185: The secret of the deceased Zhu Zhirong and the past of the murderer Liu Luomei

Gao Ze was an active person.

It was not yet seven o'clock in the evening, and his wife Li Qingyan was not at their Gubei No. 1 mansion. He might as well help Liu Wenzhong solve this case and go to the Forensic Appraisal Center to take a look.

Although the murderer Liu Luomei seemed to be surfacing now.

But was Liu Luomei really the murderer?

Gao Ze would not make such a decision rashly.

Whether Liu Luomei was the real culprit or someone framed by the real culprit, he had to go to the Forensic Appraisal Center to examine Zhu Zhirong’s body before making a conclusion.

Gao Ze believed that every case adhered to Locard's Exchange Principle, and clues on the body were hard to deceive.

As for Liu Luomei’s character, experiences, and past, that could be left to Liu Wenzhong to investigate.

Among many districts in Donghai City, the Huangpu District, where Liu Wenzhong was located, had a high case-solving rate, indicating his outstanding ability. It was just that sometimes he was indeed unlucky and failed to discover that pink candy wrapper in time.

More than half an hour later.

Gao Ze arrived at the Huangpu District Forensic Appraisal Center, where Zhu Zhirong, the deceased from the bar case, was stored.

Inside the appraisal center, the day-shift forensic doctors and Police Officers had already left work, with only a few night-shift forensic doctors and Police Officers on duty.

“Officer Gao, why have you come to our appraisal center?”

The middle-aged forensic doctor’s eyes lit up the moment he saw Gao Ze arrive, his voice startling a young female forensic doctor who was dozing at her desk, causing her to suddenly look up.

“It really is Officer Gao!”

Gao Ze’s face was very recognizable. After publicity from the Municipal Bureau and the commendation conference, many mid-to-high-level Police Officers in various departments knew him. Female Police Officers who enjoyed reading trending gossip would also remember him if they had seen his trending searches.

“Hello everyone.”

It saved communication costs that an unfamiliar forensic doctor recognized him. Gao Ze nodded and said, “Team Leader Liu Wenzhong of Huangpu District has encountered a difficult bar case that has made no progress for days. He asked me to come take a look. I want to examine the body of the deceased Zhu Zhirong!”

“So that’s it, Officer Gao, just sign here!”

The middle-aged forensic doctor Lu Hong grinned, pulling out a registration document and gesturing for him to sign.

“Don’t you need to call Team Leader Liu to confirm?”

Gao Ze signed his name on the registration document. This was a necessary procedure; everyone who came to examine a body had to sign.

Because the body was an extremely important clue in a case, any damage, destruction, or alteration of autopsy results could be traced and confirmed through the forensic procedure documents.

“I trust Officer Gao!”

“Besides, when I attended a meeting at the Municipal Bureau, I heard that Officer Gao and Team Leader Liu jointly solved the Feng Changlin villa massacre and the serial teenage girl murder cases. Your relationship must be good.”

Smiling, he led Gao Ze to the morgue. The middle-aged forensic doctor Lu Hong pulled out the body of the deceased Zhu Zhirong from the freezer and said, “This body is the victim of the bar case, Zhu Zhirong!”

Gao Ze looked at Zhu Zhirong. When Liu Wenzhong handed him Zhu Zhirong’s death photos at the bar, he had seen his appearance and physique.

But observing the body allowed for a clearer view.

Zhu Zhirong was a man with a square face, about 175 cm tall, slightly plump, and his facial features, aside from his pale complexion, gave a feeling of approachability, like someone easy to talk to.

“This is our appraisal center’s autopsy report for the deceased Zhu Zhirong!”

The middle-aged forensic doctor Lu Hong handed him a paper report containing information about Zhu Zhirong’s time of death, cause of death, as well as ricin and injection needle marks.

It was consistent with what Liu Wenzhong had said.

Gao Ze quickly scanned it and asked Lu Hong for a pair of medical latex gloves.

“Officer Gao, you’re going to perform an autopsy again?”

Lu Hong’s eyes showed surprise. He knew that Gao Ze possessed professional forensic autopsy skills and had demonstrated relevant techniques in solving many cases.

But this was not the crime scene. The deceased Zhu Zhirong had undergone strict autopsy examinations by multiple forensic doctors, using professional instruments. This forensic report could not possibly be wrong.

Gao Ze had no objection to the forensic autopsy report. He shook his head and said, “It’s not that I don’t believe your report; I just want to see for myself. Perhaps I can find something overlooked.”

Lu Hong opened his mouth but held back, pulling out a pair of latex gloves.

