Chapter 7: Surrender

Old Zheng glared at Gu Changzheng in anger but couldn’t help saying: “Hmph! I found traces of natural rubber in the victim’s fingernails!”

Gu Changzheng widened his eyes, thinking, Could it be…? He asked, seeking confirmation: “What does this prove?”

“It proves the victim struggled with someone before death—more precisely, fought desperately!”

“Someone suddenly grabbed the victim’s head from behind, wearing a pair of natural rubber gloves. The victim, caught off guard by the sudden attack, had no time to resist and instinctively flailed her hands in the air, accidentally grabbing the attacker’s rubber gloves, leaving behind traces of rubber in her nails. The water splashes outside the bathtub were caused by her struggle!”

Gu Changzheng described it as if he had witnessed the scene firsthand: “But why weren’t there any pressure marks on the victim’s head?”

Old Zheng also found this strange. As he pondered, Luo Fei spoke up: “If the killer wanted to stage the death as an accidental drowning after drinking, he must have planned it for a long time—this is evident from his use of expensive natural rubber gloves. He likely made other preparations too, like latex shoe covers, making it even harder to leave footprints on the already difficult-to-trace ceramic tiles. The victim was bathing after drinking, which naturally increases the risk of fainting or hypoglycemia. If the killer quickly shoved her head into the full bathtub, she would lose consciousness in just two minutes due to her intoxicated and exhausted state. The killer only needed to wait ten minutes nearby, and she’d have no chance of being revived!”

“But how could you control the victim so she couldn’t save herself without leaving any marks on her body? Unless you solve this, it doesn’t add up!” Gu Changzheng raised his question.

“Captain Gu, that’s exactly what puzzles me—what method did the killer use to drown the victim in such a small bathtub without her being able to save herself?”

The room fell into awkward silence as all three pondered how it could be done.

“Ding ding!” A sharp ring sounded. Gu Changzheng quickly opened his bag, pulled out his phone, saw the number on the screen, gave Old Zheng a silent signal to indicate he was leaving, then answered: “Hello, Director Gao? Ah, I’m with Teacher Zheng! Oh, got it! Yes, Director Gao, I guarantee I’ll apprehend the suspect within twenty days! Mm-hmm! Understood!”

The investigation into Shu Jiaqing’s hiding place progressed rapidly. As a released convict, the local police station had registered his residence during their assistance program. But when Gu Changzheng arrived with officers to arrest him, they found Shu Jiaqing’s rented room empty—gone without a trace!

Back at the Criminal Investigation Office, after discussion, Gu Changzheng and the team concluded that Shu Jiaqing, as a habitual offender, must have fled Zizhen City after the crime. A warrant for his arrest must be issued immediately!

At 11 a.m. on the 22nd, the wanted notice for suspect Shu Jiaqing in Case 6.21 spread everywhere—online, in news media, on shop walls, in hotels, restaurants, and alleyways.

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Qinghe District of Zizhen City was called Qinghe County before 2005. It was downgraded from county to district at the end of 2005 and merged into the city’s unified administration. This district has the largest population and administrative area in Zizhen City, but except for Fangying Town, which borders the urban core, the rest remains scattered, still in the state of natural villages.

At 11 a.m. on the 22nd, in a private house in Fangying Town, Qinghe District.

“Damn! Almost made a wasted trip!” Shu Jiaqing glanced at the delicate little handbag beside him—it looked expensive. He’d sell it for cash after a few days when the heat died down. Too bad he’d spent days lurking and only got back this small bag. But he never expected such a beautiful woman would also cheat! He naturally assumed the shadow he’d seen was Ge Manli’s “lover.”

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“Shu Jiaqing is an only child. His parents died when he was seventeen or eighteen, and he had no siblings. His family had migrated here during famine in his father’s generation and had no relatives in Tuqiao Town. After his 2007 conviction and imprisonment, he never returned to Tuqiao Town.”

At 4 p.m. on the 22nd, twenty-four hours after the crime, Gao Ye was reporting on Shu Jiaqing’s background in the Jiangdong Branch Criminal Investigation Team.

The detectives, having cooled from their initial excitement over identifying the suspect, realized how hard it would be to find someone with virtually no social ties who had committed such a serious crime.

Seeing the team growing discouraged, Gu Changzheng shouted loudly: “What’s wrong? Is this difficulty already making you lose steam? Do you expect the suspect to just walk out and let you arrest him?”

Just as he was about to ask Liu Han about surveillance blind spots along Shu Jiaqing’s escape route, Wu Yan burst into the meeting room, beaming: “Captain Gu! Captain Gu! Someone has turned himself in!”

“Yanzi, we’re discussing the case! You handle the self-surrender!” Guo Hao dismissed it casually.

“No—it’s not just anyone—it’s Shu Jiaqing!”