Chapter 2020 Another Serial Murder Case
Guan Xia rubbed her ears and reminded Pang Le, "Keep your voice down."
Pang Le immediately lowered his voice and asked in confusion, "Are you sure that person is suspicious? What did you tell Xu Nian?"
Guan Xia repeated what he had just said.
Pang Le was silent for a moment, then spoke with difficulty, "Are the differences between people so great? I was standing right next to you, but I didn't notice it at all. I bet it wasn't just me; Shi Guangbo and Dong Yuncheng definitely didn't notice it either."
Guan Xia didn't say anything. In fact, she didn't realize it, but who could blame her for having a cheat in her brain?
Pang Le exclaimed, "Your talent is truly amazing."
Guan Xia thought, it wasn’t her who was amazing, it was the cheat in her brain.
Pang Le: "But speaking of it, our physiques are indeed a bit magical. We were climbing a mountain for half a day and encountered two murderers. One of them was confronted directly. I think I really need to go to that temple to worship. This frequency is too high."
Guan Xia agreed, "How about going tomorrow? The sooner we go, the sooner we can come back."
Pang Le thought for a moment and said, "Wait a minute. I've asked around with my friends, but I'm still unsure which temple is more effective. We do have one in Yongquan City, but my friends around me don't recommend it. The others are in other cities. Wait while I make some recommendations."
Guan Xia nodded: "Okay, then let's all stay home for the time being. As for the dismemberment case, I know the murderer this time is much more brutal than the last one. I'm really worried that we'll run into him again if we go out with our physical condition. It won't be too late to go after Xu Nian and the others solve the case."
Pang Le agreed. "Then it's settled. You saw the murderer's license plate number. Based on the current surveillance coverage, as long as the murderer has appeared in Yongquan City, we'll definitely be able to find clues about him. I think it won't take long to solve the case."
Guan Xia vaguely felt that these words sounded familiar, and at the same time, he had an inexplicable premonition in his heart that this case might not be that simple.
…
Xu Nian hung up the phone and the car arrived at the destination.
Qi Bai stopped the car, not even taking the time to unbuckle his seatbelt. He immediately turned around and asked Xu Nian, "Captain Xu, did Guan Xiazhen see it again?"
Xu Nian made two calls in a row, asking the technicians at the bureau to track the license plate number. Then he put away his phone and replied, "I saw it, but I didn't see its face this time, only the license plate number."
Qi Bai's eyes suddenly lit up. "It would be fine if we had the license plate number. That would also be a breakthrough. As long as we can find the car, we can always follow the clues to find the murderer."
Xu Nian's face, which had been tense for several days, finally cracked a smile. "That license plate number is most likely a burglar's. But if it's used to transport a body bag, even if it's carefully cleaned, it's bound to leave many biological traces. No matter how good the murderer is at hiding, we've finally found him."
Qi Bai's expression was very excited. "Thank you, Guan Xia, for giving us such an important clue in such a difficult case. Once this case is solved, I will definitely treat her to a big meal again."
Xu Nian got out of the car and sneered unhappily, "I think you have other intentions. Are you so sure Guan Xia will agree? Be careful not to anger her. She is now a benefactor in our squadron."
Qi Bai also hurriedly unbuckled his seatbelt and got out of the car. He followed behind Xu Nian and chuckled, "Don't worry, Captain Xu. I will definitely treat her like an ancestor and make her happy. I will never let her get angry."
Xu Nian ignored him and quickened his pace towards the scene where the body was being dug up.
Qi Bai trotted over and said, "But speaking of which, Captain Xu, this Guan Xia has some kind of physique. This is the second time in the past half month. Both times we've been confronted, and she's noticed. No, we have to add that wanted criminal from that night. He was so fat, and yet Guan Xia recognized him after just one glance. What's wrong with her brain? How can a person have such a good memory? It's like her memory stick has become spirit. She can remember such minute details even when she recalls them."
Xu Nian was silent for a few seconds before speaking, "Maybe it's hyperthymesia? I've only heard of it, never seen it."
