Chapter 517: Preconceptions
Lin Dongxue asked further, “But later it was your brother who inherited the shop, not you. Why is that?”
Zhang Farong explained, “That was my dad’s decision. He wanted my brother to inherit the shop. As for me, I was off doing business, making good money, sending money home every month. My parents were overjoyed. But my brother insisted on working at some cannery, earning peanuts. My dad was so mad he nearly disowned him. Eventually, when my brother lost his job, he had nowhere else to go and agreed to work with my dad.”
“What cannery?” Lin Dongxue inquired.
“The Hualin Cannery in the city. It used to be state-owned but was later privatized.”
Chen Shi asked, “When your father disappeared, why didn’t you suspect your brother?”
Zhang Farong seemed startled, “Now that you mention it, I do have my suspicions. Yeah, they argued a lot back then.”
“What did they argue about?”
“Family issues. My brother always sided with my sister-in-law. Their house was full of these petty problems.”
Chen Shi turned to Lin Dongxue, “Let’s pause the interrogation.”
Lin Dongxue looked puzzled, “Why stop now?”
The interrogation was suspended. Chen Shi went straight to the forensics unit, where he found a stranger, another forensic expert, with Peng Sijue. Peng greeted him, “Perfect timing. The meat analysis results are in. It’s—”
“Hold on. Did you double-check the DNA results?” Chen Shi interrupted.
“No way! I did three rounds myself,” a forensic technician responded.
“Do it again. This time, test the nephew and the uncle separately, not together.”
Peng Sijue frowned, “What’s gotten into you? Why doubt our results?”
“Humor me, please. Thanks… So, what were you saying about the meat?” Chen Shi redirected.
Peng Sijue, annoyed, continued, “I brought in an expert from the Evidence Center to help. The meat was a mix of beef, pork, lamb, chicken, and duck.”
“Just as he said,” Lin Dongxue noted.
Chen Shi verified, “Were these meats mixed together?”
“No, here’s the detailed report…” Peng Sijue handed over the report.
Chen Shi glanced at it, puzzled by the complex meat composition. If the aim was to cut costs, why include expensive meats like lamb? Was it really a secret recipe?
He waited for the new DNA results, pacing and making Peng Sijue nervous enough to shoo him away multiple times. Two hours later, the forensic expert admitted with some embarrassment, “Zhang Hao’s DNA matches the bones 99.98%.”
Peng Sijue was shocked. He couldn’t believe such a mistake had occurred.
“How could this happen?”
“It’s my fault. When I first tested, I saw Zhang Hao was 99.98% and Zhang Farong 99.99%. I thought maybe the samples got mislabeled. You mentioned the missing person was the father, so…”
“You let preconceptions guide you. Write a report on this mistake!” Peng Sijue ordered.
Chen Shi was elated, “I knew there was a mistake! So that’s the issue!”
Lin Dongxue asked, “How did you figure it out?”
“When Zhang Farong mentioned his father’s disappearance, I had a hunch. Zhang Hao’s calmness suggested the deceased wasn’t his father. The new results indicate the deceased is a direct relative of Zhang Farong, making him Zhang Hao’s grandfather, not his father!”
Lin Dongxue pondered and gasped, “Zhang Farong said after his father disappeared, his brother continued business as usual. Could it be…?”
“Very likely. The father killed the grandfather, minced his meat with beef essence to make meatballs, and burned the bones to hide them in the wall.”
“What about the father?”
“I have a bold guess. The father was killed later and disposed of differently, more discreetly. I believe Zhang Hao is hiding something. Otherwise, why would he try to kill his uncle without direct evidence? He feared the uncle revealing something to the police…” Chen Shi paused. “These mixed meats might be Zhang Hao experimenting, testing how other meats taste with beef essence. If his uncle hadn’t shouted for help, the outcome might have been different. The uncle could have been minced into meatballs.”
A tense silence followed. Peng Sijue asked, “Is this another of your role-playing scenarios?”
“Exactly. If I were Zhang Hao, that’s the most plausible murder method.”
Lin Dongxue mused, “Zhang Hao is a conflicted person, both calm and volatile. His childhood abuse might have caused emotional disturbances, leading to extreme actions.”
Peng Sijue added, “But abused men often direct their violence towards others, like their wives and children, not necessarily their fathers.”
Chen Shi concluded, “Let’s verify this theory. Look for any undiscovered bodies. Lin Dongxue, send some people to check each district for unidentified bodies from the past two years.”
“Our detention time is almost up. We can’t hold them any longer,” Lin Dongxue reminded.
Chen Shi pondered, “Before releasing them, let’s interrogate Zhang Hao one more time. Lin Dongxue, you go meet his wife again, see what else you can find out.”
Chen Shi and Zhang Hao met again in the interrogation room. Zhang Hao seemed indifferent, “What else do you want to ask?”
“I have news for you. The bones aren’t your father’s.”
“Okay.”
“You knew that all along, didn’t you?”
“Yes, because I didn’t kill anyone. So, it couldn’t be him.”
Zhang Hao’s evasion prompted Chen Shi to reveal the truth, “The bones are your grandfather’s. They were too charred to determine bone age, which caused the initial mistake.”
“…”
“Your grandfather disappeared 18 years ago. What do you know about that?”
Zhang Hao smiled, “I was working out of town then. How could I know?”
“Such a major incident and your family didn’t inform you?”
“Believe it or not, they didn’t. I found out when I came home for the New Year six months later. We reported it, but the police found nothing. Finally, there’s some closure today.”
“How many workers did you have at the shop back then?”
“Two.”
“Anyone else besides your father?”
“Just my father. My mother died young. Every day after closing, my father would drink and watch TV. He loved ‘Kangxi Travels Incognito’ and watched it religiously for years.”
“So, let me propose a hypothesis. Your father killed your grandfather. Does that seem plausible?”