Chapter 118 Clues Does Officer Yue have a suspect?
The original missing case turned into a murder case. The police officers at the police station were overwhelmed and immediately notified the Criminal Investigation Brigade of the County Public Security Bureau. While waiting for the criminal police to arrive, they cordoned off the scene and no one was allowed to approach.
Even Qu Peiyun was pulled aside to prevent the body from being damaged.
A young police officer looked at the grief-stricken parents of the child, then looked at the child's grandmother who was hurriedly carried away, and couldn't help but mutter to the middle-aged police officer beside him: "This doesn't look like an accident."
Let’s not talk about how the child got out. This mountain is so remote and few people come here usually. Even if the child wanted to sneak out to play, he should have gone to a crowded place. Why would he come here?
To put it bluntly, this place is sparsely populated, so aren't you afraid of a little child?
The middle-aged policeman patted his hands and shook his head slowly. Although he didn't say anything, it was obvious that he also felt that this case was not that simple.
As time passed, the scenic area manager and police officers persuaded the surrounding tourists to return and asked them not to talk about the case to anyone until it was over, so as not to cause panic. Chen Linyue and Bai Xiuyu also went back. Shen Qingye took advantage of the temporary chaos and quietly moved to a place not far from the corpse. He bent down casually and picked up the pink plastic butterfly that was broken into two pieces in his palm.
That style and look should be an ornament on a girl's hairpin.
Shen Qingye lowered her eyes to look at the little corpse, her gaze fell on her head, and saw that the hairpin that she had boasted about before, her father bought for her, was now only a card body left, loosely stuck on a few hairs, and the butterfly decoration on it was gone.
Shen Qingye felt a little depressed.
The sound of butterflies crying can still be heard in my ears:
"He went out just as Jingjing fell asleep. Not long after, grandma also fell asleep, and he suddenly opened the door and came in. Without saying a word, he carried Jingjing out. He walked around the grove to the back mountain. Halfway through the walk, Jingjing woke up and kept asking to go back, sleep, and find grandma, but he kept covering Jingjing's mouth to prevent her from speaking, then he climbed up the mountain and threw Jingjing down!"
"Jingjing kept crying and crying, but he just let go of her hand, just let go of her hand, wow—"
"You bastard, you beast, you animal! Jingjing likes you so much, wuwuwu..."
......
Shen Qingye's expression remained unchanged, but his fingers hanging by his side were clenched tightly. She didn't want to look at Qu Peiyun again, for fear that if she looked at him any longer, she would lose control of her emotions.
Why? Why?
She thought back to the first time they met, thinking of his love for Jingjing, thinking of Jingjing's dependence on him - could all this be a disguise?
Can people really pretend to be that good?
Shen Qingye's body was stiff. He looked at the girl whose face was blurred by blood and flesh, listened to Qu Peiyun's grief-stricken cries, and clenched his teeth.
Yue Lingchuan stood beside her, gently squeezed her shoulders, as if to comfort her, and asked in a low voice: "What did you find?"
Shen Qingye shook his head: "It's too dark."
It was already dark, and the body was covered in blood as it had fallen from such a great height. It was also so far away that it was impossible to see clearly, and it was unknown whether the victim had any other wounds.
But this is not Pingjiang, and they cannot get close to check the body, so they can only stand outside the cordon.
Gao Ruiyang, who insisted not to go back, looked pale, trying to suppress his discomfort, and suddenly said: "I just saw... that child had mud on his body."
Shen Qingye was stunned for a moment, then squinted his eyes and looked at the terrain. After a moment, he said, "Although the terrain on the back of this mountain is not as gentle as the front, it is still difficult to throw someone directly from the top of the mountain to the road. It is very likely that she fell halfway up the mountain and then rolled down the steep slope."
The mountain on the back is steeper than the other peaks, but it is not vertical. At most, the slope is about 50 or 60 degrees. In addition, due to the limitation of the slope length, the probability of falling directly from the top of the mountain to the ground is relatively low.
In addition, although the mountain is overgrown with weeds, there are no tall trees, so it is not impossible to rock down.
This is also proven by the continuous, rolling bloodstains in front of the body.
"In this case, it is normal for the deceased to have some mud on his body during the rolling process."
Gao Ruiyang shook his head: "No, the mud on her body is not the surface mud, it is more like the mud mixed with muddy water that solidified on her body and is now dried."
Shen Qingye was startled and looked back at him: "If I remember correctly, it hasn't rained here for about ten days, right? It doesn't look like there is any water source on this mountain."
