Chapter 21: Death of Guo Zhong
At the end of an alley in Nan'an Village. Most of the houses on either side were vacant, their windows dark and hollow, like pairs of lifeless eyes. The red and blue lights of the police car cast eerie shadows on the snow. Aunt Liu sat in the back seat of the police car, wrapped in an old blanket, her face as pale as paper, her lips trembling. It was Aunt Liu who had reported the discovery of the body; her home was just down the alley. "Aunt Liu," Yu Hao knocked gently on the car window. Aunt Liu shuddered, and only after realizing it was Yu Hao did her gaze calm down a bit. "Xiaohao..." her voice was hoarse, "Guo Zhong..." "Don't be afraid, I'm here." Yu Hao handed over the thermos cup: "Aunt Liu, drink some hot water. Can you tell me how you found the body?" Aunt Liu's eyes drifted deeper into the alley: "I... I came back from the store to get some onions, and before I even got home, I saw..." Her voice broke, and her shoulders began to tremble violently. "Tell me slowly, there's no rush." Yu Hao's voice was soft, yet it carried a reassuring power. Aunt Liu took a deep breath. "I saw Guo Zhong lying in the snow. At first, I thought he was drunk..." Her fingers twisted the blanket unconsciously. "I got closer and realized... there was a knife in his chest... blood... blood everywhere..." Her voice trailed off, and Yu Hao noticed dark red marks between her fingernails, probably from trying to save someone. The wind from the end of the alley blew through the car window, carrying the chill of snowflakes. Yu Hao helped her close the window. "Did you see anyone else around?" Aunt Liu shook her head, her teeth chattering. "No... This alley has been deserted for a long time. Only the old Zhang family and I still guard it. Usually, even the rats find it deserted..." She suddenly grabbed Yu Hao's wrist with astonishing force. "Xiaohao, is there a murderer in the village? Wang Shun... and now Guo Zhong..." Yu Hao didn't answer immediately. He looked up at the cordon. Sun Wei was squatting beside the body, conducting a preliminary examination. Her white forensic uniform stood out against the snow. "You rest first. I'll go check on the situation." He gently patted Aunt Liu's hand, signaled the policewoman beside him to take good care of it, and turned to head towards the scene. A number of villagers had gathered outside the cordon, their chattering like a flock of frightened sparrows. This was already the second murder in the village, and an atmosphere of fear permeated the air. Yu Hao slipped through the cordon, the snow squelching under his feet with a dull thud. "Captain Yu," Lu Chao greeted...
At the end of the lane in Nan'an Village.
Most of the houses on both sides are vacant, with dark windows like a pair of lifeless eyes.
The red and blue lights of the police car cast eerie shadows on the snow. Aunt Liu sat in the back seat of the police car, wrapped in an old blanket, her face as pale as paper, her lips trembling.
The person who reported the discovery of the body was Aunt Liu, whose home was at the end of the alley.
"Aunt Liu." Yu Hao knocked lightly on the car window.
Aunt Liu shuddered violently, and only after she saw that it was Yu Hao did her eyes calm down a little.
"Xiao Hao..." Her voice was hoarse, "Guo Zhong..."
"Don't be afraid, I'm here." Yu Hao handed over the thermos cup: "Aunt Liu, drink some hot water. Can you tell me how the body was discovered?"
Aunt Liu's eyes drifted into the depths of the alley: "I... I came back from the store to get some onions, and before I got home, I saw..." Her voice stopped abruptly, and her shoulders trembled violently.
"Take your time, there's no rush." Yu Hao's voice was soft, but it carried a reassuring power.
Aunt Liu took a deep breath. "I saw Guo Zhong lying in the snow. At first I thought he was drunk..." Her fingers twisted the blanket unconsciously. "I got closer and found... there was a knife in his chest... blood... blood everywhere..."
Her voice became smaller and smaller, and Yu Hao noticed that there were dark red marks between her nails, which should be the blood stains from when she tried to save someone.
The wind from the alley blew through the car window, carrying the chill of snowflakes. Yu Hao closed the window for her and asked, "Can you see if there's anyone else around?"
Aunt Liu shook her head, her teeth chattering. "No... This alley has been uninhabited for a long time. Only the Zhang family and I still guard it. Even the mice find it deserted..." She suddenly grabbed Yu Hao's wrist with astonishing force. "Xiaohao, is there a murderer in the village? Wang Shun... and now Guo Zhong..."
