Chapter 45: The Unsheathed Kitchen Knife

  The people outside the main hall who were listening to the trial had previously heard Zhao's confession after being tortured, but then the mother of the deceased, Tong, overturned her previous testimony about seeing Zhao having an affair, saying it was just a tree shadow and that Zhao was only defecating there. The people began to discuss this among themselves. Now, they also heard that Li Lao San had overturned his own previous testimony, saying that at the time he hadn't actually seen clearly who the person was at the scene where the body was thrown, but had inferred it was Zhao from her clothes, and now thought it probably wasn't her because the person hadn't responded to his greeting. The onlookers were even more shocked and amazed.

  County Magistrate Kang stared blankly at Li Lao San, who was kneeling below him, and even forgot to bang his wooden gavel to stop the noisy discussions of the people outside the hall. It wasn't until after a long while that he came back to himself, and again repeatedly questioned Li Lao San, who still insisted on saying it was just his guess, and that person shouldn't be Zhao Shi.

  The county magistrate had no choice but to let Li Lao San be taken away and interrogated.

  The coroner who was in charge of the autopsy came up and County Magistrate Kang asked him about the situation with the corpse. The coroner replied, "It's a boy around 7 or 8 years old who was dismembered by someone using a kitchen knife. The cuts were made near the joints of his hands and feet, as well as his head. From the appearance of the cut surfaces, it seems that this person wasn't very familiar with the joints, so they almost all cut directly into the bone. However, there's something very suspicious about this case - the kitchen knife used for dismembering from the Zhao family didn't have any nicks or notches on its blade edge. Why is that? I'm not sure."

  As for this part later on, when he was promoted to the hall last time, this servant did not say it, now saying so, let County Magistrate Kang stare with wide eyes again, "Where is that vegetable knife?"

  The kitchen knife was ready, and a clerk in charge of exhibits presented the kitchen knife and placed it on the table. The county magistrate picked it up and saw that there were still dark red bloodstains on it, while the blade had no bends or nicks.

  Last time I went up to the hall, I also showed him the kitchen knife, but just had Xiaoxi take it over for Zhao to identify. The county magistrate didn't have it brought over for himself to look at, so at the time I didn't notice this issue either. Now that I think about it, it's indeed like that. This is troublesome.

  The county magistrate said in a deep voice: "Using a kitchen knife to chop and cut the corpse, will the blade necessarily bend and break?"

  "It depends on how the dismemberment is done. If one is very familiar with the joints, cutting from the gap between the joints will not damage the blade. However, in this case, most of the fractures were on hard bones, including hands and feet, neck, and waist, a total of six large bones that needed to be cut through. The femur was the hardest, and it's impossible to cut through such bone without the knife becoming warped or chipped."

  Xiao Jia Ding furrowed his brow in thought, recalling the case file's diagram, which had a rough sketch of the victim. Although he had examined it carefully, the drawing was crude and only showed the outline of the hands and feet, without any detailed depiction of the severed limbs. From just looking at the drawing, it was impossible to tell exactly where the cuts were made. Now, after hearing the coroner's words, Xiao Jia Ding found his reasoning to be quite logical and couldn't help but feel that something was off.

  Now, apart from the defendant's confession, all key evidence in this case has been overturned, and there are major doubts about the tool used in the crime. If that's the case, then it's likely that the case won't be solved!

  The county magistrate was not familiar with the case, he just went through the motions according to his own arrangement. When this situation arose, he really did not expect it. He turned his head and looked at Xiao Jia Ding beside him, seeing him bowing his head in thought, and coughed.

  Xiao Jiading hastily raised his head, seeing that the County Magistrate of Kang was staring at him. He took a step forward and said in a low voice: "This case has revealed many suspicious points, requiring further investigation. Let's adjourn for now and continue the trial after everything is clarified."

  The county magistrate nodded and slapped the wooden table, saying: "Court adjourned!"

  Then, County Magistrate Kang stood up and walked out of the back door in a dignified manner. Xiao Jiading followed behind him to the signing room.

  The county magistrate sat down and asked Xiao Jiading, who was standing beside him, "How should this case be handled?"

  Xiao Jiading thought for a moment and said: "The case has developed many new situations, we must investigate each one clearly before proceeding."

  "Alright, you're in charge of investigating then."

  "Yes!" Xiao Jiading returned to his own study in the outer room and sat down, thinking about how to start investigating this case.

  At this moment, Dai came in, bowing and nodding at the door, saying softly: "Big brother!"

  Xiao Jiading hastily got up and said: "Dai Bu Tou, come in! Come and talk."

  Dai Boutu hastily came in, standing beside his desk, and said with a bow: "The matter of Wu Haichang has been investigated clearly. He indeed had a son two months ago, while his father died only one year and nine months ago. He belongs to the category of 'birth during mourning', I arrested him last night and put him in prison. After interrogation, he confessed without hesitation."

  "Great! This unfilial son is indeed disobedient!"

  Dai Duo Tou said: "Apart from this, I have also investigated his other crimes."

