by Song Ying
“The biggest mystery is how Hu Guohao’s body turned up at Lesser Meisha,” Chief Wu said.
“We found precious few clues at the scene.” Cui was clearly unhappy.
“That’s what I’ve been saying. Crime scene investigation is critical. It determines whether or not we can solve a case. If any single important clue is overlooked, then we might as well declare the case unsolvable,” Chief Wu said emphatically. “Interviews are another routine task that can make or break an investigation. With so many tourists around Greater and Lesser Meisha coming and going, it’s impossible to check on everyone, but … and how did Hu Guohao get from the Seaview Hotel? Did he walk, take a taxi, or did someone pick him up? Someone must have seen him, unless he knew how to make himself invisible.”
“You’re right, sir. We haven’t been thorough enough with the tourists. We’ll work on it.” Cui nodded in agreement.
“The success of an investigation is usually decided by work done in the first week. Now, four days have gone by,” Chief Wu stressed. “The case will be a lost cause if we don’t find more critical clues over the next few days.”
“We’ve interviewed the doormen at the Seaview Hotel. But it was a Saturday and there were so many guests they didn’t notice anything,” Xiaochuan explained. “We’ve also shown Hu’s picture to taxi drivers waiting for fares, but no one picked up Hu.”
“It was after seven o’clock and getting dark, so the typical tourist or passerby wouldn’t have noticed anything,” Yao Li added convincingly.
Now they were truly stuck. Chief Wu knitted his bushy brows. It was getting uncomfortable in the room. Even the jokester Zheng Yong held his tongue.
In the end, it was Chief Wu who broke the silence. A seasoned investigator of criminal cases, he was able to grasp the key issues in messy cases like this. He turned toward Yao Li.
“Go ask Tian Qing if they found anything when they examined the body.”
“Yes, sir.” She got up and walked to the office next door.
She quickly returned with a broad smile.
“Tian called to say they have the autopsy report.”
“Tell him to fax it over,” Cui said.
It came in five minutes later.
It began with a general narrative, including all the usual observations, an examination of the scratch marks on the deceased’s chest, and so on, followed by an important section on two anomalies, which Yao Li read aloud: “Two anomalies were discovered during the autopsy. First, a cardiac rupture led to an acute myocardial infarction. The rupture occurred in the left ventricle free wall, near the apex cordis. The cause of the rupture was an infiltration of a large quantity of neutral cells, resulting in a softening and necrosis of the diseased heart tissue. There was no clear sign of plaque buildup or blood clots in the coronary artery, which means the myocardial infarction was caused not by a blockage of blood flow, but from a case of severe fright, producing a high level of catecholamine that forced the coronary artery to contract and led to a fatal heart attack.”
That got everyone’s attention.
Yao cleared her throat and continued:
“Two, when the medical examiner checked the seawater in the stomach and lung tissue he found three types of odd-shaped microalgae that differed from the more common diatoms. One was a single-cell microalgae about forty millimeters long and twenty-five millimeters wide, with deep, narrow transverse surface ridges on the armor that swerve to the left above indentations. The second type was spindle-shaped, dark red in color, about fifty millimeters long and thirty-five millimeters wide. The bottom was rounded with a pair of tiny spines, the armor covered with rib-like markings. The third type had a flat back in the shape of double hammers, with short, rounded heads and hooked tails. The density of the algae cells exceeded one thousand per milliliter of water. All three structures differed from samples taken from previous drowning victims, but we have not been able to identify the species or unique characteristics, although there may be a link to a red tide. We will need to check with experts for further information in regard to marine biology and ecology.”
“I see.” Cui blinked, acknowledging the importance of these tiny creatures.
“This is a critical discovery,” Chief Wu said. “It’ll help us determine the spot where Hu drowned.”
“Can you explain, Chief Wu?” Cui asked.
