The Tragedy of Art vs. Child Trafficking (Part 2)
Inside the city bureau's forensic room, Shen Xingyan and An Xin carefully examined the body. Apart from the small black spots found in advance, there were no other mechanical injuries on the surface of the body.
The small black spot was confirmed to be an electric current spot. The murderer must have electrocuted the victim and then kidnapped her.
There were hemorrhage spots on the conjunctiva of both eyes of the deceased, which was consistent with the characteristics of general asphyxiation. The face still showed a smile. Shen Xingyan believed that the deceased might have been in this state after being poisoned.
An Xin thought about the case she used to investigate, "Why didn't he freeze to death?"
"It's impossible for the murderer to find a cold storage to freeze her just to make her smile after electrocuting her. This would make the cost of killing her much higher."
Bao Wu agreed with Shen Xingyan's statement. Except for some murderers who enjoyed torturing the dead and would prolong the killing time, most murderers hoped to end the crime quickly. In this case, the murderer was obviously not interested in this. What he wanted was the scene after death, or the sense of ritual.
After testing the deceased's heart and blood, it was found that the carboxyhemoglobin content in the blood was very high and the body was severely lacking in oxygen. The chest muscles and internal organs of the deceased were bright red on the surface and cross-section, and the organs turned cherry red after being fixed in formalin. It is also accompanied by internal organ bleeding, cardiac hypertrophy, pulmonary edema and other phenomena, all of which are consistent with the characteristics of carbon monoxide poisoning.
Xiao Dongliang flipped through the autopsy report. When he saw the small black spot and confirmed it was an electric current spot, a trace of astonishment flashed across his eyes. When he saw the conclusion, he asked, "Are you sure it was carbon monoxide poisoning?"
Shen Xingyan said, "The autopsy report has been confirmed repeatedly by Teacher Bao. If Captain Xiao has any doubts, he can present the evidence."
Xiao Dongliang smiled and said, "I just think that carbon monoxide poisoning might be too slow."
"If it's a high concentration, it will shorten the poisoning time."
"High concentration..."
"Leaving the deceased and a bottle containing high concentrations of carbon monoxide in a confined space will lead to death very quickly."
Xiao Dongliang nodded, “This is indeed a method. Forensic Doctor Shen has a clear idea of the method of committing the crime.”
"I am just putting forward my own opinion. How to solve the case still depends on Captain Xiao. Has Captain Xiao found the source of the corpse?"
"The deceased was named Jiang Xia, a freshman majoring in modeling. Due to her poor family background, she often worked part-time outside. After the summer vacation, she did not return to her hometown, but rented a house with several classmates and worked part-time. Her classmates said that she did not come back after leaving on the morning of July 16."
"Where does she work part-time?"
"Her classmates only knew that it was a painting institution and Jiang Xia worked as a nude model there. We investigated Jiang Xia's residence and found a piece of note paper in her drawer with the words Zhilan Art Studio written on it. Deng Yu took people to investigate. As for the art gallery where the body was found, the owner said that he had originally planned to renovate it a little and hold an art exhibition.
He went to the art museum to supervise the work on the 15th. The workers finished their work at around 6 o'clock in the evening. He checked the wiring, closed the door and went home. Because of some urgent matters, the workers were asked to come first, and this happened. ”
Shen Xingyan glanced sideways. Telling her so much about the case?
Xiao Dongliang continued, "The owner of the art gallery said that he went home and went to bed early because he was too tired. He was woken up by a phone call at around 8 o'clock in the morning. There was a problem with the posters for the exhibition and he needed to go to the site to confirm. He called the workers and told them to come first. The owner lives alone, so no one can verify the truth of his words.
Back to the scene, there were no signs of prying on the doors and windows, and the entire art gallery was not turned upside down. The sofas and other items arranged at the scene should belong to the art museum, otherwise it would easily arouse suspicion if he moved items from somewhere else. I presume the murderer was familiar with the art gallery.
In order to make it easier for the workers, the owner of the art museum placed the key on the top of the door frame. People who were familiar with the art museum could find the key. Guan Shu took people to check the construction workers. ”
Xiao Dongliang stared at Shen Xingyan without blinking after he finished speaking. Shen Xingyan pondered for a while and said, "Who is the museum going to hold an exhibition for?"