If Liu Wenzhong had said that, he probably wouldn’t have been able to leave today, because it ultimately questioned their abilities.

Taking the gloves, Gao Ze carefully examined Zhu Zhirong’s body, focusing on inspecting various parts of his body.

Because he knew that this autopsy report was almost certainly correct.

He was only looking for clues that the forensic doctors might have missed.

More than ten minutes later.

Seeing Gao Ze stop his actions, Lu Hong finally couldn't hold back and asked, “Officer Gao, after your autopsy, did you find any problems with our report?”

Gao Ze shook his head and said, “No!”

“No means it’s normal. I told you long ago, it’s impossible for us to…”

“But I found a clue that was missed in your report!”

Lu Hong’s words stopped abruptly mid-sentence, as if his throat had been squeezed. His expression froze as he asked, “What clue?”

“The deceased Zhu Zhirong is very clean!”

Aside from ricin in his stomach and an injection mark on his rear shoulder, Gao Ze found no other injuries on Zhu Zhirong, but he did discover another clue.

“His skin is delicate, his nails are neatly trimmed, and there’s no plaque between his teeth!”

Lu Hong frowned, asking in confusion, “What kind of clue is that? What’s wrong with Zhu Zhirong’s nails being trimmed and having no plaque?”

“Don’t you find it strange?”

“Zhu Zhirong is a man who often goes to bars and drinks. Logically, such a person’s skin condition should be poor, not well-maintained, and his teeth would turn yellow and develop plaque due to acidic alcohol corrosion.”

“But Zhu Zhirong’s skin is delicate, his nails are neat, his teeth aren’t yellow and have no plaque, and he even shaved his leg hair. Don’t you think there’s a problem with that?”

Gao Ze looked at Lu Hong, thinking of Li Hao.

The two were opposites; both frequented bars and drank. Zhu Zhirong’s skin was delicate and clean, but Li Hao’s skin was dull, and his teeth were slightly yellow with bad breath.

Lu Hong was an experienced forensic doctor. With a little prompting, he immediately realized the problem and said, “Zhu Zhirong deliberately groomed himself, or rather, he had a habit of maintaining his body!”

“Yes, he had a habit of maintaining and grooming his body!”

Gao Ze recalled Liu Wenzhong’s investigation into Zhu Zhirong’s past: he was a righteous person in college, popular with and even pursued by many girls, yet he never accepted or dated any of them.

A conjecture surfaced in his mind. He said, “I suspect the deceased Zhu Zhirong was gay!”

“Ah?”

Lu Hong was startled, shaking his head and sighing, “Officer Gao, I cannot agree with your view. Is a man who has a habit of maintaining and grooming his body necessarily gay?”

“What era is this? There’s still such an old-fashioned prejudice!”

“I also often take care of myself and pay attention to my skin and nails. Aren’t you the same? I see your nails are also neatly trimmed, and your skin is delicate and smooth?”

“Donghai City is a super-first-tier city. What’s wrong with men paying attention to their appearance?”

Gao Ze: “.......”

Lu Hong continued to retort, saying, “Besides, I checked the deceased Zhu Zhirong’s anus, and there were no signs of penetration. And these past two days, besides Zhu Zhirong’s parents, his girlfriend also came to see the body.”

“Zhu Zhirong’s girlfriend saw the body?”

Gao Ze’s eyes lit up. In fact, he wasn’t entirely sure about his own speculation.

Because if the deceased Zhu Zhirong was gay, then why would he accept the pink poisoned candy from the female resident singer Liu Luomei?

The people with stronger murder motives should be the male bar owner Fan Wenhao and Li Hao.

However, if Zhu Zhirong had a girlfriend, then it could be verified through her.

Lu Hong nodded and said, “Yes, Zhu Zhirong’s girlfriend came to our appraisal center yesterday and registered. It seems she’s a young, pretty girl named Xu.”

“Show me the document for registering to view Zhu Zhirong’s body!”

Gao Ze had Lu Hong bring the registration document and saw the name Xu Qing on the list, followed by a phone number.

“Hello, are you Ms. Xu Qing? I’m a Police Officer. I have some questions for you regarding the death of your boyfriend, Zhu Zhirong.”

Gao Ze called without hesitation.

“Hello, what do you want to ask? Do you need me to come to the police station?”

“Not for now. I want to ask you, did your boyfriend Zhu Zhirong have an intimate relationship with you?”

“……..”

After a brief silence, the woman seemed a little embarrassed: “Is this question very important?”

“Very important, I must know!”

“No!” Xu Qing asked, “What’s wrong?”

In an instant.

Gao Ze’s breath hitched. He was now certain that his conjecture was correct.

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