Chapter 8: Facial Reconstruction Technique 4

  "Alright. Call a group of people immediately. We'll go to Yuanxing Electronics Factory together. The source of the corpse has been found."

  A DNA sample was extracted from a hair on a wooden comb found in the toolbox of the deceased's locker room at the factory, and it matched the DNA sample from the pulp of the corpse's tooth. The result showed that they were completely consistent. The tattered cloth under the body found in the fertilizer pile, which had lost its original color, was identified as the factory uniform of the deceased. At this point, it can be confirmed that the deceased is Zhao Youmei, a female worker from the electronics factory who went missing for a week.

  Wang Yanan was a bit worried. The suspect in the crime was very familiar with the characteristics of mixed fertilizers. So, it's better to combine the two locations for consideration. If you can find someone who has connections on both sides, that would be great. No matter what kind of connection it is. Wang Yanan and his subordinates were almost always at the flower base and electronics factory, checking one by one. Not long after, a rumor heard unintentionally gave the case a clear lead. Through visits to the colleagues around the female worker, they received news that she often complained to her fellow workers about someone bothering her, even threatening her. Although this person had never appeared in public, every time she mentioned this matter, a phrase would appear in her words, which caught the attention of the major case team... The person who bothered her had a strong smell of fertilizer on his body.

  Three days later, Wang Yanan led the investigation team back to the bureau. At the same time, a man in his 40s with a dejected expression, an assistant engineer from the new product development department of Xianhua Base, also returned.

  In the corridor on the ground floor, Zhang Tong ran into Wang Yan who had just returned. She couldn't help but stop and quietly called out to Wang Yan who was walking at the end of the group. Before Zhang Tong could speak, Wang Yan nodded slightly, her meaning very clear. Without solid evidence, they wouldn't bring this person back alone.

  In the interrogation room, Liu Ziru hung his head low and remained silent.

  "Do you know what true love is?" Wang Yan's sudden words made everyone present stunned.

  Liu Ziru slowly raised his head, a look of confusion on his face.

  "Do you think what's between you and Zhao Youmei is love?" Wang Yan asked again.

  Liu Ziru suddenly jumped up like he had been pricked by a needle and shouted loudly: "You're not allowed to insult the feelings between me and Amei! Our relationship is true love, we love each other!"

  "Sit down. Did you hear that?" Wang Ya Nan shouted angrily. "You said you loved her, so why did you kill her."

  "I... I..." Liu Ziru was speechless for a moment. He regained his previous confusion and muttered to himself, "I love her. I really love her. She doesn't understand me. I... I have no way..."

  Seeing this scene, Wang Yan knew that the suspect's solid psychological defense had been broken. She nodded slightly to Wang Yan beside her, indicating that the interrogation could continue now.

  Because he usually only dealt with flowers, introverted assistant engineer Liu Ziru had never found his ideal partner. One accidental opportunity, he met Zhao Youmei, whose husband worked abroad. Perhaps it was the suppressed desire for love that had been building up for too long, he fell deeply in love with the already married Zhao Youmei. Who knew that Zhao Youmei repeatedly refused him and even insulted him, leading to Liu Ziru's eccentric personality to kill her on the way home from work in a fit of rage. Then, he used a small cart to transport the body to the flower base, burying it in a pile of fertilizer. The suspect was well aware that this mixture of fertilizer would accumulate and decompose the victim's body in just a few days, making it unrecognizable even if discovered later. However, what he didn't expect was that forensic medicine and trace evidence would be his downfall. As the old saying goes: "If you want to keep something secret, don't do it at all."

  Every time a case is solved, Zhang Tong always feels a sense of relief. After finishing the last word of the autopsy report, she took a deep breath and leaned back in her office chair to stretch her muscles. "Little Tong, when are you off work?" Wang Yanan walked straight into the office without knocking on the door and sat down with a plop in front of Zhang Tong's desk.

  "Let's go right away." Zhang Tong smiled.

