Forensic Forensic - Chapter 30

Chapter 30

Once someone started fighting, the entire situation changed. Furthermore, the police officer was injured on the head. The moment someone shouted “Bl00d!” the crowd instantly quieted down. Supporting police officers quickly arrived at the emergency room. Not only were those who hadn’t started fighting, but even those who hadn’t started fighting, simply making noises, were detained for disturbing public order.

Qi Ming clutched Luo Jianan’s head and wheeled him into the emergency room. Seeing the bl00d, Xia Yonghui rushed over to help. Just as he was about to clean the wound, he heard Qi Ming yell, “Get out of the way!” His raised hand froze awkwardly in the air.

Luckily, the beer bottle that hit Luo Jianan’s head didn’t break, only causing a small cut. However, the scalp is rich in capillaries, and a small cut caused bl00d to flow all over his face. While cleaning the wound, Qi Ming discovered it needed sutures and turned to Xia Yonghui for a sterile suture pack.

Xia Yonghui took the suture kit but didn’t give it to Qi Ming. “I’ll do it, Teacher Qi. You’re not a doctor at the hospital, so using a needle isn’t against regulations.”

“Call a surgeon.” Qi Ming looked at him distrustfully.

“Don’t worry, Teacher Qi. I worked in the emergency surgery debridement room when I transferred.” Xia Yonghui stood where Qi Ming had been, raised his hand, and pressed down slightly on the back of Luo Jianan’s head. “Officer Luo, we need to shave the hair around the wound first. Don’t worry, it will grow back soon.”

“It’s okay. I’ve shaved my head before.” Luo Jianan grinned. He glanced at Qi Ming, noticed his expression was off, and patted his arm as a reassurance.

“I won’t use anesthesia for the head wound. Just bear with it.”

“It’s such a small wound, why would I need anesthesia? I don’t even need stitches.”

“That won’t work. Slow healing can easily lead to infection.” Xia Yonghui carefully shaved the hair around the wound, then tore open the suture kit and grasped the needle with tweezers. “I’ll start from the inside. It won’t leave a noticeable scar.”

Just as Xia Yonghui was about to insert the needle, Qi Ming suddenly stopped him. “The pain will be more intense from the inside. Just suture normally. Men don’t need to worry about scars.”

“Doctor Xia, Teacher Qi is right. I have so many scars all over my body. I don’t care about this on my scalp—hiss!”

The sharp pain of the sutures pulling on his scalp made Luo Jianan gasp instinctively. A cold sweat instantly covered his body, and his hand, resting on his knee, clenched into a fist. Qi Ming took out a handkerchief and stuffed it into his hand, staring at him with a look that said, “Go ahead and cry, no one will find you embarrassing.”

Xia Yonghui needed three stitches. Although Qi Ming still had a low opinion of him, he had to admit that, as an internal medicine doctor, Xia Yonghui’s wound suturing skills were quite impressive, and he was particularly skillful at closing and tying knots.

Wait.

A thought suddenly flashed through his mind, and Qi Ming looked at Xia Yonghui solemnly.

————————

When Luo Jianan heard that the man who had assaulted him was Zhang Xiaohua’s brother, he said he wouldn’t file assault charges against the attacker, simply detaining the grandson for the required fifteen days. Xia Yonghui’s request for a head CT scan to confirm no brain damage was also rejected. This wasn’t the first time he’d been hit in the head with a beer bottle, and it probably wouldn’t be the last.

If there were any other options, Luo Jianan wouldn’t have used his head to catch the bottle, or else the bottle would have landed on Qi Ming’s head.

The emergency room, once jammed like a market, has now returned to normal. Everyone has been taken to the police station. Presumably, the officers will have to work all night again. Luo Jianan saw that the bl00d on his coat was probably indelible, so he took it off, rolled it up, and tossed it in the trash.

Qi Ming walked over to him, seeing that he was only wearing a shirt, and offered him his coat. “It’s windy outside, put something on.”

“Just get in the car when you go out. It’s okay.” Luo Jianan didn’t offer a hand, but shrugged nonchalantly. “How are you? Did you get hurt?”

