Chapter 9 Little Sister 2

  Due to the rain, they could only conduct on-site division of labor in the police car. Zhang Tong marked several points where bodies were found on the map with a red pen. Then he raised his head and said: "At present, there are only so many within a radius of 50 meters. This poplar forest is so big, it's impossible for us to search all of it today. However, we can follow up on missing person reports later to look for remaining bodies." He paused, looked out the car window at the gradually weakening rain and the muddy scene, and smiled bitterly: "I've already made marks, but this excavation work is enough for you guys to suffer. Come on, buddies."

  Wang Ya Nan was fully armed and led the way out of the police car. Just a few steps later, she turned back around, her face full of doubt as she pointed at Zhang Tong's radar detector and asked: "Little Tong, don't lie to me, is it really reliable? Can it actually detect bones underground? The few people under my command have been working non-stop for two days already."

  Just out of the car, Zhang Tong couldn't help but smile slightly: "Ya Nan, don't worry, I've gone to great lengths to borrow this radar detector from the provincial laboratory. As long as there are skeletal remains with phosphorus and calcium components within a depth of 1.5 meters underground, they will all appear on the monitoring screen without exception. I won't let you work in vain."

  Having heard this, Wang Yanan smiled suddenly and turned around, carrying a small shovel and leaving.

  Under Pan Jian's guidance, everyone started digging at several marked points. Before long, the first disordered skeleton appeared on the ground. In order not to damage the skeleton, everyone immediately dropped their shovels and squatted down carefully with both hands' ten fingers to slowly scrape away the soil. The rain made the surface mud sticky like mud. Gently wiping away the dirt from the bone's surface. Standing aside, Zhang Tong nodded silently and calmly said: "This is a coccyx, belonging to a female, and underage..."

  Everyone's heart is chilled to the bone.

  Liu Chunxiao once again took out the old notebook from the drawer of her office desk, gently pushing it to Wang Yanan on the other side of the table: "This is all the information I've collected about the missing children, including their home addresses. But because so much time has passed, many people must have already moved away from their original homes."

  "It's okay, we'll go check it out." Wang Yan took over the notebook. "Thanks. By the way, can you tell me why you're interested in the Hu Yanglin missing person case? You don't have the same purpose as Zhao Da, do you?"

  Liu Chunxiao shook her head: "I don't want to be famous."

  "So I understand now. You're doing it for Zhang Tong. You two are classmates. Zhao Junjie told us everything about Zhang Tong's childhood at the meeting. You also want to help her, but you and Zhao Junjie have different approaches."

  Liu Chunxiao was taken aback for a moment, his face slightly red. He really wasn't used to others seeing through his thoughts.

  Wang Yan did not continue speaking. She stood up and waved the notebook in her hand: "Thanks, I'll return it to you as soon as possible."

  Liu Chunxiao nodded and didn't say anything more.

  The autopsy room, once cold and empty, was now crowded. The original four stainless steel autopsy tables were not enough, so they had to temporarily clear out another workbench to place the skeletons received from the scene.

  After a whole night of busy work, except for individual bones that were lost or unidentifiable due to being outdoors for too long, the rest were all identified and classified according to their age and the age of the soil microorganisms attached to the skeletal surface.

  Five skeletons. Plus the two in the cold storage originally. A total of seven. Judging from **'s mastoid process and rounded forehead bone, all seven skeletons are female.

  Looking at the bones that had been sleeping underground for many years, Zhang Tong's heart felt exceptionally heavy. Pan Jian was currently processing 3D facial reconstructions of the seven skulls. He believed it wouldn't be long before they could see what the seven girls roughly looked like. But Zhang Tong couldn't feel any lighter about it at all.

  The computer made a crisp beeping sound. Immediately, the printer on one side started working. Zhang Tong stood up, took a deep breath, walked to the printer, and carefully examined the printed skull images one by one.

  At this moment, the door of the autopsy room was pushed open and Wang Yan walked in quickly.

  "Little Tong, how's it going? Has the cranial imaging come out?"

  Zhang Tong's hands were shaking as he held a photo, tears streaming down his face.

  Wang Yanan's heart tightened as she leaned in to take a closer look. Who would have thought that this one glance would leave her stunned? Because the girl in the printed photo in Zhang Tong's hand looked almost identical to her, like a smaller version of herself.

  "It's just like that. Unbelievable." Wang Yan couldn't help but exclaim.

  Realizing Yan's arrival, Zhang Tong quickly wiped away her tears and choked back a sob as she asked her assistant Pan Jian: "Which skeleton is in this last photo?"

  Pan Jian lowered his head and checked, then replied: "Number six."

  Zhang Tong immediately walked to the corpse marked No. 6, used surgical pliers to remove an intact tooth from inside the skull, and then came to the work area for pulp sampling.

  "Xiao Tong, what's going on..." Wang Ya Nan looked puzzled.

  "Although the photo and Qiuqiu look very similar, I still need to do a DNA sampling comparison analysis to confirm whether she is my sister Zhang Qiu who went missing 20 years ago."

  "It's been so many years now, can you still collect useful DNA samples?" Wang Yan tried to change the subject and didn't touch on Zhang Tong's painful past.

  Zhang Tong took a deep breath, pointing to the grayish-white pulp in the two-milliliter test tube in front of her. "No matter how long it takes, as long as we can extract the pulp, we can analyze the DNA sample for comparison." As she spoke, she turned around and looked at Wang Ya Nan seriously. "Thank you for your understanding."

