Chapter 28: It’s Time to End This

This medical report is not from the Municipal Third Hospital, nor is it even from Baicheng; it was issued by a hospital in a neighboring city. If the child were truly Wang Youfu’s, she would have had no reason to seek testing in another city.

"Zhou Yi, you're incredible. You were right on the mark," Qiao Jiali exclaimed in astonishment.

"Sister Qiao, there is one more thing I need your help with."

"Just name it."

"Go to the hospital and have the doctors check Wang Youfu’s blood for any traces of anesthetic drugs."

"Anesthetics?" Qiao Jiali’s intuition and experience were clearly not yet on par with Wu Yongcheng’s. "Are you suspecting that Wang Youfu was drugged before he jumped?"

"No, for now, it’s just a hunch. Please, bear with me and do as I ask, Sister Qiao."

"Fine, I’ll call my contact at the hospital."

Zhou Yi took a deep breath and scanned the room. Where could the murder weapon have been hidden? Before his rebirth, the police had conducted massive, carpet-style searches, yet the weapon had never been found. From the perspective of criminal psychology, Zhou Yi concluded that the perpetrator was a highly cautious individual with deep-seated insecurity. It was highly probable that the killer had kept the weapon hidden for many years; only by keeping it within reach could they ensure it remained undiscovered, as discarding it would risk exposure.

Suddenly, Zhou Yi’s gaze fell upon the wedding photograph in the living room. He walked over immediately and took it down. An officer noticed his actions and cautioned, "We already checked the back of that photo; there was nothing hidden there."

"Thank you," Zhou Yi said, still holding the frame and examining the back closely.

Then, he spotted two faint marks left by transparent tape, spaced about ten centimeters apart. Something had been kept here!

"Sister Qiao, did Zhang Xinli go out before Wang Youfu jumped?"

Qiao Jiali, having just finished her call, nodded. "Yes, she went to the market to buy groceries. We had people watching her the whole time."

"What did she buy?"

"Just vegetables, eggs, meat, things like that. The items are still in the kitchen." Qiao Jiali asked curiously, "What is it? Did you find something else?"

"The weapon must have been hidden behind that wedding photo all along. But our appearance today panicked Zhang Xinli. She was desperate to get rid of it, so she took the opportunity while out grocery shopping to dispose of it."

"That’s impossible. Our people were tailing her closely. If she had tried to discard anything, we definitely would have noticed."

Zhou Yi set the photo down and walked into the kitchen. He found several bags of groceries in the refrigerator—the ones Zhang Xinli had bought that day. He rummaged through them for a moment and found a piece of meat at the very bottom. He opened the plastic bag and examined it carefully.

Qiao Jiali watched with curiosity and couldn't help but ask, "What did you find?"

"Sister Qiao, do you cook?"

"I do."

"Then would you ever buy this cut of meat? It’s mostly fat, very little lean meat, and the skin is thick and tough."

Qiao Jiali frowned and shook her head.

"When people buy groceries, they pick the freshest items. When they buy meat, they look for a good ratio of fat to lean. My mother even asks the butcher to trim off the pig skin so she doesn't have to pay for it, since most people don't eat it," Zhou Yi explained. "So, why would Zhang Xinli, under these circumstances, buy such a poor-quality piece of meat?"

This time, it finally clicked for Qiao Jiali. She slapped her palm and exclaimed, "The market! The butcher shop!"

Zhou Yi nodded. "Exactly. If she used the grocery run as a cover, she could have used the weapon to cut a piece of meat for herself while the butcher was busy. That way, she could naturally leave the weapon at the butcher's stall. The officers tailing her wouldn't have thought twice about it—after all, it’s perfectly normal for a butcher shop to have knives."

"And when the stall owner closed up for the night and found it, he wouldn't have thought anything of it."

"Furthermore, it's highly likely that the knife would be handled by many people afterward, ensuring Zhang Xinli wouldn't leave any fingerprints behind."

Watching Zhou Yi’s calm and collected analysis, Qiao Jiali felt a bit dazed. Who exactly was this young man? He seemed even sharper than Captain Wu.

"Xiao Kai, come with me right now. We’re going back to the market Zhang Xinli visited today. Do you remember which stalls she bought things from?"

The officer who had cautioned Zhou Yi earlier nodded and followed Qiao Jiali out.

Zhou Yi stared at the wedding photo left in the corner. In it, Zhang Xinli’s face was serene, like a soulless paper doll, while Wang Youfu smiled brilliantly, as if envisioning a beautiful future.

"Twenty-seven years—it’s time for this to end," Zhou Yi whispered.

...

After heading downstairs, Zhou Yi informed Wu Yongcheng of the situation.

Less than half an hour later, Qiao Jiali returned in a flurry. Seeing Zhou Yi and the others standing by the car, she gave them a thumbs-up from a distance.

"Zhou Yi, you’re incredible... everything you said was right." Qiao Jiali panted as she held up an evidence bag containing a palm-sized fruit knife. "We arrived just as the butcher was about to head home and caught him. Once we asked, he remembered—he did find an extra knife on his stall when he was packing up for the night."

"But he didn't think much of it, assuming a customer had left it behind, so he just tossed it into his utility box."

"However, just as you predicted, it’s likely impossible to recover any of Zhang Xinli’s fingerprints. The blade is covered in grease; many people must have used it."

Wu Yongcheng and Chen Yan were instantly invigorated. With the most critical piece of evidence found, the dawn of a breakthrough in the case was in sight.

"Good kid, well done," Wu Yongcheng said, patting Zhou Yi on the shoulder. "Get in the car. We’re heading back to the bureau to interrogate Zhang Xinli properly."

"Xiao Qiao, handle the cleanup here. Hand the evidence to Chen Yan for immediate analysis."

Qiao Jiali nodded and said to Zhou Yi, "I’ll let you know as soon as the hospital results come back."

"Thank you, Sister Qiao."

The three of them got into the car. Chen Yan suddenly chuckled, "Master, I think your position is about to be threatened."

"Pfft, he’s still wet behind the ears. Don't think he can get complacent just because he’s had a small success." Wu Yongcheng looked into the rearview mirror, and he and Zhou Yi shared an understanding smile.

The three returned to the bureau without a moment's delay. Chen Yan headed straight for the technical department with the three key pieces of evidence, while Wu Yongcheng and Zhou Yi went to the interrogation room.

Just one day apart, and Zhou Yi had moved from the subject of interrogation to the interrogator's seat.

"Zhang Xinli, we meet again," Zhou Yi said.

"Wang... how is my husband? He wasn't acting like himself after he got home from work, and then he said he wanted to eat my cooking, so I went to buy groceries for him. I never expected..." Zhang Xinli said, covering her face and sobbing.

Zhou Yi spoke in a calm, steady tone: "Zhang Xinli, there’s no need to act anymore. We’ve already found the weapon you hid at the butcher shop."