Qi Ming shook his head. After a moment’s silence, he looked up at Luo Jianan and said, “Just now… thank you.”

“Don’t be polite. I didn’t take a bullet for you. Besides, even if it was a real bullet, I couldn’t just watch you die.” Luo Jianan raised his hand to cover the area where the gauze was applied. It throbbed with pain. “It wasn’t in vain. Everyone’s gone, right?”

Qi Ming looked around the empty hall and saw the cleaners sweeping up the garbage left behind by the others.

“Where are we going now? Home?” Luo Jianan asked.

“Go back to the police station. I have an idea I need to verify.”

“What idea?”

“About Feng Wenyue’s case.”

“Tell me about it.”

“Go back to the police station.”

“Oh, wait a minute, I’ll go say hello to Doctor Xiao Xia first.”

“Don’t go!” Qi Ming reached out and grabbed Luo Jianan’s arm, lowering his voice. “I suspect he’s involved in Feng Wenyue’s death.”

Luo Jianan’s eyes nearly popped out of his head.

————————

If it weren’t for Luo Jianan’s shielding, Qi Ming would have pushed the man who kept muttering, “No matter how prejudiced you are against Doctor Xiaoxia, you can’t accuse him of murder!” out of the car.

What a psycho! How could he accuse someone without evidence?

Miao Hong was on duty today. Seeing the patch on Luo Jianan’s head, she smiled and said, “That kiss was pretty intense; he’s even injured.”

“Master, you owe me twenty.” Luo Jianan tossed his car keys onto his desk and slumped back in his chair to relax.

“So, you took Teacher Qi to meet his parents?” Miao Hong pulled out her phone and tapped it. “Twenty, I’m transferring it to you on WeChat.”

Luo Jianan smacked his lips as he took the money. “Master, why do I feel like your words sound so awkward?”

“You’re just misinterpreting things.” Miao Hong raised her chin at him. “What happened to your head?”

After recounting the whole story to Miao Hong, Luo Jianan boasted, pointing to the gauze bandage covering the wound. “Three stitches without anesthesia. Master, your apprentice is amazing, isn’t he?”

“Are you crying like a dog?”

“If I shed a tear, I’m your son.”

“Get lost!”

The master and apprentice were exchanging words when Qi Ming knocked on the door and entered, placing his evidence bag, which contained a half-length rope, on Luo Jianan’s desk. Qi Ming also held a rope and shoved it toward Luo Jianan, commanding, “Tie it in a knot.”

Luo Jianan frowned at this and asked, “You don’t want me to simulate hanging myself, do you?”

“I don’t have the time to watch you hang yourself,” Qi Ming said.

Miao Hong raised her hand nearby. “I think I can take a break from my busy schedule and have some fun.”

Giving Miao Hong a look that said, “You’re so cruel,” Luo Jianan took both ends of the rope and looped them around his fingers. He then passed the end through the loop and tightened it, creating a knot.

“That’s how most people tie a knot.” Pulling a pair of scissors from the pen holder, Qi Ming cut off Luo Jianan’s knot. He then looped one end of the rope around his index and middle fingers twice, then clamped the other end through them and tightened it. He repeated this twice, then compared it with the knot in the evidence bag. It matched perfectly.

“This is how a surgical knot is tied when suturing. Doctors know how to do it, but nurses may not.” Qi Ming looked at Luo Jianan. “At the time of the incident, there was only one doctor, Dr. Xia Yonghui, in the respiratory department. Luo Jianan, what do you think?”

Luo Jianan was stunned for a moment, then looked at Miao Hong with a pleading look. Miao Hong thought for a moment and said, “Mortal? As far as I know, there’s no dispute between Xia Yonghui and Feng Wenyue.”

“Yes, what about the motive?” Luo Jianan’s eyes lit up. “And you just said that the nurse might not know how to do it. Based on this assumption alone, I don’t even have the right to bring him in for questioning. Qi Ming, you’re just too prejudiced against Dr. Xia. The first thing you catch—”

“Luo Jianan!” Qi Ming slammed his hand on the table. Even Miao Hong raised an eyebrow at his sudden outburst of anger. “Right now, our colleagues in the laboratory are testing the DNA on the rope. They have a sample from Xia Yonghui. You can discuss this prejudice with me after the results come in!”

