Perfect Murder: 7 True Major Crime Stories from a Veteran Detective

3. Human Tissue Unexpectedly Found in the Sewer

On the other hand, the residential compound’s property management had nothing of value. Aside from two sewer cleaning projects and a few disputes caused by keeping dogs, the records showed no notable unusual events recently.

However, I developed an immense interest in these seemingly mundane situations. That terrifying conjecture at the bottom of my heart was still churning, making me almost restless. A detective’s intuition is sometimes a very mysterious thing, like a woman’s sixth sense—inexplicable but precise and sharp. Harboring this inexplicable emotion, I carefully questioned the people involved in the sewer cleaning and the dog dispute, and made an unexpected discovery.

Two weeks ago, the compound’s sewer got blocked. This is quite normal. In a densely populated compound, people often throw all sorts of random things down the toilet; the most common being leftovers, plastic bags, and sanitary napkins. Over time, this easily causes sewer blockages. When the sewage overflows, the entire drainage system has to be thoroughly opened and cleaned to remove the filthy debris clinging to the walls at the outlet.

However, during this cleaning, the situation was slightly different. A few regular dog walkers in the compound happened to be nearby. Usually, these dogs would detour and actively avoid the sewer, but this time, a Dachshund barked frantically and at one point sprinted wildly toward the sewer opening.

‘Strange! I’ve had Wu Di for a long time, and it’s the first time I’ve seen him so agitated and impatient.’ When questioned, the dog owner, Duan Peipei, was very confused. Wu Di was the Dachshund that kept barking at the scene, and also Peipei’s beloved pet.

I showed great interest in this. As I continued asking, Peipei suddenly became indignant. According to her, a Labrador also slowly walked to the opening, sniffing for something inside. When Wu Di ran over, the usually docile Labrador suddenly became very manic, which scared the highly agitated Wu Di. The two dogs even got into a fight, sparking a dispute between the owners. Property management even mediated at the scene. Everyone present should still have an impression of this incident.

The sewer cleaning workers, on the other hand, were very calm. They were used to this kind of inexplicable commotion. When I revealed my police identity to question them, the cleaners seemed a bit surprised, thinking this kind of thing was nothing to make a fuss about. I didn’t think so, and showed full interest in the sewer cleaning process.

‘Where was the exact location of the sewer blockage?’ The cleaner readily gave the answer, but his nonchalant reply struck me like a thunderbolt.

The location of the blockage was the 20th floor of Building 10, exactly the floor where Yang Fang disappeared. Something in my heart seemed to be fiercely prodded. Suppressing my inner excitement, I threw out the second question.

‘What caused the sewer blockage?’

This was a good question, and none of the pipe cleaners could answer it. After all, there was everything in the massive pipes, filthy and foul-smelling. However, one pipe worker had a different take: ‘During the cleaning that day, we found that there seemed to be a lot more grease in the pipe, much greasier than usual. As for the smell, there was nothing special.’

The reactions of the two dogs also caught my attention, so I found the other dog owner, a scruffy middle-aged man.

‘My Huan Huan is usually very well-behaved.’ The man looked angry: ‘It was terrified that day.’

I looked at the dog lying quietly next to him and asked, ‘Why did your dog bark at the time?’

‘It’s Huan Huan.’ A trace of displeasure appeared on the man’s face, and he said reluctantly, ‘It’s not a dog, it’s a pet.’

‘Please answer the question.’ I politely gestured, ‘So we can wrap this up as soon as possible.’

‘Huan Huan is usually very docile. I don’t know what happened, but it started howling when it got near that stinky sewer opening. At the time, I also thought something had happened. Later I found out it was that Dachshund that started barking at it first. Because of this, I even had a fight with the dog owner…’ The man seemed to have found an exciting topic and started talking incessantly.

‘Which is to say—’ I leaned forward slightly: ‘Strictly speaking, both dogs only started barking when they were near the sewer, right? Of course, you thought the other dog provoked it, and your dog just reacted.’

‘It’s Huan Huan.’ The other party corrected, then nodded: ‘Yes, I think it was the Dachshund’s fault. If it hadn’t barked at our Huan Huan, Huan Huan wouldn’t have barked randomly.’

Wrong. I clearly didn’t think so. A ray of light suddenly illuminated my intricate thoughts.

There was a problem with this sewer.

I want to reopen the sewer and go inside to take a look.

This exceeded everyone’s expectations, especially the property owners in the compound, who all thought this police officer was simply possessed. What kind of place is a sewer? In their eyes, the sewer is the dirtiest, darkest, and dampest place in a compound or even an entire city, an area no one wants to step into. Let alone entering, just facing that foul-smelling opening was enough to make people feel suffocated.

I didn’t care at all. As a senior member of the major crimes unit, what I was least accustomed to and most accustomed to were all kinds of unbearable smells. Having experienced various crime scenes and seen various states of decomposed bodies, the damp stench of a sewer was simply the most ordinary smell.

However, even so, I froze for a moment the instant the sewer was opened. Not because the sewer was too dirty, but on the contrary, the sewer in this compound was a bit too clean.

I couldn’t help but ask the cleaner next to me. He told me it was because the sewer had just been cleaned a few days ago. But even during the last cleaning, this sewer didn’t look very dirty. The drainage system of a high-end compound is still very standard, plus the residents living here are relatively high-quality, so the sewer appears relatively clean. But even then, it already appeared filthier and more rancid than usual, and it was precisely because of this that the two dogs followed the scent.

