Hu Pingtao felt that the scope of this case was too wide, far beyond previous expectations.

I originally thought it was just food poisoning or poisoning. Now it seems that the internal disputes within Cao Zhong's family alone are a headache, not to mention that there are many other involvements.

Of course, it cannot be ruled out that when Pang Zhonghua and Liao Yan introduced the situation, a lot of personal factors were involved.

For example, Liao Yan's sympathy for Liu Xiao'e, the congeniality between Pang Zhonghua and Cao Zhong, etc.

Hu Pingtao was about to ask more questions when suddenly his cell phone rang. He took it out and saw that it was Ding Jian's number.

"Where are you?" Ding Jian asked.

"I'm at the wholesale market." Hu Pingtao asked subconsciously: "Have the test results come out?"

"Well, it's out." Ding Jian spoke in a solemn tone.

Hu Pingtao was quite surprised. He had the impression that Ding Jian liked to joke, sometimes even to the dead.

As long as Ding Jian speaks in this tone, it means that the situation is serious or that something unexpected has gone wrong.

Hu Pingtao couldn't help but feel nervous and asked: "What happened?"

Ding Jian said: "I can't say one or two sentences clearly on the phone. Let's wait until you get back to the bureau to talk about it!"

Hu Pingtao said: "Okay, I'll rush back now."

…

Half an hour later, the office of the criminal investigation team of the branch.

As soon as he entered the room, Hu Pingtao saw Ding Jian sitting on the chair and quickly asked: "What's going on?"

Ding Jian sat on the chair with his back stretched out, his posture was similar to that of a turtle basking in the sun with its belly raised. He lazily picked up a document on the table and handed it over: "The inspection report is out, you can read it yourself!"

Hu Pingtao quickly took it and opened the folder.

For a moment, after browsing through it roughly, he exclaimed in disbelief: "No toxins were detected in any of the samples... How is this possible?"

Ding Jian folded his hands on his belly, his chubby face full of helplessness: "This is really weird, I can't figure it out no matter how hard I think about it."

"I led people to investigate the scene. The vomit, the rice, flour, barreled oil in the room, spices, vegetables, and even the uneaten leftovers and dumplings in the refrigerator the night before, I took them all.

I took samples. I originally thought that... no, at least one of them must contain toxins. I could find clues just by following the clues. But I never imagined that the final test result was that the toxin content was zero.

"

Hu Pingtao weighed the folder in his hand and asked uncertainly: "Could it be...could it be that you missed a certain sample during the test?"

Ding Jian curled his lips and said unhappily: "Hey! You can question my character, or you can think that I am lazy, but if you want to talk about work-related matters, then I won't admit it at all.

!”

"I, Lao Ding, have been working as a forensic doctor for so many years. Do you think that my tricks are in vain? Besides, when did any errors come out of the test reports that came out of my hands?"

This is true. Although Ding Jian seems unreliable, he really has no choice in work. He has been rated as an "advanced worker" for several consecutive years. Regardless of the branch, municipal bureau or provincial department, his name is often mentioned in

It appeared in "Legal News" and industry websites. Even Ran Ting praised him on several occasions: Ding Jian of Gudu Branch is a good comrade... I will omit a thousand words after that.

Despite this, Hu Pingtao was still cautious: "Are you sure that all samples have been tested?"

Ding Jian knew Hu Pingtao's habits and sighed: "I know what I do. I'm also worried about something going wrong! So I took two tests in succession, plus a retest, for a total of three times."

"If you think about it, if two groups of people were tested three times, the possibility of missing something could not be lower. If even this can still miss a handful of samples... I swear I will never enter a laboratory or work as a forensic scientist in the future.

.”

Ding Jian rarely swears, which means he is very sure about something.

Hu Pingtao frowned, walked slowly to his chair, sat down, and said to himself: "All the samples do not contain toxins... This is strange. The Cao family raised five children, why did they get food poisoning?

Woolen cloth?"

"Wait...this isn't..."

Suddenly, an idea flashed in Hu Pingtao's mind, and a look of enlightenment appeared on his face.

Ding Jian sat across from him, taking in everything and deliberately teasing: "Now do you know why I called you to come back?"

Hu Pingtao nodded his head in understanding and asked seriously: "This case is not food poisoning. The cause of the poisoning of the five members of the Cao family is unknown?"

"At present, it can be determined that the reason why Cao Zhong's family was poisoned has nothing to do with food." Ding Jian elaborated on his point of view: "Don't worry about the test. I went through Cao's house. Everything that is edible...should be everything that can be eaten."

I have tested everything that goes into the entrance, and no toxic substances have been found.”

As he said that, Ding Jian raised his finger and pointed at the folder Hu Pingtao put at hand: "Look at the third to last page of the file. I called the hospital today and communicated with them. Because there have been many deaths one after another.

The two children, especially the youngest son of the Cao family, are young and have poor immunity. The hospital also did a preliminary blood test, and the results obtained by me are completely consistent."

Hu Pingtao frowned and asked: "What specific toxin is caused?"

"Phosphide." Ding Jian said: "After being poisoned by this thing, symptoms such as coma, vomiting, and edema of body organs will appear one after another, and eventually death will occur."

