Sweeping Mouse Ridge – Chapter Ten : 1

“Ding ling ling…”

The crisp sound of the brass bell on the café doorframe made Liu Simiao look up from her book. She glanced towards the door, but seeing that it wasn’t Guo Xiaofen who entered but a middle-aged man wearing a baseball cap, she lowered her head again to read James Ellroy’s The Infinite Wasteland, but her gaze could no longer focus on the words on the page.

She sighed softly, closed the book, and gazed out the bright French windows: a row of plane trees in late autumn, their remaining leaves curled into small, black and yellow balls, resembling flickering flames in the early darkness. On the sidewalk below, several couples dressed in bright red and green strolled hand in hand. For a fleeting moment, they appeared vibrant as they passed the illuminated advertisements projected onto the ground by shop lights, only to vanish again as if swallowed by the night…

After so many experienced officers worked tirelessly day and night, pouring in so much effort, the entire investigation of the Sweeping Mouse Ridge Case came to a halt, like a broken bone. All the evidence pointed to Zhou Liping, the previously prime suspect, as having a solid alibi and deserving of release according to the law.

Although some officers were still resentful and wanted to find a reason to detain him a little longer, they were struggling to come up with one: moving Zhang Chunyang’s body into the freezer constituted the crime of desecrating a corpse? Fighting with Li Ziyong violated the Public Security Administration Punishment Law? Forget it, forget it; let’s not make things difficult for ourselves!

Throughout the entire process of handling the release from custody procedures, Zhou Liping remained very cooperative and calm, just like an innocent person who had long been mentally prepared for his eventual exoneration. Of course, he also made a few polite remarks thanking the government before walking out of the detention center.

Following relevant regulations, suspects in major criminal cases, even after being cleared of suspicion, were still subject to residential surveillance for a period of time. According to the report from the detective in charge of this work, Zhou Liping went directly home and didn’t leave again, eating takeout from the local convenience store downstairs for dinner.

The release of Zhou Liping didn’t mean the four lives lost on Sweeping Mouse Ridge could be left unsolved. The Special Task Force team, led by Du Jianping, received severe criticism from their superiors. Although Xu Ruilong offered words of encouragement, hoping everyone would learn from the experience, shift focus, change strategies, and seek a breakthrough, the members of the Special Task Force team, while proudly declaring they weren’t afraid of setbacks and would start again, were all privately disheartened.

A hard-fought battle, seemingly on the verge of success, turned out to be a wasted effort. Now, the “golden period” for solving the case had passed. Whether the mystery of Sweeping Mouse Ridge could be solved remains to be seen…

During this time, a small ripple occurred, but it quickly subsided.

Just as the Special Task Force team finished receiving criticism from their superiors and left the meeting room, Du Jianping, Chu Tianying, and Lin Fengchong all noticed that their silent phones showed a call from Lei Rong. Du Jianping, thinking that Lei Rong might have made some new discoveries about the case from a forensic pathologist’s perspective, quickly called back. The news he received was that the autopsy showed Zhang Chunyang had frozen to death.

“What?” Du Jianping was taken aback. “Frozen to death? Wasn’t it said he died of a sudden stroke?”

“I reviewed Zhang Chunyang’s medical records from other hospitals. Because he did have heart problems, it’s possible he experienced sudden death during intercourse on the night of the incident. However, sudden death during intercourse isn’t necessarily true death; it could be ‘apparent death’ caused by fainting or shock, manifested as weak breathing and a near-stopped heartbeat. Plus, Xing Qisheng isn’t a cardiologist, which led to a misdiagnosis,” Lei Rong said.

“During the autopsy, I found multiple nonspecific changes in Zhang Chunyang’s organs, such as frozen and expanded intracranial contents causing fractures in the skull sutures, subepicardial hemorrhages, pulmonary congestion, renal small vessel epithelial degeneration and necrosis with hemoglobin casts, and iliopsoas muscle hemorrhage. All of these indicate that the deceased died of freezing, especially the Vishnevsky spots—”

“What ‘ski’?” Du Jianping was somewhat bewildered. “Tell me slower.”