Xiao Dongliang paused and said, "I'll ask Guan Shu to check it out."
“Why does the owner of the art gallery want to renovate?”
"He said that every time a new art exhibition opens, he would slightly renovate some places to give visitors a sense of freshness."
"I see. Captain Xiao, you are busy. I will leave first."
"If Forensic Doctor Shen thinks of any clues, please let me know in time."
“It should be.”
Xiao Dongliang looked at her back until she disappeared.
…
After returning to the forensic room, Shen Xingyan sat for a while, then got up and went to the second team.
There was a pile of case files on Gu Fang's table, and a map of the city was pasted on the wall, with many photos of children pinned to the map with pins.
He saw her and smiled, "Come to comfort me?"
"I just came to take a look." Shen Xingyan sat on the chair opposite him, "Are there any clues?"
"We re-interrogated the criminals who abducted the children. They all admitted to abducting the children, but they refused to say who ordered them to do so."
"Maybe they have something on the prime suspect."
Gu Fang nodded, "That's a possibility. Another possibility is that the main suspect promised them huge profits, which allowed them to take the risk."
"What about their social relationships?"
"After investigating each inmate, we have learned that most of the inmates come from poor families, have no education, and some cannot even write their own names. In their eyes, human life is far less important than money. They think it doesn't matter who raises the children, as they will grow up anyway, and they can make a profit from it, so why not?"
Shen Xingyan was shocked by their thoughts. Children also have feelings. It is better for them to follow their biological parents than adoptive parents. Besides, they are not commodities. Why should they be bought and sold?
"One of the prisoners let the cat out of the bag when he was confessing the crime. I suspect they not only abducted children, but also women."
"If this is true, the network of this criminal group will be very large."
"Well, a team gave the information about the children obtained from the interrogation of the prisoners to the police stations in various places. According to their feedback, the situation is not optimistic. Only a few children have been rescued. Some children have been hidden by their adoptive parents, and some entire villages have collectively resisted, making the police very passive.
Saving a child is difficult enough, and it would be even more difficult if it was a woman. ”
Shen Xingyan had seen similar news in later generations. Some villages were too poor to find wives, so they had to buy them. But after buying them, they were afraid that the wives would run away, so they tied them up like animals. Some women will accept their fate after giving birth, but some are fierce-willed and not only kill their children but also lose their own lives.
Such villages are closed and backward, with a low collective cultural level. Even if the police go there, they will be skinned alive.
Shen Xingyan: "What are you going to do?"
Gu Fang pointed at the map and said, "You see, the places where children are missing are concentrated in downtown areas or urban-rural fringe areas. Downtown areas are crowded, so it's not easy for children to be discovered. Urban-rural fringe areas have a mixed population and almost no cameras installed, so it's easiest for children to get lost. I plan to stake out in the urban-rural fringe areas, and on the other hand, use the social connections of the prisoners we have as a breakthrough point. As long as one person speaks up, it will be easy to deal with."
Shen Xingyan couldn't think of a better way, so this was the only way for now.
Gu Fang asked again: "How is Xiao Dongliang's case going?"
Shen Xingyan explained the situation, and Gu Fang said, "It seems that the murderer has an almost perverted obsession with death."
"It's also possible that he/she thinks it's art. To be honest, when I first saw the scene, I thought it was a painting."
"Since the deceased died in an art museum, your idea may be correct. By the way, who is the museum going to hold the exhibition for?"
Shen Xingyan shrugged, "Xiao Dongliang went to check." She always felt that Xiao Dongliang was targeting her and Gu Fang, "I heard that you two are schoolmates."
"He is one year older than me. When I first entered the police academy, I heard that Xiao Dongliang was called a rare genius who was born to be a criminal policeman."
Shen Xingyan smiled, "Let me guess, after you left, is it true that he is no longer a rare genius in a century?"
Gu Fang also laughed, "He is indeed capable, but unfortunately he is too arrogant. ... No, what do you mean by that look? I am very humble and never arrogant."
Shen Xingyan was happy. Yes, you are not arrogant, you are narcissistic.
…
Xiao Dongliang re-inspected the scene. Since construction workers had entered the site and damaged part of it, it was fortunately not a big deal.
