Chapter 53: The Murder Behind the Car Accident
It was the second day of the Lunar New Year. Sunlight streamed through the windows of the Criminal Investigation Team's office, and the air was thick with the scent of firecrackers. "Captain Yu, Happy New Year!" Lu Chao entered, clutching a stack of files. "This is the supplementary investigation report on the Guo Zhong case." "Happy New Year." Yu Hao took the files. "Is everyone here?" "Only Director Sun is missing." Zhang Min, who was adjusting the projector, smiled and looked up. "Liu Kai just went to get breakfast. He said he wanted to give everyone a snack." As soon as she finished speaking, Sun Wei pushed open the door and entered, a few grains of snow still clinging to the hem of her white coat. Yu Hao nodded. The office quickly became bustling. Liu Kai rushed in carrying a large bag of steamed buns and fried dough sticks, distributing them one by one: "Eat them while they're hot! Freshly-made sugar buns, your favorite, Minjie, as well as pork buns and beef buns. Brother Chao, Captain Yu, let's have some more." Zhang Min took the sugar buns, smiled and glared at him: "You only know how to shut me up with food. Have you finished organizing the surveillance screenshots I asked you to organize yesterday?" "I finished it a long time ago!" Liu Kai opened the bag like he was presenting a treasure and handed over a flash drive, "Guaranteed high-definition and uncensored. However, you're asking me to work overtime during the New Year, don't you deserve a reward?" "Reward? Go play." Zhang Min took the flash drive and inserted it into the computer. Yu Hao took a bite of the steamed bun and looked at the group of young faces in front of him. He felt a little sorry for these people who didn't have a good rest during the New Year and were on duty on time on the second day of the New Year. But these two cases weighed on everyone's mind, and if they wanted to have a good New Year, they really didn't feel like it. "Okay, let's get down to business." Yu Hao stuffed a bun into his mouth and wiped his hands. "Lu Chao, start by talking about the footprint analysis in the Guo Zhong case." Lu Chao immediately switched to work mode and turned on the projector. "Look everyone, this is a 3D model of the footprints from the crime scene. The stride length is 75 cm, and the footprint depth is 4 cm. According to the formula, the weight is between 78 and 82 kg." He pulled up a surveillance video, which showed Sun Yong pushing a breakfast cart. "This is the video we retrieved of Sun Yong walking normally. The stride length is 75 cm, and the center of gravity is tilted to the right, which matches the impact point of the footprints at the scene." Yu Hao continued to ask, "What about the fingerprints? Have the technical department found any results?" "Yes." Lu Chao pulled up an enlarged fingerprint photo. "When Guo Zhong's house was broken into, a half-blurred fingerprint was left. Although it's incomplete, several key features are highly similar to the fingerprint we collected earlier from Sun Yong." The office fell silent, with only the hum of the projector fan. Liu Kai suddenly whispered, "So...
It was the second day of the Lunar New Year. Sunlight streamed through the windows of the Criminal Investigations Unit office, and the air was thick with the scent of firecrackers.
"Captain Yu, Happy New Year!" Lu Chao walked in, holding a stack of files. "This is the supplementary investigation report on the Guo Zhong case."
"Happy New Year." Yu Hao took the file. "Is everyone here?"
"The only one missing is Director Sun." Zhang Min was adjusting the projector. Hearing this, she looked up and smiled. "Liu Kai just went to buy breakfast. He said he wanted to give everyone a snack."
As soon as she finished speaking, Sun Wei pushed the door open and walked in, with some snow still on the hem of her white coat.
Yu Hao nodded to her.
The office quickly became bustling with activity. Liu Kai rushed in with a large bag of steamed buns and fried dough sticks, distributing them one by one. "Eat them while they're hot! Freshly-made sugar buns, your favorite, Minjie. We also have pork buns and beef buns. Brother Chao, Captain Yu, let's have some together."
Zhang Min took the candy bag and glared at him, "You only know how to shut me up with food. Have you finished organizing the surveillance screenshots I asked you to yesterday?"
"It's ready!" Liu Kai opened the bag like he was presenting a treasure and handed over a flash drive. "It's guaranteed to be high-definition and uncensored. But, since you're asking me to work overtime during Chinese New Year, shouldn't you give me some kind of reward?"
"What a reward, go play." Zhang Min took the game disk and inserted it into the computer.