“Vishnevsky spots,” Lei Rong explained. “They are diffuse, petechial hemorrhages under the stomach lining, arranged along blood vessels, and are dark red or dark brown. These hemorrhages are a typical sign of death from freezing.”

“How could it be death from freezing…” Du Jianping couldn’t understand at all.

“What’s particularly tragic is that I believe Zhang Chunyang had a period of consciousness before he froze to death,” said Lei Rong. “His fingertips were worn raw, and correspondingly, I extracted skin tissue and bloodstains from the upper part of the freezer in the morgue where his body was stored, proving that Zhang Chunyang had tried to struggle to get out. Unfortunately, once a body was placed in the freezer, the bottom plate would automatically lock under pressure, and the morgue door was very soundproof, so I estimate that his cries for help and struggles were useless; he just froze to death.”

Thinking of Zhang Chunyang finding himself in a cold freezer in his final moments, as if buried alive, experiencing fear, struggle, screams, and finally despair, Du Jianping and the others felt a chill run down their spines… Du Jianping suddenly remembered something: “Lei Rong, is it possible that Zhou Liping, when moving Zhang Chunyang’s body into the freezer, found him awake and then knocked him unconscious?”

Clearly, he was still unwilling to let Zhou Liping go so easily.

“Generally, there are two ways to knock someone unconscious in a sudden situation: one is by striking the vagus nerve or the central nervous system, and the other is by using inhaled anesthetics such as ether or chloroform. During the autopsy, I didn’t find any external injuries on Zhang Chunyang’s body. As for using inhaled anesthetics, that requires Zhou Liping to have anticipated or guessed that Zhang Chunyang might wake up midway and made preparations. But the current investigation shows that Zhou Liping was someone who intervened midway that night. Besides, inhaled anesthetics aren’t so easy to obtain, so logically, your hypothesis seems invalid.”

Because Du Jianping was on speakerphone, Chu Tianying interjected, “Director Lei, during the autopsy, did you find any evidence that Zhang Chunyang actually suffered sudden death that night?”

There was a moment of silence on the other end of the line, then Lei Rong’s voice came through again. Her answer was cautious: “Frankly, during the autopsy, I didn’t find any fresh blood clots in Zhang Chunyang’s coronary arteries. However, because he had a history of heart disease, there was considerable fibrous scarring on the surface of his heart, and his coronary arteries and branches were indeed highly narrowed.

“Furthermore, his body had been dead for several days when it was discovered, so it’s difficult to determine whether his fainting or shock on the night of the incident was caused by a cardiac condition. In addition, there are many reasons why fainting or shock can occur during sexual intercourse, including respiratory diseases, central nervous system diseases, and allergic diseases, besides cardiac diseases. I can’t investigate them all…”

“I understand,” Chu Tianying said.

After hanging up the phone, Du Jianping said to Chu Tianying, “You suspect that Zhang Chunyang and Xing Qisheng set up a scheme to deceive Tao Zhouyao that night?”

Chu Tianying nodded slowly: “I did have that idea, but upon further reflection, I feel that even so, it wouldn’t make much difference to the Sweeping Mouse Ridge Case, especially regarding Zhou Liping—Lei Rong is right. All the signs indicate that Zhou Liping was merely an interloper. Even if he had some deep-seated grudge against Zhang Chunyang, and he found him awake when putting him in the freezer, knocked him unconscious, and then stuffed him in the freezer, it wouldn’t overturn his alibi in the Sweeping Mouse Ridge Case. On the contrary, it would ‘strengthen’ his alibi. Moreover, Lei Rong also said that she didn’t find any evidence that Zhang Chunyang was deliberately rendered unconscious.”

Du Jianping sighed, a look of frustration—unwilling to give up yet forced to—upon hearing the words.

Shortly after calling Du Jianping and the others, Lei Rong went to the biological sample lab. When she returned, her phone was vibrating on her desk; the caller ID showed it was Huyan Yun calling.

Huyan Yun answered, his voice slightly hurried: “Sis, there’s something I need your help with, related to the Sweeping Mouse Ridge Case.”

“What is it?” Lei Rong asked, curious.

“I’d like to ask you to pay attention during Zhang Chunyang’s autopsy to see if his true cause of death is freezing.”