Yu Hao didn't answer immediately. He looked up toward the cordon. Sun Wei was squatting beside the body, conducting a preliminary examination. Her white forensic uniform stood out against the snow.
"You take a rest first, I'll go check out the situation." He patted Aunt Liu's hand gently, motioned to the female police officer beside him to take good care of it, and turned to walk towards the scene.
Many villagers have gathered outside the cordon, and the sound of them whispering to each other is like a group of frightened sparrows.
This was the second murder in the village, and an atmosphere of fear spread in the air.
Yu Hao crossed the cordon, and the snow under his feet made a dull squeezing sound.
"Captain Yu." Lu Chao came forward, his camera hanging around his neck, his nose red from the cold. "The preliminary investigation is complete."
Guo Zhong's body was curled up in the corner at the end of the dead end, like a cooked shrimp.
He was wearing a wrinkled down jacket, the oil stains on the collar had been soaked with blood, turning it dark brown. A sharp dagger was stuck in his chest, and when the light shone on it, it shone coldly.
The messy footprints and traces on the snow showed that he had tried to struggle to escape, but ultimately failed to climb out of the dead end.
"Time of death?" Yu Hao squatted down and put on gloves.
Sun Wei looked up, her short hair neatly tucked behind her ears. "Preliminary assessment is that the murder took place between 6 and 7 p.m., with a single stab wound to the heart." She pushed her glasses up. "The attack was clean and precise, and the killer was very calm."
"A direct attack?" Yu Hao frowned even tighter.
"Yes, the murderer must be someone he knew, or at least someone Guo Zhong was least prepared for." Sun Wei pointed to the wound on the corpse's chest. "The knife stabbed him from the front, at a slightly upward angle, which means the murderer is taller than Guo Zhong."
Yu Hao squatted down, his eyes sweeping across Guo Zhong's face, frozen in terror. The shrewd landlord's eyes were wide open, his mouth slightly open, as if he had witnessed something incredible before his death.
"No fingerprints were detected on the dagger. The murderer must have been wearing gloves." Zhang Min, who was squatting on the side, carefully cleaned the handle of the dagger with a fingerprint brush and fluorescent powder.
"No fingerprints?" This was beyond Yu Hao's expectation. It seemed that the murderer was very meticulous.
Yu Hao stood up and looked around. This dead end alley was flanked by empty houses about to be demolished, and the only exit was the alleyway they had entered.
In addition to the traces of Guo Zhong's struggle on the snow, there was also a clear set of footprints leading to the corpse and then returning along the same route.
"How about the footprint analysis?" He turned to Lu Chao.
Lu Chao opened his notebook and said, "The murderer wore size 43 sneakers and was about 180cm tall."
He pointed to the footprints in the snow and said, "Judging from the length and depth of the stride, the weight must be around 80 kilograms."
He led Yu Hao along the footprints for a while and said, "The murderer must have been waiting here in advance. The footprints showed signs of lingering near the corner of the wall, which means he waited for a while."
Lu Chao stopped at an area with dense footprints. "After Guo Zhong arrived, the two had a brief conversation—there are two sets of footprints intersecting here—and then the murderer suddenly attacked."
Yu Hao squatted down and carefully examined the footprints. The killer's steps were steady, the edges of the footprints were clear, and there was no sign of dragging, which showed his calmness and decisiveness in the action.
"No signs of a struggle?"
"No." Lu Chao shook his head. "Clean and neat."
Yu Hao followed the footprints back. At the corner of the alley, the footprints were scattered among the scattered footprints and could no longer be distinguished.
Yu Hao's voice was low, "Knowing that there's no one here, you can still wait patiently..."
"Local?" Lu Chao lowered his voice.
Yu Hao nodded. He walked back to the body and carefully examined Guo Zhong's clothing. The pockets of his down jacket were slightly bulging, and he carefully pulled out a wallet and a cell phone.
"The murderer didn't take the cell phone. This is different from the last case." Lu Chao said on the side.
The phone's screen was shattered, but still usable. Yu Hao used the deceased's finger to unlock the screen, and the most recent call log showed a missed call with no note on the number.
"Check this number." Yu Hao handed the phone to Lu Chao.
He continued to check Guo Zhong's other pockets, but they were all empty. Perhaps he had nothing with him, or perhaps the murderer had emptied them.