With that, Qi Ming stormed out of the office.

Luo Jianan froze in his chair. After a moment, he turned to Miao Hong and asked, “Master, can I stay at your place tonight?”

Miao Hong mouthed the word “No Way” to him.

————————

Because the DNA sample extracted from the rope was a trace, the test results wouldn’t be available until Tuesday. The moment Luo Jianan saw the report, his mind went blank.

Match.

Seeing his reluctance to face reality, Miao Hong kindly offered, “Deputy Captain Zhao and I will go get the person?”

“I’ll go.” Luo Jianan grabbed his coat and strode out the door. Miao Hong followed him, but when they reached the parking lot, they saw Qi Ming already waiting by his car. She patted her apprentice’s arm and warned, “Don’t argue, unless you want to stay in the duty lounge for a few more days.”

Luo Jianan got into the car without a word, waited for Qi Ming to buckle up, started the car, and drove out the door. Ever since the argument on Saturday afternoon, Luo Jianan had been sleeping in the duty lounge, wearing the jacket Miao Hong had bought him at the mall on Sunday.

Qi Ming noticed the tape on his head was curling at the edges, so he broke the 72-hour cold war between them: “I’ll go to the medical examiner’s office later and change your dressing.”

Luo Jianan stared straight ahead, his lips pursed, still silent. They hadn’t spoken a word for the past two days. He had tried to find a random topic to lighten the mood, but Qi Ming wouldn’t even glance at him each time they passed. Now that Qi Ming’s suspicions had been confirmed, Luo Jianan’s pride immediately flared up, warning him that if he opened his mouth, he’d be humiliated.

“It’s basic courtesy to respond when someone speaks to you,” Qi Ming’s displeasure was evident. “Luo Jianan, if you don’t want to say a word to me, then take the luggage you left at my house.”

“Okay, I’ll get it tonight!”

Luo Jianan spoke with a stubborn composure. He felt wronged. After all, he’d taken the hit for Qi Ming. The pain from rolling over in his sleep and pressing against the wound would wake him. Wasn’t it just a disagreement? Did Qi Ming have to slam the table and glare at him, then ignore him for days?

Qi Ming was irritated by his attitude. Luo Jianan, you’re so good! You’re defending Xia Yonghui just because he’d eaten you. You used to dig deep for even the smallest clue, but now that the evidence is right in front of you, you refuse to face reality?

The two of them drove all the way to the hospital, holding back their resentment towards each other.

——————

Faced with the evidence, Xia Yonghui seemed unusually calm. He remained silent until he sat down in the interrogation room.

“I didn’t kill anyone,” he said. “I started my rounds at 8:00 that day. You can check the surveillance footage in the hallway.”

“I came to your office after watching the footage with Section Chief Fang,” Luo Jianan said in a deep voice. He still refused to believe Xia Yonghui was the murderer, but the evidence was there. “You haven’t been photographed in the hallway since 8:50.”

“I went back to my office.”

“Your office is right next to Feng Wenyue’s.”

“Yes, so I blame myself for not noticing what was going on next door.” Xia Yonghui raised his hand and rubbed his eyebrows. “Officer Luo, the ropes were used by family members to tie up boxes of drinks when they brought them to the doctor’s office. The doctor doesn’t accept red envelopes, so they brought boxes of Red Bull and Pulse from the supermarket to the office, fearing we’d get sleepy in the middle of the night and be too late to save us. The director asked me to give some to the nurses’ station, so I carried them whole. It’s normal for DNA residue to be found on such heavy items.”

Luo Jianan thought Xia Yonghui had a point, but he still felt he was hiding something. For someone so innocent, Xia Yonghui’s reaction was far too calm. He pulled a chair from behind the interrogation table and sat down in front of Xia Yonghui, his hands resting on his knees as he stared closely into his eyes behind his glasses. “Doctor Xia, the police rely on evidence when investigating cases. I’m willing to believe you, but you’ll have to convince everyone else before you can leave this room.”

