Chapter 83 The Sewers: Countless People Are Working Hard for This Case
Three days later.
The task force meeting room.
A group of people searched for the victims' whereabouts. Zheng Yu slammed a report on the table: "Yonggu New City construction site!"
Her voice was hoarse with a hint of weariness: "The clues point here. Two people, one strong and one thin, both speaking with a Yizhou accent, their characteristics are highly similar to the two we're investigating. The strong one is called Fan Hu, nicknamed Iron Hammer, a loader, strong and even stronger, with an even bigger temper, always cursing and smashing things. The thin one is called Meng Jianghao, nicknamed Gray Bucket, a plasterer, like a shadow, always following Iron Hammer around, like his shadow."
Fan Hu and Meng Jianghao!
The investigation into the suspect was on the right track, and Jiang Ling finally felt relieved.
Following closely behind Zheng Yu, Jiang Qi reported rapidly: "Foreman Lao Ma confirmed that the two only worked as day laborers on the construction site for half a month. Tie Chui complained about the low wages and strict management, and clashed with people every few days. Hui Tong, on the other hand, was like a punching bag, doing his job haphazardly. Later, around June 20th, the two suddenly stopped coming, without even getting their wages settled. Lao Ma said that he heard other workers gossiping that the two had climbed the social ladder, saying they had followed a big boss and were going to get rich, no longer having to do this miserable work."
"The big boss?" Jiang Ling keenly caught the word. "Have the workers described this big boss? What's his surname? What does he look like? What kind of car does he drive?"
This big boss should be the drug dealer Scarface that Ying Songmao mentioned. Hammer and Gray Bucket went to work as Scarface's henchmen. Four days before the incident, on June 20th, they officially started trafficking drugs with Scarface in Yan City.
Jiang Qi shook his head, looking defeated: "No. They just say he's a big boss, very rich, and has connections. The workers only heard about it secondhand; no one has seen him with their own eyes. Yonggu New City is very remote. The temporary residence that Tiechui and Huitong used to live in was completely deserted, not even a decent piece of clothing was left behind; it was cleaned up spotlessly."
"Get rich?" Zheng Yu sneered, his tone dripping with sarcasm. "Just the two of them?"
She slammed her fist on the table, making the tea in her cup spill out. "Those two left the construction site after only a month, and the trail went cold again! They're like eels in the water, slippery and impossible to catch."
A heavy sense of frustration enveloped the command center.
After days of intensive investigation and visits, under immense pressure to solve the case, they finally found a lead on "Yonggu New City," only to come to an abrupt halt once again.
The "big boss" mentioned by the hammer workers was like a ghost, impossible to trace.
Iron Hammer and Gray Bucket seemed to have vanished into thin air, disappearing into the crowd. Where did they go, and where are they now?
“They only have one way to get rich,” Jiang Ling said, pointing heavily to the name Scarface, connecting the names of Fan Hu and Meng Jianghao with the name Scarface, the person who led the Spiderweb in Yan City. “Being a henchman for drug dealers, working as a cleaner, that’s what they call getting rich by following the big boss.”
Jiang Ling walked to the map and marked the Yonggu New City construction site with a red circle: "Why did they choose to do odd jobs in Yonggu New City? Was it just to find a place to stay?"
Zhou Wei, in addition to recording, was mainly responsible for geographical profiling in the psychological profiling team. Upon hearing Jiang Ling's words, he immediately stepped forward and carefully observed the map.
“Look! Yonggu New City is adjacent to the old cargo terminal to the west, which is a distribution center for goods; to the east is an abandoned chemical plant, which is remote and desolate and can be used as a secret trading point; to the north is a village in the city that is about to be demolished, which is a mixed bag and easy for people to hide.”
Hearing Zhou Wei say this, Zheng Yu and the others all moved closer to the map.
Zheng Yu's eyes lit up: "That's right, this is a transportation hub and information center! Here, they can observe the environment and come into contact with all sorts of people, making it convenient for Scarface or his superiors to find them, or for them to find bigger bosses to distribute goods."