Yu Hao took a bite of his steamed bun and looked at the young faces before him. He felt a little sorry for them, as they hadn't rested properly during the Lunar New Year and were already reporting to work on time on the second day of the Lunar New Year. However, with these two cases weighing heavily on everyone's minds, they really weren't in the mood to have a good New Year.
"Okay, let's get down to business." Yu Hao stuffed a bun into his mouth and wiped his hands. "Lu Chao, tell me about the footprint analysis in the Guo Zhong case first."
Lu Chao immediately switched to work mode and turned on the projector. "Everyone, look, this is a 3D model of the footprints from the crime scene. The stride length is 75 centimeters, and the footprint depth is 4 centimeters. According to the formula, the weight is between 78 and 82 kilograms."
He then pulled up a surveillance video showing Sun Yong pushing a breakfast cart. "This is the video we retrieved of Sun Yong walking normally. His stride is 75 centimeters, and his center of gravity is tilted to the right, which matches the impact point of the footprints at the scene perfectly."
Yu Hao continued to ask, "What about fingerprints? Have the technical department produced any results?"
"Got it." Lu Chao pulled up an enlarged fingerprint photo. "When Guo Zhong's home was broken into, a half-blurred fingerprint was left behind. Although it's incomplete, several key features are highly similar to the fingerprint we collected from Sun Yong earlier."
The office fell silent, with only the hum of the projector fan. Liu Kai suddenly whispered, "So, Sun Yong killed Guo Zhongzhen?"
"It's very likely." Yu Hao's fingers tapped lightly on the table. "But the key right now is the Wang Shun case. Apart from the possible time, there's no indicative evidence."
Zhang Min frowned: "Could it be that the two cases were not committed by the same person?"
Sun Wei shook her head. "This is inconsistent with the direction of our investigation. From the beginning, we determined that both cases were committed by the same person. The lack of evidence doesn't mean that our work was wrong from the beginning."
Yu Hao nodded and said, "We still don't know the process of killing Wang Shun or the method of framing Liu Feng."
Liu Kai stood up, the chair beneath him creaking, and everyone looked at him. He tentatively asked, "Captain Yu, why don't we just take him under control? Wouldn't we know everything if we just ask him?"
Yu Hao thought for a moment and rejected his statement. He didn't want to use this last method before he had complete evidence.
In the cases he had studied, the probability of wrongful convictions was much higher when the murderer was found through interrogation than when the conclusion was based on evidence. He did not want to have any such wrongful convictions in his career.
"If it was really Sun Yong, how did he do it? And during the process, he was not noticed by Wang Shun and Liu Feng, and he was able to fully grasp the situation of the two of them." Yu Hao pondered this question.
However, he did not dwell on it, because he had already deployed another plan to lure the snake out of its hole, and he believed that it would soon produce unexpected results.
Yu Hao looked at his watch and said, "Let's put this matter aside for now. As the problems slowly ferment, perhaps everything will become clear. It's still early now, let's go to the scene of Xiao Yan's car accident first."
The core members of the case investigation team have a group to share any information on the progress of the case at any time. Everyone has access to the video information about Sun Yong and the situation of Xiao Yan.
*
The morning sun made the asphalt road of Donghai Road shine, and the wind blew snow particles onto the police car, making a crackling sound.
Yu Hao pushed open the car door, and a cold air mixed with car exhaust and snow water hit him in the face, making him subconsciously wrap his police uniform tightly.
"Captain Yu, this way." A traffic police officer was waiting at the intersection, holding a notebook. "This is where Xiao Yan had the accident."
Yu Hao looked in the direction he pointed. The traffic lights at the intersection were changing regularly. When the red light came on, a long line of waiting vehicles formed. "I heard the traffic lights have changed?"
"That's right," the traffic officer sighed. "After the accident, the family members protested several times, and finally the authorities changed the green light time to one minute. Actually, that's the only 'good thing' that came out of this accident."
"Why is it so troublesome to change the traffic light time?" Yu Hao asked in confusion.
"Captain Yu, you don't know, this matter is small, but if it is put into a process and there is no person in charge, then if it is pushed forward, it will become a big matter." The thin traffic policeman next to him explained, with a hint of helplessness in his tone.
He understood this reason very well. This kind of thing happened frequently in the police force. As long as the person responsible could be found and the process was in place, then the matter would be easy to handle because it would be followed by a series of assessments.
However, if there is no specific person responsible for this matter, it will be difficult to push it forward, unless it attracts the attention of the superiors and they make the final decision.