  As a forensic doctor, Zhang Tong knew she had no right to choose cases. But as a human being, she also had moments of fear and terror. She stood still at the edge of the poplar forest, staring at the endless expanse of golden yellow before her, but her feet felt heavy, as if filled with lead, unable to take a single step forward.

  "Zhang Faye, are you okay? Are you feeling uncomfortable?" Pan Jian asked with concern, having just returned from his internship.

  "It's nothing, I just didn't rest well last night." But as he spoke, Zhang Tong's face was deathly pale. She gritted her teeth and continued to walk towards the scene, which was not far away, surrounded by red and blue warning tape in the woods.

  "Look, Dr. Zhang Fa is here. Reporter Zhao Da arrived even earlier than us today." Following Pan Jian's pointing direction, Zhang Tong indeed saw Zhao Junjie, who had been missing for nearly a week.

  "What is he doing here?"

  Just then, Zhao Junjie had already seen Zhang Tong. He immediately came over with a tense face.

  "Director Zhang, how did you end up taking over this case? It shouldn't be yours."

  "Old Zheng is out on a business trip. Of course, I'm the only one who answered. What's wrong? Can't I answer?"

  Zhao Junjie awkwardly chuckled: "No, that's not it. You misunderstood me. The body is just over there. Captain Wang has been waiting for you for a long time."

  Zhang Tong ignored him and quickened his pace, walking forward.

  "What's going on, Ya Nan."

  Wang Yan pointed to a shallow pit on the right side: "Someone brought their dog out for a walk. The dog dug up some bones here. The owner thought these bones didn't look like ordinary animal bones, so they called the police."

  Zhang Tong crouched down at the edge of the shallow pit, carefully examining the scattered bones in the pit. He didn't make a sound for half a day.

  "What's wrong? Is it serious?"

  Zhang Tong suddenly understood why Zhao Junjie was so tense towards her: in her hand lay a small, quiet leg bone. Judging from the closed state of the bone seam, the owner of this leg bone would not be more than twelve years old.

  Time passed minute by minute, second by second. The white plastic sheet on the ground was covered with more and more bones. Finally, also found at the bottom of the shallow pit, was a small, intact human skull.

  Zhang Tong stared at the two dark eye sockets on the skull as if time had stopped.

  "Zhang Fa Yi." Pan Jian reminded in a low voice. "What should we do next?"

  Zhang Tong didn't make a sound, only feeling dizzy and disoriented, his mind a complete blank, with a splitting headache.

  Pan Jian awkwardly looked around: "Zhang Faye, what's wrong with you? Everyone is staring at us."

  "I'm fine, let's hurry up and process this. Collect all these remains." Saying that, Zhang Tong suppressed the sadness in his heart and stood up to walk towards the forensic van parked not far away.

  At this scene, Wang Yan couldn't help but feel a little stunned. Her good friend Zhang Tong looked somewhat out of sorts, which was completely different from her usual strict demeanor when appearing in public.

  "Little Pan, what's wrong with your head today?"

  "I don't know." Pan Jian spread his hands. "She's been uncomfortable since she arrived today. I think it's probably because she didn't sleep well last night."

  "Is it?" Wang Yanan absolutely wouldn't believe that Zhang Tong was like this because she hadn't rested well. She knew her too well.

  "Hey, little brother. Do you know what happened? Something went down at the Hu Yang Forest today." As soon as Zhao Junjie left the scene, he couldn't wait to call Liu Chunxiao, who was still working at the procuratorate.

  "Populus euphratica forest."

  "Yes. It's the same poplar forest where Zhang Faming's sister had an accident twenty years ago. I rushed over as soon as I got the news today."

  "How's the case?"

  According to the people from the homicide unit, it's the remains of a child. It looks like it's been there for some years.

  "Is this case handled by Zhang Tong?"

  "Right. I didn't think it would be her who took this case either."

  After hanging up the phone, Liu Chunxiao's face was solemn. Could it be that it was really Zhang Qiu who had gone missing twenty years ago?