Luo Yunchen nodded thoughtfully: "Indeed, the location of Yonggu New City is convenient for Fan Hu and his companion to stay for a short time. They can earn some money for food by working, scout out a place to sell the stolen goods in advance, and it is not easy to attract the attention of others."
Zheng Yu gritted his teeth: "It seems that these two beasts did not join the drug dealers on a whim, but were already drug dealers' henchmen. They came to Yan City to scout the place in advance."
"What do we do now?" Jiang Qi asked anxiously.
Jiang Ling looked at Zheng Yu: "It seems we still have to go back to Yonggu New City and focus on investigating the people Fan Hu and Meng Jianghao have been in contact with. Foreman Lao Ma, construction workers, especially those who have had conflicts with Fan Hu. Fan Hu has a violent temper, and information is more likely to be exposed during conflicts, and enemies tend to remember it more clearly."
After a moment's thought, Jiang Ling added, "There are also those who have worked and chatted with Meng Jianghao. Meng Jianghao is timid and has been oppressed by Fan Hu for a long time. When Fan Hu is not around, he may have inadvertently revealed some words, such as complaining about Tiechui, mentioning that he was going to some good place, or even inadvertently revealing some characteristics of the big boss."
Jiang Qi became interested upon hearing this: "By the way, we can also ask if any unfamiliar faces suddenly appeared on the construction site around June 20th. They might be the people Scarface sent to pick them up."
Zheng Yu immediately understood: "Jiang Qi, take the portrait. We'll go to Yonggu New City again later. Focus on finding those who fought with Tiechui and teamed up with Huitong. Dig three feet into the ground, and screen out everyone who has spoken to them, argued with them, or smoked with them! Jiang Ling, you come with me to meet that foreman, Old Ma. Maybe that kid knows something. Oh, right, bring Liang Jiushan along too. Let him hear the workers' accents; maybe he'll find something special."
After arranging everything, Zheng Yu remembered something and looked at Jiang Ling: "There is some good news."
Jiang Ling looked puzzled. Good news? What good news?
Before Jiang Ling could ask, Zheng Yu gave the answer directly: "I showed the portrait you and Team Leader Luo drew to the workers at Tiechui for identification, and it's them!"
A glint of light flashed in Jiang Ling's eyes.
Very well, her magic touch didn't go wrong.
Ying Songmao was more concerned about Chen Yan's whereabouts and asked Zheng Yu, "Is there any news about the victims?"
He remembered that Li Qiang overheard the killer say at the scene, "After you're done, dump it in the usual spot," but he didn't know where that "usual spot" was. Was it some desolate wilderness, or...?
Zheng Yu shook her head: "No news."
Police have deployed a large number of officers to investigate the missing persons, but to no avail.
Ying Songmao asked, "Have you contacted the construction site?"
Zheng Yu: "We did search, but we didn't find anything. Things like the foundation pit, the bottom of the trench, and the cement pillars are all hidden works. We can't force the construction company to dig out the foundation pit that has already been filled in and break open every single cement pillar, can we?"
Jiang Ling pondered intently.
If it really was Iron Hammer and Gray Bucket who killed them, how would they dispose of the body?
They were just two ordinary workers on the construction site; they couldn't possibly bury someone silently in a pit and put them into a pillar about to be filled with cement.
The body is most likely not at the construction site.
Where would it be?
Fan Hu boasted to his fellow inmates in prison about killing people, dismembering bodies, and dumping them in the sewers!
The key question is, which sewer is it?
Moreover, the time between Li Qiang's recounting of the truth and the time of the murder was too long, making it difficult to find physical evidence such as footprints, tire tracks, fibers, and fingerprints through on-site investigation, or to discover remains or suspicious traces such as bloodstains, tissue fragments, or special packaging materials.
If the body parts were indeed dismembered and thrown into the sewers, they would likely have been washed downstream, making them even more difficult to search.
The victim clearly left a clue about the police, but Li Qiang, being cowardly, ran away. If it weren't for Zheng Yu's relentless pursuit, probably no one would ever have known that someone had died in Xiangyang Lane.
Thinking about this, Jiang Ling was filled with rage.