"Or maybe she has a keen intuition about people like murderers who are different from ordinary people," Qi Bai thought for a moment and said, "After all, she always notices very small things first. Normal people meet countless people every day when they go out, and usually glance at them unconsciously without observing too carefully. But what clues did Guan Xia provide us? The tiny stains on the murderer's cuffs that look like blood, the stains on the trunk of the car that look like blood, and even the more abstract slight smell of blood. I feel that she must have noticed that something was wrong with this person before she noticed these details. Otherwise, let's try it next time to see if she observes others in such subtle ways."
Xu Nian glared at him. "Why try? She's not a suspect. We have no right or qualification to explore her secrets in this way."
Qi Bai quickly explained, "I'm not trying to understand, I'm just curious. Captain Xu, you also think she's very talented, right? If our squadron could have such a talented person join, we might be able to find new breakthroughs in those backlogged cases in our branch."
Xu Nian paused. Although his face showed no expression, he was clearly somewhat tempted by the proposal. However, after a few seconds, he continued walking forward and said calmly, "Talent is just talent. In our line of work, besides talent, we also need a certain level of conviction. If she only has talent, forcing her in will only harm her. She is just an ordinary person. Before she actively has ideas, we cannot induce or guide her in any way."
Xu Nian glanced at Qi Bai with concern and said solemnly, "I know which case you are talking about, but no, we are professionally trained. She can't bear what we can bear. If I find out that you dare to reveal any information about Guan Xia to Lu Tingfeng, you will get out of the squadron."
Qi Bai lowered his head and said nothing. Xu Nian's brows suddenly jumped. "Have you revealed the news to him?"
Qi Bai hurriedly shook his head. "No, no, I didn't reveal the news. It's just... I was chatting with Brother Lu a few days ago and told him that I met two interesting girls."
Xu Nian's face turned pale. "Did you also tell me about Guan Xia's peculiarities?"
Qi Bai lowered his head even more, "Otherwise, how can we say they are interesting?"
Xu Nian suddenly became furious. He slapped Qi Bai hard on the back of the head and walked forward angrily.
Qi Bai chased after him, and Xu Nian gritted his teeth and said, "Delete all of Lu Tingfeng's contact information. If you dare to reveal even a word again, I will kick you out of the squadron."
Qi Bai quickly took out his phone and said, "I'll delete it. I'll delete it now. Captain Xu, I was wrong. Don't be angry."
Xu Nian ignored him and plunged into the woods and walked quickly forward.
After walking for more than an hour, Xu Nian finally saw a busy crowd from afar.
Wang Yu came over immediately when he saw them, "Captain Xu, Brother Qi, you're here."
Qi Bai nodded as a greeting, and Xu Nian asked directly, "How many bags did you find?"
Wang Yu replied, "We've only searched within 200 meters, and we've already found three bags. They're not buried far apart, not too deep, but not too shallow either. It might be because it rained the night before yesterday, and the ground, which was originally compacted, has become softer due to the rain. The wild animals in the mountains smelled the blood and dug it out of the soil."
As they were talking, Xu Nian walked to the place where the body bag was first found, and Wang Yu quickly took out a pair of gloves and handed them to Xu Nian.
Xu Nian took it and put it on. He squatted down and used his fingers to move a piece of human bone in the black plastic bag. After carefully examining it for a moment, he said, "It's a human forearm. The bones are thinner than the body found in the Harmony Community. It's probably not the same one."
Xu Nian stood up and looked around. Not finding the person he was looking for, he turned to Wang Yu and asked, "Where's Forensic Doctor He?"
Wang Yu replied, "Checking the third body bag, this way."
Wang Yu led the way and saw another group of people after climbing over a gently sloping slope.
The short and capable forensic doctor He Jin stood out among the tall criminal police. Xu Nian walked over and asked, "What did you find?"
He Jin's eyes were still fixed on the third body bag as he spoke rapidly, "So far, the three body bags found can be confirmed to be from the same person. They contain both upper and lower limbs, as well as some internal organs. A skull that could be used to identify the individual and a pelvis that could be used to determine age have not yet been found."
"You're throwing the body so far away, and you're only throwing this much?" Qi Bai asked, "That's impossible, right?"
"Who knows," Wang Yu said, "He had the leisure to cut the body into such pieces, so it's possible that he would go through so much trouble to throw away such a small amount."
