Chapter 4 The Informant 2

  Just then, a pair of iron-like giant hands suddenly appeared and grabbed Zhang Tong around the waist, covering her mouth at the same time.

  Zhang Tong let out a sharp cry, instantly waking up from her dream. She sat up in bed with a start, her whole body drenched in sweat. Her hair was soaked with perspiration. She panted heavily, staring at the ceiling in a state of shock. Then she looked out the window to see that the sky had already turned a pale white. After a long while, she let out a silent sigh. A new day had begun.

  "Tongtong, you didn't sleep well again last night, did you have a nightmare?" At the breakfast table, her mother looked at her pale face with concern. "Have you ever thought about quitting this job? There must be many positions in the public security bureau that suit you. Or, being an ordinary clerk is also good. Less salary doesn't matter, if there's not enough money to spend, mom has some."

  Zhang Tong knew that at this moment, her mother's mind was very clear. Only at this time of day would she be aware that there was still herself by her side. Before long, her mother would return to her own world again. In that world, Father was still there, not like now, just smiling at the two women on the wall.

  "Mom, I'm fine. Don't worry about me. I can take care of myself."

  "Tongtong, you're not getting any younger. It's time to get married. Your mom wants to take advantage of her still being able-bodied to help take care of the kids." Her mother's sudden suggestion left Zhang Tong somewhat stunned. She opened her mouth, but ultimately could only force out a smile.

  "Director Zhang, you don't look too good. Are you feeling unwell?" Zhao Junjie munched on a bun, with his briefcase tucked under his arm, standing on the steps in front of the Public Security Bureau, waving at Director Zhang who was walking towards him from afar.

  As Zhang Tong walked closer, she let out a slight sigh: "Thanks for your concern, Zhao journalist. I'm fine. Besides, in this line of work, which police officer's face is always rosy? Busy with work, it's normal." Just as she was saying that, a strong smell of chives wafted over. She sniffed and couldn't help but furrow her brow, asking: "Why are you eating chive buns so early in the morning?"

  "What's wrong? Can't I?" Zhao Junjie was perplexed, looking at Zhang Tong's face which suddenly turned gloomy. His hand froze in mid-air.

  "Do you know how pungent the smell is? You've eaten outside and rinsed your mouth, now go to the forensic office. I don't want to smell that disgusting garlic all day." With that, Zhang Tong stormed into the Public Security Bureau building without looking back.

  Zhao Junjie was stunned, looking at the half-eaten leek bun in his hand, then raising his head to glance at Zhang Tong's receding figure disappearing around the corner of the corridor. He couldn't help but mutter to himself: "Is the smell of this leek more unbearable than the smell of death? I don't think so."

  Grumbling to himself, Zhao Junjie still stood obediently outside the building, ignoring the strange glances from passersby as he devoured his leek bun with big bites.

  Pan Jian smiled with a mixture of sympathy and schadenfreude. He quickened his pace to catch up with Zhang Tong, who was standing at the office door, head buried in her bag searching for keys. "Dr. Zhang, have you seen that reporter Zhao? Standing on the steps outside the building, looking like he's never had a baozi in his life. Gobbling it down like crazy, his mouth all distorted."

  "It was me who told him to finish eating outside and come in. The smell of leek is overwhelming. I couldn't take it."

  Pan Jian pouted and turned his head to look out the window of the building, shook his head, and fell silent again.

  "Captain Wang, this is the forensic report on Hou Junyan's Santana 2000 that just came in from the technical team. There were no traces or clues related to our case found on it. Specifically... you can take a look." As he spoke, Zhao Yun placed the report on Wang Yan's desk and turned around, about to walk out of the office.

  Wang Yanan suddenly remembered something and hastily called out to him: "Has the person sent to monitor Ding Rong reported back?"

  Zhoa Yun nodded: "Ding Rong is now under our 24-hour control. As long as the evidence is solid, we can carry out the arrest."

  "Alright. Let me know if there's any situation."

  "It's nothing." Zhao Yun walked out of the office.

  Wang Yanan gazed through the glass window of her office, watching Zhao Yun return to his own desk. After sitting down, he opened his computer and continued working. She couldn't help but let out a quiet sigh. This man had been her partner for two years now. Although he was only one rank below her as deputy captain, he didn't have any airs about him at all. He willingly acted as her assistant. Wang Yanan's heart felt a mix of emotions that she couldn't quite put into words.

  She shook her head and focused her thoughts on the inspection report in her hand, reading it line by line carefully.

  Just as Zhao Yun said earlier, the whole car was clean and tidy to an extreme degree. Not even a fingerprint could be found. It didn't look like it hadn't been used in three years at all. Although this point is also where the suspicion of the car lies. However, if no direct evidence can be found to link the car to Ding Rong, then there's no way to bring her to the Public Security Bureau. Wang Ya Nan furrowed her brow tightly. Suddenly, she thought of something and quickly stood up, came to the office door, opened it and loudly asked.

  "Zhao Yun, when you inspected Hou Junyan's car, what was the condition of its doors?"

  "Closed."

  "Close it."

