Chen's father was injured in the storage room at the back of the supermarket. The storage room was small and dimly lit. Goods were stacked layer upon layer, piled up high, making the storage room feel oppressive and cramped.
Chen's father fell from a ladder. From the scene's condition, it appeared that while he was climbing the ladder to retrieve a box of canned drinks, the second rung of the ladder broke, causing him to fall, and the goods in his hands fell too, hitting his head.
The ladder was made of welded stainless steel, poorly constructed, and the break occurred at a welding joint due to a failed weld seam.
Wang analyzed, "Looking at the welding point, the weld is clean without oxidation or rust, suggesting it was likely welded recently. The exact cause of the weld failure needs further testing. Initial assessment suggests it's due to the welding material - I can see it's very poor quality metal with high brittleness."
"Could Ding Zhuangzhuang have deliberately damaged the ladder to murder his father?" Zhang speculated.
"If that's the case, this Ding Zhuangzhuang is terrifying - how could he harm someone while being locked up?" Wang sighed.
Fang Rui also suspected Ding Zhuangzhuang, thinking he must deeply hate Chen's father and mother after learning about his true identity.
The store had surveillance cameras. The footage showed Chen's father using the ladder earlier that morning without incident. No one else had entered the storage room that day except for Chen's father.
Ding Zhuangzhuang, who had been impersonating Chen Yuankun, had been in the storage room three days ago helping his father move goods. He hadn't returned to the supermarket since then.
Chen's mother had entered the storage room the previous morning to retrieve a box of instant noodles.
"This should be an accident. Ding Zhuangzhuang hasn't been in the storage room these past few days, and Chen's father used the ladder frequently without incident," Wang analyzed.
Fang Rui repeatedly watched the surveillance footage. The camera could see one corner of the storage room, showing that it had been quite empty a few days ago, likely filled up recently due to frequent restocking.
"The second rung would only be needed when reaching for goods on the top layer. It wasn't necessary for other times," Fang Rui theorized. "The perpetrator might have calculated that Chen's father wouldn't climb that high in those days. By the time he fell, it would be days later, removing any suspicion from the perpetrator."
Fang Rui had Wang collect fingerprints from the ladder. However, only Chen's father's fingerprints were found.
Zhang exclaimed in surprise, "Ding Zhuangzhuang must have helped his father move goods and used the ladder, yet there are no fingerprints from him - he must have wiped them off."
In the surveillance footage, Ding Zhuangzhuang wasn't wearing gloves while moving goods. The supermarket's cameras could partially see inside the storage room, and one frame showed Ding Zhuangzhuang using the ladder.
Chen's father's injuries were severe, but Chen's mother only took him to a nearby small hospital. After a night of emergency treatment, Chen's father passed away.
By the time Fang Rui and the others received the news, Chen's father had already been taken to the funeral home. When Fang Rui and Mu Mian arrived at the funeral home, Chen's father had already been cremated, his ashes placed in an urn.
Mu Mian complained to Fang Rui, "We're too late. The body is gone."
"They were too hasty," Fang Rui found it strange that Chen's mother didn't even bring her son to the hospital first, but instead rushed to cremate the body early in the morning. It seemed like she was trying to hide something.
Mu Mian, unwilling to give up, approached Chen's mother and the others, pointing at the urn that the staff was about to carry away. "Usually, the skull doesn't completely burn during cremation. Though it might be inappropriate to ask, could I open the box to examine the deceased's skull?"
Chen's mother, tears still in her eyes, looked horrified at the cute-looking girl before her.
Fang Rui explained, "We suspect his death wasn't accidental but murder, so we want to investigate the cause of death."
"Didn't the hospital issue a death report? Why don't you just ask them for it?" Chen's father's brother complained.
"But doctors specialize in saving lives, they're not experts in analyzing causes of death," Mu Mian said softly.
Mu Mian had already seen the death report; the doctor had only described the victim's injuries without detailed documentation of the wound conditions. Moreover, the human brain is complex, and without an autopsy, it's difficult to determine the cause and nature of injuries.
Of course, a cremated skull couldn't determine the cause of death either.
Chen's mother insisted, "There's nothing to investigate. My husband fell from a ladder - it was an accident! Isn't arresting my son enough? Who else do you want to arrest?"
"Don't you want to know the true cause of your husband's death?" Mu Mian tried to persuade her.
Chen's relatives glared angrily at Mu Mian before escorting Chen's mother to offer incense for Chen's father.
After they left, Mu Mian suddenly asked, "Where will they bury the deceased?"
Fang Rui replied helplessly, "You're not thinking of digging up the grave, are you?"
"That's illegal! But I'm really curious about what a cremated skull looks like. They say it's snow-white, and the bones become very brittle. I want to tap it and feel its texture."
Mu Mian regretted not attending Ms. Jiang's cremation ceremony; otherwise, she could have seen cremated bones then.
"..."
Fang Rui found a deceased's relative who had few family members and made a deal with them to let Mu Mian in during the collection of the ashes.
"Fang Rui, how did you manage that?" Mu Mian asked excitedly.
"When you go in, you can only look, not touch, understand?"
"Got it."
Minutes later, the funeral home staff witnessed an unusual scene. As he pulled the deceased's remains from the furnace, two family members knelt down wailing loudly, while a girl circled around the remains, seemingly studying the skull's shape with eager eyes.
If only she could touch it...
"Young lady, shouldn't you be crying?" the staff member couldn't help but remind her.
"I'm afraid of disturbing him. He died so young; we should let him go peacefully."
The two family members cried even harder.
After leaving the funeral home, Mu Mian remarked, "The color of the cremated skull was beautiful, truly snow-white. But that deceased person's skull shape wasn't attractive - he must have preferred sleeping on one side, causing his skull to become asymmetrical."
"..."
With the body gone and no crucial evidence to prove murder, the case couldn't be officially investigated.
However, Chen's mother's rush to cremate the body confirmed one thing: Chen's father's death was likely not accidental.
Fang Rui suddenly thought of a possibility - could Chen's mother be the one who wiped off the fingerprints? Perhaps she damaged the ladder and killed Chen's father, or maybe she was helping Ding Zhuangzhuang cover up evidence.
The investigation into the car refrigerator had made no progress.
Sun Xiaoning had once shared photos of the red car's interior on social media, through which they learned about the car refrigerator's appearance - it was pink with many decorative stickers.
The police had searched everywhere Chen Yuankun and Ding Zhuangzhuang had lived and worked, but found nothing.
"Could the car refrigerator have never been taken away, but hidden in the parking lot instead?" Mu Mian analyzed. "The most dangerous place is often the safest place."
