Chapter 106 Arson: The Arson Series, Techniques Upgraded
The building materials warehouse is on fire!
The wind fanned the flames, and the fire gained strength from the wind.
Even the torrential rain did not diminish the fire in the slightest.
Crack! Crackling sound!
boom--
The sounds of wood cracking, glass shattering, and muffled explosions from the violent burning of unknown chemicals rose and fell in succession.
The air was filled with an extremely complex, suffocating, and nauseating odor.
The acrid smell of burning dry wood, the pungent stench of highly toxic chemical gases produced by the decomposition of various chemical paints and coatings at high temperatures, the thick black smoke and peculiar sweet smell emitted by burning plastic products... all these odors mix together to form a deadly miasma, and the nauseating smell can be clearly detected even from several blocks away.
The flames instantly illuminated half the sky.
The nearby residents were awakened and peered out of their windows in terror at the apocalyptic scene, their faces filled with fear and unease.
The fire truck's blinding red lights flashed wildly in the rain. High-pressure water hoses sprayed thick jets of water, crashing against the burning warehouse walls and roof with deafening roars, instantly creating a thick, white fog that blotted out the sky.
This fierce battle between man and fire lasted for more than three hours. Thanks to the firefighters' selfless and all-out efforts, the fire was finally brought under control with great difficulty.
But the scene before us was even more shocking than when it was burning.
The once-massive warehouse is now just a huge, charred skeleton of ruins.
Firefighters, dressed in heavy protective suits stained with mud and ash beyond recognition, searched the ruins inch by inch, as if wading through a quagmire.
Soon, a piece of news that weighed heavily on the mind arrived.
A body was found in a relatively independent duty room built with red bricks and prefabricated panels, located next to the main warehouse on the east side!
When Jiang Ling received the urgent notification, she had just finished a case analysis meeting on a theft case and was preparing to continue studying her professional books. Fan Wei, the newly appointed captain of the first brigade, pushed open the door and walked in, his voice filled with rapid breathing: "Major fire at Xinglong Building Materials Warehouse in the north of the city. Preliminary investigation indicates arson. A body has been found. Jiang Ling, you're coming with us."
Police cars sped through the streets in the pouring rain late at night, their wheels splashing high into the water as they churned up puddles.
The closer they got to the industrial zone in the north of the city, the stronger the pungent stench of burning chemicals became. Even with the car windows tightly closed, it couldn't block it out; it stubbornly entered Jiang Ling's nasal cavity and stimulated her sensitive olfactory nerves.
Upon arriving at the perimeter of the scene, a cordon had already been set up.
The fire chief, who was directing operations at the scene, was soaked to the bone and his face was covered in soot. His voice was hoarse as he explained the situation to Fan Wei: "...The fire was too big, it burned too thoroughly! It was full of flammable materials, it was completely out of control! The duty room was over there; we only found people there after the fire was extinguished..."
Jiang Ling jumped out of the car. The icy rain instantly soaked through the brim of her police raincoat, running down her neck and bringing a chill to her bones. She followed Fan Wei, stepping into the restricted area with uneven steps.
The stench, which had been present in the car earlier, was now ten or even a hundred times stronger. Jiang Ling suppressed her physical discomfort and carefully surveyed the ruins.
On a blackened brick wall that has not yet completely collapsed, a huge, typical "V"-shaped burn mark is clearly visible, with the tip pointing to the ground—a sign of the origin of a powerful fire.
Colleagues from the technical department were using powerful flashlights to mark different locations.
Jiang Ling's gaze followed the fire, and on the relatively open ground, he could identify at least three areas with particularly severe burn marks and darker ash, irregularly distributed—multiple ignition points! This was arson!
The brick-and-stone guardhouse where the body was found stood alone on the edge of the main warehouse. It was relatively intact, but the exterior walls were blackened by smoke, all the window panes were shattered, and the window frames were twisted and deformed. The ground in front of the door was a mess.
Old Zhou from the technical department, an experienced surveyor, was wearing a thick mask and goggles, squatting at the door of the duty room, carefully checking the lock.
Seeing Fan Wei and Jiang Ling approach, he stood up and pointed to the equally dark wooden door: "Captain Fan, Team Leader Jiang, there's a problem with the lock here."
The metal parts of the door lock have obvious, fresh scratches and dents, which are out of place with the old, smoke-stained marks around it.