Wu looked around the table first. “Diatoms are common in both fresh- and seawater. In a drowning, they will be found in the victim’s stomach and respiratory system. If they are not present, it’s likely that drowning was not the cause of death, and that the victim was tossed into the water afterward. There are thousands of species of diatoms, unique to every water region, so we can tell where a person died by determining the type of algae found in the body. It is an effective forensic tool in drowning cases.
“The water in each section of Dapeng Bay is unique. Even in Greater and Lesser Meisha, which are only a few kilometers apart, the microbes are not all the same. So all we need to do is to take water samples from both areas and compare them to the specimens found in Hu Guohao’s body, and we will know where he drowned.”
This breathed new life into the room.
“And a large quantity of algae is often a sign of a red tide.”
“Red tide?”
“Yes. Also known as a ‘red specter.’”
Red tides were etched indelibly into Chief Wu’s memory. Three years earlier, he had returned to the coastal city of Shantou, where generations of his family had been fishermen, and witnessed a red tide outbreak in a spot near Tuolin Bay. The ocean surface was dyed a russet red and did not return to normal for over a month, causing a massive death of fish and severe losses to the fishermen.
“Go to the Environmental Protection Bureau and find out if there was a red tide at either Greater or Lesser Meisha on or around June twenty-fourth.”
“Zheng Yong and Xiao Jia, you two work on this,” Cui said.
“Right, sir.”
“And send sample slides from Hu’s body to the Nanhai Environmental Monitoring Center for further tests,” Chief Wu added.
“Yao Li, Xiaochuan, you’ll have to make a trip to Guangzhou early tomorrow morning,” Cui said.
“Right,” they answered solemnly.
— 4 —
Guangzhou’s Zhuhai District. A shaded area some three or four hundred meters long edging the west section of Xingang Road, a welcome sight to pedestrians. Within the metal barrier, a stand of towering trees; outside, a green belt. Rows of multistory houses were visible under the green canopy of roadside trees.
Xiaochuan and Yao Li drove up to the gate of the Nanhai Environmental Monitoring Center at the end of the shaded path. After passing through the gate, they followed a slope to the left and came to a seedling plot in front of a five-story cement structure painted a warm gray. Ten tall coconut palms fronted the structure like sentry guards. It was an ordinary-looking building, but much like a small temple with powerful magic, it housed an arm of the State Oceanic Administration, with many of the most advanced monitoring devices, as well as the most talented ocean monitoring analysts.
Xiaochuan parked the blue-and-white squad car. They got out of the car and walked to the building, where the guard told them the director’s office was on the top floor. As they climbed the maroon terrazzo stairs, they were impressed by the brass spindles and curved metal railings. The middle-aged woman in charge of visitors was a bit apprehensive when she saw the uniformed officers.
“We’re from Y District Public Security,” Xiaochuan said, handing her a letter of introduction. “We’re working on a case involving algae and need help from your experts.”
“I see.” She asked them to wait in the conference room while she went to report their visit.
While not big, the room was clean and orderly. Xiaochuan’s gaze fell on a glass display cabinet against one wall. Inside were eighteen commemorative cups and trophies, some of which sported the national emblem.
A moment
later, the receptionist returned in the company of a smart-looking middle-aged man in a blue-and-white-striped polo shirt. He looked to be in his early forties.
“This is our director,” the woman said.
The director sat down at the conference table and welcomed them. “We’re happy to help. Tell me what you need.”
He listened intently as Xiaochuan gave him a brief description of the case and the issues with the algae.
“Our medical examiner says it might have something to do with a red tide.”
“A red tide?”
The man smiled, clearly piqued by the mention of a red tide. A graduate of Ocean University in Qingdao, he had been working at the Center for nearly two decades. He’d also studied in Canada and was a renowned red tide expert, with a research focus on marine biology in Nanhai and environmental monitoring.
“We don’t know a thing about red tides, so we’re here to take advantage of your expertise,” Xiaochuan admitted.
