Identity 084

“How can you tell if the wound was inflicted before death or after?” Zhao Ming asked, lacking experience in matters this technical. “Wounds received while alive will have the surrounding skin and muscle contract, causing the edges to turn outward. If the wound is made postmortem, the edges remain flat,” Han Bin explained.

Zhao Ming inspected the body again and, just as Han Bin said, he nodded with newfound respect. “Brother Bin, you really know your stuff.”

Han Bin smiled. All this knowledge he’d exchanged for merit points from the criminal investigation database.

Li Hui rolled his eyes. “Bin, do you have to show me up every time?”

“I’m just worried you’ll teach the new guys the wrong things,” Han Bin replied, serious.

“Brother Hui, it’s just the three of us here. Why so dramatic?” Zhao Ming said with a helpless smile.

Li Hui scratched his head and glanced around—it really was just the three of them.

Soon after, the officers from the local police station arrived and set up a cordon around the area. The officer leading them was Sun Jianyi, the local police chief. After introducing themselves, Han Bin noticed Sun Jianyi’s gaze was a little odd.

Looking down, Han Bin suddenly remembered—they were all still in their swim trunks.

A homicide is no small matter, especially in a tourist city like Qin Island. The discovery of a corpse on a popular beach could negatively impact the city's economy as a whole.

With the forensic team and technical squad not yet on site, the body couldn’t be moved. There was no visible fatal wound; based on the scene, it was hard to determine whether it was suicide or murder.

Forty minutes later, Zheng Kaixuan arrived at Golden Beach with his team. With him came Zeng Ping, Tian Li, Wu Xia, forensic assistant Qiao Ziming, and technical expert Lu Wen.

“What are you three doing here?” Zheng Kaixuan asked.

By then, Han Bin and the others had changed into regular clothes and looked perfectly serious—none of them dared appear before Zheng Kaixuan in swimwear.

“We’d arranged to spend the day at the beach together. Never expected to run into a dead woman,” Han Bin replied, unable to hide his helplessness. They felt both sorry for the victim and for their ruined weekend.

With the scene now in the hands of the forensic and technical teams, Zheng Kaixuan turned to Han Bin and the others, “Did you find anything?”

“We found the body around ten o’clock,” Han Bin said. “There’s no fatal wound. Most likely she drowned, but whether it was suicide or homicide, it’s too early to say.”

“Anything on her that could help identify her?”

Han Bin thought for a moment. “I suspect she might be a tourist from out of town.”

“What makes you think so?”

“She was wearing a bracelet on her left wrist, decorated with pearls and shells. It’s a common souvenir here, but locals rarely buy them,” Han Bin analyzed.

Tian Li went over to the body and examined it. “Han Bin’s right. Local girls hardly ever buy that kind of bracelet.”

Zheng Kaixuan nodded and gave his orders. “Tian Li, Zhao Ming, go to the local station and check the missing persons reports, especially for female tourists from out of town.”

“Yes, sir.”

As the forensic and technical teams worked, Zheng Kaixuan, Zeng Ping, Han Bin, and Li Hui gathered to discuss quietly.

Zheng Kaixuan’s face was grave. “Golden Beach is a famous tourist destination. Finding a dead woman here is terrible for the city’s image. If it’s suicide, identify her quickly so the family can be notified. If it’s homicide, we must solve the case as soon as possible and minimize the impact.”

“Don’t worry, Captain Zheng,” Zeng Ping assured him. “Whatever the case, we’ll give our all to solve it.”

“I know that, but it’s my duty to say it anyway,” Zheng Kaixuan replied with a faint smile. “Work hard on this case. When things quiet down, I’ll see that you get your time off back.”

“Thank you, Captain Zheng.”

Han Bin and Li Hui exchanged wry smiles. Promises of time off were nice to hear, but every cop knew there was never a quiet moment.

After a while, Wu Xia and the technical team finished their work. Zheng Kaixuan approached. “Old Wu, was it suicide or homicide?”

“All I can tell you is that she drowned. There are no obvious signs of binding or struggle. Whether it was suicide or murder, you’ll have to find out for yourselves,” Wu Xia replied.

“Did you find anything on her?” Han Bin asked.

“There was some debris under her fingernails. We’ll need to test it further to determine what it is.”

“Time of death?”

“The body was in the water for a while, which affects the accuracy of the autopsy, but the estimated time of death is between ten and fourteen hours ago.”

“Any other features that might help identify her?”

“Nothing so far,” Wu Xia said, shaking her head as she removed her gloves. “We’ll know more once we do a full autopsy and run the tests.”

“Thank you.”

“Lu Wen, what about you?”

“She drowned, but after being in seawater so long, much evidence has been lost. This isn’t the primary scene, so there’s little we can collect,” Lu Wen said, habitually pushing up his glasses. “We need to find where she went into the water. That’s our best hope for more clues.”

“We’ll do our best,” Zheng Kaixuan promised.

“We’ve photographed the body, collected DNA and fingerprints, and we’ll run them against the database once we’re back,” Lu Wen reported.

“As soon as you identify her, let me know.”

“Yes, sir.”

The body was placed in a bag and taken away. The technical and forensic teams left as well.

“What now, Captain?” Li Hui asked.

Zheng Kaixuan glanced at his watch. “It’s past eleven. Go get something to eat. Once Tian Li or the technical team confirm the victim’s identity, we’ll decide the next steps.”

“Yes, sir.”

“Bin, where should we eat?”

“Vacation’s over. Let’s find someplace cheap. There’s nothing good around here anyway.”

“True—ended before it even began.” Li Hui shrugged.

“That’s the job,” Han Bin said, patting Li Hui’s shoulder—whether to comfort Li Hui or himself, he wasn’t sure.

“It’s a shame, though,” Li Hui sighed.

“What is?”

“That drowned girl—she was pretty, had a good figure, and was so young. Such a waste,” Li Hui said with feeling.

“You’re not going crazy from missing your wife, are you?” Han Bin asked, half-joking, half-concerned.

“Don’t talk nonsense. I’m single by choice, alright?” Li Hui corrected him.

“Whatever makes you happy,” Han Bin shrugged.

They got into the car. As Li Hui started the engine, he asked, “What do you want to eat?”

“No idea,” Han Bin replied. After viewing a corpse, who could have an appetite?

“Let’s just head back to the station. If we’re hungry, we can have instant noodles,” Han Bin suggested.

“Can I have an egg with that?” Li Hui asked hopefully.

“I’ll even throw in some pickled vegetables.”

“Living large!”

They hadn’t driven far when Tian Li messaged the group chat—the victim’s identity had been found. Someone had reported a missing person at the local station.

With a flourish worthy of Captain Zheng, Han Bin waved and said, “Li Hui, turn around!”