Highway Burial Case (Part 2)
Although the deceased's appearance has been restored, his identity information is still unknown, and who buried him alive?
Shen Xingyan studied and tested the deceased's clothes and found that they were all common fibers, and a hair was found on the inside of the suit. Since there is no living tissue in the hair, DNA cannot be extracted and can only be preserved temporarily.
DNA technology was just beginning at that time, and it was almost impossible to extract DNA from bones, which made the search for the source of the corpse extremely difficult.
Construction of the highway in the shantytown has resumed, and people will talk about the bodies buried on the highway after dinner. Some people said that when the highway was being constructed, there were continuous heavy rains, which washed away the newly laid foundation. Perhaps it was the wronged ghosts on the highway who were causing trouble.
Some people also said that it was because the road construction destroyed the feng shui, which made the gods and ghosts angry, so heavy rains fell continuously, and the people buried in the road were sacrifices.
There were many different opinions at the time, and even a serialized novel on this subject appeared in newspapers.
The novel says that the deceased did something evil and was buried alive on the road as retribution. In the novel, the murderer is regarded as a hero who eliminates harm for the people, and is even given a name called Highway Hero.
Gu Fang threw the newspaper on the table, "Nonsense! It's completely misleading the masses. Such novels should be banned! He is clearly a murderer, but he is said to be a hero. This Mo Xuyan is clearly confusing right and wrong!"
Shen Xingyan waited for him to finish his temper, then collected the newspaper and folded it up. "The sales of the newspaper today are very good. The people are calling for the hero, but they are disappointed with the police. They say we can't solve the case and can't catch the murderer. We have to rely on the people to help."
Gu Fang was so angry that he laughed, "So they solved the case and we are just doing nothing! A pen can incite the masses. I think Guangyuan Daily has lost its bottom line for sales. I have to talk to their editor-in-chief. They can't ignore right and wrong for the sake of making money."
Just as Gu Fang mentioned the meeting, Zhang Changming called. He already knew about the serialized novel and had already met with the editor-in-chief. Such statements that clearly distort the truth should not appear in newspapers, even in novels.
Guangyuan Daily also stated that it will strictly review the content of novels in the future.
Zhang Changming urged Gu Fang to solve the case as soon as possible and silence the gossips.
Gu Fang promised to do it, but he did not mention a word about the difficulties he was facing.
After hanging up the phone, Gu Fang sighed. There was no clue at all, so how could he talk about solving the case?
In recent days, major television stations and newspapers have been broadcasting portraits of the victims in a loop, hoping to find information related to the victims.
In order to solve the problem of extracting DNA from bones, Shen Xingyan has been staying in the forensic laboratory. She recalled the academic books she had read that year and decided to use the CTAB method to extract DNA. CTAB is a detergent that can dissolve cell membranes and precipitate nucleic acids. Finally, CTAB is removed using ethanol to obtain DNA.
Although this method is cumbersome, time-consuming, and requires a lot of bones to extract DNA, the reagents are easy to find and implement.
When Bao Wu heard that she was going to isolate the DNA from the bones, the look in his eyes changed. If they could really extract it, it would be a breakthrough in DNA technology.
He was a little excited and encouraged Shen Xingyan to overcome the difficulties. As for the rest, he and An Xin would be enough.
An Xin agreed with both hands. If it could really succeed, he would be the one to witness the miracle with his own eyes.
Shen Xingyan didn't know whether to laugh or cry. She was put on such a high pedestal. What if she couldn't develop the product?
In order not to disappoint everyone's expectations, Shen Xingyan locked himself in the laboratory. In order to develop new technologies as quickly as possible, Bao Wu set up a small laboratory for her. Also for safety reasons, some reagents are corrosive.
Just when Shen Xingyan was immersed in research and development, a man came to the Municipal Bureau.
The man was wearing a brown coat with frayed cuffs and bleached trousers. He has a buzz cut, narrow eyes, a dark face, and thick finger joints. It's obvious that he does manual labor.
The man said, "I saw the portrait on TV and suspected that he was a distant cousin of mine. My father asked me to come and take a look. If it is true, I will inform my uncle and his family."
Since the body had turned to bones, it could only be identified by the clothes.
The man was a little embarrassed. "I haven't met him much. I can't tell just by looking at his clothes."
Gu Fang asked: "What's your cousin's name? What does he do?"
"His name is Bai Wei. He doesn't have a proper job and does some sneaky things." The man said with disgust, "Anyway, my family doesn't think highly of him. I remember one year he came to visit us and stole the money my dad put in the kitchen. If my dad hadn't insisted that I come, I wouldn't have come to identify the body."
Gu Fang's heart moved, "Has he ever been to jail?"
"He's been caught more than once, stealing and robbing. He's a repeat offender."
It would be easy if he had a criminal record. Gu Fang immediately asked Qi Jiabao to look for it, and indeed, he found his information. Bai Wei, born in 1954, is from Xian County, Nanfu City, Guangyuan Province. He was imprisoned for robbery in 1973 and 1975, and later for theft in 1986.
The prison photo and portrait were very similar. In order to further confirm, Gu Fang went to find Zhong Jiaoren again.
After comparison, Zhong Jiaoren confirmed that they were the same person.
Gu Fang and Jiang Shengyu rushed to Xian County together. Xian County was a small and poor county town, and most of the buildings on the streets were dilapidated. There are many roadside stalls. The stall owners have dark faces and look timidly at people.
