Chapter 246: The Final Link

Mu Min stayed at Su Wan’s place until late before returning to police headquarters. It was less than two hours before dawn, so Mu Min took a short nap in the rattan chair in her office.

An hour later, the phone rang shrilly.

“I’m so sorry to call you so early,” the voice on the phone was Salina’s. “The identification report for the railing is out. There’s something you’ll want.”

“It’s fine,” Mu Min was fully awake now. “I’ll be right over.”

The so-called identification center was actually just a few small rooms in the police headquarters, with some crude, locally made experimental equipment. The identification methods here were few and backward. Due to limitations in equipment and personnel, some identifications had to be done at the central laboratory of heavy industry. However, even these pitiful means were enough to dominate in this time and space.

Salina was wearing an isolation gown, locally made goggles and a mask, and was carefully handling the rotten wooden stick on the table with white-gloved hands.

Salina’s position as the director of the identification center was purely a case of being pushed into a role she wasn’t prepared for. The logic behind this appointment was that the identification technology of American law enforcement agencies was much more advanced than China’s, so the pigs Salina had seen were definitely much more numerous than the pigs seen by domestic police officers like Ran Yao and Mu Min.

Salina did not disappoint. She learned and applied her knowledge, and managed to get this identification center up and running. Of course, just reading books and watching CSI, and the past experience of the police officers, were far from enough. Many of the technical means used by this center were supported by professionals from the Senate’s biology and chemistry laboratories.

“Found anything good?”

“A complete fingerprint. You’ll love it.” Salina grinned and picked up a sample box from the table. Inside were several small glass slides for fingerprint extraction. “The fingerprint is very clear, perfect. I don’t know whose it is, but you can see it was left by someone holding this railing with both hands.”

“Holding the railing?!”

“Exactly.” Salina smiled meaningfully and made a baseball swing motion.

Mu Min remembered the autopsy report and Su Wan’s analysis. The bleeding in Lin Xiaoya’s abdomen was caused by being beaten before she fell. In that case, the murderer had used this railing as a club.

Mu Min put on her gloves and carefully examined the railing. From its diameter, length, and weight, it was easy to hold and swing. In fact, it was not very heavy. The wood used for the railing was not of high quality to begin with.

“The railing was actually broken by corrosion. Although there was external force, it was very small. It could be broken with just a gentle snap.” Salina pointed to a blackened, rotten fracture.

“What about the other end?”

“The two ends of the railing were fixed by being inserted into holes in the stone railing. After the railing broke in the middle, it was easy to pull out. It was a handy weapon.”

Mu Min nodded. She had roughly outlined the entire process of the case: the murderer had asked Lin Xiaoya to meet on the roof of the service building for a talk, then attacked her with this stick. After seriously injuring her, he pushed her from the roof to her death.

This would explain why the autopsy results showed both abdominal and back injuries. She did not commit suicide, nor was she simply pushed to the ground.

From the location of the crime, the subsequent disposal, and this “locally sourced” weapon, it was very likely a spur-of-the-moment killing, not a premeditated murder.

“Unfortunately, we don’t have a fingerprint database! And no suspect. Unless we check the fingerprint files one by one.”

“No, we already have a suspect,” Mu Min shook her head. “But I have to spend a few days applying to get the fingerprints—and I might not even be able to get them.”

Salina’s hands paused for a moment: “Is it really related to a transmigrator?”

Mu Min answered with a nod.

“How shameful. The dregs of humanity!” Salina cursed through gritted teeth.

“Any other discoveries?”

“No, no footprints were collected on the roof, nor any valuable fragments. If we had a physical evidence vacuum cleaner and a DNA lab, we could definitely collect more powerful evidence…” Salina said with some regret.

“The evidence is actually sufficient,” Mu Min said. “Now it’s up to the law.”

Salina hesitated for a moment and asked, “Cheng Cheng told me that even if we can collect enough evidence to prove that a transmigrator committed murder, the transmigrator will not be held legally responsible.”

Mu Min frowned: “Who is Cheng Cheng?”

“I can’t pronounce her full name, it’s too complicated. She works in the Great Library and is a friend of Panpan.”

“Did you tell her about this case?”

“No, I know the rules here. Police all over the world have no right to tell others about a case at will,” Salina shook her head.

Mu Min realized that Panpan must have told Cheng Yongxin about the case. She didn’t know Cheng Yongxin, but whoever she was, she and the Great Library had nothing to do with this case. Panpan’s actions were problematic. To be serious, it was a serious violation of discipline.

