Chapter 207 The Truth About Suicide
Qin Haifeng cut to the chase: "Station Chief Guo, when exactly was the grain discovered to be missing?"
Station Chief Guo rubbed his deeply lined face vigorously, his voice muffled like a broken bellows: "A few days ago... there was a heavy rain. There was a leak in the granary... I was worried the wheat would spoil, so I thought I'd open the granary to do a spot check... and then..."
His voice choked up slightly: "I found that many of the wheat grains had turned black and grown mold... I thought I had to spread them out to dry quickly... but when I opened the whole warehouse door, I saw..."
He abruptly closed his eyes, his face filled with despair: "I discovered that every grain bin was more than half empty, which meant thousands of tons of grain!"
Lin Baozhu and Qin Haifeng exchanged a solemn look, then both looked at the distraught Station Chief Guo.
Qin Haifeng pressed further in a deep voice: "Who usually keeps the keys to the granary?"
There are two keys in total.
Station Chief Guo continued in a hoarse voice, "One is on me, I never let it out of my sight. The other... is in Director Zhang's hands. I never dreamed of this! How could Director Zhang... how could he do something that would cost him his head!"
Lin Baozhu's brow furrowed suddenly, her voice cold: "Station Chief Guo, the case is still under investigation, and nothing is settled yet. Don't jump to conclusions. Also..."
She abruptly changed the subject, her gaze sharp as she looked directly at the other person: "You just said that you always carry your keys with you and have never let them out of your sight? Can you be 100% sure?"
Station Chief Guo's face turned ashen! His previously hunched back straightened, and his voice suddenly rose:
"You! You young comrade! What do you mean by that?! Are you implying that I, Guo, have embezzled funds?!"
Lin Baozhu remained calm, meeting his angry gaze with composure: "Station Chief Guo, several thousand tons of grain have vanished without a trace. As the person directly responsible and holding the key, isn't it normal procedure for you to be investigated and reasonably suspected? If you don't want to bear the suspicion, the best way is to fully assist us in finding the real grain thief and clearing your name!"
Several thousand tons of grain cannot be moved overnight. If the transfer is to be done in batches, then the source of the keys and the timing of their use are crucial!
Station Chief Guo, panting heavily, stared intently at Lin Baozhu. After a long while, he deflated like a punctured balloon and said listlessly, "Fine...fine! I'll take you...to the granary first..."
The three arrived in front of the huge granary.
The open ground was covered with a thick layer of wheat, and what was alarming was that the surface of the wheat grains was covered with a layer of dark green mold! From a distance, it looked like a fluffy carpet had been laid on the ground.
"This grain...is all moldy?"
Qin Haifeng frowned, pointing at the shocking green color, and said incredulously, "Even if there are leaks in the granary, the mold shouldn't be so widespread and uniform, right?"
Station Chief Guo stared at the horribly devastated "green carpet" and said with a heavy heart, "It's not just 'a lot'... it's the entire warehouse! The entire warehouse of grain! It's all... all destroyed! It was perfectly fine during the last routine inspection!"
Lin Baozhu didn't speak. She squatted down and picked up a handful of wheat grains that emitted a strong, musty smell. She brought them closer and sniffed them carefully. Beneath the pungent musty smell, there was a faint, indescribable sour, rotten odor. If it weren't for her keen senses, she probably wouldn't have noticed it.
Based on Station Chief Guo's account, her brows furrowed tightly, and doubts arose in her mind.
She took a clean little cloth bag from her purse, carefully filled it with a handful of moldy wheat grains, and sealed it. Then she stood up and said to the distraught Station Chief Guo, "Station Chief Guo, could you please accompany us around the grain station again to see if there's anything else worth noting?"
"well……"
Station Chief Guo nodded blankly.
For the rest of the morning, Lin Baozhu and Qin Haifeng thoroughly inspected every nook and cranny of the huge grain station.
As noon approached, Qin Haifeng subtly moved closer to Lin Baozhu, and under the guise of inspecting a corner of the wall, asked in a low voice that only the two of them could hear, "You've been looking around all morning, have you found anything?"
Lin Baozhu glanced at Station Chief Guo, who was hunched over not far away, and nodded almost imperceptibly. She also lowered her voice and said, "Yes. The preliminary assessment is that the mold and spoilage of this grain is not simply caused by rain and leaks."
Qin Haifeng's eyes sharpened, and he immediately said, "Let's go back and talk about it in detail."
After saying that, he turned to Station Chief Guo and said, "Station Chief Guo, we have a general understanding of the situation. We have other matters to attend to at the bureau, so we won't bother you any longer!"
After leaving the grain station, the two did not head straight for the police station, but instead turned a corner and sped towards the county hospital—they wanted to see Director Zhang, who had "attempted suicide," in person before anything else happened.
At the end of the inpatient corridor, in front of that single ward, two young police officers stood solemnly like guardian deities.
"How is Director Zhang doing?" Qin Haifeng asked in a deep voice.
One of them looked grave and lowered his voice: "The doctor said that the IV was suspended for too long... causing severe brain hypoxia and irreversible brain damage. Even if he wakes up, he will probably... suffer intellectual impairment and be unable to take care of himself." His tone was full of regret.
"I'll go in and take a look," Lin Baozhu said, pushing open the door and entering the ward.
The ward was dimly lit. On the bed, a pale-faced middle-aged man lay quietly, an oxygen tube inserted into his nose. The electrocardiogram monitor next to him emitted a regular, monotonous "beep-beep," and the fluctuating waveforms on the screen showed signs of life.
Lin Baozhu tiptoed to the bedside. She first placed three fingers on Director Zhang's wrist, concentrating on feeling his pulse for a moment—the pulse was weak, but steady and orderly, definitely not a sign of impending death or severe brain damage! A thought struck her, and she leaned down, gently lifting Director Zhang's eyelids to carefully observe his pupils—the pupils reflected light normally, and there were no obvious abnormalities in the fundus.
There are no pathological signs of organic damage!
Her gaze was fixed on Director Zhang's tightly closed eyes. Time ticked by. Suddenly—just as she was about to look away, Director Zhang's eyeballs, hidden beneath his thin eyelids, twitched extremely slightly!
Lin Baozhu's lips suddenly curved into a knowing smile.
Sure enough! His coma was all an act!
But why is he pretending? What is his purpose?
Her gaze followed the line of his neck downwards, and she keenly noticed several light, irregular, bluish-purple bruises on the side of his neck, near behind his ear! These were definitely not the marks left by a hanging rope!
Lin Baozhu extended her index finger and gently pressed the bruises with her fingertip, feeling their shape and depth. In an instant, it dawned on her—these were marks left by pinching!
Considering Wang Shunzheng's description of being "rescued from suicide," and combined with the clear strangulation marks on his neck... the answer is obvious: Director Zhang did not commit suicide! Rather, someone attempted to strangle him to death and then staged it as a suicide out of guilt! The purpose was to pin the grain warehouse theft case entirely on him!
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