The infusion bottle label was still attached to the glass shards. I said, "Could this be from an infusion bottle?"
"Yes, about half of it is embedded in the back of the deceased's head."
"That's terrifying. Being stabbed to death like that must have caused unimaginable pain during her last moments."
"Indeed." Zhao Simeng took out her forensic umbrella and asked me to hold the UV light for her. As she rotated the forensic umbrella, we immediately noticed numerous fingerprints on the hospital bed, as well as on the deceased's hands and neck. Xiao Yuande quickly took photos and said, "Captain He, this victim is unusually easy to examine!"
I didn't respond but instead observed the situation in the hospital room. At this point, Zhao Simeng found some skin fragments under the secretary's fingernails and asked me, "What material is this?"
"It seems to be animal skin. The wealthy man's briefcase appears to be made of this material."
"So, the deceased must have grabbed the briefcase at some point. Could the wealthy man be the killer?"
Scanning the scene, I observed the spilled medicinal liquid on the bed and some footprints on the floor. I deduced, "If the wealthy man attacked the secretary, they likely struggled near the windowsill. He shattered the infusion bottle and stabbed her in the back. During the scuffle, the secretary must have gripped his briefcase tightly. After killing her, he hastily fled the room."
But why would the wealthy man kill his secretary? Wasn't he just the target of an assassination attempt himself? Both he and Huo Hong share a commonality: men of their status wouldn't typically lower themselves to personally commit murder.
I asked Zhao Simeng to continue examining the corpse while I accompanied Xiao Yuande to the hospital's surveillance room. Reviewing the footage near the wealthy man's room, we discovered that only he had entered during the time frame in question. That confirmed him as the culprit.
We saw him fleeing while still dressed in a hospital gown. Xiao Yuande asked, "Wouldn't running out like that attract a lot of attention?"
I opened the surveillance room door and glanced outside. The area was filled with patients in hospital gowns. I said, "Not in the hospital, it wouldn't. But if he leaves the hospital, he'll definitely stand out. He took his briefcase with him, possibly to catch a cab outside."
"Or someone might have picked him up, in which case he wouldn't draw attention at all," suggested Xiao Yuande.
I nodded and complimented him on his insight, then turned to the security guard and said, "Could you show us the footage from the hospital's underground parking lot?"
At the same time, I instructed the police department to check the road surveillance near the hospital. If he had taken a cab, the parking lot footage would be useless. Dividing tasks, I focused on reviewing the parking lot footage.
Soon, the footage showed the scene. But just as we were about to see the wealthy man meet someone else, the camera angle abruptly shifted elsewhere.
"Someone deliberately redirected the camera," I said.
"Pretty cunning," muttered Xiao Yuande.
"Let's check out the parking lot ourselves!"
We left the surveillance room together and headed to the hospital's underground parking lot. The security guard turned on the lights for us. Using my keen vision, I noticed a series of footprints in one direction. These prints were deeper on the right side than the left, suggesting that the person who escorted the wealthy man was limping. Given the camera height of over 1.8 meters, I estimated the person's height to be between 1.75 and 1.8 meters.
This was all the information we had for now. I asked the parking lot security guard, "Did you notice two people entering here and then leaving together?"
"There are so many people coming and going every day, I can't remember them all."
I couldn't blame him. What he said was true. We decided to check outside the parking lot.
Walking along a nearby road, we noticed a delivery rider passing by, making his rounds. I stopped him and asked, "Do you often deliver packages in this area?"
"Yes, I do. Why?"
"Were you here earlier?"
"Yes, I was."
"Did you see two people drive away in a car?"
"Are you talking about the wealthy guy and that woman? Oh man, they yelled at me to get out of the way, calling me a rude delivery guy. I remember them very well."
Hearing this, I realized we had a lead. I said, "No worries. Can you describe what they looked like?"
"The man was tall and thin, and the woman was also tall, with long blonde hair."
"Could you come to the station to help us with facial recognition?"
"No way, I'm too busy with my deliveries!"
I pulled out my badge and sternly said, "Refusing to cooperate with law enforcement is a serious offense."
Left with no choice, the delivery rider put his work on hold and followed us to the station.
We seated him in front of a computer for a composite sketch. Soon, he produced images of a man and a woman. The man, as expected, was the wealthy businessman Xuan Xingchang. The woman's identity, however, required further investigation in the database.
The woman had delicate features and strikingly clear eyes. After a while, we found her profile. Li Hong reported, "Captain He, her name is Tan Baitao. She's another business partner of the wealthy man's pharmaceutical company. She owns a pharmaceutical company called Glorious Pharmaceuticals, which, along with Huo Hong's Dragon Soar Pharmaceuticals, are the largest pharmaceutical companies in Fuming City. Xuan Xingchang is the vice president."
"Then they must be close business associates," remarked Xiao Yuande. "No wonder Tan Baitao would take Xuan Xingchang away."
But I suspected her motives went beyond mere business ties. We needed to investigate the relationship between the wealthy man and Tan Baitao more thoroughly. They weren't just business partners.
I instructed Zhao Simeng to bring the secretary's corpse back for further examination. She agreed. Meanwhile, Simachao continued analyzing Huo Hong's body. When I entered the lab, he informed me, "I've extracted some toxins from Huo Hong's body. The specific composition still needs further analysis. Additionally, I discovered that he had been regularly injected with a certain substance."
"Two substances?" I asked.
"No, the same substance each time. But when combined, it created a neutralizing effect. These drugs caused his heart rate to slow and his blood flow to stop."
Simachao explained that the toxins found in both bodies were nearly identical. The man who died at the table, named Huo Ming, turned out to be Huo Hong's younger brother.
"Two brothers?"
This revelation gave me a theory. If the Huo brothers were threatened into consuming something that forced them to assassinate the wealthy man, the perpetrator likely withheld the antidote as leverage. They had no choice but to comply.
But what about the secretary? I theorized that when Xuan Xingchang woke up, he felt his heart slowing and his blood no longer circulating. The killer might have called him, saying, "If you don't want to die, kill your secretary."