The carpet on the floor was imported from India and was very expensive. The sofa is also very expensive, the small table next to it is made of nanmu wood, and even the vase for flowers is branded.
He called the owner of the art gallery, who had not been there since someone died.
The boss, wearing a short-sleeved Tang suit and a sandalwood bracelet on his wrist, came late and was stunned for a moment when he saw these "props". "These are all from the art museum, and they are placed in various places."
Xiao Dongliang glanced at him and said with a half-smile, "Your art museum is quite rich."
"It's just a show of strength. Art galleries make a living by auctioning paintings. If they don't improve their taste, they won't be able to attract wealthy customers and won't be able to sell for a good price."
“When was the last art exhibition?”
"It was held on the 8th of last month. It was held by a new artist. Everyone calls him A Song. He is good at oil painting. The characters he draws look like photographs. I once used a magnifying glass to look at them and could even see the pores on his face."
Xiao Dongliang became interested, "Are there any more of his paintings?"
"No, but there are posters from when he was promoting it."
"Go get it."
The poster is two meters high and one meter wide. The portrait is life-size. Next to it is a self-portrait that is so lifelike that it looks like a photograph.
The boss said, "Eleven paintings were auctioned that day, with a total value of more than three million. One of the portraits was sold for nearly eight hundred thousand."
Xiao Dongliang clicked his tongue, this money was too easy to make. He thought, "Are there any photos of the painting that cost 800,000 yuan?"
"Yes, please wait a moment."
The boss ran out to get the photos. Xiao Dongliang stared at the scene without the body and acted out the murderer's crime process in his mind. He/she first kills the victim somewhere else, then ships the body here and arranges it into a painting that he/she thinks is satisfactory.
The victim was 1.77 meters tall and weighed 50 kilograms. An ordinary person could not move her unless the murderer was tall and strong, or had the tools to commit the crime. Considering the fabric sofa at the scene, Xiao Dongliang tends to believe that the murderer had a movable tool, such as a cart.
So the question is, in the middle of the night, if the murderer pushed a cart to move the deceased here, wouldn’t it alarm the people around?
Although the murderer came in the early morning when there were the least people around, there is no guarantee that he would not encounter people. Assuming that he encountered someone while driving the cart and did not arouse suspicion, he must have some kind of identity to cover himself.
The boss came running over and interrupted Xiao Dongliang's thoughts. The boss's face was very ugly, "Look."
Xiao Dongliang took the photo and his face looked even uglier than his. He saw that the painting in the photo was very similar to the death scene. The colors in the painting were brighter, and sunlight was shining on the girl's body. Even with the bright yellow sunflowers at the scene, it still gives people an eerie feeling.
Xiao Dongliang: "Do you have a list of people at the auction?"
"Yes, I'll give it to you."
The people on the list are either rich or noble, so it is quite difficult to visit them. Xiao Dongliang took the list of names to find Zhang Changming, hoping to get his help.
Zhang Changming was also in a dilemma. "Xiao Xiao, you just arrived at the Municipal Bureau, I should help you more, but my ability is really limited. The title of Public Security Bureau Chief is not omnipotent. If you ask me to go find these people, I'm afraid they won't even pay attention to me. You should find a way yourself."
Xiao Dongliang was rejected and was very angry, so he could only face the obstacles on his own.
On the other hand, Gu Fang had obtained Zhang Changming's consent and set up a base in the urban-rural fringe area in the west of the city and brought Jiang Shengyu's eight-year-old son there. Since the Second Detachment was composed entirely of men, a woman was needed to perform the role well. Ran Lili tried her best to recommend herself, but was rejected by Zhang Changming.
The reason was that Ran Lili was too beautiful and had no criminal investigation experience.
Ran Lili felt wronged, "It's not okay to be pretty."
Zhang Changming sighed, "People like you won't believe you even if you stay in the urban-rural fringe."
"But apart from me, there are no other women in the team." Ran Lili paused, "Are you going to let Xiao Shen go?"
Zhang Changming smiled and Ran Lili snorted. If she had known that forensic medicine was so popular, she should have mustered up the courage to study it. It would have been better than staying in logistics all the time without even a chance to make a contribution.
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