Yue Lingchuan nodded: "Yes, the local rainfall is relatively low, which is also a major advantage for them to develop tourism."
It hasn't rained for such a long time, the mountain should not be dry but it should not be too wet either. So where does the so-called mud and water come from?
Shen Qingye murmured: "Or maybe she got it while rolling down the mountain..."
But with this kind of slope, it's unlikely that water will remain, so it can only be...
She and Yue Lingchuan looked at each other and said in unison: "While climbing the mountain!"
The butterfly in the palm of her hand cried out immediately after hearing this: "That's right, that's right, when they were climbing up the mountain, Qu Peiyun stepped into a mud pit and tripped! Even Jingjing was thrown out with him!"
Shen Qingye's heart moved when he heard this, but his expression remained unchanged.
She was now at the location of the victim's head. Due to her limited position and the fact that it was getting dark, her vision was unclear and she did not see the dried mud that Gao Ruiyang mentioned. At this time, several people walked towards the victim's feet together, and sure enough, they saw brown marks on her shoes, legs, and the bottom of her skirt, which were different from the bright red blood.
Shen Qingye heaved a sigh of relief and said, "If she didn't walk to the mountain on her own initiative, but was brought here by someone, then the possibility that the other party let her walk by herself is very low."
On the one hand, it was uncontrollable, and on the other hand, the child's speed was limited. The murderer certainly would not have allowed her to walk at a leisurely pace.
Gao Ruiyang followed her thoughts: "That means she was most likely carried away by someone."
"...In that case, logically speaking, since she didn't touch the ground, there shouldn't be traces of mud on her body..."
unless......
Yue Lingchuan said: "Unless there was an accident on the road, causing the child to fall down."
As soon as these words came out, the bow in his hand immediately shouted out: "That's right!"
Shen Qingye asked: "The child has fallen down, so where is the person holding her?"
Gao Ruiyang clapped his hands and said excitedly: "In other words, that person might also have mud stains on his body?"
He suddenly remembered something and looked back at Shen Qingye: "When we met Qu Peiyun before, was there mud on his feet and knees?"
Shen Qingye looked at him for a while, then understood what he meant. He shook his head slowly and said only one sentence: "He is fishing."
It is normal to get some water stains and mud on your body when fishing by the pond.
Yue Lingchuan also said: "And Qu Peiyun said that he went fishing after the child fell asleep. There were many people by the pond at that time who could testify to this."
Gao Ruiyang was silent for a moment.
They were discussing the case in whispers, but the police looked suspicious. The young police looked at them and saw that they were standing there and refused to leave. He finally called out to them in a bad tone, "Hey, what are you looking at here?"
Everyone then turned around and saw the police looking at them warily with suspicion in their eyes.
Shen Qingye paused, then realized that their behavior seemed a bit strange.
Just as he was about to explain, Yue Lingchuan took a step forward, took something out of his pocket, showed it to them, and said, "Hello, I'm Yue Lingchuan, the leader of the Serious Case Team 3 of the Criminal Investigation Brigade of the Pingjiang Municipal Bureau. This is my ID."
"That person over there is my colleague. A murder happened here. Because of professional habit, we looked at him twice. I'm sorry for causing trouble to you."
The young police officer was obviously a little surprised: "Pingjiang City Bureau?"
He raised his hand to take the ID, and looked at it with the middle-aged policeman who was walking quickly. He then looked up at them in surprise and asked, "Are you here for tourism?"
Yue Lingchuan nodded: "Yes."
The young police officer returned the certificate: "No wonder."
He laughed, "I said you were sneaky. Most people wouldn't even have time to hide when they saw a corpse, but you guys couldn't wait to get closer to take a look."
Yue Lingchuan also laughed: "It's a professional habit. I can't help but step forward when I see a murder case." He paused: "I think this case doesn't seem that simple. Can you let us take a closer look?"
The young policeman glanced at his master when he heard this. The middle-aged policeman looked at Yue Lingchuan with a serious face. Seeing that his eyebrows and eyes were upright and his ID did not look fake, he said, "You can check if you want, but without the order from the superiors, we can't let outsiders get close to the body."
The implication is that it is not possible.
Yue Lingchuan was not surprised. The police were divided into different regions, and they could not handle cases across regions without official procedures. What's more, he was traveling in a private capacity.
He didn't expect the other party to agree, as long as they didn't stop him.