This instead made me feel strange. It wasn’t the first time these pipe cleaners had cleaned the pipes in this compound, so why was it so filthy only this recent time? I went down inside the pipe, carefully wiped some samples from the walls, and brought them back to the station.

The test results came out: it was human DNA.

In other words, human tissue had once existed in the sewer of this compound. And not a small amount. After all, being able to extract human DNA tissue from the attachments on the pipe wall after a complex cleaning was enough to show that a large amount of human tissue components was present in the sewer at the time.

Intuition told me this would be the key to unlocking the mystery. But another problem stood in the way: Yang Fang was missing. No one could prove that this human DNA was related to the missing her, unless her human tissue cells could be extracted for comparison.

This was the hardest part. After Yang Fang left home, everything related to her in the house disappeared, including the utensils she used daily, like combs and towels. These were the utensils most likely to have her epidermal cells extracted from them, but they vanished without a trace.

Li Xiao was quickly identified as a major suspect. But without determining the ownership of the DNA, there was still no evidence to link Yang Fang’s disappearance to him.

I suddenly thought of Yang Fang’s grief-stricken parents. Yes, DNA extracted from relatives can be used for sample comparison; it’s a viable path. Aside from being used for kinship identification, the DNA of immediate family members is also of great significance for comparing a victim’s DNA.

I felt an inner ecstasy of seeing through the truth. That terrifying conjecture in my heart a few days ago seemed to have magnified greatly, ready to be revealed. However, I knew that merely relying on the suspected DNA of Yang Fang appearing in the sewer could not indeed link Li Xiao to a murder.

In addition to this, a huge doubt had always troubled me. Judging from the condition of the residual tissues in the sewer, these tissues, organs, or blood and epidermis had already attached to the pipe walls about three weeks ago. But at that time, by coincidence, I was spying on Yang Fang going in and out of the kitchen every day.

The DNA comparison results confirmed my conjecture. The DNA of Yang Fang’s parents was kin to the sample DNA. Judging from the similarity ratio, they were direct blood relatives, without a doubt. It could be concluded that the human tissue in the sewer indeed belonged to the missing Yang Fang.

I once again turned my gaze to Li Xiao.

The truth was close at hand, but I just couldn’t touch its boundary, which distressed me greatly. After all, Yang Fang had appeared vividly alive; not only had I seen this with my own eyes, but other high-floor residents and hotel guests also claimed to have witnessed her in her home. So the evidence of Yang Fang’s existence was definitely not an isolated case.

Everyone saw Yang Fang, so who was floating in the sewer?

This question entangled me for quite a while until I thought of that lonely studio again. Prior to this, I had already conducted several meticulous investigations of Yang Fang’s home, that large three-bedroom apartment, with little harvest. Even towards the end, Li Xiao, who initially wore a sorrowful expression, began to have eyes full of resentment and hostility. I could understand; a team of police entering the scene again and again, constantly trying to find some clues there, demonstrated extreme suspicion toward this man. Sometimes, this blatant suspicion makes people angrier than direct accusations. Precisely because of this, I wasn’t surprised by Li Xiao’s changes. To me, finding the killer was the greatest comfort to Yang Fang and her family.

When I was flipping through Yang Fang’s broadcasting equipment, I found a headset microphone. This was one of the devices Yang Fang used for live streaming. Guided by some strange impulse, I put on that massive headset and actually felt a sense of trance. The huge computer screen reflected my tired face. In a flash, I was suddenly startled: the probe of the microphone is a good place to extract DNA.

Don’t forget, when Yang Fang was doing mukbangs, the mask didn’t cover her mouth and nose.

When a person speaks, saliva will involuntarily spray out. Even if it dries up, some tissue cells still remain. For modern criminal science and technology workers, extracting a person’s DNA from a place frequently sprayed with saliva is not a complex project.

This time, the facts gave me an even bigger surprise—the DNA of two people was actually detected on the microphone.

After comparing it with the DNA extracted from the sewer, it was certain that one of the DNAs came from Yang Fang. This, of course, was not surprising. What was surprising was that the other discovered DNA belonged to a male.

I immediately took a sample of Li Xiao’s DNA. The test showed that the other person’s DNA indeed belonged to him.

The interesting part came. This meant Li Xiao had been to this studio, had also worn this microphone, and had spoken into it. In other words, Li Xiao likely did a live broadcast in the position Yang Fang used to be in. I remembered Yang Fang’s fans saying that she broadcasted in the exact same spot every time, and the background behind her never changed. This made them feel very at ease because it brought a sense of comfort and security that comes with stability.

I quickly contacted the fans, and they all claimed to have never seen anyone other than Yang Fang in the broadcast room.

A sudden sense of enlightenment cleared my mind. I immediately thought of the notebook with missing records, and the massive mask that always covered the face.

To verify my thoughts, I contacted the live streaming platform, inquired in detail about the content of Li Xiao’s broadcasts, and managed to get videos of his broadcasts from netizens. Even though I was mentally prepared, I was still amazed by Li Xiao’s imitation abilities. I have to say, as a somewhat famous streamer, he was already adept at this kind of grandstanding imitation show; his control of the scene and setting of the atmosphere were perfectly executed.

I was very excited. This, of course, wasn’t out of marvel at Li Xiao’s skills, but because I had finally figured out the question that had troubled me for so long—why did I always see Yang Fang cooking in the kitchen early in the morning?