This case is truly fraught with difficulties.
Jiang Ling looked at Ying Songmao and earnestly asked, "Today is July 20th, 26 days since the incident. If the murderer dismembered the body and threw the body parts into the sewer, what methods can we use to find evidence?"
Ying Songmao frowned.
Having worked in the technical team for so long, participated in the investigation of countless cases, and come into contact with a considerable number of corpses, he had not handled many heinous cases such as dismemberment.
It is even more rare for a body to be dismembered and thrown into a sewer.
But Ying Songmao, being a professional, quickly came up with an answer after a moment's thought: "The first step is to pinpoint the area and route where the body was dumped. After investigating the scene and finding suspicious traces, we interviewed nearby residents, businesses, and sanitation workers to ask if they had seen any suspicious persons, vehicles, or behaviors. We worked closely with the municipal water department to obtain a map of the sewer network. Based on the location of the remains, the direction and speed of the water flow, the structure of the network, and the time of the body dumping, we predicted the downstream area where the remains might have been washed away."
"Hmm." Jiang Ling nodded. "And the second step?"
Ying Songmao said: "The second step is a systematic search operation. We will organize police, forensic experts, and professional municipal personnel to conduct a thorough search of the identified upstream potential dumping sites and connected pipelines. In addition, we will set up interception nets at key downstream nodes, such as pumping stations, treatment plant entrances, pipeline intersections, and large sedimentation tanks, and maintain 24-hour vigilance for retrieval."
Additionally, specially trained scent-tracking dogs can be used to identify odors at manhole covers, suspicious vehicles, and suspect residences to help pinpoint body disposal sites or related evidence. Water samples can also be taken at different downstream locations to test for abnormally high concentrations of human biological components, such as blood and tissue fragments.
Jiang Ling suddenly realized that this case was serious and difficult, and that relying solely on her own reasoning was not enough; she had to rely on criminal investigation techniques.
Zheng Yu glanced at Jiang Ling: "You suspect the victim was dismembered and thrown down the drain? Dismembering a body is no simple matter; it requires a specific location and the use of a knife. Even if the body parts are thrown down the drain, bones, especially the skull, aren't so easily destroyed or washed away. Therefore, the suspect's residence would definitely leave traces of dismemberment: bloodstains, bone fragments, cutting tools, cleaning agents, and containers or packaging materials such as plastic bags or sheets used to wrap the body parts..."
Jiang Ling's eyes lit up: "Yes! Investigate quickly."
Ying Songmao then gave the order: "Xiao Zhao, take the equipment and go to Tiechui and Huitong's residence. Focus on checking the rooms, especially the floors and walls of the toilets. If you find a lot of bloodstains, that will be important evidence."
Zhao Jingxin was Ying Songmao's apprentice. He was overjoyed that his master had finally returned and immediately responded loudly, "Yes!"
Everyone sprang into action.
Soon, feedback came in.
Iron Hammer and Gray Bucket lived in an old building slated for demolition in an abandoned chemical plant. Although the water and electricity were cut off, there was a public water tap outside where they could get water, and the toilet drainage was not a problem.
Investigators sprayed luminol and found large amounts of splattered blood on the toilet floor and walls. Additionally, a small number of human bone fragments were found in the grout lines of the broken mosaic tiles in the toilet.
The evidence is conclusive!
There was no turning back.
The victim is indeed dead.
Dismemberment case!
The task force reported to its superiors, who were furious and issued instructions: to use all technical means and social resources to overcome the enormous difficulties brought about by the sewer dismemberment case, strive to find the remains, confirm the identity of the deceased, seek justice for the victims, and bring the cruel murderer to justice.
Ying Songmao led the technical team to investigate clues about the remains.
Based on accurate clues provided by his coworkers, Luo Yunchen created a precise sketch, and the Yan City police issued an arrest warrant.
Zheng Yu led the investigation team back to Yonggu New City to do everything in their power to track down the whereabouts of Fan Hu, Meng Jianghao, and Scarface.
Countless people are working tirelessly on this case.
Like streams, the water flows endlessly, eventually converging into a great river that flows into the ocean of truth.
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