Chapter 2: The Lost Bra

“Captain Gu!” Luo Fei called out, newly assigned to the district criminal investigation team.

Gu Changzheng, hands clasped behind his back, held a small handbag as he shuffled into Room 301 with an odd gait, nodding to Luo Fei, who was maintaining order at the door.

“Let them watch—you come in too!” Gu Changzheng’s “them” referred to several auxiliary police officers from the local precinct.

Luo Fei beamed and replied, “Yes!” He had long heard of this mid-forties captain; seven years ago, it was he who solved the infamous mass murder case in Zizhen City. The strange, unsteady way he walked now was a lingering effect of being shot in the waist by a homemade five-shot pistol (a crude firearm holding five lead pellets, commonly called “five-shot”) during the arrest of the killer.

Gu Changzheng pulled down the corners of his mouth and sneered, “What’s there to be happy about? Might just be an accidental death!” Luo Fei opened his mouth to respond when someone shouted, “Captain Gu!” The voice came from the bathroom—it was the district’s forensic examiner, Zheng Guoqiang. The two walked over together.

The corpse was found in the victim’s bathtub, naturally located inside the bathroom.

The bathroom was estimated to be six square meters, faintly scented with jasmine. A pink ceramic bathtub stood upright behind a frosted glass partition. Gu Changzheng stared at the tub with a puzzled expression.

The bathtub was still full of fine foam. On a small white European-style side table beside it lay a mobile phone, a glass of red wine with a clear red lipstick mark on the rim, and a bottle of Olay body wash. Irregular water stains spread along the floor around the tub; upon closer inspection, some foam remained undissolved—likely splashed out from the tub. The corpse had already been removed from the bathtub, placed in a body bag, and was ready for transport to the morgue for autopsy.

Zheng Guoqiang, seeing Gu Changzheng enter, said, “Captain Gu, preliminary examination shows a 1.5 by 2-centimeter bruise on the victim’s left elbow, abrasions on both heels, no other trauma on the torso or head, no signs of sexual assault. Mushroom-shaped foam around mouth and nose, hands clenched tightly, rectal temperature 28 degrees Celsius, strong alcohol odor in mouth, no lividity yet on the skin. Estimated time of death: between one and a half to two hours ago.” He glanced at his watch and added, “Approximately between 3:30 and 4:00 p.m.”

“The victim’s identity is confirmed: she’s the homeowner, Ge Manli, from the city’s Song and Dance Troupe!”

“Where’s the person who reported it?” Gu Changzheng bent over, hands behind his back, closely examining the bathtub.

“Oh! She’s already back at the bureau with Sister Yan giving her statement!” Luo Fei, realizing only Forensic Zheng and his assistant Xiao Lin were beside him, answered quickly.

“Have the victim’s family been notified?”

“Oh, uh, I’ll go check on that,” Luo Fei replied softly.

“Huh!” Gu Changzheng was bent low, studying the floor around the tub, when he struggled to straighten up, gripping his lower back. Luo Fei rushed forward to help, but Gu Changzheng lightly brushed his hand away.

Seeing Luo Fei’s embarrassment, Zheng chuckled, “Little Luo, don’t bother him—Captain Gu’s still as nimble as ever!”

Gu Changzheng grinned dismissively. “Old Zheng, from your professional standpoint—could this be an accident?”

Zheng’s smile vanished. He spoke seriously: “It’s not my job as a forensic examiner to determine cause of death—I only report what the body shows. Solving the case is your job as criminal investigation captain.”

“Heh! Old trickster!” Gu Changzheng knew Zheng’s nature. Though he spoke this way, his work was never sloppy. When his former master Lu Haoxuan solved the series of dismemberment cases, young Zheng (back then still “Little Zheng”) had played a crucial role! (This case will be detailed in Volume Two—readers, please lend your insights!)

At this moment, Investigator Liu Han and officers from the technical unit were photographing and collecting evidence from the victim’s clothing on the floor. One officer suddenly said, “Huh? One piece of clothing is missing?”

“What piece of clothing?” Gu Changzheng asked immediately.

The officer replied, “Only the victim’s dress, underwear, and high heels are here—no bra. This dress is so sheer—she couldn’t possibly have gone without one.”