As soon as Wang Yu finished speaking, a police officer who was searching for a new body bag a little further away suddenly shouted, "Captain Xu, we've found something new."
Several people immediately rushed over. He Jin was short, but he ran very fast. He was the first to see the new body bag. After just a few seconds of looking at it, he said with certainty, "It's a pelvis. Judging by the shape, it's from a male. He's not very old, about 15-16 years old."
Since he was still a minor, the policemen present looked even uglier.
After making a simple assessment, He Jin squatted down and carefully examined it. After a moment, he spoke in a low voice, "The deceased's genitals were also divided into three sections."
The already stagnant atmosphere became even heavier.
Several people looked at the fourth body bag. Wang Yu couldn't help but wonder, "This body's genitals were also cut open. Is the murderer a male-hating group? Or is this just an isolated case?"
"It's hard to say right now," Qi Bai said, "We have to first confirm the identity of the deceased and investigate his social circle before we can have a clearer idea of why the murderer did this."
"Then let's look for the skull." Xu Bai stood on a higher ground and called out to Qi Bai, "Take a few people and look in that direction. Wang Yu, take a few people over there."
After assigning all the idle people, Xu Nian swatted away the bugs crawling up his trouser legs and walked quickly in the chosen direction.
They were busy until late at night, and almost every area within a radius of 500 meters was searched before the main force returned.
As soon as he came out of the mountain, Xu Nian's cell phone rang.
After taking a look at the incoming call, Xu Nian couldn't wait to ask as soon as he answered, "How's it going, Brother Jiang? Did you find the car?"
"We found it," Jiang Yingyao said excitedly. "The technical team has already rushed over. Although it's a scavenger, the car hasn't been washed recently, so there are a lot of biological traces. We can fight back this time."
Xu Nian couldn't help but get excited after hearing this. "Give me the location, I'll rush over now."
Jiang Yingyao quickly sent a location and asked, "What about you guys? What have you found?"
"We found a second deceased person," Xu Nian said. "Only some body parts were found. The skull, upper body, and some internal organs are missing."
Jiang Yingyao was very good at grasping the key points. "So there's a pelvis this time? That's also a clue. At least we know the gender and age of the deceased. If we continue to investigate based on this, there's a high probability that we can determine the deceased's identity."
"The deceased is a male, aged 15 to 16," Xu Nian said. "Based on this, we should be able to confirm his identity by checking all the missing persons in the city."
"Okay," Jiang Yingyao understood, "I'll call the team now and tell those guys to wake up and go look for him."
An hour and a half later, Xu Nian met up with Jiang Yingyao based on the location, and saw the excited expression on Jiang Yingyao's face from a distance.
Qi Bai was yawning non-stop due to sleepiness, but when he saw Jiang Yingyao from afar, he immediately cheered up, "Looks like there's good news."
Qi Bai said excitedly: "Our hard work tonight was not in vain. I have to eat two more buns when I go back. It seems that I will be busy during the day."
As soon as Xu Nian got out of the car, Jiang Yingyao came up to him and said excitedly, "Bloodstains, lots of bloodstains from the deceased, and even hair from the suspected murderer was found on the driver's seat. There are so many clues, I'm a little overwhelmed."
Xu Nian took the gloves Qi Bai handed over and asked as he put them on, "Are these all recent bloodstains?"
Qi Bai shuddered, "Captain Xu, what did you think of when you said that?"
Xu Nian walked straight to the car without answering. Jiang Yingyao explained on his behalf, "Captain Xu probably thought of Case 1129 from four years ago and Case 725 from seven years ago. You've only been with the team for a short time, so you might not be familiar with these two cases. I remember them clearly. They also involved dismembered bodies, and they were also male. At the time, the bureau mobilized all its resources to solve these two cases, but because the skulls of the deceased were never found, the identities of the deceased could not be confirmed, and they became backlogged cases. I thought of them when I rushed to the team after receiving the call on Friday night, but we didn't have a direction for the investigation before, so it was too early to talk about merging the cases. But now that we have this car, we can merge the cases."