“So-called red tides are basically pollution caused by the overproduction of algae, which causes water to turn red or bright orange,” the director began. “In fact, sometimes the contaminated water can be yellow, green, even brown. It all depends on the kind of algae overproduced.”
“So different algae paint the water different colors,” Yao said.
“Right. Some red tides don’t actually change the color of the water. Statistics show that there are over four thousand varieties of algae in the ocean and about two hundred and sixty of them can cause a red tide. Seventy of those are toxic. You may not know it, but there’s a reference to a red tide in the Bible: ‘The water in the river has turned into blood, giving the river a horrible stench.’ Red tides appeared in records in ancient China, but it’s only been recently that the world has begun to worry about the damage they inflict, and in 1990 the United Nations included it as one of the three major ocean pollutant.”
He continued to explain that some organisms in a red tide can be harmful, even fatal to humans if they consume fish or shellfish with large quantities of the toxin. Some red tides are harmless but produce a sticky secretion that clogs the gills of fish and sea creatures and chokes them to death. Moreover, the algae that form red tides reproduce at an alarmingly fast pace. The dinoflagellate, for instance, can produce a new generation every two hours. When the algae die, the decomposition consumes large quantities of oxygen in the water, unbalancing the ecosystem, which in turn causes the death of many fish and shrimp. The damage is simply astronomical.”
The director moved on to describe serious incidents of red tide pollution in Nanhai in recent years.
“Three years ago, a large area of Raoping, Guandong, was infested. I witnessed the death of a substantial quantity of fish when a red tide occurred with unexpected quickness, resulting in tremendous losses to fishermen and hatcheries. One of our missions here is to detect red tides as soon as they appear and distribute information about them in the monitored areas to minimize the damage.”
“Have you seen any red tides in the Shenzhen area recently?” Xiaochuan asked the question they’d come to ask.
“Yes,” the director said. “About a week ago, we detected a red tide in Dapeng Bay. It started with algae drifting from Heiyanjiao, several kilometers to the south, but the polluted area was relatively small and only killed a few fish in Nan’ao. Similar red tides occur in the area every year.”
Xiaochuan and Yao Li exchanged a look.
“When we received the news,” the director continued, “we sent someone to Nan’ao to take water samples so we could determine the type of algae. The tests showed that the incident was caused by several kinds of algae, all in the dinoflagellate category.”
“Could you tell us, sir, when exactly the red tide occurred?” Yao Li asked as she wrote in her notebook.
“Let me check. Xiao Qin, would you bring me the latest data?”
Ms. Qin nodded and left. She soon returned with a blue logbook.
The director opened the log and scanned the contents before looking up.
“An on-site inspection showed that the red tide first started on the southernmost tip of Dapeng Bay, Deer Bay, where the water turned an orange brown. Our tests showed that the algae causing this red tide consisted of Gyrodinium instriatum, Gonyaulax, and Peridinium, none of which are toxic. But this one was very dense, with 1,200,000 algae in one liter of water, depleting large amounts of the dissolved oxygen in the water, and we found dead fish on the surface.”
He turned to a new page and continued. “Let’s see. Ah, here. On June nineteenth, a small red tide was visible in the Heiyanjia area to the south of Nan’ao; the water was a yellowish brown. Two days later, the red tide slowly migrated to the area near Shuitousha Village in Nan’ao, and the pollution was at its peak from the twenty-second to the twenty-fourth. It began to disappear on the afternoon of the twenty-fifth, but it wasn’t until three days ago, on June twenty-seventh, that it was completely gone and the water returned to its normal color.”
“Did the red tide drift north to Lesser Meisha?” Yao Li looked up from her notebook.
“Probably not. Based on our log, the water in Lesser Meisha was not affected from the nineteenth to the twenty-seventh. The water quality was good and the swimming area was open. The same goes for Greater Meisha.”
“Are you sure of that?” Yao Li persisted.
“Yes.”