  "Correct."

  "Where is the car now."

  "Our technical team just arrived at the parking lot of our bureau this afternoon."

  "That's great! Immediately notify the technical team to seal off the car, and then wait for me." As she spoke, Wang Yan couldn't hide the excitement on her face, and excitedly rushed out of the office, running towards the forensic office downstairs.

  "Little Tongue. Little Tongue."

  A voice came from the corridor, calling out for Wang Ya Nan. Pan raised an eyebrow and looked up at Zhang Tong, who was carefully examining a tissue sample on the workbench opposite him: "Forensic Doctor Zhang, it seems someone is calling you."

  Zhang Tong nodded, taking off her goggles and gloves: "You keep watching, I'll be right back." She turned around and walked out of the forensic office.

  "What's wrong with Yan? You look like you've got a fire in your pants."

  Wang Yanan patted the inspection report in her hand: "Do you still remember that sensational wife murder case in the US that you mentioned to me half a year ago?"

  Zhang Tong nodded vaguely: "What's wrong."

  "I remember you said that initially there was no way to confirm her husband, the suspect in the crime, had been in that car. But later, through a test, his fresh DNA traces were found on the steering wheel and gearshift. Tell me again how it was discovered, quickly. The tech team is waiting for me in the parking garage."

  Looking at Wang Yan's anxious expression, Zhang Tong suddenly realized: "What kind of leather is on the steering wheel of the car."

  "Uneven granular."

  "I'll go with you."

  No time to argue. She grabbed Wang Yan and ran towards the parking garage.

  In a corner of the not-so-large parking garage, there is a special isolation room with over 20 square meters of space. Normally, if there are traffic accidents or other difficult cases involving transportation, evidence will be brought here for inspection. The reason is simple: the Tianchang City Traffic Police Brigade and Public Security Bureau share a building. Due to a severe shortage of professional personnel, the five-person technical investigation team has to rush to major traffic accident scenes as well as criminal case scenes. Therefore, they are affectionately called "firefighters".

  At this moment, two "firefighters" are conscientiously guarding the special Santana 2000. The car is tightly wrapped in a thick layer of plastic sheeting, sealed tightly.

  Zhang Tong followed Wang Ya Nan to the front of the car, quickly put on gloves, then took out a transparent bottle from the toolbox of the technical inspector, and also picked up two cotton swabs and two No. 2 test tubes. He then gestured to open the plastic sheet, finally opened the car door and got in.

  Before long, Zhang Tong emerged and handed the two covered test tubes to a colleague from the inspection team standing beside him, instructing: "Conduct DNA testing immediately."

  "Succeeded."

  Zhang Tong smiled and nodded, taking off his gloves as he spoke: "Although the interior of the car has been wiped clean, the small particles on the steering wheel cover will still retain the sweat residue of recent users. It's summer now, no one wears leather gloves while driving. And human hands are always secreting tiny amounts of sweat, skin metabolism is happening all the time. The killer didn't think of this. A small mistake can lead to big consequences. I used phenol solution to wipe it down earlier and confirmed there was a DNA sample left behind. If it were three years ago, I think it would have been undetectable by now. Even if there was, the sample would have been over-oxidized and incomplete. This car has good sealing performance, we just need to determine the purity of the sample I collected earlier and separate out the corresponding DNA. With a reference object for comparison, everything will be clear."

  Wang Yanan certainly understood what "reference object" meant in Zhang Tong's words. She nodded and turned to leave.

  Beyond Wang Yan's expectation, Director Ding Rong was not flustered at all. The gaze that fell on her was filled with a provocative meaning. Those thick and sturdy hands seemed to have no connection with the petite woman in front of her. Suddenly, Wang Yan had a strange idea - these hands should belong to someone else.

  "Captain Wang, you've been staring at me for six minutes now, which is very rude. My time is precious and I have a surgery to attend to on the other side. You can't afford to waste any more of it."

  Looking at his opponent's innate arrogance, Wang Yan frowned: "We called you here for a reason. Is the Public Security Bureau a place where you can come and go as you please?"

  Ding Rong changed her sitting posture, slightly arching her back. A hint of a smile appeared in her eyes: "Alright, then you'd better tell me. What work am I supposed to assist you with?"

  "After Hou Junyan's death, have you driven that gray Santana 2000 of his?"

  Ding Rong shook her head and said calmly: "Why should I go and drive my teacher's car? I have a car of my own."

  "Then can you explain why your fingerprints were found in the car?" This was a risky move. Wang Yan knew that she had not actually found Ding Rong's fingerprints, but she wanted to test him and see his expression.

  "That can also be explained. Before the teacher passed away, I had sat in his car and been with his wife. I had also driven this car."

  Wang Yan couldn't help but admire Ding Rong's calmness and composure. She had dealt with countless criminal suspects before, but never had one who could respond to her so calmly and effortlessly.

  "Captain Wang, do you really think I'm a murderer? Where's the evidence? If there's no evidence, then you have no right to stop me. Otherwise, I'll sue you for unlawful detention." Ding Xiang's emotions were gradually becoming more agitated.