  "What crime?"

  "This guy is a softie, as soon as he was put on the rack, he confessed to everything. He said he had done many bad things, not to mention taking bribes while handling cases, but he also had illicit relationships with two women! One of them was even his sister-in-law! This beast! Moreover, he also stole other people's belongings, which added up to be worth several bolts of silk!"

  Xiao Jiading said: "Has his affair with his sister-in-law been verified?"

  "It's verified. After he confessed last night, we immediately caught the two women who had illicit relations with him and they all confessed without being tortured. It's indeed true!"

  Xiao Jiading sneered: "Having an affair with his sister-in-law, that's a crime punishable by exile for two thousand miles. This time, he's had enough to drink."

  "Yes, yes, early this morning, everyone in the government office knew about it. They all said he was a hypocrite and that his downfall is a great comfort to people."

  Xiao Jiading patted his shoulder and said, "You've done a great job!"

  "Thank you for your compliment, brother. If there's anything else you'd like to instruct me on in the future, just let me know."

  "Well, there is something I need your help with right now."

  "What's wrong? Big brother"

  "This morning, County Magistrate Kong held a trial for the case of Zhao's murder and dismemberment of his nephew. Several key witnesses recanted their original testimonies, which made County Magistrate Kong suspicious. He has ordered me to investigate. When the time comes, bring two people with you and come down with me."

  "Alright! I'll listen to big brother's instructions and definitely help big brother get things done."

  After Dai Boutu left, Xiao Jiading went into the inner house to report this matter to County Magistrate Kang. County Magistrate Kang nodded in satisfaction and asked the Criminal Department to expedite the handling of the case.

  Xiao Jiading went to the prison to convey a message, and the clerks in the prison saw Xiao Jiading coming in. They no longer had the same attitude as before, but instead looked like they had seen County Magistrate Kang himself arrive. They stood up respectfully, smiling and looking at him, including Xu, the head of the prison.

  Xiao Jiading said to Xu Sifa, "Wu Haidong has committed a crime and has been arrested. He will soon be transferred to the prison for trial. The county magistrate of Kang County asked me to tell you that this case must be handled impartially and concluded as soon as possible!"

  Xu nodded hastily in response.

  Xiao Jiading said, "In addition, the county magistrate of Kang is not very satisfied with our criminal investigation department's case handling quality. He hopes that everyone will take a look at the criminal law in their spare time and avoid mishandling cases. We hold the power to decide life and death, but we can't be careless."

  Xu and others nodded in agreement.

  After Xiao Jia Ding left, Xu Sifa's smile on his face finally converged, and he sternly said to the prison book officials: "Did you all hear what Xiao Zhiyi said? You bunch of bastards, be more careful in the future, don't run into Xiao Zhiyi's hands, otherwise, Wu Donghai will be an example!"

  The clerks all assented, and secretly stuck out their tongues.

  Xiao Jiading did not sign the house, he wanted to start investigating this case. Those few witnesses who overturned their testimony, he didn't plan to ask them now, they had all recanted in court, and asking now wouldn't change anything. He needed to find the real clue of this case, so as to confirm whether these people were telling the truth or fabricating lies.

  Xiao Jiading had already thought of how to investigate and he wanted to start from a physical evidence perspective.

  The problem that the coroner mentioned was very important, and he had to figure out what was going on. He first arrived at the evidence storage room of the yamen. The two bailiffs on duty saw him and quickly stood up to salute.

  Xiao Jiading said: "The Zhao family's case of murdering their nephew that was just tried in the hall, has the murder weapon been returned?"

  "Delivered back and already put away."

  "May I go in and take a look?"

  The two jailers looked at each other in embarrassment and smiled: "This is the rule of the government office, this evidence room can't be entered casually..."

  "The county magistrate has ordered me to investigate this case, I need to go in and take a look, and also ask you several questions."

  "Is that so? Then let's have a duel!"

  Xiao Jiading stepped inside, took a look around, and saw that the room was not very large. There were big and small boxes everywhere with labels such as "Zhao's case". The servant pointed to the box labeled "Zhao's case", opened it, and indeed found the bloody kitchen knife lying inside.

  Xiao Jiading picked it up and looked at it repeatedly, then asked Xiao Lie: "Has anyone touched this piece of evidence except for the two times it was presented in court?"

  "No!" The two jailers shook their heads very definitely. One of them added, "Except for the judges, no one ever comes to look at these exhibits."

  "Is it possible for someone else to swap it out? Or after taking it out for use, swap it with another piece of evidence and send it back?"

  "It's unlikely because those who came to collect evidence couldn't enter and just waited at the door while we took it. Moreover, there needs to be a record of it."

  "Uh-huh,"

  Xiao Jiading nodded, thinking to himself that earlier when he wanted to come in, they hadn't mentioned the county magistrate's order beforehand. Although the two of them knew that he was now an unapproachable official, they still didn't let him enter. This proved that what they said about others not being allowed inside was true.