After both parties greeted each other, Yue Lingchuan turned around and went back. Gao Ruiyang looked at him with a complicated expression: "Brother Yue, you even bring your police ID when you travel?"
Yue Lingchuan smiled: "I'm used to it."
Shen Qingye remembered what Wei Zhengyi and the others had said before, and opened his mouth, but in the end, said nothing.
After greeting the local police, they no longer had any scruples and carefully observed the body from behind a cordon. They initially determined that the cause of death was most likely a fall and there should be no other wounds on the body.
The only clue now is that the murderer may have stepped into a puddle while climbing the mountain, and there is a high possibility that the murderer's footprints were left around the puddle.
Shen Qingye's brows were gloomy.
It was already completely dark, and it was unknown when the county police would arrive.
Shen Qingye looked at the mountain not far away and pursed her lips slightly. Yue Lingchuan seemed to know what she was thinking and asked in a low voice: "Want to go up and take a look?"
Shen Qingye looked back at him and nodded slowly.
Logically speaking, this case should be the responsibility of Shiliang local area, and they don't have to worry about it at all.
But on the one hand, the deceased was the little girl who had been calling her sister affectionately in the morning; on the other hand, she now knew who the murderer was. She was angry, disappointed, and confused... With all these emotions intertwined, she really couldn't just sit and wait for the results of the local criminal police's investigation.
She wanted to send him in herself.
Yue Lingchuan said: "Then go."
After he finished speaking, he walked towards the place not far away. Shen Qingye then discovered that the person in charge of the scenic spot had someone send him a flashlight. After discussing with them, Yue Lingchuan borrowed three of them.
He came back, handed the flashlight to the two men, and said, "Let's split up and keep in touch at all times. There won't be any wild animals on the mountain, but there's no guarantee of insects or snakes, so be careful."
Shen Qingye opened her mouth and wanted to say something, but Yue Lingchuan patted her shoulder and said, "Go ahead."
Shen Qingye glanced at him and said, "You should also pay attention to safety."
After she finished speaking, she noticed Gao Ruiyang next to her and added dryly, "Ruiyang too."
Upon hearing this, Gao Ruiyang couldn't help but scratch his head hesitantly. For some reason, he always felt that the atmosphere around him... seemed a little wrong.
Does he seem a little redundant?
Yue Lingchuan smiled and said nothing. Instead, he followed them around to the gentle slope of the mountain, watched Shen Qingye's figure slowly disappear, and then he walked in his own direction.
As a man, he couldn't help but worry about the safety of his sweetheart. But as a criminal policeman, he should respect the other party's abilities.
·
The night has fallen, but the moon is still emitting a bright light. Shen Qingye held a flashlight in one hand and a bow in the other. He finally made it accept the fact that he could hear it talking, and took advantage of the time when no one was around to ask:
"So Qu Peiyun left after coaxing Jingjing to sleep, but he knew Jingjing's grandmother also had the habit of taking a nap, so he came in with the key and took Jingjing away 20 minutes after he left?"
Bowknot said, "That's right, that's what happened! Grandma Jingjing had just fallen asleep for a while when he opened the door and came in. I thought he had forgotten something, but he just picked up Jingjing and walked out without looking back!"
"After he left the room, he looked around furtively to see if there was anyone around, then quickly ran to the grove behind the yard and went up the mountain from the grove!"
"Jingjing woke up not long after he went up the mountain. She was held in her arms and didn't sleep well. After waking up, she made a fuss about going back to sleep. Qu Peiyun tried to comfort her at first, saying that he would go find his mother, but Jingjing didn't want to. She cried and made a fuss about going back to sleep and lying on the bed. Finally, Qu Peiyun became impatient, covered her mouth, and quickened his pace up the mountain. As a result, when he reached halfway up the mountain, he accidentally stepped on a mud pit covered by a layer of leaves, tripped, and threw Jingjing out!"
"Jingjing burst into tears and wanted to run back to her grandma. But Qu Peiyun caught her easily. He ignored Jingjing's punches and kicks and covered her mouth even harder. They soon reached the top of the mountain and carried Jingjing down the mountain."
"Jingjing was terrified at the time, crying and shouting, 'I'm sorry, Dad, I was wrong.' But Qu Peiyun hesitated for just a moment before throwing Jingjing out with all his strength!"
"Jingjing fell heavily from mid-air to the ground, and soon stopped moving, then continued to roll down the mountain. There was not even a tree on the back of the mountain, and Jingjing couldn't stop at all. She rolled for a long time before she reached the ground..."