Lei Rong exclaimed, “Ah! You…how did you guess he froze to death?”

The person on the other end of the phone seemed prepared: “I’ve been thinking about it…Since he really did freeze to death, I’ll go to the morgue at Love Hospital now to see if my deduction can be verified.”

“Perfect timing. Tang Xiaotang is also there doing some finishing work. I’ll have her assist you—” Before Lei Rong could finish speaking, Huyan Yun hung up.

Lei Rong waited a long time but received no news from Huyan Yun. Near the end of the workday, Tang Xiaotang returned. Lei Rong asked if she had encountered Huyan Yun. Tang Xiaotang said she had, but Huyan Yun didn’t speak to her; he only asked the two morgue staff some questions.

“What did he ask?”

“I didn’t really listen,” Tang Xiaotang said. “Anyway, he later went into that little shed next to the morgue with the generator and didn’t come out for a long time…”

Lei Rong thought about it for a long time but still couldn’t figure out what Huyan Yun was up to.

That evening, the city held a mobilization meeting for the public security, procuratorate, and judicial organs to precisely crack down on financial crimes. Lei Rong also attended and happened to run into Liu Simiao and Lin Fengchong. During a break in the meeting, they sat together chatting, mentioning Ma Xiaozhong and Guo Xiaofen, saying they should be on their way back.

Then Lei Rong casually brought up Huyan Yun’s whereabouts, and Liu Simiao couldn’t understand his intent. However, Lin Fengchong provided a piece of information, saying that Huyan Yun had called him in the evening to confirm a small matter: “Do you remember, Old Xu, the gatekeeper at Tongyou Nursery, provided a clue? He said he saw Xing Qisheng leave the nursery around 10:30 p.m. on the night of the incident.”

“How could I not remember?” said Liu Simiao. “It gives me goosebumps just thinking about it. Xing Qisheng should have been dead in Sweeping Mouse Ridge by then.”

“Yes, but what’s strange is that the cleaning lady, Aunt Zhang, also said that around 10 p.m. that night, when she went to the bathroom, she saw the light on inside the director’s office and heard footsteps inside.” Lin Fengchong lowered his voice involuntarily. “Old Xu’s words could be attributed to his failing eyesight, but Aunt Zhang’s a reliable person. So, who was that person in the director’s office around 10 p.m. that night? This is something the Special Task Force team has never been able to figure out. Some people think maybe a thief just happened to sneak in to steal something…”

“How could that be?” Liu Simiao shook her head. “What kind of thief would leave the lights on when stealing something in the middle of the night?”

“Yeah, it was a really strange thing that’s hard to understand,” said Lin Fengchong. “But you know how it is in criminal investigations; you inevitably encounter some inexplicable and bizarre events, so we didn’t pursue it any further. That evening, Huyan Yun called to ask me about the details. I couldn’t quite remember, and he seemed quite impatient. I asked him, ‘Why are you asking so many questions?’ He replied, ‘The key to solving the entire Sweeping Mouse Ridge Case lies here!'”

Lei Rong and Liu Simiao both looked surprised: “Huh? Could it be that he can solve this case again?”

“That’s what I heard him say,” said Lin Fengchong. “Then he asked me for Old Xu and Aunt Zhang’s contact information, saying he wanted to go find them in person to find out more.”

Liu Simiao rested her chin on her hand, thought for a moment, and couldn’t help but say to Lei Rong, “Your little brother, I’m really speechless. I don’t know what’s wrong with his brain…”

Lei Rong glanced at her.

“What’s wrong? Why are you looking at me like that?” Liu Simiao felt a little uncomfortable under her gaze.

Lin Fengchong beside her couldn’t help but smile.

Just then, a tall, burly man stopped in front of them and called out in a booming voice, “Director Liu, long time no see!”

Liu recognized him as Deputy Director Wang of the Provincial Public Security Bureau, who was in charge of economic crime investigation. She stood up and shook his hand. “I heard you were coming; I didn’t expect to run into you here—is that case nearing its conclusion?”

“Yes, I’m here to discuss the start time of the operation with the department leadership and finalize the specific plan.” Deputy Director Wang made a gesture of catching them like fish in a jar. “None of them will escape!”