Jiang Zhiyan looked at Xu Jiu who pressed her lips tightly together and said nothing. Back at the criminal investigation team they went straight to the autopsy room.
Zhang Haiyang was assisting Li Mingyuan with stitching the body and looked pale. He nodded in greeting.
Li Mingyuan’s eyes were bright as he greeted Xu Jiu first and said his favourite apprentice had come so late and asked if her brother was working her too hard. Xu Jiu said she had just happened to be there.
Li Mingyuan studied her face and said she looked just as soot stained as everyone else. She wiped her face roughly and asked if there were initial findings.
Li Mingyuan handed over the handwritten report and said the pubic bone showed features consistent with a male around forty years of age. Qin Shuo asked for plain language. Jiang Zhiyan explained the victim was male approximately forty years old.
Li Mingyuan told Qin Shuo to learn some professional terms and then went on to say soot and ash were found only around the nose and mouth with no sign of breathing while burning meaning the body had been set on fire after death. Qin Shuo was stunned and realised it had not been a living person.
Li Mingyuan confirmed the skull had been shattered while the victim was still alive and added a crucial detail the body had been frozen. Under the microscope he showed them how cells had shrunken and ice crystals had formed throughout the tissues.
Qin Shuo understood the killer had murdered the victim frozen the body and then burned it later. Jiang Zhiyan asked about time of death. It could only be estimated at five to seven days. They would start searching missing person records.
Li Mingyuan said dental records would be the best match as the victim had undergone root canal treatment on a lower molar. He also handed over a gold ring found on the victim’s finger. Xu Jiu thought of Zhao Dezhu Zhao Lei’s father but told herself it could not be such a coincidence.
Outside Qin Shuo wondered how she had known the victim was already dead. Xu Jiu explained that even someone willing to die would instinctively move and struggle in a fire rather than remain perfectly still. She realised this was not something she had caused the killer had simply taken advantage of the changed circumstances.
It was nearly four in the morning. Qin Shuo remarked on the sudden chill and then admitted he just meant it felt unseasonably cold. Xu Jiu rolled her eyes and Jiang Zhiyan smiled. They went to a small restaurant run by Feng Xianmin a kind man who worked tirelessly to support his sick wife and family.
He greeted them warmly and Qin Shuo introduced Xu Jiu as their special consultant and most valued team member. Feng Xianmin was impressed. After breakfast he insisted they take a bag of steamed buns as a gift. Back at the office Qin Shuo shared them with everyone.
Jiang Zhiyan saw Xu Jiu was tired and offered her a blanket and a place to rest. She shook her head but he insisted saying he would exclude her from the investigation if she did not sleep.
She gave in and followed him to the rest area. He gave her his bunk saying the sheets were fresh and stayed nearby working while she rested. She fell asleep surrounded by the faint clean scent of soap he used.
Later Qin Shuo burst in with news he had found a promising match from missing person files. Jiang Zhiyan had also identified two possibilities.
Families arrived to identify the remains. Zhao Lei supported his distraught mother Zhang Yan into the building.
Another elderly couple waited anxiously hoping their son was not the victim. The couple confirmed the dental description did not match their son and the ring was not his either. When Zhang Yan saw the ring and heard about the dental work she collapsed in grief confirming it was her husband Zhao Dezhu.
He had undergone root canal treatment the previous year. She wept uncontrollably and said Zhu Chao must be responsible because Zhao Dezhu had gone to ask for fair compensation and never returned.
Jiang Zhiyan cautioned them not to jump to conclusions. Zhang Yan insisted Zhu Chao had a grudge going back years.
Once he had publicly criticised Zhu Chao over financial mismanagement and had been targeted for layoffs in revenge. She and Zhao Lei begged them to arrest Zhu Chao.
Qin Shuo was convinced Zhu Chao was guilty but Jiang Zhiyan reminded him to rely on evidence. They went to the factory where Zhu Chao was overseeing work and complaining loudly about delays. He greeted them and assumed the death was a suicide.
Jiang Zhiyan asked why he was so certain. Zhu Chao denied any wrongdoing and claimed Zhao Dezhu had agreed to the compensation. He suggested Zhao Dezhu had set the fire out of spite.
Jiang Zhiyan asked for his movements on the day Zhao Dezhu vanished. Zhu Chao claimed he was busy with business meetings and dinners. Sun Wensheng confirmed his schedule but said he had left Zhu Chao entertaining a business associate in the evening.
Zhu Chao quickly added he had returned home by nine. When asked specifically about Zhao Dezhu, Zhu Chao admitted they had met and argued over compensation but claimed everything had been settled.
He denied any further contact or conflict and acted shocked when told Zhao Dezhu was dead. He then accused Zhao Dezhu of burning down the factory in revenge. Xu Jiu studied his face trying to separate truth from lies but found it difficult. She asked directly if he had killed Zhao Dezhu.