Forensic Forensic - Chapter 5

Chapter 5

Luo Jianan twisted the oxygen tube of the gunshot victim into almost a Chinese knot. In less than thirty seconds, the cardiac monitor started alarming. In an instant, several doctors and nurses rushed in. Luo Jianan flashed his police badge at them and then released the oxygen tube. The patient, who was drowsy under the effect of the analgesic pump, was choked awake. He groggily opened his eyes, and his scattered gaze slowly focused on Luo Jianan’s face.

“It’s nothing, a shoulder wound won’t kill you. I’m in a hurry to take your statement. Would you all mind stepping out for a moment?” After the doctors finished checking the patient’s condition, Luo Jianan signaled them to give him and the patient some private space. Probably having never encountered such a “fierce” police officer, the doctors and nurses all left the room. Good heavens, this guy is really ruthless. Couldn’t he have waited for the person to wake up naturally before questioning?

Qi Ming waited in the hallway outside. He decided not to get involved in Luo Jianan’s messy business of choking the oxygen tube. Besides, he had an extreme aversion to scum who preyed on young girls. If he went in, it wouldn’t be as simple as just cutting off the oxygen; Luo Jianan might not be able to stop him.

“Hey, hey.” Luo Jianan patted the patient’s face—it was more like a slap, and a red handprint immediately appeared on the patient’s face. “Wake up, I need to ask you something.”

The man’s brain felt like a blur, but the slap on his face was quite sharp, which somewhat cleared his head. “Wha… what is it?”

“Is there a girl named Qiu Haina in your class?”

“Ah… yes…”

“Is she pretty?”

With a dry smile, the man’s expression was lost in reverie. “P-p-pretty… she’s got… the makings of… a star.”

That’s right, it’s this son of a b1tch. Luo Jianan turned off the analgesic pump, waited for a moment, and then placed his hand on the man’s shot left shoulder, pressing with a little force—

“Mama!—”

A pig-slaughtering scream echoed throughout the hallway. Qi Ming quickly stood up and stopped the doctors who wanted to rush back in. “That’s a murderer. My colleague is currently questioning him for leads. Also, from now on, no pain medication is allowed to be given to him. We need him to remain conscious so he can be questioned at any time, understood?”

The doctor opened his mouth, hesitated for a moment, nodded, and then turned and returned to the office.

“Listen, I’m the police.” Luo Jianan picked up the oxygen tube again and played with it in his hand. “Trash like you doesn’t deserve to be a teacher. I’ll send people over first thing tomorrow morning, ah. You better confess everything you’ve done, understand?”

“I didn’t… didn’t do anything…” The man was essentially sobered up by the pain.

“You didn’t do anything, then what the hell is this for?!”

Luo Jianan harshly poked the man’s wound again. Now, the whole building was awakened by the agonizing screams. Qi Ming glanced at the doctors’ office; the door was tightly shut.

“I really… I just…” Seeing Luo Jianan’s “sinister hand” raise again, the man immediately burst into tears. “I was wrong, I was really wrong, Officer, let me off, I will never do it again!”

“You killed a seventeen-year-old girl, and you still dare to talk about ‘never again’?” Luo Jianan reached out to press the IV needle. Seeing the man’s cold sweat, which hadn’t even subsided yet, break out again from the pain, he sneered, “Remember this: honesty is the best policy. Otherwise, I’ll find someone to block your door and beat the hell out of you every day!”

The man was almost tortured to the point of fainting by Luo Jianan, only capable of nodding.

Handcuffing the man to the bed rail, Luo Jianan pushed the door open and stood in the hallway to call Chen Fei. After hearing the report, Chen Fei said he would immediately arrange for people to go to the hospital. He also told Luo Jianan that Qiu Haina’s father, Qiu Guangping, had been contained and was currently held in the bureau’s temporary holding cell. When the police arrived, he did attempt suicide but apparently lacked the courage to shoot himself.

“Hey, can we count this as a self-surrender, Boss?” Luo Jianan rubbed the stubble on his chin. “This night hasn’t been a complete waste for me.”

“Did I just sleep through the night?” Chen Fei took a sip of strong tea—brewed by Zhao Pingsheng—it wasn’t too hot, “Alright, you little brat, I know how to handle this. You hurry and send Professor Qi back to the hotel and go home to sleep yourself. You don’t need to be in the office before noon, but don’t forget to finish the report.”

“Thanks, Boss.”

Hanging up the phone, Luo Jianan waved Qi Ming over to go downstairs together.

