Liu Wangcai was the murderer.

However, whether the court would accept this evidence was uncertain. Without additional supporting evidence, the dossier might be returned. If other evidence could be paired with this, the case would be more perfect.

Zhou Ning sent a message to Xu Dayuan, who entered shortly afterward.

"Did it match?"

Zhou Ning nodded vigorously.

"There's an 80% overlap in the palm prints. This evidence isn't solid enough. Mr. Xu, I would like to check the primary crime scene and Lantanzi."

"Lantanzi? What do you want to go there for?"

"It's like this, Mr. Xu. The female victim, Zhu Meifeng, was starved for over 48 hours before her death, and there were no binding injuries found on her body. So, I believe she must have been confined somewhere. Since Liu Wangcai knew they had gone to Lantanzi, he might have gone there too. Furthermore, considering Liu Wangcai thought to use an unfamiliar number to make contact, I suspect he might have taken up residence nearby. Lantanzi, as you said, is not far from the village and is discreetly located. It's very suitable for hiding out, so we could give it a look."

Xu Dayuan smiled and patted Zhou Ning on the back.

"Alright, let's go take a look. We don't want to miss any possibilities. It would be great to find something, if not, we'll wait for news from Ludong City and the reports sent for examination yesterday, as both are expected in the afternoon."

"Mr. Xu, rest assured. If I find anything, I'll call you immediately."

...

An hour later.

Zhou Ning was sitting with his eyes closed in the back seat, Zhao Xinli's car speeding along. Mr. Liu, sitting in the passenger seat, dared not move at all. Xu Da had said to let Zhou Ning rest well on the road, for his mind was precious; perhaps it could lead to a breakthrough in the case.

But Zhou Ning wasn't sleeping. As soon as he closed his eyes, the transparent screen lit up before him, its countdown at 48:00 hours, flickering for a while with what seemed like pleasure. The brightness and size were at a different level altogether.

"At this rate, when there's only twenty-four hours left, won't it blind our eyes?"

Zhou Ning was somewhat speechless. Today, he took the initiative to talk to Xu Dayuan mainly because of this countdown. It was disheartening to watch, and as the car stopped with a jolt of the brakes, Zhou Ning's eyes also opened.

Outside the window was a stretch of reef rocks, not a beach. On the reef stood a row of stone houses, actually built from stones taken from the local area, topped with blue steel tiles.

Zhou Ning got out of the car, with Zhao Xinli and Mr. Liu, one carrying a camera and the other holding a survey box. The reef required a climb up and was not easy to traverse. When the three of them reached the top, they found the area offered a broad view, perfectly capturing the entire village.

Zhou Ning stood at a high point, not rushing to examine the stone houses on the "orchid platforms," but stood at the edge of the stone steps they had climbed, observing carefully.

"There seems to be a black spot in the crack—do you see it?"

Zhao Xinli and Mr. Liu shook their heads together.

"Doctor Zhou, these reefs are just dark. How can we distinguish that? I didn't see the black spot you mentioned—it all looks black to me."

Zhao Xinli slapped the back of Mr. Liu's neck with a heavy hand, leaving Mr. Liu completely dumbfounded.

"Mr. Zhao, why did you hit me?"

"A slap is letting you off easy. Do what you're told and cut the chatter. If Doctor Zhou has found something, then we just follow instructions. Who's the professional here, you or him?"

Mr. Liu deflated. Zhou Ning waved a hand and sprayed some Luminol reagent, but with no fluorescent reaction, he stood up.

"I was mistaken. Help me observe carefully. Although the reef is black, the blackness of the rocks comes with a hint of gray. If there's blood, it's a purplish-black color.

If we go by my previous deduction that after the murderer killed Li Delin, he took Zhu Meifeng and hid here, then his injuries would definitely have left traces in this place."

Zhao Xinli was taken aback.

"How did you know the murderer was injured? Xu Da didn't mention that."

Mr. Liu pouted, disgruntled but not daring to dissent. Zhou Ning was under special protection, Liu could neither fight nor match Zhao Xinli's seniority, so he could only mutter a complaint.

"Isn't that a question?"

Zhao Xinli gave a disdainful look.

"Cut it out. I'm just asking because I don't understand. Next time, I will know. Didn't you see I keep a notebook on my car door? I'm getting experience from all the cases I follow."

Zhou Ning glanced at Zhao Xinli somewhat surprised, noting Zhao Xinli's simple, round face. It turned out he was the astute one, truly. Indeed, if he asked Zhou Ning something, Zhou Ning would surely answer, even willing to explain.

Thinking of what Xu Da and his grandfather had mentioned about the county changing to a district, would the forensic department need to expand too?

Zhao Xinli didn't realize Zhou Ning was considering him for a role, and smiled obsequiously at Zhou Ning. Zhou Ning couldn't help but smile back.

"Don't worry, if you ask, I will tell. Here, take a bottle each of this Luminol reagent. I've looked at the houses on the orchid platforms, they all have wooden doors, some tied with wire, others locked with chains. Spray the doorknobs with Luminol reagent, and let's see who finds the door with a fluorescent reaction first."

Zhao Xinli and Mr. Liu were quite happy. They were young and usually just observed during investigations, seldom getting hands-on—either standing guard or carrying things around. Spraying this would be quite interesting for them.

"Got it."

Having said this, the three split up, each taking a row, and began searching over the reef.

Zhou Ning watched as the two ran off and walked alone to the front door of the first stone house in the middle row. This stone house had no door or roof, everything was rotted away. Zhou Ning glanced at it and moved on without pausing, heading straight towards the second house.

The second house looked quite new, its door secured with a bright red chain lock that was so fresh it lacked even a speck of rust. Zhou Ning halted, observing how tightly the door fitted. Near the edge about one meter and seventy centimeters up, there was a small window ten centimeters high and forty centimeters long, concealed from the outside by an overhang.

Zhou Ning raised the Luminol reagent in his hand, and before spraying, he saw a smear of red on the inside of the doorknob. His hand touched the pull, causing the chain to sway slightly, revealing a vertical streak of blood under the chain lock on the door handle.

Zhou Ning took a deep breath and called out loudly:

"Come quickly! I've found the bloodstains!"