Hu Pingtao recalled what Cao Zhong said in the hospital, and nodded slightly: "Cao Zhong felt dizzy and vomiting that night. He originally thought it was something wrong with the dumplings, so he didn't eat too much, and then went to bed. Wait until the next day.

When I woke up the next day, I found that the whole family was unconscious...the symptoms are consistent."

Ding Jian agreed: "The hospital conducted a comprehensive examination on Cao Zhong, his wife, and his eldest daughter. All three of them showed signs of organ edema. It was not until this morning that they were diagnosed with phosphorus poisoning."

Hu Pingtao said subconsciously: "If it is phosphide, this would be very strange."

Phosphide usually refers to binary compounds composed of metals or non-metals, such as calcium phosphide, zinc phosphide, aluminum phosphide, sodium phosphide and phosphine.

All phosphides are highly toxic substances.

Ding Jian understood what he meant: "Phosphate is very pungent and is usually used as a pesticide or for cleaning. If it is accidentally mixed with food, as long as you smell the smell, I guess everyone except idiots and

You fool, no one will touch it."

As he spoke, he raised his hand and lightly nodded his head: "The Cao family should be fine here, right?"

Hu Pingtao's eyes narrowed slightly: "The direction of the investigation needs to be changed. It seems that someone deliberately poisoned."

Ding Jian shrugged his shoulders: "This is your business. I guess Cao Zhong usually offends a lot of people. If you want to kill his whole family, it will take a lot of phosphide."

Hu Pingtao was puzzled: "Phosphide is a controlled product. Except for chemical industry units, it is impossible for ordinary people to obtain such a large dose!"

Ding Jian continued: "I looked around the crime scene and found no suspected crime tools. This is unreasonable! Phosphide evaporates very quickly. Once it is put in for too long, it will be useless."

Hu Pingtao nodded and said: "There is also a problem with time. Think about it, Liu Xiao'e took the three children to cook the dumplings and eat them first. When Cao Zhong came back, the three children were full. His son yelled not to

Feel comfortable and go to bed first. Liu Xiao'e asked her two daughters to wash their faces and feet, while Cao Zhong was sitting at the table eating dumplings alone... There was an obvious time difference."

Ding Jian asked doubtfully: "Do you suspect Cao Zhong is a criminal suspect?"

Hu Pingtao said seriously: "Cao Zhong is indeed suspected, but I am not sure that he did it at the moment."

Ding Jian asked: "What should we do next?"

Hu Pingtao thought for a moment and asked, "Do you have anything else on your hands now?"

"Not yet." Ding Jian replied.

"In that case, you come with me to the hospital." Hu Pingtao explained: "While Cao Zhong and Liu Xiao'e are not in the same ward, and they are separated, I have to ask them about some things."

…

Hospital, intensive care unit.

Liu Xiao'e was lying on the hospital bed. Although she was awake, her face was pale and she looked extremely weak.

Hu Pingtao looked at the glucose injection solution hanging in front of the bed. He estimated that the nurse had just hung it up before he came in. The liquid level had only gone down a very shallow layer.

He pulled a chair from the side, sat down in front of the bed, and observed Liu Xiao'e carefully.

Her facial features are indeed very bad, and there is a sense of dissonance that cannot be explained in words.

Liu Xiao'e stretched out her right hand from the quilt and covered her face.

Seeing this, Hu Pingtao asked in confusion: "What's wrong with you?"

Liu Xiao'e turned her face in the opposite direction to Hu Pingtao's gaze, and her voice was very low: "I... don't look good."

Hearing this, Hu Pingtao smiled gently and comforted: "You are overthinking. I am a police officer. I came here today to find out the situation from you."

These words obviously touched Liu Xiao'e. She slowly slid down the hand covering her face, turned half sideways, and asked doubtfully: "Didn't you...have already checked?"

Hu Pingtao explained: "We are looking for clues. If you can provide help, we can solve the case as soon as possible."

Liu Xiao'e said: "What's there to investigate? It's obvious that it was Cao Zhong who poisoned us. He always hoped that our three mothers would die soon so that he could take his son and find another good one."

When she said this, there was no emotion on her face and her tone was very calm, as if the matter had nothing to do with her.

Hu Pingtao turned his head and glanced at Ding Jian, who was sitting next to him, who was opening a folder and taking notes. Hu Pingtao turned his attention back to Liu Xiao'e and asked: "Why do you think it was your husband who poisoned you? Still

Yes, in what way did he poison him?"

It was a little difficult for Liu Xiao'e to speak while lying down. She supported the bed with both hands and tried to sit up. Seeing this, Hu Pingtao stood up quickly, supported her arm, put the needle vertically on her waist, and then walked to the end of the bed.

, shake the support pole and push up the front half of the bed.

"Thank you!" Liu Xiao'e felt much better after sitting up, and her chest was not as tight as before. She half-covered her mouth and nose with her left hand and said seriously: "Cao Zhong and I would have been unable to live together for a long time. If it were not for the sake of our children,

……I……"

She shook her head feebly and didn't say the next words, but the meaning she wanted to express was clear enough.
To be continued...