Chapter 33
Argument

Work is busy, but meals still need to be eaten.

The master and apprentice returned the samples to the technical room, changed clothes, and went to a wonton shop, each ordering a bowl of sour soup wontons. After a busy half-night, feeling both sleepy and tired, eating a bowl of hot, sour, and appetizing wontons was simply a pleasure.

Cao Haisheng laughed, “I’ve been at the police station for so many years, and I didn’t know there was such a place nearby. You, little girl, have only been here for a month and already know, impressive.”

Xie Qing said, “Li Ke and I both love to eat. After work, with nothing to do, we like to wander around the city, trying out any good food we find.”

Cao Haisheng shook his head and said nothing. He didn’t speak, but Xie Qing understood.

Their parents’ generation mostly had such consumption habits, and their family conditions didn’t allow them to spend lavishly.

Cao Haisheng had the transparency of a middle-aged man—neither sharp nor boastful, not greasy nor preachy, making him very comfortable to be around.

Xie Qing felt fortunate to have encountered such a mentor and friend after crossing over.

Back at the office, the technical room’s test results for the vomit, blood, and stomach fluid were out.

At 7:30, the second team’s call came in, and the master and apprentice went down to the meeting together.

In the meeting room.

The relevant information about Hou Zi’an’s case was already on the blackboard, not Tan Yi’s handwriting, but likely Li Ke’s.

Xie Qing read through it and immediately felt the difficulty of the case.

First, the government’s control over tetramine was weak, making it hard to trace the source.

Second, the deceased was a nouveau riche with many relatives and a complex family relationship.

Third, there were quite a few ambiguous enemies, including competitors, workers owed wages, and homeowners who had fought over construction quality issues.

Finally, there might be psychological abnormalities within the hospital.

Tan Yi wasted no time and had Fu Da summarize the case.

Hou Zi’an, 52 years old, was hospitalized ten days ago for diabetes. His condition was not severe, and he could take care of himself, so his family did not provide round-the-clock care, only delivering meals twice a day and leaving afterward. In the twelve hours before the incident, only his wife, Zhang Xiuyu, and his eldest son, Hou Donglai, each delivered a meal.

Hou Donglai delivered lunch and left right after.

Zhang Xiuyu came around 5:30 PM and left at 8 PM—this was their usual routine.

According to the duty nurse, most patients rested after 8 PM, but Hou Zi’an had diabetes and needed more activity, so he would usually walk up and down the hall several times.

This was quite common, so no one paid much attention to where he went or what he did. Occasionally, one or two familiar people would chat with Hou Zi’an, but this was rare.

In a public hospital with many patients, nurses were usually very busy and couldn’t pay special attention to any one patient. Besides his medical condition, they didn’t know much about Hou Zi’an’s personal situation. Additionally, if someone used the other side’s stairwell, they would be even less noticeable.

A patient on the fourth floor said that around 1 AM, they heard the sound of heavy objects and small items falling upstairs, but since there were many seriously ill patients in the hospital and nurses on the fifth floor, they didn’t pay much attention to the noise.

After Fu Da introduced the situation, forensic expert Deng Wenxiang spoke. He said the scene was chaotic, with very little effective evidence. Only the wiped fingerprints on the cup could prove the victim didn’t commit suicide. Other fingerprints were messy, and the comparison work would be done after the meeting. There wasn’t much to expand on from the forensic side.

The cause of death was clear, and the test results were on the blackboard—there were no toxic substances in the thermos or any food, but high concentrations of poison were found in the vomit, blood, stomach fluid, and cup.

Cao Haisheng asked Xie Qing to speak, and she gave a detailed explanation about tetramine.

She said, “Tetramine is highly toxic, white, odorless, and stable. It is quickly absorbed through the stomach and can cause symptoms immediately. The incubation period is usually 10 to 30 minutes, and death often occurs within half an hour to three hours after poisoning.”

“After poisoning, the victim may initially experience symptoms like confusion and mild coma, but this process is short. It is followed by tonic and clonic convulsions, similar to epilepsy. So, the noise heard by people downstairs was likely just before the victim’s death.”

“Based on the test results, the concentration of poison in the stomach fluid is very high. Considering the stomach emptying situation and the testimony of the patient downstairs, it can be determined that the victim drank the water after 11 PM.”

“At that time, there were not many people moving around the hospital, so the possibility of discovering the victim’s poisoning was low. Therefore, I believe the killer had control over the timing and the hospital environment. The poison in the cup was not prepared in advance.”

Fu Da asked, “Xiao Xie, do you mean the killer came up around 11 PM at the earliest?”

Xie Qing nodded, “Unless someone can prove that Hou Zi’an didn’t drink water before 11 PM. Moreover, Hou Zi’an was wealthy, had a mobile phone, and stayed in a single room. He would definitely lock the door at night. The killer had excellent timing and must have observed the victim for a long time.”

Fu Da nodded, “Very reasonable. If the killer wasn’t familiar with the victim, they would have poisoned the water when the victim went out. If they were familiar, they might have stayed in the room until they finished wiping the fingerprints.”

Tan Yi said, “The killer might not have stayed in the room the whole time. They are not a professional killer and don’t have such strong psychological resilience. It’s more likely they sneaked into the room to poison the water when the victim went to the bathroom.”