Knowing the reason, Yu Hao just shook his head and looked at the road.
The brake marks left by the accident had long been smoothed out by passing vehicles, leaving only a faint impact mark on the roadside guardrail, like an ugly scar.
"Which direction is the light source in the video?" Yu Hao looked up and asked.
Sun Wei opened the accident video on her phone. "This strong light is coming from the northeast." She raised her hand and pointed at a building across the street. "It should be the New Century Shopping Mall."
Everyone looked in the direction she pointed and saw a five-story shopping mall standing on the corner of the street. "Let's go and take a look." Yu Hao stood up and walked towards the mall first.
The revolving door at the entrance of the mall was slowly turning, and women in mink coats and children carrying toys were coming in and out. The bustle was completely different from the solemnity outside.
Yu Hao and his group walked through the first-floor lobby filled with fragrance and headed straight for the elevator.
Judging from the angle of the video, the location where the light is emitted should be on the second floor.
The mall manager brought them to the second floor. Following the location shown in the video, they found the source of the light, which turned out to be the bathroom on the second floor, but the outside was blocked.
"Is it under repair?" Lu Chao asked.
"Yes, the bathroom on this floor was under repair half a month ago. I wonder what you are investigating?" The person in charge of the mall was a little nervous, fearing that something might happen in the mall and attract the attention of the police.
"Just take a look." Lu Chao answered casually.
"Although it's under maintenance," the mall manager continued to explain, "the spare room next to the women's restroom is available."
Yu Hao paused: "Is there a window in the spare room?"
"Yes, it's a pretty small one." The mall manager looked at them in confusion, wanting to ask something, but seeing Lu Chao's serious expression, he shut up.
The spare room was very small, with mops and buckets piled in the corner and a broken washing machine placed by the window.
Yu Hao walked to the window, pushed open the dusty glass, and a gust of cold wind rushed in.
Looking out from this angle, you can just see the intersection where Xiao Yan had the accident, which is no more than a hundred meters away in a straight line.
"That's quite a thoughtful move." Yu Hao's fingers lightly traced the window sill, feeling a few fresh scratches. "Putting up a light source here is both discreet and precise, and it allows you to blend in with the crowds of people in the mall and escape at any time."
Zhang Min leaned over to the window and took a look. "There are signs of wear on the window sill. It must have been fixed with something, like a high-intensity flashlight or a reflector."
She took out a pair of tweezers from the evidence bag and carefully picked up a bit of black fiber. "Let's go back and test it to see what it's made of."
Yu Hao looked around again but found no other valuable clues.
At this time, several workers who were doing maintenance gathered outside. Yu Hao turned around and asked, "Masters, about ten days ago, have you seen any strangers coming in or out of here?"
Several masters who were watching shook their heads, indicating that they didn't see it.
"Captain Yu, do you want to expand the scope of your search?" Lu Chao took a step forward and asked in a low voice.
"No need." Yu Hao closed the window. "Let's go back first."
As they walked out of the mall, Yu Hao suddenly remembered something: "Where is Xiao Yan now? Can we contact him?"
Sun Wei flipped through her notebook. "I called the hospital yesterday and they said he was discharged before the New Year. Because of a spinal cord injury, he might have to rely on a wheelchair. He's been taken back to his hometown by his family."
"Where is your hometown?"
"A county town under Yanhai City." Sun Wei gave the address. "I checked. It's about 300 kilometers away."
Yu Hao pondered for a moment and said, "Lu Chao, arrange for someone to go and ask him about the situation in person."
"I'll go myself." Lu Chao said immediately, "My hometown is not far away, and I can visit my mother by the way."
"Okay." Yu Hao nodded. "Be careful and report any problems at any time."
Sun Wei received a call at this time. After hanging up, she said to everyone, "The technical department just called. They are currently focusing on investigating Sun Yong's presence in the video, but as of now, they still haven't found him."
"Okay." Yu Hao's gaze turned to the window on the second floor of the mall again. "Tell them not to miss any details."
Sun Wei nodded.
The cold wind blew across the intersection again, stirring up the snow on the ground. Yu Hao looked up at the sky. The leaden clouds were very low, like a heavy curtain.
"Go back to the team." Yu Hao got into the police car.
As the police car started, Yu Hao took a last look at the mall. The reflection on the glass curtain wall was distorted, like a huge whirlpool, as if it was going to swallow up anyone who approached.
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