Yu Hao looked around the scene again. Why was it Guo Zhong? This calculating landlord.
Are the two cases related?
Just now, he was interrogating Liu Feng, and now a new murder has occurred. Yu Hao feels like he is losing control.
*
After the on-site investigation was completed, the crowd of onlookers gradually dispersed.
Yu Hao stood at the entrance of the alley and suddenly felt a strange chill crawling up his spine.
He turned around sharply, his eyes scanning the empty alley—nothing except a few police officers packing up their equipment.
But the feeling of being watched lingered, as if a pair of eyes were staring at him from a dark corner.
This feeling reminded him of the day when Guo Zhong came to him mysteriously and asked how much the reward would be for providing evidence.
The greed and calculation that flashed in those eyes seemed a little strange now.
Could it be that Guo Zhong was silenced because he really had some key evidence?
But how can Liu Feng, who is locked up in the police station, explain?
A sharp headache hit Yu Hao, and he rubbed his temples. The case was like a tangled mess, becoming increasingly tangled the more he tried to sort it out.
"Captain Yu, get in the car." Lu Chao's voice came from the direction of the police car.
Yu Hao took a deep breath and walked towards the police car.
After the car door closed, warm air rushed in. Yu Hao rubbed his frozen fingers and looked at the team members in the car: "Tell me what you think."
After everyone gathered their thoughts for a moment, Lu Chao spoke first. His fingers slid rapidly across his tablet, and he said, "The method used in both cases is highly consistent—a single blow to the face, a clean, neat kill. I believe it was the work of the same killer."
He pulled up two photos of the scene and displayed them side by side. "There must be a connection between Guo Zhong and Wang Shun that we haven't discovered yet."
Yu Hao nodded and said, "That's a good idea. I have a vague feeling that there must be some connection between them. Do you remember I asked him this question that day?"
Lu Chao's eyes left the tablet. "I remember Guo Zhong said he wasn't familiar with Wang Shun. Now it seems that if the murderer is the same person, then he must have lied that day."
"Go on." Yu Hao leaned back in the back seat, closed his eyes, and his face turned pale.
"Liu Feng might really have been framed." Lu Chao frowned. "The murderer deliberately left fingerprints just to make us arrest the wrong person."
Zhang Min crossed her arms and shook her head slightly: "If that's the case, there's one thing I don't think makes sense."
Yu Hao opened his eyes.
Seeing everyone in the car looking at him, Zhang Min hesitated, "The murderer must be following our investigation and should know that we have arrested Liu Feng. Why would he commit another crime at this point in time? Doesn't this clearly tell us that we have arrested the wrong person?"
The car fell silent for a moment.
Yu Hao's gaze fell on the snowflakes drifting outside the window. "That makes sense." He thought for a moment and said, "If we follow the logic that the two cases are committed by the same murderer, this timing is likely a last resort - this is the best choice he can make at the moment."
"In other words, Guo Zhong must have created a sense of urgency in him. If he doesn't kill this person, he will be exposed immediately." Lu Chao continued to improve his ideas.
At this moment, Sun Wei turned from the passenger seat and swept the crowd over with the calm gaze characteristic of a forensic doctor: "There is a subtle difference between the two cases."
Everyone's eyes turned to her again.
Sun Wei flipped open her notebook. "In the two cases, the force with which the dagger penetrated was different. In Wang Shun's case, the wound was shallow, while in Guo Zhong's case, almost the entire knife was inserted."
Lu Chao took over the conversation. "According to my line of thought, this is also explainable. Wang Shun was drunk and unable to resist at the time, so the murderer didn't need much force. Guo Zhong was sober, and to ensure a fatal blow, it's normal for him to use more force."
Obviously, he is still defending his point of view that the same murderer was involved in the two cases and Liu Feng was framed.
Sun Wei nodded. "You're analyzing this from a completely rational perspective. Judging from the situation at the scene, if you want to kill someone with one blow, regardless of the victim's condition, using maximum force is the best option."
"But this is a very rational murderer." Lu Chao was clearly unconvinced. "Think about it, he cleaned up all traces on the beer bottle at the scene and took away tools like cell phones and condoms. No fingerprints were found on the dagger in the second case. This could be a professional killer."
Listening to the team members' discussion, Yu Hao did not say anything, but just listened quietly. He vaguely felt that this was the most complicated and troublesome case he had encountered since he started his career.
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