Chapter 56: The Corpse Dismemberment Case (I) The Yellow Woven Bag
August 20, noon
Qi Xiaolei has a private hobby, which is studying constellations.
"Xiaobai, what's your zodiac sign?"
"Libra."
Qi Xiaolei smiled and analyzed: "Libra people are very Buddhist, they worry about small things, but are decisive about big things. They are appearance-oriented, like things they can't get, and are easily tired of the old and love the new. They have difficulty making choices, are polite and gentle, and never lose their principles and bottom line."
When Ye Bai heard this, he couldn't help but raise his brows. He felt that Qi Xiaolei was right about one thing. He really had difficulty making decisions. Most of the time, he just couldn't make a choice. He could just pick one at random, but he would struggle for a long time no matter which one he chose.
Liao Wei came over curiously and said, "I'm a Virgo, tell me about it."
"Virgos are perfectionists, they are sentimental and nostalgic. They are often misunderstood, but they are too lazy to explain. They speak and act in moderation. You can have flaws, but I can't."
"Of course, Xiaolei." Liao Wei exclaimed, "I'm just often misunderstood and I'm too lazy to explain. I feel like the more I explain, the less clear it becomes. Anyway, no one will believe me even if I say it. So forget it. You're all right. Think whatever you want."
Then, Liao Wei looked around and whispered to Qi Xiaolei, "Captain Han's birthday is November 5th, so what's his zodiac sign?"
Qi Xiaolei responded in a low voice: "Scorpio, the king of sharp tongue, good at disguising, although he looks cunning, he is actually very empty inside and lacks a sense of security. In terms of emotions: he has a clear distinction between love and hate, and is cold on the outside but warm on the inside. He is possessive and sensitive. He likes what he likes and dislikes what he dislikes. He will not compromise himself in terms of emotions. Once he sets his mind on someone, he will treat them wholeheartedly."
Liao Wei gave Qi Xiaolei a thumbs up and said, "Okay, at least you're right about the sharp tongue."
At this time, Han Jianye and Su Wan came out of the office with serious expressions.
Han Jianye swept his eyes over everyone present and announced in a serious tone, "We must go to Wangnanqiao Hydropower Station immediately. The local police station has just handed over a major murder case. The discoverer of the case was a worker responsible for salvaging aquatic plants. While he was doing his daily work on the river, he accidentally found two woven bags stranded with duckweed on the river bank. When he curiously opened the bags, he was shocked to find that they were filled with dismembered human tissue."
Ye Bai frowned in shock. Both woven bags were filled with dismembered human tissues?
When Han Jianye and others arrived under Wangnan Bridge, the forensic team led by Mai Shaozhen had already cleaned up the body parts in the yellow woven bag one by one.
The scene was shrouded in a pungent stench, and a swarm of flies were hovering above the dismembered body parts, making a "buzzing" sound.
In addition to the forensic team, the police officers on the scene could not help but run away and vomit when they saw the maggots on the body parts.
Maggots were crawling on the ground along with the corpse fluid, and some even crawled along the shoes to the trouser legs of the police officers, making them feel extremely disgusted. They kept shaking their legs and moved away from the scene.
Han Jianye couldn't help but frown. Even wearing two layers of masks, the stench could not be completely blocked.
"I really can't stand it anymore." Liao Wei covered his mouth and ran to retch.
Su Wan followed closely behind, "Hey, wait for me, ugh..."
Ye Bai always believed in the law of throwing far and burying near. He walked to Han Jianye and said, "Captain Han, these two woven bags are stranded on the river bank, but the sluice gate of Wangnan Bridge is closed. I plan to take people to the hydropower station to find out when the sluice gate was last opened to release water? First, we need to rule out the possibility that these woven bags were floated downstream when the sluice gate was opened upstream."
"Okay, go ahead." Han Jianye nodded in agreement.
Han Jianye slowly walked to Mai Shaozhen's side and witnessed her carefully placing a wriggling maggot into a transparent glass bottle and concentrating on measuring its length.
Then, she asserted in an unquestionable tone: "Based on this, the deceased was killed 4 to 5 days ago."
"That's between August 15th and 16th." Han Jianye quickly responded.
Mai Shaozhen nodded and continued, "There was no clothing on these brutally dismembered body parts, but they clearly belonged to a woman. Her limbs and torso were packed separately into two woven bags."
She turned to Han Jianye and added solemnly: "Neither of the deceased's heads were found in the two woven bags, and look here."
Mai Shaozhen directed Han Jianye's gaze to the dead man's hands. "The murderer seems to be proficient in anti-reconnaissance techniques. The dead man's head and both thumbs were deliberately chopped off. In this way, we cannot determine the dead man's identity through fingerprint and facial recognition technology."
Han Jianye nodded heavily, agreeing, "Indeed, many unsolved murders are because the police cannot find the body. It seems that the murderer must have made sufficient preparations before committing the crime."
"Perhaps the murderer is a fan of detective novels or TV dramas, and therefore has some knowledge of the criminal investigation methods we use to identify the deceased."
Ye Bai hurried back from the hydropower station's studio, his voice carrying a hint of urgency: "I have checked. Wangnan Bridge opened the gates to release water at 8:30 a.m. on August 15 of this month. I speculate that these two woven bags were likely to have drifted down from upstream on that day."
When Han Jianye heard this information, he immediately turned to Mai Shaozhen and said, "This coincides with your speculation. You estimated that the victim was killed four to five days ago, and today is August 20th. The sluice gate happened to release water on the 15th, so the victim was most likely killed on August 15th."
Mai Shaozhen agreed with Han Jianye's inference, and her expression revealed a trace of worry: "The murderer obviously has a strong anti-reconnaissance ability. It seems that it will not be easy to catch him this time."
Han Jianye disagreed. "Don't jump to conclusions. I never believe in the so-called perfect crime. If it is committed, it will leave traces. Fortunately, Wangnanqiao Hydropower Station is equipped with monitoring equipment. We can first check whether the murderer dumped the body here, and then observe the flow of water upstream. We will always find a breakthrough."
Mai Shaozhen's forensic team carefully placed the body parts into black body bags, preparing to transport them back to the laboratory for further analysis.
Meanwhile, Han Jianye and his team decided to stay at the scene to continue their investigation.
Ye Bai had just gone to the hydropower station's office to conduct preliminary inquiries, but had not yet checked the surveillance video.
Now, they plan to go back to August 15 and carefully review the surveillance video of that day, hoping to find clues related to the case.