"Another serial murder case," Qi Bai couldn't help but say, "These murderers are really good at hiding. This time, we've finally caught another rat by the tail."
"Let's go," Jiang Yingyao patted Qi Bai's shoulder. "Get to work. This case is both an ongoing one and a backlog. If we solve it, our branch will get a lot of points. Maybe by the end of the year the whole team can even get a third-class merit or something. At the very least, we can get a commendation."
Qi Bai took two quick steps to Jiang Yingyao's side, "Really? Can I really get a third-class merit for solving this case?"
Jiang Yingyao didn't know whether to laugh or cry. "You deliberately omitted the word 'commendation', didn't you? I mean, it's possible, it's possible, but it's not certain."
Jiang Yingyao moved closer to Qi Bai and whispered, "Seven years ago, our Director Ren was the captain of the Criminal Investigation Brigade of the branch. We solved the backlog of cases during his tenure. Do you think he's happy?"
Qi Bai understood what he meant and was immediately filled with motivation. He ran away at a trot.
…
After two days of busy work at home, Guan Xia finally finished sorting out the boxes piled in the living room.
Since they didn't have to move anymore, these boxes would no longer be used. Guan Xia was too lazy to find a place to sell them, so she simply packed them up and threw them all in the trash.
The weather is nice today, so Guan Xia specially put on a pair of sneakers and planned to go to the nearby vegetable market. She had agreed with Pang Le before to warm up the house, and since she didn't go out much recently, she might as well call Pang Le over to join in the fun.
Guan Xia thought about it and felt that Shi Lu and Dong Yuncheng could also be called.
It seems that Pang Le is still very interested in Shi Lu. Through two brief contacts, Shi Lu has no obvious shortcomings except that he is a bit serious. As a friend of Pang Le, he can still help create some opportunities when convenient.
Dong Yuncheng seemed like a nice guy. He had helped her wholeheartedly when they were climbing the mountain. She invited him over to have a meal together as a thank you.
Guan Xia made some plans in her mind and then walked leisurely towards the gate of the community. When she passed Building 7, a quarrel caught Guan Xia's attention.
Guan Xia turned around and saw a middle-aged woman with a flushed face, her hands full of vegetables, standing in the open space at the door of the unit. There was a young girl next to her, who looked about seven or eight years old.
A bald, short, fat man who looked much older than the woman was spitting and scolding, "What did I tell you? Xiaoyu won't be back with his wife and kids until the weekend. Why are you buying so many vegetables so early? You even bought shrimp and pork ribs. Who are you going to feed them to? You or her?"
The man looked at the little girl with disgust and said impatiently, "She's going to get married in the future, and she's not even my child. It's good enough to give her food to eat. Why is she eating shrimp and pork ribs?"
The man grabbed the plastic bag of shrimp and pork ribs and said, "Give it to me. I'll take it to Xiaoyu. They're planning on having their second child soon, so it won't be wasted if they eat it."
The woman tried to snatch it back unwillingly, mumbling, "This is what I bought for Yueyue...with my own money. Her birthday is coming up soon, and I promised her I'd buy her some shrimp."
"How much can you make washing dishes in a fly-in-the-wall restaurant in a month?" the man said contemptuously. "That little money you make isn't even enough to cover the rent for my house. Now I'm letting you live here for free. You negotiate the money with me, and you have to pay me your wages from now on. You can eat whatever I say."
Before the woman could speak, the little girl spoke unconvincedly, "Why?"
The little girl said angrily, "That's the money my mother earns. Why can't we spend it? And my mother married you, and you said this will be our home from now on. Why do you say we live here for free? My mother washes your clothes and cooks for you every day. How can she live here for free? That's what she earned from her labor. I won't give you my mother's money."
The man's face flushed red, then turned extremely ugly in an instant. He glared at the woman fiercely, "Is this how you teach her? I feed her and give her water, and I raise her even though she's not my own child, and you teach her to talk back to me?"
The woman subconsciously blocked the girl's way. Before she could even open her mouth to retort, the man slapped her across the face. "You're a cheap bastard. I was the one who pitied you. You had a child and worked odd jobs every day. You couldn't even afford food after paying for your rent, so I helped you. And this is how you repay me? If it weren't for me, you could live in such a nice neighborhood and such a big house? I really shouldn't have been soft on you."