Old Zhou's voice sounded muffled and tired through his mask: "The door lock was damaged by external force, but we can't be sure whether it was done by the murderer at the time of the incident or left by the firefighters when they broke in to rescue people. We have to wait for technical processing."
"Several key pieces of evidence have been preliminarily discovered." He pointed to a muddy area near the edge of the main warehouse ruins. "First, we found an iron barrel there, severely deformed by fire, almost a lump of iron. There were dark, suspicious liquid residues on the inside of the barrel, with a pungent odor, suggesting it may have been a container for accelerants. Second, we extracted several samples of burnt residue near the entrance to the duty room and inside the warehouse, near the point of origin of the fire. The color and texture of the ash are very unusual, unlike ordinary building materials; it looks like some kind of packaging material. Whether it's a plastic woven bag or tarpaulin, we need to analyze it in the lab."
His tone turned serious as he pointed to the duty room: "Third, next to the deceased's body, we found a charred and deformed aluminum lunchbox. The lid was blown open or exploded, and there were pasty carbon residues inside, which looked like uneaten food. The preliminary judgment is that the deceased may have been eating when the fire started, or had just finished eating."
Jiang Ling's gaze moved from the fire-ravaged ruins to the brick and stone guardhouse, and finally settled on the corpse.
A fragmented, almost unrecognizable image suddenly appeared in my mind.
It was the same torrential rain in the dead of night, the same flames soaring into the sky, the same brick and stone buildings collapsing in the flames, and the same multiple signs of fire. In the background of the scene, there appears to be an open file with an obscured dossier number, on which are scribbled red marks:
"Arson series...methods upgraded...characteristics unclear..."
Jiang Ling couldn't help but shiver.
She suddenly raised her head, her gaze piercing through the heavy rain, staring into the depths of the desolate ruins.
This was by no means an isolated or accidental act of arson.
In a past life, after this great fire, there would be even more intense and ferocious fires.
The fire in front of us was committed by a first-time arsonist on the verge of addiction.
If we don't catch him, if we allow the arsonist to grope, experiment, and escalate his methods in the dark, then the next thing to be set on fire might be far more than just a warehouse full of building materials.
Back in her office, Jiang Ling could still feel the chaos and pungent smell of the Xinglong warehouse fire scene lingering in her nostrils and on the corners of her clothes.
Outside the window, the cold autumn rain continued to patter against the glass, making one feel heavy-hearted.
Fan Wei is still leading the team to conduct on-site investigations and investigate the social relationships of the deceased Fan Guoping, while Jiang Ling is convening a discussion with the members of the psychological profiling team.
Time is of the essence, and the scope and direction of the investigation must be determined as soon as possible.
Li Zhenliang sat at the conference table, holding a notebook in his hand, the pen tip hovering over the paper, his eyes focused with a hint of barely perceptible tension.
He was a core member of the psychological profiling team and knew that he had to lead a team to handle complex cases independently while Jiang Ling was pursuing her master's degree. This warehouse arson case was both a challenge and an excellent opportunity for growth for him.
Jiang Ling spoke, her voice low: "Liangzi, let's first sort out the key information we currently have."
"Yes, team leader." Li Zhenliang responded immediately, opened his notebook, and gave a clear and organized report.
"I. The deceased, Fan Guoping, male, 52 years old, was a warehouse keeper at Xinglong Building Materials. Preliminary social relationship investigation shows that he was well-liked and had no major debt disputes or obvious enemies. His wife had a long-term chronic illness and stayed at home, and his daughter was studying in high school locally. His economic situation was average, belonging to the ordinary wage earner class. According to his coworkers, he was honest and conscientious, and worked hard, but he was a bit stubborn."
"Second, at least three independent ignition points were confirmed on site, distributed in different areas of the warehouse, especially near the paint and thinner storage areas. An accelerant was used, and preliminary analysis suggests it was paint thinner stored in the warehouse."
"Third, the duty rest room is located on the outer eastern side of the main warehouse and is a brick and stone structure. The door lock shows signs of external damage, but the exact time cannot be determined."
"Fourth, a charred lunchbox containing food residue and carbonized matter was found next to Fan Guoping's body. The forensic doctor initially estimated that the time of death was shortly after the fire. Based on the analysis of the stomach contents, he may have been eating or had just finished eating at the time."
