Chapter 2377 2378 Strange Case

Chapter 2377: Chapter 2378: Strange Case Chapter 2377: Chapter 2378: Strange Case Zhang Long’s words were rough yet reasonable, especially to someone like Lin Yi, a former doctor, who was more capable of calmly dealing with such matters.

Even if the police were needed to help, there was no need for this attitude.

During their conversation, Zhang Dongmei ran up to Lin Yi, wiping her tears and said:

“Officer, please go have a look, my Old Fang has died, and someone’s placed him in a coffin.”

“Huh?”

Hearing this, the expressions of Lin Yi and the others changed.

Through Zhang Long’s introduction, they had some understanding of Zhang Dongmei’s situation.

Her father-in-law, who had cancer, was on the verge of death.

And the Old Fang she referred to should be her husband, Fang Daye.

If it was him who had died, then there was something suspicious about the situation.

Zhang Long and the others also felt somewhat surprised upon hearing this news.

“What happened to Aunt Zhang? Isn’t Uncle Fang just having some back issues, how could he be gone?”

“I don’t know what happened either.” Zhang Dongmei was nearly in shock, barely holding up by sheer willpower.

“This morning, my father-in-law was about to pass away, so we started preparing for his death, but after being busy all morning, we couldn’t find Old Fang anywhere.”

Zhang Dongmei wiped her tears and sobbed:

“Just now, my father-in-law passed away, and when we went to place him in the coffin, my son noticed it was unusually heavy. When he opened it, we found Old Zhang inside, already breathless.”

Everyone’s gaze turned towards Lin Yi, as they were the police, and given the situation, would presumably know how to handle it.

“Why are you all looking at me, let’s go and see first,” Lin Yi said:

“Dapeng, call the sub-bureau, ask them to send someone to take Ma Haiqiang away, then come meet us.”

“Understood.”

Lin Yi looked at Zhang Dongmei, “Lead us there to see what happened.”

“Sure sure, officer, follow me.”

From Lin Yi’s location to Zhang Dongmei’s home was just over a hundred meters, they hurried over and found the yard crowded with people, packed inside and out.

“Make way, make way.”

Lin Yi called out, and the villagers automatically made way.

In the courtyard, Lin Yi saw a large red coffin with its lid halfway open. Except for Zhang Dongmei’s son, no one dared approach it, even holding a respectful distance.

In the eyes of these simple villagers, such a mysterious death did not seem auspicious.

But there was one exception among them.

“Uncle Fang!”

Upon seeing Fang Daye in the coffin, Zhang Long rushed over.

He lay beside the coffin, sobbing loudly.

“Keep calm, don’t hinder our investigation.”

“Brother Long, let the officer take a look first.”

The speaker was Fang Daye’s son, Fang Zhiping, who was wearing glasses and appeared to be about twenty-five or six years old, somewhat scholarly.

Zhang Long wiped his tears and stood aside, careful not to disturb Lin Yi anymore.

Lin Yi pushed the coffin lid aside a bit and saw Zhang Daye lying inside.

The deceased was around fifty years old, not very tall, seemingly under 1.7 meters, slightly overweight, typical of middle age. It wasn’t uncommon to see such a physique at his age.

The coffin contained a yellow cloth, a custom for the deceased in the village, always used underneath the body.

The body was neatly laid inside the coffin, wearing the clothes from his life. From the surface, nothing appeared unusual.

Then, Lin Yi checked the coffin again and didn’t find any traces.

The body inside looked as though it had crawled in there itself.

Lin Yi had an illusion; it seemed that what lay inside wasn’t just a person, but a vast mystery.

It emitted a strange air all around.

Lin Yi bent down and conducted a simple examination on the body.

There were no significant external injuries, but there were light bruises around the mouth and neck, making the cause of death fairly easy to ascertain.

Death by suffocation.

However, more detailed analysis would follow, as death by suffocation could occur under many circumstances.

On closer inspection, Lin Yi noticed some irregularities in the clothes of the deceased.

There were several small cuts on the fingers and back of the hand, which were normal for people living in rural areas.

Besides that, Lin Yi also found a few small black dots on the clothing of the deceased. He rubbed them lightly with his hand and detected a scent of gasoline.

Subconsciously, Lin Yi turned back and saw a Volkswagen Sagitar parked in the yard, priced at just over 100,000 yuan, not too expensive and affordable for ordinary families.

“Is that your family’s car?” Lin Yi asked pointing at the white Sagitar.

“It’s ours,” Fang Zhiping said.

“Does your dad usually drive your car?”

“Rarely,” Fang Zhiping answered,

“We also have a Wuling Hongguang van that my dad uses for fishing. He seldom drives my car.”

Lin Yi looked around and asked, “Where is the car?”

“My dad went out to buy some stuff at around four in the morning, but he never came back, and his phone was unreachable,” Fang Zhiping explained:

“At that time we were all busy with domestic matters and didn’t pay much attention to it. It wasn’t until we were moving the coffin that we discovered my dad, but we didn’t see his car.”

“The car wasn’t found?”

This statement made it even more puzzling for Lin Yi. The car disappeared, yet the person was found in the coffin.

Such moves baffled Lin Yi, also not fitting the profile of homicide for financial gain.

An old Wuling Hongguang couldn’t be worth much.

But this seemed, perhaps, a good breakthrough.

“How was your dad’s health?”

“Pretty good, just severe lumbar disc herniation, but that’s not deadly. Someone definitely harmed my dad,” said Zhang Zhiping, agitatedly.

“Calm down, we can’t make assumptions yet,” Lin Yi said quietly,

“Does the family have his recent medical reports? The more the better.”

“Yes, yes, last November I took my dad to the city hospital for a check-up, I’ve kept all the reports.”

In three strides combining two, Zhang Zhiping returned to the house and brought out the medical reports.

Lin Yi looked closely; apart from severe lumbar disc herniation, other aspects were quite good.

Just as Zhang Zhiping said, these were not fatal conditions.

And they wouldn’t be related to Fang Daye’s death.

“Recently, did your father have any strange behaviors, or conflicts with anyone?”

“Not really, after retirement, my dad just stayed at home all the time, sometimes going out to play mahjong, sometimes fishing with others. That’s how it’s been since he retired.” Zhang Zhiping thought for a moment then added,

“My dad had a good temperament, the neighbors all had good relationships, it’s unlikely to be a vendetta.”

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