Qi Ming was drowsy from the rocking motion in the car. It was five in the morning. Sanitation workers had already started cleaning the streets, and a sliver of dawn broke in the sky; the whole city was gradually waking up from its deep slumber. Luo Jianan was also yawning continuously. Parking the car in the hotel’s underground parking lot, he got out of the car with Qi Ming.

“Why are you following me?” Qi Ming was puzzled.

“Going up to sleep for a bit. If I drive home now, I’ll definitely fall asleep while driving.” Luo Jianan ignored the widened eyes behind Qi Ming’s glasses, raised his hand, and pressed the elevator button. “Aren’t you a hotel shareholder? Call the front desk and get me a room.”

Qi Ming rolled his eyes. “Forget it, don’t occupy a hotel room. Mine is a suite, the living room sofa is yours.”

“Stingy.” Luo Jianan mumbled as he walked into the elevator.

Qi Ming’s room was not extravagant, but the simple furnishings had a strong Nordic home style, which was uncommon in a five-star hotel. Luo Jianan was too tired to look around. He flopped onto the sofa, set the alarm on his phone, and fell asleep immediately. His legs were long, extending beyond the armrest of the sofa, but even so, it didn’t affect his sleep quality. Seeing him just wrapping himself in his jacket to sleep, Qi Ming called the front desk and asked for a blanket from room service.

While covering Luo Jianan with the blanket, Qi Ming noticed a scar at the hairline behind the other person’s ear. He recognized it immediately as a scar from a healed knife wound. Reaching out to gently brush aside the coarse hair, he saw rough stitch marks left on the scalp.

Throwing himself into the bed, Qi Ming set his phone alarm for half past nine. He could sleep for less than four hours, which was barely enough. Almost the instant he closed his eyes, he fell into a deep sleep.

The alarm rang on time. Qi Ming reached out and hit snooze. Just as he was about to lie in bed for a while, he suddenly realized it was bright outside. He scrambled up, put on his glasses, rubbed his heavy forehead, and walked towards the bathroom. As soon as he pushed open the bathroom door, he immediately slammed it shut with a bang—Luo Jianan was inside brushing his teeth, completely naked.

“Don’t you know the rules! Didn’t you lock the door when you entered the bathroom!?”

Pulling the door open a crack, Luo Jianan squeezed out half his body, his mouth full of foam and a toothbrush dangling, smiling broadly. He mumbled vaguely, “I live alone, so I don’t have the habit of locking the door. It’s fine. I saw you yesterday, you see me today, we’re even.”

What nonsense are you talking about! Was I naked for you to see yesterday?! Qi Ming was fully awake now.

“Are you in a hurry to use the toilet?” Luo Jianan was as thick-skinned as an ozone hole. “Otherwise, you go first, I’m about to take a shower.”

“Hurry up and shower.” Qi Ming stepped back. “I’m not in a hurry.”

“Great kidney function.”

Luo Jianan retreated and closed the door—this time he didn’t forget to lock it.

Although it was just a quick glance, Qi Ming still saw several old knife scars on Luo Jianan’s body, and the suture marks were as rough as those on his head.

“Professor Qi, have you had lunch?”

Running into him in the hallway, Xu Jie greeted Qi Ming enthusiastically. Then he noticed the injury on Qi Ming’s face and asked, “Oh, what happened to your injury?”

“A scrape.” Qi Ming raised his hand and gestured at the side of his face. “Did you break a bone here?”

Xu Jie nodded. “Yes, how did you know?”

“The muscles here don’t move when you smile. I initially thought it was congenital, but after observing a few times, I determined it was caused by nerve damage during a fracture repair surgery,” Qi Ming explained.

“Wow, you really are as amazing as the rumors say.” Xu Jie sighed with emotion. “It was twenty years ago. I was as mischievous as a monkey when I was a kid and fell from the third-floor balcony. My dad even said, ‘Oh no, my son’s face is crooked, how will he ever find a wife now?'”

Qi Ming held Xu Jie’s jaw, turning his face from side to side and said, “It’s barely noticeable. The repair is very good. Considering the medical level twenty years ago, the surgeon who operated on you can be considered highly skilled.”

“My dad asked a friend to find the Chief of Surgery at the First Hospital.” Having his chin held by Qi Ming in the hallway, Xu Jie felt slightly uncomfortable, so he didn’t notice the change in Qi Ming’s expression after hearing his words.

“First Hospital? Who?” Qi Ming let go of his hand.

Xu Jie thought for a moment and said, “Chief Han.”

