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Lin Fan quickly got up, grabbed her clothes, and hurriedly dressed, “Can I come with you?”
Qin Feng stood up and walked out, “Then hurry up.”
Lin Fan was indeed fast at dressing. By the time Qin Feng was ready to leave, she had grabbed her bag and ran over, “Let’s go.”
Qin Feng was on the phone with one hand and used the other to straighten Lin Fan’s collar, saying, “I’ll be there in fifteen minutes.”
After hanging up, he grabbed the car keys and headed outside. “It’s at Central Hospital.”
Lin Fan jogged to keep up with Qin Feng, “What exactly is Ouyang Yu? Why does he dig out hearts? Haven’t they determined the cause of death for those seven skeletons?”
Qin Feng pressed the elevator button, “We can’t draw any conclusions for now. There’s yogurt and bread in your bag.”
Lin Fan had a sensitive stomach, and he didn’t want her to go hungry.
Lin Fan quickly checked her bag and indeed found yogurt, bread, and two chocolates. Her worries dissipated, and she quietly moved closer to grab Qin Feng’s hand.
They arrived at the scene at eight o’clock. There were many onlookers. Xiao Wang quickly approached Qin Feng, “Captain Qin.”
“How’s it going?”
“We’re taking photos.”
The victim lay face-up at the corner of the eighth floor. Qin Feng looked up at the ceiling; there were no splatters of blood. They examined the surroundings; there were no bloodstains on the cement floor, and the body was bare-chested. They tried to take fingerprints from the body, which appeared peaceful in death, with no signs of a struggle. Qin Feng looked around and asked Xiao Wang, “Where are the victim’s clothes? Were they found?”
“The shirt wasn’t found, it might have been taken by the killer.”
“Are there any cameras in the stairwell?”
“The cameras are broken.”
Qin Feng frowned. There was a door in the stairwell, and he checked for any marks. “In previous cases, the killer didn’t take the victim’s clothes. Keep looking.”
Apart from the incision on the chest, there were no other injuries. It was the same as before. Qin Feng frowned, looking grim. There were no footprints or fingerprints. How could the killer make an incision without blood splattering? Who was the killer?
Someone touched him from behind, and Qin Feng, irritated, said, “Speak!”
“Qin Feng.”
Hearing Lin Fan’s voice, Qin Feng calmed down and turned, “Yes?”
“Do you smell something?”
Qin Feng sniffed, “No.”
“It smells like my old house, or maybe like a ghost-suppressing charm.”
Qin Feng started looking for a ghost-suppressing charm but found nothing. The scene was very clean. Apart from the body, there was no blood despite the violent death and nakedness. They had to take the body back to the forensics center.
The victim was Wang Ronghua, thirty-two, a nurse in the inpatient department. She had worked the night shift the previous night. According to the nurse on duty, she left at three in the morning and never returned. Most of the patients on that floor were critically ill, and no one was in the stairwell at that hour.
The first person to discover the body was Lin Xiu, a nurse and Wang Ronghua’s colleague. Lin Xiu was crying uncontrollably, covering her face, “Sister Wang was so nice, never offended anyone. How could this happen?”
“Did you notice anyone unusual when you went upstairs?”
“No, the stairwell was very quiet.”
“Do you also work on the eighth floor?”
“Yes, I’m a colleague of Sister Wang.”
“Has Wang Ronghua behaved strangely recently?”
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Lin Xiu shook her head, “I don’t know, I don’t think so.”
“Think carefully.”
“She and her husband were having marital problems. He was abusive. She cried to me a few times about it.”
“Can others enter and exit the inpatient department at night?”
“Yes, they can.”
According to the surveillance footage, the nurse call rang at 3 AM. She went to Room 3 on the eighth floor, where a cancer patient had a sudden fainting episode, and they called a doctor to come and resuscitate him. At 5 AM, the patient was revived, and the doctor returned to rest. Wang Ronghua seemed to receive a phone call and headed to the stairwell, never to be seen again.
The time of death was between 5 and 7:30 AM. During this time, the surveillance showed that no one entered the stairwell on the eighth floor except Wang Ronghua. They needed to check each floor before that time.
After assigning tasks, Qin Feng headed straight to the forensic department.
The autopsy was nearly complete. Qin Feng asked, “Cause of death?”
“Same as before. The victim didn’t resist; there might be a new kind of drug we haven’t detected. The time of death is around 6:30 AM. The victim was first stabbed in the heart, and after death, the heart was removed. The killer has excellent psychological resilience, just waiting there without fear of anyone coming.”
Qin Feng examined the body’s surface, “What about the bruises on her legs? Was there any sexual assault?”
“No, and I’m not sure about the other injuries, but they don’t seem recent.”
“Then her husband probably did it,” Qin Feng concluded.
“Her husband beats her?” Forensic Liu said, “What kind of husband is that?”
