Chapter 33 – Death
The groom continued his narration: “After that, Mr. Egan stayed at the farm until after his wife’s birthday. He went to the wheat field to check on the growth of the newly planted spring wheat, and then he went to the stable to feed his beloved horse.”
“Feed the horse?” Tu Ran questioned, “According to your previous testimony, you discovered Mr. Egan lying on the haystack while you were feeding the horses.”
“That’s right,” the groom admitted, looking at Tu Ran seriously, not understanding why she was asking this.
“Since Mr. Egan had already fed the horse, why did you need to go again?” Tu Ran stared at the groom.
The groom paused for a moment, “Uh… it’s like this, perhaps I didn’t explain it clearly before, which caused your misunderstanding. Mr. Egan runs a large stable with many horses, but he only has one beloved horse. Mr. Egan only fed his beloved horse, not all the horses.”
Tu Ran: “…”
The fool was actually herself.
“Mr. Tubin, you may continue,” Tu Ran put on a very dignified smile, completely hiding her earlier embarrassment.
“Oh, okay,” Tubin was not annoyed by the interruption and continued, “Towards evening, I went to add hay to the stable and saw Mr. Egan lying face down in the haystack. I called out to him twice, but he didn’t respond. I sensed something was wrong and hurriedly moved his body, finding that his body was very soft, as if, as if it had no bones.”
Upon examination, it was confirmed that Mr. Egan indeed had no bones. All the bones in his body had been extracted, leaving behind a mass of flesh.
His death was indeed tragic.
The group finally arrived at the haystack where Kenny Egan was found. Tu Ran noticed that Tubin’s tears instantly flowed uncontrollably.
The relationship between the master and servant seemed quite good.
Tu Ran and Ding Naiqing simultaneously lifted the police tape and walked into the cordoned-off area.
The scene was very tidy, with the corpse still on the haystack.
To facilitate the investigation, the federal government had issued an early notice requesting that the victims not be buried temporarily. They preferred the bodies remain in place to aid the investigators in seeking justice for the deceased.
The appearance of the corpse matched the information in the report. According to the forensic description, the time of death was six o’clock yesterday afternoon.
The body, a mass of flesh, lay limp like water on the withered haystack. The corpse had been turned over, and Ding Naiqing stepped onto the haystack, approaching to lift the shirt. A fist-sized hole on the pale, livor mortis-covered abdomen was particularly disturbing. Around the hole was a ring of red pinprick marks, similar to the blood marks left by a coarse needle.
Tu Ran tried to recall which type of alien attack would leave such a wound but found nothing.
So far, the federal government knew little about the aliens, who had only partially unveiled their secrets to the authorities.
For now, the body provided no useful information.
The two of them jumped down from the haystack, and Ding Naiqing asked Tubin, “How far is the farm from the county town?”
Tubin withdrew his gaze from the corpse and replied, “More than 30 kilometers.”
Tu Ran looked around the area. “You don’t have surveillance at the farm?”
“The surveillance cameras were all removed a few days ago because we were renovating the stable. Mr. Egan decided to replace all the cameras with the latest version.”
Tu Ran nodded. After she finished her questions, Ding Naiqing continued, “From the time of the victim’s death yesterday until now, how many people have entered or left the farm?”
