fictionpage Chapter 7 Direction
Chapter 7 Direction
A hissing sound came from the walkie-talkie.
"Hey, Captain Xu, Wu Song and I have found something! Wu Song and I have found something! There's a body tied to a cross made of wooden pillars, and it's wearing a red hat!"
"Hiss hiss hiss... Location!"
"It's probably between Jixiang Village and Heping Village."
"Can you determine the approximate time of the crime?"
"When was the last time Wu Song and I passed by here on patrol?" Cao Dahua raised his watch and glanced at it. "Within an hour! He set up the cross and tied the deceased to it during the hour between our patrol breaks, which was between 11:10 and 12:10."
"They might have gone too far, or they might still be on their way. Each team, report your positions. We'll plan a route to Team Leader Cao's location. If we spot any suspicious vehicles along the way, stop them, inspect them, and register them!"
Then Xu Bin directed the movement of each squad over the walkie-talkie.
Wu Song and Cao Dahua first used their motorcycle lights and flashlights to survey the surroundings.
Let's see if the killer is hiding nearby.
Although it's highly likely the killer had a vehicle and left after leaving the body here.
But what if?
Criminal investigation work is inherently hard work. In most cases, solving the case relies on talking and doing things, such as investigation and visits.
In TV shows and movies, the reasoning behind a case often stems from a sense of helplessness when the case reaches a dead end.
After checking, no suspect was found.
Wu Song and Cao Dahua then carefully examined the victim.
"Disciple, tell me, what did you see?" After shining the flashlight for a while, Cao Dahua glanced at Wu Song.
"Male, 1.72 meters tall, thin build, with long-term pressure marks on his temples in front of his ears, a characteristic of wearing glasses for a long time. Judging from the looseness of his skin and his full head of black hair, he is probably wearing a pair of nearsighted glasses. His hands have smooth skin, so he is most likely engaged in non-physical work."
I lifted the clothes up slightly and glanced at the metal buckle of the belt that was showing a little bit.
The large letter "H" is particularly eye-catching.
"Hermes?"
Wu Song remembered a rich second-generation student from his previous university who wore this kind of belt and had even talked about how to distinguish between real and fake. So he quickly checked it on the spot and said, "It's genuine. The cheapest one costs four or five thousand. This victim is very wealthy!"
"So expensive?" Cao Dahua exclaimed in surprise. "Are you sure? It's not a fake, is it?"
"We should be able to confirm it." Wu Song nodded.
"Well! It's probably another steel mill employee. A lot of factories aren't doing so well these days. Even teachers and such often can't get paid. Steel mills are still doing alright. This victim is probably a low-level manager at the steel mill. Ordinary employees can neither afford nor receive such expensive belts!"
After saying that, he looked up at the sky. The rain had lessened a bit. He took out two cigarettes from his pocket and handed one to Wu Song. "Here, have one. Let's have one away from here, it's getting cold."
"I don't smoke."
"Hmm?" Cao Dahua raised an eyebrow. "A criminal police officer who doesn't smoke? He'll learn sooner or later! He'll have to learn at meetings, morning and night."
"I really don't smoke."
"Alright." Seeing that Wu Song really wasn't smoking, Cao Dahua walked a dozen meters away, shielded himself from the rain, lit a cigarette, and exhaled a puff of smoke. Only then did the tension on his face ease a little. "This is the third one to happen in our jurisdiction. Well! It's becoming a series of murders."
"A series of murders?" Wu Song recalled what Cao Dahua had just said about the first two cases, then compared it with the information he had just observed in his mind. He felt that Cao Dahua's "series" was questionable. "Master, you said the first victim's face was smashed? Were they all smashed? Also, were both victims strangled with electrical wires?"
"Right! Right! Why did this suspect switch to using a knife to mutilate the victim's face this time? Why didn't he just smash it?" Cao Dahua's eyes lit up. "Is it because he and the victim have an unusual relationship? Or is it because this case and the previous two were not committed by the same person at all?"
Cao Dahua concealed the cigarette in his palm, approached the victim, and shone a flashlight on his neck. "This mark doesn't look like an electrical wire; it looks more like something made by a rope."
"Not bad, you're quite observant!" Cao Dahua put away his flashlight and shone it on Wu Song.
"Just lucky!"
Wu Song nodded, but felt somewhat helpless.
There was no other way; it was forced upon me.
Observant detail is an essential quality for navigating the world and making a living.
If you're not meticulous in solving cases, at worst you won't be able to solve them at all.
But if you're not careful when you're out in the world, a moment of carelessness can be fatal.
So many people were defeated by Sun Erniang at Shizipo and turned into human flesh buns, yet she herself remained unharmed, all thanks to her keen observation skills.
……
Twenty minutes later, officers from the nearby police station arrived at the scene and set up a cordon.
Within forty minutes, all members of the Major Crimes Unit had arrived.
The forensic experts from the branch office also came, along with Wen Zheng'an, the captain of the criminal investigation team, and Li Xiang, the deputy director in charge of criminal investigation.
"Let's report the situation!" The two of them immediately went to Xu Bin, the captain of the third squadron.
"When we discovered that it was raining heavily again tonight, I divided our Third Squad into four teams and patrolled the suburbs, thinking that if the murderer committed another crime, we might run into him. When Deputy Captain Cao and Wu Song patrolled here for the second time, they encountered the victim whose body had been dumped."
"So, there weren't any victims' bodies when the first patrol passed by? Is that right?"
"yes!"
"This is outrageous! This is the third incident already. Can we combine these cases for investigation?"
"This case differs significantly from the previous two in terms of the method of disfigurement and the tool used to cause mechanical asphyxiation of the victim. These are circumstances that ordinary people would not be aware of, so I do not rule out the possibility of a copycat crime."
"Even if it's not a series of cases, this is a huge deal. Look, there are even criminals copying the crime. Xu Bin, our city only has one million people, and our district only has two hundred thousand. Do you know how badly this case will affect our district and the entire Gotham City? I'm giving you one month. I want to see the murderer!"
"Yes!" Xu Bin knew that this was not the time to bargain, so he saluted and agreed.
……
3:30 a.m.
Chengbei Branch.
The office of the Third Squadron was filled with smoke.
Apart from the two newcomers, Wu Song and Liu Shutong, everyone else had a cigarette in their hand.
"This case really can't be combined with the previous two cases." Xu Bin talked about cigarette ash. "Aside from the differences in the murder weapon and disfigurement methods found by Lao Cao and Wu Song, we haven't found playing cards in the victim's pocket this time. The difference is too great, it's more like someone copied the crime."
"Is it possible that the killer was too lazy to release them? Or deliberately trying to mislead our investigation?" Jiang Yang asked casually.