"Until you came..."
As Shen Qingye walked forward, he asked in a deep voice: "Then what time was it when he took Jingjing away? Do you know?"
Butterfly cried and said, "I don't know, I don't know. I only know that not long after Jingjing fell asleep, grandma also fell asleep, and after a while, Qu Peiyun came in... It should have been not long after..."
Shen Qingye asked again: "Did he say anything when he brought Jingjing up the mountain?"
Bowknot said: "He didn't say anything at first. Later, when Jingjing woke up, he coaxed her for a while and said he would take her to play, take her to find her mother, and find new friends. Later, when he realized that he couldn't coax her, he stopped talking."
Shen Qingye pushed aside the grass and walked upwards, taking a deep breath: "Did he encounter any accidents while climbing the mountain? For example, did he meet anyone on the mountain? Or was he injured, or left bloodstains or something?"
The butterfly thought for a moment: "No..."
It spoke weakly: "He walked very fast, as if he was very familiar with this place. He only tripped in that puddle and was not even injured..."
Shen Qingye asked: "Where is that puddle? Do you still remember it?"
Bowknot immediately said excitedly: "I remember, I remember! As soon as he took Jingjing away, I felt something was wrong, and I kept remembering the way I came! The puddle is halfway up the mountain, not far from you now!"
Shen Qingye was shocked: "Show me the way."
·
The mountain is only about fifty meters high and the terrain is gentle, so it is not difficult to climb.
Ten minutes later, Shen Qingye reached the halfway point of the mountain.
Following the route indicated by the bow, she turned left and right with a flashlight, and finally saw traces of trampled grass in a place.
Shen Qingye was delighted, knowing that if nothing unexpected happened, this should be the path that Qu Peiyun had taken, so he quickened his pace and after a few minutes, he stopped under a big tree.
Butterfly said: "It's right here. Qu Peiyun fell here. The puddle was a little deeper, and there were grass and leaves on it. Qu Peiyun didn't pay attention and stepped into it. Half of his shoes were wet."
Shen Qingye carefully shone the flashlight around her until a tiny spot of water reflected the light of the flashlight, and she paused.
She held her breath, carefully observed the marks on the ground, tried not to disturb the footprints around her, and slowly walked forward. She saw a small circular puddle with a diameter of about 40 centimeters lying there quietly.
She moved her hand and saw a slightly sunken spot on the ground next to her. Judging from the length and shape, it was vaguely a footprint.
It is estimated that Qu Peiyun accidentally stepped into a mud pit and subconsciously stomped his feet heavily, leaving such a footprint here.
Found it.
Shen Qingye finally showed a slightly relaxed smile.
......
When they went down the mountain, the county police and forensic doctors had already arrived.
Just as the forensic doctor came out with the results of the investigation, they paused and listened to him say, "There are multiple contusions and extensive injuries on the surface of the deceased's body. They should have been caused by hitting the rocks when he rolled down the mountain."
"In addition, the deceased's torso, left hand, left leg and right leg were all fractured; and his head was severely injured, with obvious concussion injuries to the skull base and cerebral hemorrhage."
"Ruptured organs, internal bleeding... Other than that, there were no other obvious external injuries on the deceased. It is preliminarily inferred that the deceased fell off a cliff and died more than three hours ago."
There was silence for a moment, and the forensic doctor stood up and took off his mask.
The police officer in charge looked to be in his thirties. Looking at the young corpse, he put his hands on his hips with a gloomy expression and couldn't help but curse it as a beast. The detectives accompanying him also spoke up, their faces full of pity.
How could someone do that to a child that young?
Officer Lu took a deep breath, calmed himself down, looked around, and was about to ask the police about the situation when his eyes met Shen Qingye and others standing nearby.
"You..." He frowned at first, and was about to ask who the other party was, then he suddenly thought of something, clapped his hands, and suddenly realized: "Oh, you are from Pingjiang, right?"
As soon as these words were spoken, the two detectives nearby also looked over.
Yue Lingchuan took the initiative to step forward, stretched out his hand and said: "Yue Lingchuan."
Officer Lu's expression eased slightly, and he shook his hand back: "Lu Yingzhuo."
He said, "Would it be convenient for me to see the ID?"
Yue Lingchuan didn't mind and took out the ID again. The other party looked at it carefully for a moment before he was relieved. He raised his eyes and said, "I'm sorry, the nature of the case is here, so we have to be cautious."
