"Oh? It seems you know quite a few people, then I'll ask for your help."
"No problem! Goodbye!"
"Goodbye!"
Watching Li Zhiliang's retreating back, He Xin said awkwardly, "I'm sorry, Father, I didn't know he couldn't help either."
"Don't worry, he'll be back, won't he?"
"Hm? How did you see that?"
"Heh, isn't it that simple? You might think what he said just now was just politeness to get himself out of a bind, but if he didn't want to come back, he wouldn't have mentioned those 'few professors' in front of me. This proves there are more capable people around him."
"Oh, I understand, but what exactly happened to Mom?"
At this moment, Liu Yuning and I turned to look at Liu Yuning. She stood under the banyan tree like a wooden doll, reminding me of a marionette from a drama troupe.
When we were still in the courtyard, Xia Hou called us. To our surprise, he said, "We found She Yitong's body in Fang Yong Town!"
"Alas, has this woman really met with foul play? Then we'll come back now."
Given Liu Yuning's current condition, going to work was impossible. I could only ask someone to come and take care of her, but none of us had the time. I thought for a moment and called Zhang Keying, because I felt that Xie Chuchu and Ling Xiaotao were enough in the forensic department.
Of course, I would help too. After Zhang Keying arrived, I instructed her to take good care of Yuning and then drove back to the provincial department with He Xin.
Upon arriving at the forensic laboratory, I intended to perform the autopsy myself. Xia Hou, who had accompanied me, said, "We found her body in a dilapidated house in the town. The situation was quite grim at the time. It's estimated that Ms. She was targeted by wolves, and several pieces of flesh were bitten off her body."
"I understand. I'll go perform the autopsy first."
"Yes, Deputy Director He, I'll go and investigate her personal relationships and contact her parents."
She Mengtong's body was arranged in the forensic department. When I arrived, Xie Chuchu and Ling Xiaotao were already waiting because I had sent them a message to wait for me.
Indeed, a lot of flesh was missing from the body. According to the analysis of the tooth marks, it was indeed attacked by wolves. Xie Chuchu had already conducted experiments and comparisons with many wild animal tooth marks, confirming this. I then began to examine the body, starting with the fingernails, lividity, joints, and eyelids. I saw signs of tearing in the deceased's underarm area, and the first rib was noticeably protruding, indicating that She Mengtong had been subjected to a blow or had fallen heavily to the ground.
Her shoulder blade, jawbone, malleus, and incus showed varying degrees of bruising and blood accumulation, with obvious signs of struggle, indicating she had been dragged on the ground and tormented. There were also signs of wolf bites on the skin and flesh of her neck, chest vertebrae, and humerus. There was a significant amount of bleeding from these areas at the time, and the wolves would have been attracted to the most bloody parts first, as these are most appealing to wild animals.
Not to mention wolves, the situation would be similar with any other wild animal. After I dissected the deceased's organs, I began to weigh them one by one, compare their color changes, and analyze pathological and drug-induced causes of death. When examining the blood, Xie Chuchu quickly gave me the results: the blood contained some LSD components. I thought this might have been left behind by the toxic mist in Fang Yong Town, and later, when the experts analyzed the extracted toxic mist, they reached the same conclusion.
If we hadn't taken precautions at the time, everyone would likely have experienced the same situation. She Mengtong's organs were fine and quite healthy, proving that this woman had good habits all her life. She didn't smoke and probably enjoyed eating fruit, as I found her body to be rich in carotene and vitamins, with good hydration.
She Mengtong's skin was also well-maintained. Even though parts of her body were bitten by wolves, her originally fair skin was still exposed without concealment. However, when we examined her forehead, we found that a part of her upper forehead skin was even fairer than the skin on her face.
"Could it be that her hair was cut a little?" Xie Chuchu guessed at the time.
"There should have been hair here originally. Because they were blocked from sunlight for a long time, these hairs, once cut, would leave a paler area. This is like a man who went to Africa for several months and then shaved his beard; after shaving, certain parts of his skin would appear lighter," Ling Xiaotao analyzed.
I nodded. "Why take her hair? Did She Mengtong's hair serve some purpose for the murderer? And what is her death related to the disappearances of these girls?"
"We don't know about that. That's your job as detectives. If you're busy, you can leave. We can handle the rest," Xie Chuchu said.
I said it was fine and asked them to not miss any detail afterward, then I went downstairs directly to the information department not far away. To confirm my previous questions, the first thing I did was to ask He Xin to investigate She Mengtong's relationship with the Les club. After a while, she reported, "There's no connection. She should never have been there. I think her death was intentional by the kidnappers. Now that she's gone, no one cares about Huang Jinfang's situation anymore."
"No, even we will continue to investigate. I don't think the kidnappers intended to kill her, but something happened that led them to attack She Mengtong and throw her in such a place. Perhaps there are still some clues to be found on She Mengtong. Her death has actually presented a new turning point in this case. I believe there might be some connection between She Mengtong and them."
"But Huang Jinfang is her daughter, this..."
"I know, but anything is possible in this world. You should be bold enough to make any assumptions, explore them diligently, and then find the truth."
He Xin's words enlightened me. Besides Huang Jinfang, I also investigated the parents of other missing girls. Indeed, you wouldn't know until you checked. At that time, Liu Yuning, Xia Hou, and others had all conducted surveys. We jointly discovered that before those girls disappeared, their mothers would meet with another woman, and their daughters were present at the time.
Although the women looked different at the time, their attire was very similar, as if they were from a company.
Based on this, we had a lively discussion at the criminal case meeting.
"Combining the several victim families, we have investigated more and more clues. These disappearances are likely closely related to the mothers of these families. This is the second time, then the third, fourth time. Should we have a good investigation with these mothers?" Xia Hou said excitedly.