  Wang Yanan naturally understood the meaning of Zhang Tong's words. She reached out and wrapped her arm around her good friend's shoulder, softly sighing: "We are friends. This is what I should do."

  At four o'clock in the afternoon, Zhang Tong and his assistant Pan Jian were still busy in the autopsy room. Despite the air conditioning being on, they were sweating profusely. Since the bones had become very brittle, they couldn't be washed with water. Each bone had to be carefully scraped clean with a scraper. They couldn't use too much force, fearing damage to the surface of the bones. The mud scraped off was sent to the biochemical testing group for sampling and analysis. The deceased's skull, due to its complex structure, was left to be processed last.

  "Director Zhang Fa is looking for you." Inspector Liu said. Pan Jian pointed at the door.

  "Liu Chunxiao. What does he want from me?" Zhang Tong turned around curiously. Indeed, Liu Chunxiao was dressed in casual attire, peering through the glass door of the dissection room, looking around inside. Seeing Zhang Tong look at him, he nodded and smiled to signal something.

  Zhang Tong hesitated for a moment, took off his gloves, walked out of the autopsy room, and came to the corner of the corridor before turning around and asking: "What brings you here? Do you have something to do with me?"

  "Want to invite you for dinner. Do you have time?" Liu Chunxiao had her hands in the pockets of her jeans, a faint smile on her face.

  "I don't think we have time. There are too many bodies in this case now. We need to rush out the autopsy report as soon as possible. Otherwise, next time. Okay?"

  Liu Chunxiao looked very disheartened. She sighed quietly and said: "Alright then, I'll go first."

  As she watched Liu Chunxiao's back disappear into the corridor, Zhang Tong suddenly had an urge to call out to him. She knew that Liu Chunxiao wouldn't come looking for her without a reason. And in recent days, she had indeed been thinking of finding someone to confide in. But Zhang Tong was clear that things were not as simple as she imagined.

  The door of the dissecting room burst open and Pan Jian's head appeared.

  "The DNA test results for Zhang Faye have come out."

  At this moment, Zhang Tong's blood seemed to have frozen in her veins. She gritted her teeth and nodded slightly. No longer thinking about Liu Chunxiao's visit earlier, she quickly pushed open the door and walked into the dissection room. To be exact, she had been waiting for this moment for a whole twenty years. Zhang Tong really couldn't calm herself down.

  Director Li's office. The lights are on all night. Since the day the remains of Hu Yanglin were found, Director Li has not returned home. Unlike other police officers, he not only needs to pay attention to the progress of the case at all times but also has to spend more time dealing with the media frenzy every day. At this moment, he is racking his brains to prepare for tomorrow's press conference speech.

  "Director Li, is it convenient for you to have a chat?"

  Li Ju raised his head. Standing at the door of his office was Zhang Tong. He quickly stood up, pointed to the chair opposite his desk and smiled: "Sit down quickly, Xiao Zhang. What can I do for you?"

  Zhang Tong didn't sit down. She took a few steps forward, hesitated for a moment, then spoke up: "Director Li, I'm sorry. I want to withdraw from the investigation of the Hu Yanglin case."

  As soon as he heard this, Director Li was taken aback. In his impression, this wasn't the usual way Chapter Tong handled cases: "Little Zhang, do you have some difficulties? Speak up and we'll solve them together. You should know that our forensic team is already short-handed, and now Old Zheng is out on a business trip. If you quit halfway through, it will be very troublesome for the entire investigation. Can't you reconsider? We can work together to overcome any difficulties."

  Zhang Tong did not say a word, but handed over a DNA test report that he had been holding in his hand: "This is the DNA sample comparison chart extracted from one of the deceased."

  "Oh. Found a match. Isn't that good?" Li Ju's puzzled gaze was fixed tightly on the report in his hand. "What else do you have to worry about."

  "She matches me. She is my missing sister Zhang Qiu for twenty years." Zhang Tong's voice was trembling a little.

  "What did you say?" Li Ju sank into thought for a moment before continuing, "So everything Zhao Junjie said at the meeting was true."

  Zhang Tong nodded: "Yes, my sister is the one who went missing in that forest. And according to the regulations of our department, as a family member of the victim, I am not convenient to participate in further investigation work on this case."

  Li Ju fell silent. Zhang Tong was right, to avoid some unnecessary contamination of the evidence chain, there was indeed a "request for withdrawal" provision in the bureau to avoid suspicion. However, at this special time, if Zhang Tong really quit, no one would be able to take over the forensic work quickly. Thinking of this, Li Ju sat down in his office chair and said sincerely: "Xiao Zhang, I can fully understand your feelings about losing a loved one. But please understand that now is an extraordinary period for solving the case. We need you to stay and participate in the work. As for the 'avoiding suspicion' provision, I will report to the bureau party committee and apply for special approval. Special times call for special management. I believe in your impartiality. Xiao Zhang, I also hope you can consider the overall situation and think about the entire case. Okay?"

  Zhang Tong didn't say anything else, picked up the inspection report and quietly turned around and walked out of Director Li's office.

  "Has there been any result?" Back to the dissection room, Zhang Tong calmly walked in front of the X-ray scanner. Before she went to Director Li's office, she had already instructed Pan Jian to perform an X-ray scan on all the skeletons, hoping to reveal cracks that might not be visible to the naked eye.