Chapter 90 90 It seems that he is the one

The forensic doctor from the Daqu County Police Department arrived over half an hour later, looking even more exhausted. He removed his gloves and brushed off the dust on his body. He spoke succinctly, "After a preliminary autopsy, the deceased died of asphyxiation. Rigor mortis (rigor mortis) is complete. The time of death was approximately 25 to 27 hours ago. We'll have to wait for further autopsy results. Based on the accumulation of livor mortis on the body, this is most likely not the primary crime scene. The deceased was dumped here."

After the forensic doctor finished speaking, she casually stuffed her gloves into her pocket and left with the toolbox. Behind her, two criminal police officers from Daqu County followed carefully carrying the body bag.

Xu Nian glanced in the direction the medical examiner had left and asked, "Does your police station have a forensic autopsy room? Are the bodies from both cases being examined together tonight?"

At the mention of the two cases, Captain Tan's frown deepened, almost forming a "川" shape. "Our police station has limited resources, so the forensic doctors all perform autopsies at the county funeral home. Besides Forensic Doctor Xu, there's also a senior forensic doctor, Forensic Doctor Liu. When we arrived from the other crime scene, they had already taken the body to the funeral home for an overnight autopsy."

Hearing the word "funeral home", Guan Xia and Pang Le were both startled, feeling as if a bit of fantasy had suddenly been added to the atmosphere.

Captain Tan asked, "Do you want to go to the funeral home to see the autopsy?"

Xu Nian refused without a second thought. "No, let's just wait for the results. By the way, Captain Tan, I sent you a photo a while ago. Have you seen it? It's a photo our branch's external experts spotted while observing the scene. A bystander was acting suspiciously. You could check it out; you might find something useful."

Captain Tan subconsciously glanced at Guan Xia and Pang Le, glancing at them with a hint of surprise before nodding and saying, "I see. I've already made arrangements. Since they're in Daqu County, I think we'll have a result by the time we get back to the police station."

Because it was not the first crime scene, there were not many clues to find except the body, so everyone returned to the Daqu County Police Station soon.

When getting on the car, Guan Xia took a look at the time. It was already 1:23 in the morning.

As Xu Nian started the car, Guan Xia looked at the scenery passing by quickly outside the window, but her mind was actually working hard. She was thinking about a question: why would the suspect dump the body into the sewer so close to her home?

She clearly remembered what Forensic Doctor Xu said, that the deceased died 25-27 hours ago, which means it was between 10 p.m. on June 26 and 0:00 a.m. on June 27.

There are not many people in Daqu County, and there may still be pedestrians on the road around 10 o'clock in the evening, but after midnight, it is almost quiet, and there are few vehicles. After killing the deceased, the suspect had plenty of time to wait until late at night and then calmly throw the body away.

Even without transportation, the deceased was only a child, a five-year-old weighing about 20 kilograms, which could fit in a large luggage bag. The suspect could have easily hidden the body at home, borrowed or bought an electric scooter the next day, and easily transported the body away late at night. Why did he take such a huge risk by dumping it in the sewer right next to his home? He was so foolish as not to even put the manhole cover in place, allowing it to be easily discovered.

Guan Xia was so distracted that her head was about to smoke. Suddenly, Xu Nian asked, "Guan Xia, are you thinking about the case just now?"

It was not until Xu Nian asked the second time that Guan Xia suddenly came to her senses. She found that Pang Le and Wang Yu, who were chatting leisurely, had also become quiet and turned to look at Guan Xia.

Guan Xia hesitated for a moment before expressing her doubts.

In fact, Guan Xia and Pang Le had discussed this issue before. Pang Le even analyzed it for a long time while Guan Xia was drawing the sketch, but he couldn't figure it out, so he gave up. Now when Guan Xia asked about it, he was too lazy to think about it, and just looked at Xu Nian with a look of great curiosity.

Xu Nian drove his car without looking away, following behind Captain Tan's car. After a brief thought, he said, "I suspect the suspect may not live alone. The sewer is not where the suspect dumped the body, but a temporary storage place."

This guess coincides with Guan Xia's previous thoughts.

"Why?" Pang Le asked curiously, "How did you infer that the suspect might not live alone?"

"Every detail we've discovered so far shows he acted too hastily," Xu Nian explained. "The deceased was just a child, much easier to handle than an adult body. If he'd lived alone, with the air conditioner on, it would have been difficult to find him in a confined space for a day or two. His haste to remove the body only suggests he didn't have a safe place to store it."

Pang Le said "oh" and nodded thoughtfully.

Xu Nian's speculation was soon confirmed. The group had just returned to the Daqu County Police Station, and before they even stepped into the office, they encountered a uniformed police officer rushing in in the corridor. He was holding a stack of documents and looked at Captain Tan and reported, "Captain Tan, I found the identity information you asked me to check. The person in the photo is named Wu Zhiming, a 29-year-old male, unemployed, and lives with his sister and nephew. I contacted the community director at his address. He's a bit of a loner, not talkative, and rarely goes out. He usually stays at home and earns his living by playing for others. I haven't heard of any disputes with anyone. After graduating from college, he only worked for less than half a year before moving in with his sister. He's been single ever since. His sister did introduce him to two people, and he met them, but nothing happened."

Captain Tan took the information from the police officer and flipped through it. Without even looking up, he asked, "Where's his sister? What's going on?"

The police officer said: "His sister's name is Wu Yue. She divorced her ex-husband because of his infidelity. After the divorce, she used the property she got to open a cosmetics chain store. She usually stays in the store, basically leaving early and returning late. However, since 21 years ago, she has had a regular lover. They are both in Daqu County. They are not married or living together, but occasionally every one or two months, Wu Yue will take the children to stay for a few days and then come back. According to the community director, her relationship with her brother is okay and there are no conflicts, but they don't talk much. Her brother has been living in her house, from before the divorce to after the divorce. Although he didn't pay rent, he would send big red envelopes during the holidays and order food online. It can't be said that he is a dependent."