“Han Zheng?”

“Yes, that’s him. Do you know him?”

“No.”

“…”

If you don’t know him, how do you know his name? Xu Jie was full of questions.

“Oh, right.” Qi Ming was about to leave when he suddenly remembered something. “What should I call you?”

“Xu… Xu Jie…”

So you didn’t even know my name? Xu Jie thought to himself.

Luo Jianan hated writing reports the most, mainly because his non-compliant actions during the investigation couldn’t be put down on paper, so he could only write what was permissible. As a result, he had only finished one line of the case narrative after smoking half a pack of cigarettes. Qiao Dawei walked into the room with a stack of documents. Seeing Luo Jianan’s constipated face, he knew he couldn’t put the report together.

Qiao Dawei patted Luo Jianan’s shoulder and cautioned, “Don’t smoke in the office. I saw smoke pouring out of the door crack just before I came in. The Captain will definitely scold you when he gets back.”

Luo Jianan rolled his eyes and stubbed out the cigarette. “I need to apply for a secretary.”

“Even the Captain doesn’t have a secretary, what are you dreaming about?”

“No, Dawei, tell me, us criminal police officers, we still have to deal with this trash every day—” Luo Jianan lifted the stack of papers and slammed them onto the desk. “I should have gone to the SWAT team. I’ve never seen my dad worry about reports.”

“I’ve seen Uncle Luo’s reports, they are written exceptionally well. His handwriting is powerful and vigorous.” Qiao Dawei glanced at Luo Jianan’s report. “Your handwriting is quite similar to your dad’s, though.”

“Heh, that’s called inheritance,” Luo Jianan proudly lifted his chin.

“Luo Jianan! Get out and smoke!”

The sharp female voice from behind made Luo Jianan’s hair stand on end. He immediately stood up from his chair and turned around, nodding to the person. “Master, you’re back.”

“Sister Hong,” Qiao Dawei also stood up straight immediately.

Miao Hong tossed her black travel bag against the wall, walked up to Luo Jianan, and raised her hand to give him a hard knock on the head. “Three days without a beating, and you’re climbing onto the roof. I only went to the provincial department for a few days of meetings, and look at this room, smoky and murky like a bandit’s den.”

“Master, don’t keep hitting my head, what if I become stupid?” Rubbing his head, Luo Jianan looked at her with a wronged expression. Miao Hong was already tall, and wearing heels for the meeting added another dozen centimeters to her already imposing aura, which was full of pressure.

“If you become stupid, it’ll be less trouble for me.” Kicking off her high heels, Miao Hong bent down, dragged a pair of Converse canvas shoes from under her desk, and put them on. Wearing high heels was tiring, not to mention making it difficult to walk steadily. She never wore makeup and had a military-style buzz cut—the saying “people who are beautiful don’t need a hairstyle to embellish them” was proven true on her.

Pouring a glass of water for Miao Hong and placing it on her desk, Luo Jianan asked with a smile, “Master, why did you come back early?”

“Captain Chen called and said there was a headless corpse case that needed more manpower, so he told me to hurry back.” Miao Hong opened her computer. “What’s the case number?”

“769980-X,” Qiao Dawei chimed in. He and Xu Jie were investigating this case; Luo Jianan definitely wouldn’t know.

While Miao Hong was looking at the files, Luo Jianan quickly opened all the windows to air out the smoke smell. He actually wasn’t afraid of being scolded by Chen Fei; he was the captain, and giving him respect as a superior was necessary. But Miao Hong—well, this woman dared to pound the table and argue with the bureau chief, and more than once. Luo Jianan initially couldn’t understand why Xu Jie and Qiao Dawei envied Miao Hong as his Master—she would hit him on the head if she just gave him a wrong look, and she was an old maid over thirty who hadn’t married yet—Luo Jianan guessed no one dared to marry her.

After following Miao Hong for a few months, he finally surrendered. Once, while pursuing a suspect, the suspect fled in a car. It was on the highway. Miao Hong drove the police car, exceeding 140 kilometers per hour, weaving between cars by barely brushing their bumpers, and then turned the wheel to ram the suspect’s car into the guardrail. Luo Jianan, in the passenger seat, was completely carsick and started vomiting as soon as he got out, leaning on the car door—riding in his Master’s car was more thrilling than a rollercoaster.

As for non-compliant procedures, he learned all those from Miao Hong.

A knock sounded at the door. Shangguan Yunfei from the Technology Department waved her tablet computer at them.

“We have a result for yesterday’s composite sketch comparison.”