Fu Da disagreed, “As Xiao Xie said, the killer had investigated the victim in advance, indicating premeditation. If wiping the fingerprints was easy, why take the risk to come back?”

Tan Yi said, “You have a point, but I stand by my view. The victim died at 2 AM, but the killer left after 4 AM, which is when elderly people usually get up at night. Since the killer had done reconnaissance, they shouldn’t be that foolish.”

Fu Da continued to counter Tan Yi with the previous question, “Then why didn’t the killer wipe the fingerprints before leaving?”

Tan Yi said, “This shows the killer’s psychological quality is poor. Planning and action are sometimes two different things. When poisoning, they were worried about the victim suddenly returning and being seen by others. After leaving the room, they repeatedly reviewed the process and realized they left fingerprints, so they took the risk to return.”

“Hmm, this explanation is more convincing.”

“Yes, yes, if I were the killer, I might do the same.”

“Could it be a woman?”

“What, I’m a woman too?”

“That’s true.”

“Get lost, my wife wouldn’t do that.”

“Hahaha…”

Du Zhun was good at lightening the mood, and the tired detectives finally perked up with laughter.

Fu Da lit a cigarette, “Captain Tan’s explanation makes sense, but mine isn’t without reason. We’ll see after the case is closed. If I’m wrong, I’ll treat everyone.”

Everyone was happy.

“Alright, we’ll hold you to that.”

“I want hotpot.”

“I’m not that picky, lamb spine will do.”

…

“Alright.” Tan Yi stood up, “The security in the inpatient department is lax, making it easy to enter and exit the hospital at night. Based on the existing clues, we can’t determine the range of suspects yet, but I personally believe the investigation should focus on the hospital staff and the victim’s relatives.”

“Got it.” Fu Da understood and led his team out.

Xie Qing and Cao Haisheng also went upstairs.

After returning from the bathroom, Xie Qing received a call from Xie Xun.

“Dad, what’s up?”

“There’s something.”

“Go ahead.”

“I heard about the issue between you and your sister. She said she wants to apologize to you in person… Do you have any other thoughts you want to share with me?”

“Dad, there’s no need for an apology. It doesn’t mean much, and I don’t care for it.”

Xie Xun fell silent.

Xie Qing knew that as a businessman, he understood the weight of her words better than she did—she didn’t grow up at home, and Chen Yuehua was biased. The estrangement between the sisters wasn’t a recent development. An apology would only push them further apart, not bring them closer. However, for a father, seeing his children at odds was undoubtedly very painful.

After a long pause, Xie Xun said, “Then let’s forget about it. Do you have any requests?”

Xie Qing originally had none, but a sudden thought came to her, and she said, “Dad, I want to use the money Grandpa left me to buy a small villa with a basement. If you’re buying a house, could you help me find one and also find a reliable renovation team? What do you think?”

Xie Xun asked, “Isn’t a villa unsafe?”

Xie Qing replied, “Dad, I’m a forensic doctor, I don’t have much money.”

“That’s true, haha…” Xie Xun laughed softly, “Alright, Dad understands. It’s good to have relatives nearby.”

Xie Qing said, “Thank you, Dad.”

At this time, it was difficult for children to move out before getting married—living in a dormitory was a different matter.

Xie Qing achieved her goal through this matter, which was an added benefit. In the future, she will have her own place where she can do some carpentry, cook, and grow flowers and plants in her spare time. It would be wonderful.

In the afternoon, Xie Qing followed Cao Haisheng to conduct two injury assessments and returned in the evening. While eating in the cafeteria, she saw Li Ke, who had been busy all day.

The young girl gulped down a big bowl of egg soup and wiped her mouth, “Comfortable!”

Xie Qing asked, “How’s the case going? Any leads?”

Li Ke picked up a piece of eggplant, “I’m in charge of the hospital. So far, from the first to the seventh floor, I haven’t found anyone who knows Hou Zi’an. The cleaners said that Hou Zi’an was occasionally not in his ward in the afternoon, and he was out for a long time. We haven’t tracked his movements yet.”

Xie Qing nodded.

Li Ke continued, “I think this is a clue, Qing Qing, what do you think?”

Xie Qing said, “I agree. You could start by looking into women, see if he had a mistress?”

Li Ke blinked her big eyes, “Mistress?”

Xie Qing searched her mind for the right term, “A kept woman.”

“Oh… right!” Li Ke slapped the table, “You’re brilliant. Why didn’t I think of that?”

Xie Qing said, “It’s common for men to change when they get money, isn’t it?”

“Well…” Li Ke poked at her rice, “It’s not always that bad. Your dad seems pretty good, doesn’t he?”

Xie Qing said, “My grandfather was a professor, strict and serious, and my grandmother even more so. My dad grew up influenced by them, so he’s quite disciplined in this regard.” In the book, Xie Xun was always upright and never made mistakes in matters of relationships.

Li Ke, full of interest, asked, “Do you think Captain Tan’s family is wealthy?”

Xie Qing was about to speak when a large figure suddenly passed by. Looking up, she saw Tan Yi looking at her and Li Ke inquisitively.

She said, “You’re overthinking it. As a public servant, whether rich or not, it’s impossible to keep a mistress.”

This was a standard answer.

Tan Yi nodded in satisfaction and walked away with a large leather handmade shoulder bag.