Chapter 36: The Hammer Demon Case (Part Five)

"That is correct," Yang Wenbin said, puffing out his chest. "We have apprehended the perpetrator. After an overnight interrogation, he has confessed to all his crimes."

Li Rui looked at him, bewildered. "Who is the perpetrator?"

"Following a meticulous investigation, we have identified Ma Decai, a villager from Xidi Village, as the primary suspect," Yang insisted.

"Ma Decai?"

"Yes. He has a criminal record, having previously served a one-year sentence for theft. Before the incident, he had argued repeatedly with the victim, Du Lanjuan, over an unpaid cigarette bill. Harboring a grudge, he committed murder in retaliation. Ma Decai is currently being held in criminal detention."

"Murder in retaliation?" Li Rui looked doubtful. He had been convinced until now that the motive was robbery.

To dispel Li Rui’s concerns, Yang continued, "After we detained him, Ma Decai kept shouting that he was innocent, claiming he had always been law-abiding and had never done anything wrong. He said he wouldn't kill someone just because of a minor argument. But our investigation shows he is the only suspect in this case. Faced with ironclad evidence, he even tried to confuse our investigation by framing his fellow villager, Ma Xincai."

Wen Rou exchanged a glance with Li Rui, sensing that there was more to this than met the eye.

Yang remained smug. "However, our investigation confirmed that Ma Xincai had neither the time nor the opportunity to commit the crime. Knowing he could not escape justice, Ma Decai confessed. He admitted that on the night in question, he arrived at Du Lanjuan’s residence armed with a hammer, a knife, and a steel rod, and brutally murdered her. He then went on to kill her husband, Ma Xinmin."

Li Rui let out a cold snort. "What was the motive? Why did he kill them?"

"Motive?" Yang sneered. "I just told you: retaliation."

"Did you perform a DNA comparison?" Li Rui asked.

"What DNA?" Yang panicked. "Compare what? The perpetrator didn't leave any biological traces."

Li Rui smiled coldly. "There weren't any in Xiping, but there were in Huixian. If you compared them, wouldn't you know?"

At this, Liu Dezhi, who had been silent until now, also grew nervous. He hurriedly interjected, "Forensic Pathologist Li, there may be details here that haven't been fully investigated. Perhaps... perhaps the perpetrators of the two cases aren't the same person?"

"Is that so?"

Before the words had even faded, a resonant voice echoed from outside. The group turned to see a tall, stern figure walking toward them with heavy, purposeful strides.

"D-Director Han!" Liu Dezhi’s face drained of color, knowing he was in trouble.

The arrogant Yang Wenbin turned as pale as wax, his previous bluster completely vanished.

Han Junshan walked straight up to Liu Dezhi and said coldly, "I came here to Xiping today without notice and without intermediaries, going straight to the source, just to see how the grassroots levels are handling cases."

"I heard the commotion from the stairwell and listened for a while. I must say, I am truly shocked." Han’s sharp, knife-like gaze flicked toward Yang Wenbin. "I initially thought our Xiping branch had produced a master detective capable of solving cases with such speed that our special task force was rendered useless and could just head home!"

"But what is the reality?" Han turned to Liu Dezhi. "Liu Dezhi, don't you think closing a case this way is far too reckless?"

***

Liu Dezhi was deeply ashamed. "Director Han, we were indeed too hasty in handling this case. We will learn from our mistakes, reopen the investigation, find the real killer, and uncover the truth!"

"Finding the killer and uncovering the truth is a necessity, but for us police officers, that is far from enough!" Han looked at everyone present. "Remember, our mission is to punish the wicked and uphold justice!"

"Yes!" everyone replied in unison.

In the conference room, the special task force held its first briefing.

"Director Han, if you hadn't arrived in time, we wouldn't have known what to do," Wen Rou said gratefully. "We might have really ended up heading home."

Han smiled faintly. "Ha, don't I know you? Would you really have just left like that?"

Wen Rou laughed. "But if Director Liu and his team had refused to let us perform an autopsy, the case might truly have stalled."

Li Rui sighed. "To move the case forward, the immediate priority is an autopsy to determine if the cases should be consolidated."

Han nodded. "Very well. There is no time to lose. Proceed immediately."

"Understood," Wen Rou said. "With Director Han overseeing us, we have nothing to worry about."