Gu Changzheng walked over, inspected closely, and confirmed: the dress was indeed translucent; a woman would never go without a bra. “Search thoroughly! Focus on finding a black lace bra! Check the stairwell and the trash bins downstairs—hurry!”

“Captain Gu! We’ve found something!” Officer Fang Lei called out from the bedroom balcony.

Gu Changzheng hurried to the balcony. Fang Lei pointed to the floor of the open balcony: “Captain, look—these marks appear to be left by wet shoe covers.”

Gu Changzheng studied them for a moment, then clicked his tongue. “Check everything thoroughly! Everyone’s working overtime tonight—no rest!”

At nine p.m., three hours after the alarm was raised, an incident analysis meeting opened in the Jiangdong Public Security Bureau’s criminal investigation team office, presided over by Deputy Director Gao.

At the meeting’s start, Deputy Director Gao’s face was grim. He spoke solemnly: “Gentlemen, this afternoon, an abnormal death occurred in our jurisdiction’s Fenglin Garden community.”

The victim is Ge Manli, our city’s renowned young dancer. As a public figure of considerable influence, her sudden death will inevitably draw widespread public attention.”

Especially in today’s hyper-connected internet age, no one can predict what netizens might speculate.”

Therefore, our top priority is to swiftly determine the cause of death and classify this incident, to reassure the people of Jiangdong and all of Zizhen City. Now, Captain Gu, please report your findings from the scene.”

After Gao Jianjun finished, Gu Changzheng stood up, pointing to the projected photos. He spoke gravely: “The victim is a woman, an employee of our city’s Song and Dance Troupe—the well-known young dancer Ge Manli, only twenty-eight.”

After Professor Zheng’s preliminary examination, the victim had likely consumed alcohol. Aside from a bruise on her left elbow and abrasions on both heels, she had no other external injuries or signs of sexual assault.”

Mushroom-shaped foam surrounded her mouth and nose, hands tightly clenched. Based on current evidence, she appears to have drowned. Time of death: approximately between 3:30 and 4:00 p.m. on June 21. Aside from the victim’s own personal traces, the footprints of the reporter Yang Liu, and fingerprints on the front door and bathroom door lock, we have found no traces of any other person.”

Additionally, we found suspicious marks on the balcony, likely from wet shoe covers, and one missing bra.”

“The victim’s husband, Ren Jia, was on a business trip to Yiling City today. According to phone records, he boarded a regular train at 6:10 a.m. to Yiling Station. Surveillance footage from the community entrance shows he left home at 5:30 a.m.”

“During interviews with Ge Manli’s colleagues and superiors, we learned she attended a lunch reception for provincial troupe leaders with the troupe’s director, Fu Haijun, at the Kaiyue Hotel. This has been confirmed.”

“At the lunch, Ge Manli drank three to four taels of baijiu, then performed an impromptu dance. Afterwards, citing excessive sweating, she asked the troupe’s driver, Liu Hui, to take her home—to Apartment 301, Unit 2, Building 3, Fenglin Garden. We learned Ge Manli had a severe obsession with cleanliness. According to driver Liu Hui, he dropped her off and returned to the hotel to await the leaders—a fact confirmed by hotel surveillance and security.”

He paused, then continued: “The reporter who filed the alarm is Yang Liu, a female friend of the victim and a journalist with the city TV station. According to her statement, the victim called her at 2:50 p.m. using her own phone, arranging to meet at the Yinzuo Plaza, five hundred meters from her home, at 5:00 p.m.”

“Since she had no afternoon commitments, Yang Liu accepted. At exactly 5:00 p.m., she arrived at the agreed location—but Ge Manli was nowhere to be seen.”

“Knowing Ge Manli often arrived late, Yang Liu initially paid no mind. After waiting fifteen minutes, she grew anxious and called—but the phone went unanswered. Worried, she walked to the victim’s home.”

“The victim’s home is about five hundred meters from Yinzuo Plaza. Yang Liu arrived around 5:25 p.m., found no one answering the door, and used the key hidden under the doormat to enter—only to discover the victim drowned in the bathtub.”

Gu Changzheng scanned the packed meeting room, took a sip of tea, and continued: “What happened after that, everyone knows. Yang Liu called the police from the scene, panicked and still shaken, she forgot to close the door and rushed downstairs to wait for officers.”

“Now, everyone—share your thoughts!”