Behind the one-way mirror, except for Miao Hong and Luo Jianan in the interrogation room, all the officers in the Serious Crime Squad were watching the surveillance screen. Qi Ming was also there.

Xia Yonghui’s fingers were clasped together, their fingertips turning white. After a long moment of hesitation, he sighed and said, “Honestly, I really hope it was homicide. That would make me feel better.”

“So you admit that Feng Wenyue’s death was your fault?” Miao Hong asked.

“If they committed suicide, it might really be because of me,” Xia Yonghui frowned. “I don’t want to speak ill of the deceased. After all, Head Nurse Feng is gone…”

Under Luo Jianan’s gaze, he paused for a moment before continuing, “The following is what happened. On the day of the incident, I heard two nurses chatting in the hallway. They said someone in our department was arranging platelet sales for patients in the hematology department. This was a serious dereliction of duty. I asked them who it was. At first, they hesitated and refused to tell me. Then I threatened them, saying they would never work in this ward again if they didn’t tell me. Then they told me it was Head Nurse Feng. I didn’t believe it at first, because Head Nurse Feng was the most ethical nurse I’d ever met. Then I went to the hematology ward again and pretended to be a family member, asking the nurses there if anyone had sold platelets. And it turned out to be her… I was furious. As a medical professional, she should have known better than anyone the harms of illegal bl00d products… I originally thought of reporting it directly to the director, but then I realized she had worked at the hospital for over 20 years. If this matter were exposed, not only would her career be ruined, but she would also face imprisonment. I still felt a little sorry for her. Later, I called her to the doctor’s office. I was the only doctor on duty at the time, and no one else was there. I wanted to warn her privately that there’s no such thing as a broken wall. If this gets to the hospital leadership, even if she’s not held criminally responsible, she’ll be fired.

“We all know Feng Wenyue acted as a liaison for bl00d traffickers,” Luo Jianan said. “It was the thief she caught. He confirmed that Feng Wenyue never took a penny in bribes; she was purely doing this to help the patients.” Xia Yonghui was stunned for a moment, then shook his head bitterly. “Yes, that’s what she said at the time. She said she wanted to save someone, but I didn’t believe her and warned her that if I heard her selling platelets again, I’d call the police… She cried so hard in front of me, and I didn’t want to see her like that, so I went out to make rounds… Later, when I saw her body, my first reaction was that I had forced her to death… I wanted to save her, but it was too late…”

As he spoke, Xia Yonghui hunched over and buried his face in his hands, trembling and crying silently. Luo Jianan searched his pockets for a long time but couldn’t find a tissue. He only found the handkerchief Qi Ming had asked him to wipe his cold sweat with. Actually, he hadn’t used it before, so the handkerchief was clean, so he handed it to Xia Yonghui.

Watching this from the next door, Qi Ming raised an eyebrow slightly.

——————

Xia Yonghui’s confession was flawless. Luo Jianan followed his instructions and went to the hospital to find the two nurses. They confirmed that Xia Yonghui had questioned them about platelet trafficking on the day of the incident. However, no one could prove the rest of Xia Yonghui’s account, so he couldn’t be released. It was almost midnight when Luo Jianan returned to the police station. He tossed and turned on his tattered bed in the duty room, unable to sleep. Finally, he got up and checked the surveillance footage.

Section Chief Fang had copied all the surveillance footage from the day of the incident to the police. There were over forty surveillance cameras, and Miao Hong only reviewed less than a third of them every day. Luo Jianan opened his master’s computer and reviewed the footage that Miao Hong hadn’t had time to review.

At 3:30 a.m., Chen Fei was suddenly awakened from his deep sleep by the ringing of the phone.

“Boss, come to the police station. I’ve discovered something,” Luo Jianan said, and hung up.

Zhao Pingsheng listened to Chen Fei cursing as he put on his clothes. He yawned and asked, “Who’s that?”

“That little bastard Luo Jianan,” Chen Fei said angrily. “He said he found something and told me to go back to the bureau. Damn it, he’s my captain!”

Zhao Pingsheng took the watch from the bedside table and glanced at it. “It’s not even four.”