Yue Lingchuan said: "I understand."
They are all people within the system, so they naturally understand each other's vigilance.
Lu Yingzhuo paused and made another joke: "I didn't think about it. Officer Yue is a criminal police officer and he still has time to travel."
Yue Lingchuan smiled bitterly: "I just took the annual leave, and thought I could have some fun, but who would have thought..."
Lu Yingzhuo also sighed for a while, and then asked them: "Did Officer Yue go up the mountain just now?"
Yue Lingchuan nodded: "It just so happens that I have nothing to do, so I went up the mountain with my colleagues to take a look."
Hearing this, Lu Yingzhuo subconsciously looked at Gao Ruiyang first, but seeing that he was too young and didn't look like he was already working, he shifted his gaze to Shen Qingye uncertainly.
Female detective?
Shen Qingye looked calm and nodded at him.
Lu Yingzhuo didn't pay much attention to it, but continued the previous topic and asked Yue Lingchuan: "Did you find any clues when you went up the mountain?"
Yue Lingchuan tilted his head to signal Shen Qingye: "Indeed, there was a discovery. While searching the mountain, Xiao Shen found a mud pit with accumulated water, and next to the mud pit, he found the footprints of an adult male."
Lu Yingzhuo was somewhat surprised and a little surprised. He looked at them seriously and asked, "Are you sure?"
Shen Qingye nodded and said, "There is no dirt or debris covering the footprints, and the traces are clear, so they should have been formed not long ago. The footprints are about 26 centimeters long, so we can roughly judge that the murderer is between 175 and 180 cm tall."
Lu Yingzhuo naturally also noticed the mud stains on the deceased's body, and of course understood what the footprints represented.
His expression became serious. "Where is that mud pit in the mountain? Could you please show me the way?"
Shen Qingye said: "Of course."
She looked at Gao Ruiyang, who understood what he meant and hurried forward, saying, "I'll take you up!"
A criminal police officer nearby hurriedly followed with a member of the trace inspection team who was investigating the scene.
Lu Yingzhuo watched their backs gradually disappear into the distance, then turned back to look at Yue Lingchuan and asked, "Officer Yue, do you have any suspects now?"
Yue Lingchuan did not hide anything. He nodded and briefly explained what they knew. He said, "After the child disappeared, Song Runing was the first to suspect Qu Peiyun, claiming that he wanted a boy. Qu Peiyun also said that Song Runing was very strict with his daughter and often scolded her. The two of them had conflicts a long time ago and were not as harmonious as they seemed on the surface."
Lu Yingzhuo also said: "You are right, but at the time of the crime, one of them was fishing and the other was working. There were people watching them. How did they commit the crime?"
Shen Qingye was silent for a moment. This was also what she was thinking about.
Song's mother said that Jingjing went to bed at around three o'clock, while the group of people who went fishing with Qu Peiyun said that he came at around three twenty and never left.
The ten minutes in between was far from enough for him to go up and down the mountain.
So how did he handle the case?
I asked the bow, but it didn't know either.
Shen Qingye was silent for a moment, then said, "No matter what, they are all suspects. We will have to ask them to find out the truth."
Lu Yingzhuo breathed a sigh of relief when he heard this: "That's right, the suspects are still waiting there. If they really did it..." He sneered: "I don't believe I can't pry it out of their mouths."
After he finished speaking, he turned to look at them and said, "Thank you so much today. Thank you for the clues you provided."
This mountain is not big, but it is not small either. If they hadn't found the mud pit and the key footprints, they wouldn't know when they would have discovered it by the time they had followed the mountain to investigate.
Sometimes, this kind of thing is not about ability, but luck.
If it were two days later, the footprints would be covered by dead branches and leaves, and it would be even harder to find.
Upon hearing this, Yue Lingchuan said directly: "Since we are grateful, would you mind letting us participate in this case as well?"
Lu Yingzhuo was a little surprised: "Are you very interested in this case?"
It's a rare vacation, so why don't you enjoy it? Why are you so eager to go back to work?
Even if it is an occupational disease, it shouldn't be like this.
Shen Qingye and Yue Lingchuan looked at each other and said, "To be honest, we met this kid on the road and had a good impression of her. We really can't just watch her die like this and remain indifferent. We don't feel like playing anymore."
Lu Yingzhuo suddenly realized what was going on.
He paused and said, "I can't make the decision on this matter. I'll help you apply to your superiors."
Yue Lingchuan said: "Thank you."
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