The director informed them that Lesser Misha had suffered red tide pollution during the swimming season the year before. It wasn’t serious, but a substantial area turned red and the tourists smelled the foul odor from the beach. The Lesser Meisha Management Center kept a close watch and discussed whether or not to close the swimming area. Fortunately, the red tide disappeared and spared them from damage. This time, when the red tide was found in Nan’ao, the Shenzhen Oceanic Environmental Center and the Fishing Environment Monitoring Station paid close attention to the situation at Greater and Lesser Meisha. The staff went to both places to take water samples; the test results showed the water quality to be excellent.
“Thank you very much for the information.” Yao Li thanked the director and stood up.
“I hope this helps you solve your case.” The director got up to shake hands.
“Director, you have another meeting,” Ms. Qin said.
“Oh.” Xiaochuan wore an expectant look.
“Right. Did you bring a sample?” the director asked.
“Yes, we did,” Xiaochuan replied excitedly.
“Go ask Lao Xiao to check it for them,” the director said to Ms. Qin, who then took them to the third floor, which housed the lab and sample rooms.
They entered the marine biology lab. A white table along the wall in the outer room held ten different ultramodern microscopes, each covered with an acrylic glass shield.
Lao Xiao looked to be in his fifties, a kindly, gray-haired veteran algae expert. Ms. Qin called him Technician Xiao.
Seven or eight translucent plastic cases, likely used for samples, stood in the hallway outside. They were filled with closed wide-mouthed plastic containers, each marked with a combination of letters and numbers.
“What are those for?” Xiaochuan asked out of curiosity.
“They’re ocean water samples,” Lao Xiao said.
“The writing tells when and where the samples were taken,” Ms. Qin added.
Xiaochuan took a metal case out of his pocket, opened it, and handed a slide to Xiao, who held it up to get a close look, then sat down and put it under a microscope. He focused one of the three lenses on the tiny sample specks.
The two officers stood quietly behind him.
Xiao gently turned the knob to focus as he bent down over the eyepiece.
Xiaochuan and Yao Li held their breath.
Xiao continued looking at the algae cells as he clicked a counter. That went on for some ten minutes until he turned around and signaled to Xiaochuan.
“Come take a look.”
Xiaochuan bent down. What gree
ted him was a beautiful image of tiny translucent single-cell organisms, all about the same size but in different shapes and crowded onto a brown dot; three seemed to be dominant. The structure and pattern on each was clearly visible.
“See the one with the left swirl and hooks? Those are Gyrodinium instriatums.”
“Yes, I see them.”
“And the red ones below that look like spindles, those are called Gonyaulax.”
“I see. There are lots of them.”
“Now look at the smaller cone-shaped ones with spines. Those are Peridiniums.”
“I see them!” Xiaochuan was beside himself with excitement.
“Let me have a look,” Yao Li said, so Xiaochuan got up and gave her his seat.
She craned her neck and looked into the viewfinder.
“Wow!”
The colorful, beautiful world of algae!
Technician Xiao had verified all three types of algae.
“The same as the algae we found in the water at Nan’ao.” He picked up a slide of algae they’d found in the water in Nan’ao, and repeated the process.
Xiaochuan took a second look and saw that the cell structures were identical to those they had brought; there was another kind, but in much smaller quantities.
Xiao Gong checked the counter.
“The total is 1195 per millimeter, just under 1200.”
The two officers could hardly suppress their excitement, since the test showed that the algae contents in the water from Hu Guohao’s lungs were the same as in the red tide that appeared between June twenty-first and twenty-fourth in Nan’ao.
Which meant that Hu had drowned in Nan’ao, Zhou Zhengxing’s hometown, not in Lesser or Great Meisha.
“The crime scene was not Lesser Meisha!” Yao Li nearly shouted with joy.
* * *
“So Hu Guohao did not drown in Lesser Meisha?” Team Leader Cui was shocked when Xiaochuan called to give him the news.
“That’s right,” Xiaochuan said.
“I see,” Cui said.
Who would have thought that Chief Wu could be so prophetic?