Chapter 22: The Cause of Death Found

The door to the autopsy room opened. Lu Chengfeng, wearing a surgical mask, walked inside.

"You're just in time; come take a look," Shu Yan said, her voice bright with excitement.

Lu Chengfeng gave a slight nod and walked briskly to her side.

Gao Yi moved his hand aside and pointed to the victim's scalp. "Captain Lu, look. Subcutaneous hemorrhaging. The victim was drowned."

"And the killer is female," Shu Yan added, placing her hand back on the victim's scalp. Her palm size perfectly aligned with the bruised area. "Gao Yi, show Captain Lu again."

Shu Yan moved her hand, and Gao Yi immediately placed his own on the scalp. The difference was obvious—his hand was too large.

Yang Guang looked skeptical. "Does it have to be a woman's hand? Could it be a man with a smaller frame? Men can have small hands, too."

Shu Yan shook her head. "We’ve proven that the victim didn't go to the beach alone. We found no signs of restraint or defensive wounds during the autopsy, which means she went to the beach with someone she knew."

"The victim was a young, unmarried woman. Do you really think she would go to the beach in the middle of the night with a male acquaintance? Especially when she has a rumored boyfriend? If the rumors were true, she would have been cautious about avoiding scandal."

Taozi nodded in agreement. "Yang Guang, you’re a man; you don’t understand the female psyche. Even if a guy is a good friend, we wouldn’t go out alone with him in the middle of the night."

"I also believe the killer is female—likely a close friend. The victim trusted her, which is why she had no guard up and was easily pushed into the water."

Gao Yi gave Taozi a thumbs up. "Great analysis, Taozi."

Shu Yan looked at the silent Lu Chengfeng. "You just need to investigate Xia Linlin’s social circle. See if she had a close best friend, especially someone she met on the night of Valentine’s Day."

Lu Chengfeng looked at her. "She did. A university classmate named Jiang Xue."

"Right, Jiang Xue!" Wang Qiang blurted out. "Jiang Xue was Xia Linlin’s closest friend. Xia Linlin even recommended her for a short drama they were in together. Jiang Xue played the second female lead—a very villainous character."

"I suspect Jiang Xue," he said with conviction.

Lu Chengfeng looked at him. "Why?"

Wang Qiang hesitated, debating whether to speak. "...Because after that drama aired, Jiang Xue was cyberbullied relentlessly. Rumors among the fans said that Jiang Xue told many people in private that she regretted taking that role because it ruined her future."

"The implication is obvious: she blamed Xia Linlin for setting her up with such a malicious character, which damaged her reputation. And there’s more gossip—some fans say Jiang Xue was also in love with Qin Yanbin."

"You fans certainly know a lot," Gao Yi teased.

Wang Qiang shrugged. "That’s nothing. Some fans even know their idols' underwear sizes and dietary preferences. Honestly, I never liked Jiang Xue; she always looked like a bad person to me."

Lu Chengfeng turned to Shu Yan. "I need evidence. Palm prints alone aren't enough to make an arrest."

Shu Yan frowned, her eyes shifting to Xia Linlin’s hands. After a moment of thought, she lifted the victim's hand and began scraping the debris from under the nails with a cotton swab.

"If the killer held the victim's head down into the water, the victim would likely have grabbed at them. There’s a high probability of finding the killer’s DNA under the victim's fingernails." She looked up. "Keep an eye out for scratch marks on the suspect's arms. If you find any, collect samples for a comparison."

Lu Chengfeng nodded. "Understood. Thank you both."

"Wait," Shu Yan called out as he turned to leave. "One more important thing: the time of death is between 11:00 PM and midnight on February 14th. You should have the video forensics team lock down the surveillance footage for that timeframe."

"Will do," Lu Chengfeng replied.

Once out of the autopsy room, Lu Chengfeng called Liu Xun to relay the findings. He instructed him to focus the investigation on Jiang Xue and prepare for an arrest.

As soon as Lu Chengfeng left, Shu Yan handed the evidence collected from the fingernails to Gao Yi. "Send this to the DNA lab."

Gao Yi took the evidence bag and hurried off. The others stayed behind to help Shu Yan suture the body.

Back in the task force conference room, Shi Wei stood up immediately. "Any progress?"

Lu Chengfeng didn't answer directly. Instead, he asked, "How much do you know about Jiang Xue?"

Shi Wei froze. "No way? Was it her?"

Lu Chengfeng noticed something in Shi Wei’s expression. "Is there an issue with her?"

Shi Wei sat back down. "I don't know if my hunch is right, but Xia Linlin truly treated Jiang Xue as a best friend; she always tried to include her in good opportunities."

"But I don't think Jiang Xue was the type to be grateful. She was narrow-minded and jealous that Xia Linlin was prettier, came from a better family, and was more popular."

"When they filmed that drama together, Xia Linlin became a star, while Jiang Xue was targeted by cyberbullies. It clearly caused some psychological imbalance. When we were all drinking that night, I noticed Jiang Xue’s attitude toward Xia Linlin was quite cold."

"Others noticed it too, so when Jiang Xue suggested leaving early, we all understood why. But... to kill someone over something like that?"

Blackie interjected, "Wei, you studied criminal psychology in the police academy. In most criminal cases, the motive is incredibly simple. To the average person, it can even seem absurd."

"True," Shi Wei said, suddenly remembering something. "Wait, Jiang Xue’s hometown is in the south. If you take the back roads, you pass right by that estuary. Lu, didn't you say that’s where Xia Linlin was found?"

Lu Chengfeng nodded. "Yes. Jiang Xue would be very familiar with that route, wouldn't she?"

"Absolutely."

Lu Chengfeng turned to Blackie. "Call Liu Xun. Tell him to find Jiang Xue as soon as possible and take her into custody."

"Yes, Captain," Blackie said, standing up to leave.

Shi Wei looked at Lu Chengfeng. "Qin Yanbin is almost here. What are we going to tell him?"

"Leave it to me. Just go down and bring him to the autopsy room. I’ll be waiting there."

Twenty minutes later, Qin Yanbin called to say he had arrived. Lu Chengfeng sent an investigator to assist Shi Wei in escorting him to the autopsy room.

Inside, the three of them had finished stitching the body and were cleaning the instruments. Lu Chengfeng briefed Shu Yan, who agreed to let Qin Yanbin identify the body.

A few minutes later, the investigator arrived with Shi Wei and Qin Yanbin. As they entered the room, Qin Yanbin saw the figure on the table covered by a white sheet, and his legs gave out. Shi Wei caught him and dragged him toward the table.

Because Xia Linlin’s hair had been shaved off and she wore no makeup, her face was deathly pale and her lips were blue. Qin Yanbin didn't recognize her at first. After a moment of daze, his knees buckled and he collapsed to the floor, burying his face in his hands and sobbing uncontrollably.

After a while, he looked up, gasping, "How did Linlin die? And when?"