"Fifth, the fire department reported that the fire spread extremely rapidly, far exceeding that of ordinary fires, and the core temperature was extremely high, which is related to a large amount of flammable materials and accelerants."
Jiang Ling nodded. Li Zhenliang's report was clear, concise, and to the point. "Very good. Based on this information, we need to create a sketch of this arsonist."
She stood up, walked to the whiteboard hanging on one side of the office, and picked up a black marker.
“First, familiarize yourself with the environment.” Jiang Ling wrote these four words on the whiteboard and underlined them. “The murderer chose the ignition points very precisely, all in areas where flammable materials were concentrated and relatively hidden. He knew where the thinner was stored and could easily access it without arousing suspicion. More importantly, he knew the exact location of the duty room and knew that it was relatively isolated. This familiarity cannot be achieved by temporary reconnaissance by outsiders.”
After saying this, Jiang Ling looked at Li Zhenliang: "What does this mean?"
After a moment's thought, Li Zhenliang quickly replied, "It's highly likely to be an insider, a recently departed employee, or at least someone who has been frequently coming and going recently and knows the warehouse layout inside and out."
Jiang Ling nodded approvingly: "So, what should we do next?"
Knowing that Jiang Ling was intentionally giving him pointers, Li Zhenliang stood up and said, "Next, we need to narrow down the scope of our investigation, focusing on the existing warehouse employees and those who have left in the last three months, especially those who left for abnormal reasons, such as those who were fired or had conflicts with the foreman, the boss, or Fan Guoping."
Jiang Ling was very pleased and nodded again: "Very good, we'll do as you say. Write it down and we'll communicate with Captain Fan later."
Li Zhenliang responded loudly, "Yes!"
Jiang Ling turned to Zhou Wei, who was sitting at the conference table, frowning at a hand-drawn floor plan: "Dawei, do you have anything to add?"
Zhou Wei is now the team's "living map," adept at analyzing cases from the perspective of spatial layout and geographical environment. He picked up the hand-drawn warehouse floor plan and walked to the whiteboard.
This drawing is a rough sketch that Zhou Wei made immediately after the fire was brought under control. Although it is rough, the orientation is clear and it is perfect for case analysis.
Zhou Wei fixed the diagram on the whiteboard: "Look. The main structure of the warehouse is a steel frame with a corrugated steel roof. The interior is divided into areas. The east area contains timber and insulation materials, the west area contains paint, thinner and other chemicals, and the middle area contains a passageway and a small amount of finished products. The duty room is on the east exterior wall, with a separate door and a small window facing the interior of the warehouse."
Zhou Wei picked up a red pen and marked three circles on the map: "These are the ignition points chosen by the murderer. One is next to the paint buckets in the west area, one is deep in the timber pile in the east area, and the other is in the pile of waste packaging materials near the back window of the duty room."
He paused, then pointed to the point of origin of the fire near the back window of the duty room: "This point is crucial. It's very close to the duty room, but separated by some shelves and miscellaneous items. The perpetrator clearly knew that this pile of things was flammable, and its location was out of the way, making it difficult to be discovered immediately. At the same time, the thick smoke and flames from this ignition point would directly flow into the small window of the duty room. Considering that Mr. Fan may have just finished eating and was less vigilant, or was resting... the choice of this point was both concealed and posed a direct threat to the duty room."
Zhou Wei's analysis makes the spatial relationships more three-dimensional.
Li Zhenliang stared at the diagram and exclaimed, "Dawei is right! This shows that the murderer was not only familiar with the overall layout of the warehouse, but also very clear about the details of every corner. He was definitely an insider. In addition, he chose to set fire to multiple points simultaneously or in succession to ensure that the fire would quickly get out of control. He was very meticulous."
At this point, Li Zhenliang looked at Jiang Ling, who had remained silent, and said, "Team leader, shouldn't we start by analyzing the criminal motive? It's the three-pronged investigation method, after all."
Jiang Ling smiled slightly: "Okay, you take the lead in the analysis."
Li Zhenliang was a little excited, imitating Jiang Ling's usual calm and composed demeanor when analyzing cases: "The warehouse was set on fire, and one person died. First, we need to determine whether the murderer's purpose was arson to murder or arson to destroy property."
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