The man was about to raise his hand to hit again after he finished speaking, but the people who were originally watching the excitement immediately stopped him.
"Hey, why are you hitting people?" A young man grabbed the man's arm. "Talking is one thing, but what about hitting someone? I think the little girl is right. Since we're married, we're family. And you were the one who said it first, and now you've made it clear. You're not trying to cheat on me, are you?"
"What do you mean by a marriage fraud? Don't talk nonsense," the man pushed the young woman hard. "I just felt sorry for her and thought that if one person lives together, two people can live together too. Besides, two people can keep each other company, so I married her. Since we are a family after marriage, what's wrong with me managing the money? She used to spend too much money and didn't earn much, so she ended up like this. I manage the money for the sake of this family, right? At least I won't let them starve or freeze."
"You're talking nonsense," the little girl screamed angrily, "You don't treat us as family. You treat my mom like a babysitter every day and even beat her."
The crowd, which had calmed down a bit, became agitated again and started blaming the man.
The man angrily threw the plastic bag he was holding in his left hand to the ground. "Isn't it normal for couples to have some bumps in their lives? Look at her face. Apart from the slap mark, there are no other marks." He glared at the little girl and said, "If you keep talking nonsense, you and your mother will get out of here."
The little girl wanted to say something, but the woman pulled her and she had to lower her head in grievance.
The woman didn't say anything. She just silently picked up the bag the man threw on the ground and walked into the unit door behind her without looking back.
Guan Xia didn't look away until the little girl followed the woman into the unit door.
She was too lazy to even look at that kind of man. Although he spoke in high-sounding terms, everyone around him knew exactly what he was planning.
Sure enough, when the man's figure disappeared behind the unit door, the whispers of the surrounding crowd suddenly became louder.
Guan Xia listened for a while and found out that the man and woman were indeed remarrying, but the difference was that the man divorced his previous wife, while the woman's husband ran away. It was said that he ran away with another woman and had no news for six or seven years. The woman called the police but couldn't find him. She assumed he was dead and waited for a few more years. When she couldn't live like this, she remarried.
The man's ex-wife had a bad temper and had been controlling him since they got married. The man had been feeling aggrieved for half his life. One night, while he was sleeping, he suddenly picked up something and beat his wife. His wife never suffered any loss and couldn't beat him because she was not as strong as him, but she still ran to the kitchen, picked up a kitchen knife and chopped him.
The man was hurt and still thought about it, but his wife didn't want to live with him anymore and forced him to divorce. Anyway, the children had graduated from college and were working, so she didn't care about custody anymore. They quickly divided the property and moved out.
The man married his current wife the year after his divorce. Compared with the previous one, this one was much softer. The man then boasted that he had finally straightened his back and lived his life with an upright mind. He wanted to control everything and say everything. He was listless in public, but acted like an emperor at home.
Everyone in the community knew that the woman was beaten at home. They had tried to persuade her and help her call the police, but she was like dough and wouldn't listen to anything they said. Gradually, the people in the community stopped caring about it. As long as she wasn't beaten in the community, everyone pretended not to know.
After hearing the whole story, Guan Xia didn't react much. She was still planning what vegetables to buy for the greenhouse and walked towards the entrance of the community.
Before I even reached the door, I saw a tricycle in the distance. A medium-sized man with a cheerful face was carrying vegetables down the tricycle and enthusiastically greeting everyone who spoke to him.
Guan Xia was a little surprised. This was because the vegetable seller skipped the middleman and sold directly at the community gate.
It seemed that the man was very familiar with many of the elderly ladies in the community. He was busy chatting with them while weighing and bagging.
Guan Xia also followed the crowd to take a look. There weren't many varieties, just the ones we usually eat, but they were indeed fresh, with the dirt washed clean. They were also very cheap, and you could save a few cents by buying by kilogram. No wonder so many people came to buy as soon as the car stopped.
Seeing that the old lady next to her was about to grab the things she had bought, Guan Xia also bought some, planning to go to the supermarket later to buy some tofu balls and other spicy hot pot.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