They went to the police station first, where police officer Hao Daqiang introduced that Bai Wei was a registered criminal who followed a group of thugs to do illegal things and reported to the police station every few days.
I haven't seen him in a few years and thought he had turned over a new leaf, but who would have thought he was dead.
Gu Fang asked how long it had been, and Hao Daqiang recalled that it had been at least three years, which coincided exactly with the time of death.
"Who else was with Bai Wei back then? Where are they now?"
"There were a few people who often hung out together, and one of them opened a mahjong parlor."
Although the county town is poor, there are many people playing mahjong and the place is full. There are young people, old people, men and women. The room was filled with smoke, as if firecrackers had been set off.
As soon as Hao Daqiang entered, the mahjong hall became quiet and everyone looked at him in surprise. A man came out in a hurry, smiling, "Officer Hao, what brings you here?"
"This is a colleague from the Municipal Bureau. He came to ask you something."
The man's face froze, and he bent over and made a gesture of invitation, "Come in, come in." He welcomed the three people into the house and winked at a waiter outside the house. The waiter hurriedly comforted them, "Everyone continue to play, it's okay, it's okay."
The inner room was a small reception room. There were a few bottles of beer and unfinished dishes on the table. Chopsticks were thrown on the table, and there were empty beer bottles on the floor, one of which was overturned. The room smelled of a mixture of cigarettes and alcohol.
The man quickly put away his beer and said, "Sorry, it's so messy. Please take a seat. I wonder what the officer wants to see me about?"
Gu Fang and the other two stood there without moving. There was really no place to sit. Gu Fang asked, "Do you know Bai Wei?"
"Xiao Bai, I know you, what's wrong?"
"When was the last time you saw him?"
"It's been a while. It must have been... two or three years."
"Two or three years?"
"About three years, I don't remember the exact date."
"Where are the others?"
“I don’t know.”
"have no idea?"
The man said, "Xiao Bai is such a jerk. He only thinks about himself when good things happen, and only thinks about us when things go wrong. He can't help but ruin even a life-long friendship by doing this. Anyway, now that he's gone, everyone will mention him."
"What happened the day he disappeared? No matter how small it is."
The man tilted his head and thought, "Nothing happened... Oh, by the way, he seemed very scared and was always suspicious. He was famous for being brave, and he didn't dare to walk at night during that period. What happened to him? Could something have happened to him?"
Gu Fang didn't answer, and asked again: "You didn't feel strange when he disappeared?"
"What's so strange about that? It's normal to disappear for a few days."
Gu Fang showed a confused expression, and Hao Daqiang shouted, "Explain it clearly!"
The man coughed lightly and explained, "In our line of work, it's easy to offend people, so it's normal to go out and avoid the limelight. But now I have turned over a new leaf. I just opened a mahjong parlor, and I haven't done anything else."
Gu Fang: "Who did Bai Wei offend?"
The man shook his head. "I don't know. That guy doesn't do his job properly. Even people like us look down on him. Maybe he has offended some big boss in the underworld."
"Has he been to Nanfu City?"
"Yes, he stole a large sum of money that year and boasted about it for a long time."
"What year?"
"It must have been about 20 years. We were all poor back then and couldn't afford to eat. He ate a lot of meat and fish every day, and he would take out more than 10 or 20 yuan from his pocket. We were so envious. When we asked him where he stole it, he refused to tell us. It was only when he got drunk that he let it slip and said he stole it from a rich family in Nanfu City. He refused to tell us again when we asked him. This grandson is not a good person and he keeps his mouth shut."
Seeing that they could not get any more information out of him, Gu Fang and the others were about to leave. The man asked, "What happened to Bai Wei?"
Hao Daqiang said: "He is dead."
"Dead? How is that possible? He said he was a cat and had nine lives. He couldn't die."
Hao Daqiang sneered, "He does evil things all day long, even God can't save him."
"Can I ask how he died?"
Hao Daqiang looked at Gu Fang, not knowing whether he should tell him. Gu Fang nodded, and Hao Daqiang said, "Buried alive in cement."
The man let out a cry, his face turned pale instantly, and his body was shaky. It seemed that his relationship with Bai Wei was not as heartless as he said.
After leaving the mahjong hall, Hao Daqiang took Gu Fang and others to Bai Wei's home.
Bai Wei's family just built a new house and repaired the courtyard wall, but the gate is still made of wood.
Hao Daqiang led them in. Bai Wei's father, Bai Guo, was weaving baskets. Seeing them, his face turned cold. "I told you that bastard has nothing to do with me. I have severed the father-son relationship with him. Don't come to my house again!"
Hao Daqiang said: "Uncle Bai, we are not here to look for Bai Wei, we are here to look for you."
"What is there for an old man like me to look for?" Although Baiguo's fingers are thick, they are very flexible and he can weave layer after layer without even looking.
"This is a comrade from the Municipal Bureau. I want to ask you a few questions."
"If it's about that bastard, don't ask. I don't know."
Hao Daqiang glanced at Gu Fang apologetically, and Gu Fang asked, "How long has Bai Wei not been back?"
"It would be better if he died outside, and it would be better if he never came back!" Bai Guo's tone was mixed with anger.
"He will literally never come back because he is already dead."
Bai Guo's hand paused, and the basket slipped from his hand. He looked at Gu Fang in shock, a tear as big as a bean slid down his eyes. He moved his lips, his hands trembled, and suddenly he laughed out loud, "Dead, dead, haha, dead... haha..."
The tears flowed more and more, snot started to flow, and the laughter became sadder and sadder until I burst into tears.
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