With the autopsy report in hand, Qin Feng returned to see Wang Ronghua’s parents and husband crying loudly.
Qin Feng interviewed her husband alone. Wang Ronghua’s husband, Gao Ran, was the same age as her. They had a daughter in middle school.
Gao Ran, around 1.73 meters tall, slightly overweight, looked unremarkable. He buried his face in his hands, appearing very distressed.
“When was the last time you contacted Wang Ronghua?”
“Last night at ten.” He looked up, his eyes red, “Who killed her? Ronghua never fought with anyone, how could this happen? So cruel.”
“I heard you had a conflict with her before she was killed?”
“We argued about work, just a typical marital spat.”
“When did you hit her?”
“I didn’t hit her, just pushed her during an argument.”
People who commit domestic violence often say they just pushed. Some even kill and still claim it was just a push, clearly misunderstanding the severity.
“Could a push cause such severe injuries?”
Gao Ran remained silent. Qin Feng continued, “What was the argument about?”
“She was always suspicious and constantly talked about divorce. I’m a truck driver; I’m also very tired. She didn’t understand and kept scolding me.” Gao Ran sighed, “But now she’s gone—”
“Did she suspect an affair?”
He nodded.
Qin Feng continued, “Did she exhibit any unusual behavior recently?”
“Unusual?” Gao Ran thought for a moment, “She’s been quite superstitious lately. She never used to be, but now she’s into it all the time.”
“Did she contact anyone related to that?”
“I don’t know.”
“What brand was her phone?”
Gao Ran mentioned a domestic brand, “Why?”
Wang Ronghua’s phone was missing. In the previous four cases, there were no signs of robbery; the victims’ clothes and belongings were always left nearby. Her phone was missing, and the surveillance showed her receiving a call, likely from the killer.
They immediately checked with the telecom company for her call records. Qin Feng rushed out and saw Lin Fan sitting at the door with a lunch box. He stopped, “Why are you still here?”
“You haven’t eaten, right?” Lin Fan handed the lunch box to Qin Feng, “It’s already 2:30, and you didn’t eat this morning.”
Seeing Lin Fan’s big eyes, Qin Feng’s heart softened. He took the lunch box, told the others to eat first, and check later.
He took Lin Fan to his office, quickly opening the lunch box and eating.
“Slow down.” Lin Fan handed Qin Feng a cup of water, “You need to eat even when solving cases. You’re not made of iron.”
Qin Feng glanced at her, smiling, “You’re right.”
Lin Fan blushed, “What do you mean I’m right? You don’t eat properly, you don’t cut down on smoking, yet you say you listen to me?”
Lin Fan’s voice was soft and gentle, pleasant to hear. She rarely mentioned these things, but occasionally, Qin Feng ignored her advice.
“I remember now.”
Qin Feng quickly finished eating, drank the water, wiped his mouth, then walked over and, seeing no one at the door, hugged Lin Fan and kissed her hard. He let go, “I’m off. You go home and do your homework. I’ll make sure to take you to school tomorrow morning.”
Qin Feng left like a gust of wind. Lin Fan touched her lips and sighed. What could she do with a workaholic? She went home. On the bus, passing by Central Hospital, she impulsively got off. Maybe she should get checked. She was almost nineteen and still hadn’t had her period.
Qin Feng said he was sterile, but was it true? Remembering their intimate moments, Lin Fan blushed. Maybe it was true; Qin Feng wouldn’t lie.
Not having children was a bit regrettable, but Lin Fan didn’t have any concept of children herself.
She registered to see a doctor. Because there were many people in line, she stood by the window near the elevator. Behind her was today’s crime scene. Two men beside her were smoking and chatting, “Someone died in Building 3 today. Have you heard? It’s all over Weibo.”
“The Heart Digger? The fifth victim. People are really scared.”
Five consecutive murders in such a short time was indeed shocking. Lin Fan worried for Qin Feng. Such a case with no leads would be tough to solve, and the pressure from above was immense. If it wasn’t solved soon, it might affect him.
She looked outside. The garden’s plants had withered, leaving only the evergreens. She saw a figure heading towards the outpatient department. After a brief hesitation, she quickly ran downstairs.
Mr. Chen.
Obstetrics and gynecology were on the fourth floor, not high. By the time she reached downstairs, she couldn’t find him. She searched but found nothing. Qin Feng said he saved her life, but she never had the chance to thank him in person.
She sighed and went back upstairs, wondering why Mr. Chen was here. Then she thought, if Ouyang Yu was behind these cases, he might be nearby. The thought sent chills down her spine, and she hurried to the outpatient department.
At 5:30, the results were out. Lin Fan’s body was completely normal.
“Some people may never have a period, but they can still conceive and live normally. If you’re still worried, you can take some traditional medicine for regulation.”