***

In the autopsy room, beneath the stark, shadowless lights, the faint sound of Wen Rou putting on latex gloves was exceptionally clear in the silent space. An elderly couple lay peacefully on the tables, the scalpel in Li Rui’s hand glinting coldly.

"Female victim has a fractured sternum, with the fourth and fifth ribs broken..." Li Rui’s voice sounded muffled from behind his mask.

Wen Rou probed the male victim’s chest cavity, touching the jagged bone fragments. "The edges are serrated, consistent with blunt force trauma."

Li Rui nodded, his expression darkening. He noticed a depressed skull fracture on the old woman, with radiating cracks.

"This is a classic hammer strike," he said softly. "The perpetrator used significant force."

The male corpse had multiple contusions on his face, and his left eye socket was bruised and swollen. Wen Rou carefully examined and recorded the size and shape of every wound.

"Comminuted fracture of the frontal bone," Li Rui stated firmly. "This blow was instantly fatal."

Wen Rou nodded and continued examining the old man’s chest.

"Multiple rib fractures, pulmonary contusion and hemorrhage," her voice trembled slightly. "The perpetrator intended to kill."

After collecting the evidence, Wen Rou gently straightened the elderly couple's clothes. Her fingers brushed their cold cheeks, as if she could soothe the suffering they had endured.

"Based on the autopsy, it is basically certain that the perpetrator is the same person, and the weapon should be an eight-sided iron hammer." Li Rui stood behind her, his voice resolute. "We can consolidate the cases."

Half an hour later, in the conference room.

***

After hearing the report from Li Rui and Wen Rou, Han Junshan asked, "Are you certain the perpetrator used an eight-sided iron hammer?"

Li Rui nodded. "There is no mistake. We just performed an autopsy on the victim from Guanwangmiao Township and confirmed that the wounds also have serrated edges, consistent with blunt force trauma, and it was likely the same weapon."

Han fell into deep thought. He needed evidence—more evidence.

The conference room fell into a heavy silence. Suddenly, the creak of the metal door hinges broke the stillness. Lei Chen and Qi Wei walked in. Hearing that Han Junshan had arrived in Xiping, they had hurried over immediately.

"Director Han." The moment he stepped into the room, Lei Chen saluted.

Han waved his hand. "How is the investigation going?"

"Following your instructions to re-examine Ma Decai, we didn't dare to be careless and interrogated him immediately." Lei Chen presented the files to Han while reporting. "As soon as Ma Decai heard we were from the Provincial Bureau, he recanted his confession, claiming he had been coerced into pleading guilty under duress."

"During our review, we did indeed discover multiple suspicious points and insufficient evidence," Qi Wei added.

Han nodded. "Good. You've worked hard. Sit down."

After they sat, Han continued, "Director Wen and Forensic Pathologist Li have also completed their autopsies and made significant findings. It is now basically certain that the three murders in Xiping and Huixian were committed by the same person, and the cases can be consolidated."

Lei Chen looked troubled. "Consolidating the cases is good, but our current leads are still too few..."

"There are leads," Li Rui said. "During the autopsy of the victim in Guanwangmiao Township, we found over ten strands of hair gripped in the girl's left hand, indicating she struggled fiercely during the assault. We also recovered three pubic hairs from the victim's bed mat. Forensic testing of these hairs shows they are all type B blood."

Wen Rou added, "This is the first time we have recovered valuable traces left by the suspect. Although there were traces found in the victim at Xiaoli Village, they were difficult to analyze and lacked value, so this is a major step forward."

Lei Chen said, "Speaking of Xiaoli Village, since the murder, the village has been in a state of panic. Every night, families are on edge. Many have reinforced their walls and door latches, and the village has even organized a night patrol. One could say they have reached a state of 'Level One Combat Readiness.'"

"Tell us what else you've found," Han asked.

"Reporting to Director Han, we interviewed nearby villagers over the past few days. In their memory, the murdered old woman was extremely strong—stronger than most men in the village. She could lift a 100-pound bag and run with it. Now that they hear the person who killed her was a thin, small man only 1.6 meters tall, they are deeply confused."

"There is nothing to be confused about," Li Rui said bluntly. "The victim was bludgeoned while fast asleep; she had no chance to resist."

"Furthermore, the hair found in the hand of the young girl from Guanwangmiao Township confirms the killer is not tall. Otherwise, given the reach of a young girl's arms, she wouldn't have been able to grab his hair," Wen Rou added.

Hearing this, Lei Chen stopped questioning.