“Please don’t mention this to anyone else for the time being, okay?”

“What if Director Ran asks?”

“Then tell him what you know.” Mu Min knew that pure-blooded Europeans and Americans like her were a delicate presence in the Senate, and it was not appropriate to complicate their situation.

“OK, but you still haven’t answered my question, Mu. The transmigrators don’t have to be responsible?”

“Strictly speaking, they still have to be responsible, but it’s very light. Have you read the Common Program?”

“No, I can’t read Chinese legal documents yet…” Salina said. “So, the transmigrators will only receive a very light punishment, even a symbolic one?”

Mu Min nodded: “Roughly so.” She realized that the next conversation would become very sensitive, because Salina was the first “victim” of this law, and if they went deeper, she would not be able to control the direction.

“What a barbaric law,” Salina said indignantly. “Vile! Shameful! Inhumane!”

“This is the decision of the Senate,” Mu Min unconsciously glanced at the door. “Don’t forget you are also a transmigrator.”

Mu Min decided not to talk nonsense here, so as not to get herself into trouble. She returned to her office and first had her secretary send an urgent coded telegram to Ran Yao, who was in Wenchang, to report on the progress of the case, and then asked for instructions on whether to enter the stage of investigating the transmigrator.

After sending the telegram, Mu Min took a short nap. When she woke up, it was already broad daylight. She asked her secretary to buy a breakfast and began to sort out a complete set of materials. When the materials were almost sorted out, the confidential room sent Ran Yao’s reply to the urgent telegram.

There were only two words on it: “Agreed.”

She immediately had her secretary call the duty room of the General Office to make an appointment for her to see Xiao Zishan.

“Tell the duty room that I am free at any time.”

Xiao Zishan always stood up to greet any transmigrator who came to see him, with a smile on his face. Regardless of whether he knew them or not, he would greet them warmly and would never make them feel neglected.

This time, Mu Min’s appointment was no exception. After a few moments of pleasantries, he asked Mu Min to sit down in the rattan chair in his office. The secretary brought two glasses of mineral water specially supplied by the General Office. There were too many people coming and going in the General Office. In order to implement the principle of frugal office work, no tea or drinks were prepared.

“I’m sure Director Xiao knows why I’m here,” Mu Min said carefully, not knowing what Xiao Zishan’s plans were for this matter, or what agreement the Executive Committee had reached. “It’s about the 831 case.”

“Of course, of course,” Xiao Zishan leaned forward slightly. “So, there’s been some progress in the case.”

“Yes. Because the case is quite serious and involves a transmigrator, I wanted to report to you first. There are some things I hope to get your support for…”

“You’re too kind,” Xiao Zishan nodded. “Please speak. As long as it’s within my ability, I will not refuse.”

Mu Min then briefly described her investigation of the case:

“…That’s roughly the situation. The chain of evidence has basically been formed. If the investigation is to continue, we must be allowed to summon Transmigrator Yang and his life secretary.”

She opened her confidential briefcase, took out a file bag stamped with “Top Secret,” and placed it on the coffee table in front of her: “This is all the investigation material on this case so far.”

“If the Executive Committee decides to make other arrangements for this case…”

“No, the Executive Committee has no new arrangements for this,” Xiao Zishan said with a smile, without taking the file bag from the coffee table. “The Executive Committee’s attitude towards the 831 case has always been consistent, and that is to find out the truth.”

His fingers tapped lightly on the file bag: “I won’t take this document for now. What the Executive Committee wants is a formal case investigation report. Since you want to ask Transmigrator Yang a few questions, I will arrange a special meeting. Wait for my notice. As for his life secretary, you can summon her at any time. The General Office will communicate with him.”

“Thank you. In addition, the Lingao Times has repeatedly requested to interview the progress of the case. We have so far declined on the grounds that the case is under investigation. However, Panpan is pushing very hard, and she has a lot to say. Can we disclose some details of the case?”

“Is it appropriate to report on the case before it’s solved? I don’t agree. Hasn’t the Propaganda Department already issued a clear document prohibiting reporting on this case?”

“I understand. Thank you, Director Xiao.”

“You’re welcome. Serve the Senate!”

After seeing Mu Min off, Xiao Zishan sat in his rattan chair and considered for a long time before calling the Arbitration Tribunal:

“Ma Jia? I’d like to meet with you. There’s a tricky matter that might involve a transmigrator. I’d like to consult your Law Society’s opinion. Yes, I know about the Common Program, but this matter seems to have some undercurrents. It’s not something that can be fooled with a copy of the Common Program.”