Team Leader Tan finished reading the information in his hand and asked as he walked to the office, "Does the community director know about Wu Yue's schedule for the past two days?"

The police officer replied, "The community director said Wu Yue usually stays there every one or two months when the month is less busy. These two days happen to be the end of the month, so it's very likely he'll be there for two days before coming back. I asked the community director for the phone number of the security guard at the gate and am trying to contact him."

Captain Tan waved his hand to indicate he understood. After the police left, he had just sat down on the chair and hadn't had time to catch his breath when another police officer trotted in. "Captain Tan, we've got the surveillance footage from every entrance and exit of Meilin Community, as well as the main roads and the unit doors."

Looking at the small box of USB flash drives, Guan Xia knew that they had new work to do. She was not worried about not finding clues about the criminal suspect named Wu Zhiming. She was now curious about another case.

Murder due to robbery is usually a crime of passion. The murderer is likely to flee immediately after committing the crime and may not be a local. Compared with this case, it is much more difficult.

While paying attention to Captain Tan's actions, Guan Xia skillfully sat down in her previous position. After Xu Nian distributed the USB flash drives, she skillfully connected the computer and started looking.

Perhaps because he was eager to solve the case, Guan Xia didn't feel sleepy at all. It was not until a clerk from the Daqu County Police Station came over to distribute coffee and snacks to everyone that he realized that he had stayed up all night again.

Guan Xia hesitated for a few seconds holding the cup, but in the end she didn't drink it. She was afraid that she would find some clues and wouldn't be able to sleep when she returned to the hotel.

Sure enough, her worries were right. Less than an hour later, when Guan Xia watched the surveillance video at the door of a unit at 0:49 am on June 27, she saw a tall and thin man wearing a hat and a mask carrying a large luggage bag flash by.

Although his face was not shown, Guan Xia easily recognized him because of his obvious height and build, as well as the suggestive luggage bag he was carrying.

"Xu Nian," Guan Xia shouted, "I found something here."

Several people gathered around upon hearing the noise, looking at the paused image on Guan Xia's computer screen.

"The surveillance footage from Unit 3, Building 17," Xu Nian glanced at the upper left corner and said, "Look at the direction he's walking, from east to west. That's not the direction to go to that side door."

Jiang Yingyao said, "I asked the property management about the general situation of the Meilin Community. They have three main gates and two side gates. Building 17 is located in the southwest of the entire community. If he is walking in this direction, if he wants to leave the community, he will go through the west gate. If he wants to get an electric bike, he will go towards the south gate. The electric bike shed is about 100 meters away from the south gate."

Guan Xia looked at Jiang Yingyao in surprise. In the short hour or so they were at the scene, Jiang Yingyao had really done a lot of work. He had gained a general understanding of the situation in the Meilin community so quickly.

Pang Le was also a little surprised, but Xu Nian and Wang Yu were obviously used to it and their expressions didn't change much.

Xu Nian thought for a few seconds and suddenly said, "Based on the financial dealings between the suspect and his sister, I assume he doesn't have a car, but most likely an electric scooter. And look at the bag he's carrying. It's clearly larger than normal, and it's obviously very heavy. He probably used it to dispose of the body. A five-year-old weighing 20 kilograms isn't heavy for an adult, but it's unlikely they'd carry it for a long time. I assume he went to the carport to get the electric scooter."

"Then quickly look for the surveillance footage of the electric bike shed." Several people searched quickly and swiftly. After more than ten minutes, Pang Le said, "I found it. It's on this USB drive. It's the surveillance footage of the shed."

After telling everyone, Pang Le connected the USB drive to the computer and everyone gathered around again.

Pang Le fast forward and fast forward, and finally found the suspect after more than ten minutes. He was still fully armed and carrying the large luggage bag. He walked straight to the carport and sat on an electric car. He casually put the luggage bag on the pedal and was about to start it when he suddenly saw the suspect stop and then took out a mobile phone from his trouser pocket.

The call was connected for just a few seconds, and no one knew what was said on the other end of the line. The suspect suddenly became a little flustered, and without even hanging up the phone, he almost jumped off the electric scooter. He ran a few steps before remembering that he had dropped something. He came back to pick up the luggage bag, and quickly ran out of the carport and back the same way. He ran so fast that he almost left an afterimage.

After watching the video, everyone breathed a sigh of relief. Jiang Yingyao said cheerfully, "It seems he's the one who's behind the scenes. I bet the call was from his sister, Wu Yue. Things took a turn he hadn't anticipated, and he had no time to dispose of the body, nor could he hide it at home. He had no choice but to throw it into the sewer at the entrance of the community. He was in such a hurry that he didn't even have time to check if the manhole cover was properly closed, which is why it was discovered."

Guan Xia nodded as she listened. She thought so too. But then Guan Xia thought of something and frowned as she asked, "Was the deceased a boy? If I remember correctly, a police officer in Daqu County said that the suspect lived with his sister's nephew. How old is his nephew?"

The expressions of several people froze, and then Xu Nian shook his head and said, "It's unlikely that he is his nephew. His sister always brings her children with her when she stays with her lover. And if the deceased is really the suspect's nephew, then the suspect's sister should have been at the scene just now."

Guan Xia thought it made sense, but then her thoughts wandered. If the deceased wasn't related to the suspect, who was it? Did they know each other? Otherwise, why would a child be killed while alone with an adult? Or was the suspect abducted?