Free Web NovelChapter 211: Chapter 210 Criminal Image Portrayal_1
Zhang Haohao coughed twice and hurriedly leaned in.
"Over a week, the decomposition of the body is not obvious, which is difficult to determine, especially since bodies change slower in winter."
Actually, this judgment wasn’t wrong, it just didn’t meet Xu Dayuan’s requirements. What he wanted was something more concrete, an exact determination of the time of death, which would be advantageous for the investigation.
Zhou Ning thought for a moment, then raised his head to look at Xu Dayuan.
"We numbered the bodies in the order from top to bottom. The time of death for the first victim was around twenty-four hours, and then it was basically one per day. After all, I estimate the time of death for the ninth victim at ten days since there’s a marbling pattern on the abdomen."
Xu Dayuan looked at Zhou Ning, because Zhang Haohao’s answer had greatly disappointed him, lacking confidence and merely responding to questions without any direction for the next step in the investigation.
"Zhou Xiaozhou, based on the autopsy and the current findings, could you provide a profile of the murderer?"
Zhou Ning fell silent, flipping through the autopsy records, gazing at the map on the whiteboard, and finally resting his eyes on the large screen next to it, displaying the photos Mr. Zhao had just taken, all of victims’ wounds.
Without evading or pleasantries, Zhou Ning gathered his thoughts and then began to speak:
"Based on the frequency and speed at which the bodies were dumped, can we infer that the dumping site is somewhat difficult to access by car without leaving traces? So, does that imply that the murderer might have a simple means of transportation like an electric bike or motorcycle?
As for his range of activity, it’s within twenty kilometers of Huangshi Village, which includes Jiulong Town and the Development Zone Logistics Park. There’s a saying in our line of work: ’Dump far, bury near.’ At first glance, it seemed like dumping, but if you think about it, is it not also ’burying’ since the bodies are in a well and the crimes are continuous?
Then we return to the cause of death. The autopsy on the nine bodies revealed that the fatal injuries were all blow to the head. The temples were struck with a wrench, followed by smashing the face, except the last body didn’t have its face smashed, and there were no bloodstains around the well."
He Chunyang’s eyes shifted, an epiphany on his face.
"Are you suggesting that to prevent blood splatter, the murderer cushioned the area around the victims?"
Zhou Ning nodded.
Xu Dayuan’s brows furrowed, with no hint of pleasure, as he gestured to He Chunyang, interrupting Zhou Xiaozhou’s profiling.
"Keep going, Zhou Xiaozhou. The well contains ten skeletons that have been skeletonized, clearly indicating that their time of death is completely different from these fresher bodies, and obviously split into two phases."
Zhou Ning smiled.
"Right, the murderer seems to have operated in two phases. Based on the state of the skeletonized bodies in the well and the distribution of the pupal cases, the previous ten victims died roughly within one to two years of each other.
However, the humidity and temperature in the well are suitable, and I think the last time bodies were dumped was in a season similar to the current one, without the spread of high-decomposition odors, so the murderer was bolder.
Considering all these characteristics, my profile of the murderer is as follows: male, local, aged between 25 and 40, with simple transportation, highly paranoid, rigid personality, obsessive-compulsive, works with wrenches, and returns to his hometown around the Lunar New Year each winter."
After Zhou Ning finished speaking, everyone fell silent.
Zhang Haohao held his breath, finding Zhou Ning’s analysis somewhat too daring.
After all, Xu Dayuan and He Chunyang were the captain of the first detachment of their brigade and the captain of the criminal police detachment of the sub-bureau, respectively. Even when they asked you, shouldn’t you be more cautious with your words?
While Zhang Haohao was nervously observing the others, Xu Dayuan had already spoken.
"Each point matches with the current findings. I think we can start searching based on Zhou Xiaozhou’s profile. If he comes back to his hometown early for the new year, doesn’t that suggest that his home is also near here? At least it won’t be too far, especially since few people know about Sanquan Bay if they’re not from around here."
He Chunyang nodded continuously, listing items in his notebook.
"I think we can divide into three teams. One will take the victims’ facial reconstructions to the surrounding areas to see if anyone has seen these people. Even though they are drifters, they still had pimps.
The other two teams will conduct door-to-door searches in Jiulong Town and the Development Zone. We’ll investigate everyone who has returned from work elsewhere for the new year in the surrounding villages. If we undertake a comprehensive sweep, we’re bound to find something.
As for the reason for the search, it’s just to collect data on migrant workers to address issues with left-behind children and the elderly, and we’ll get the town and the office in the Development Zone to cooperate."
Xu Dayuan thought for a moment and then nodded in agreement.
"We’ve brought many hands with us from our team. We’ll just integrate them into your groups. Having new faces makes the investigation less suspicious. Alright, let’s consider this the special case meeting. Tomorrow morning, let’s follow this plan and start the search. As for Zhou Ning’s end, keep in touch by phone with any progress."
As he said this, He Chunyang stood up, as if he was ready to arrange work with his notebook in hand.
At this moment, Xia Momo raised her hand, and Xu Dayuan quickly stood up, doing his best to make his expression seem kind and gentle as he motioned to Xia Momo.
"Mr. Xia, if you have any requests, just say them."
"I have no requests; it’s just that while you were discussing the case, I had already searched for information on these nine people and found a few more pieces of information. However, I can’t determine two of them, as there are many results." ƒгeeweɓn૦vel.com
This statement made everyone’s gaze turn to the computer in front of Mr. Xia. She hurriedly connected it to the big screen, displaying some comparison photos, indeed showing that besides the three pieces of information just matched, the remaining six people each had one or a few pieces of information trailing them.
He Chunyang leaned in, glanced quickly, and eagerly said to Xia Momo:
"Mr. Xia, could you please send me these comparison results, or print them out for me? I’ll get someone to verify them right away."
"Most of them are not from this province, and I’m not sure if the software’s findings are accurate?"
After all, ID cards started being renewed from 2005 and were basically all replaced last year; I don’t understand why people are still using the first-generation ID cards now."
Xia Momo had clicked on print, but looking at the troubled expressions on the faces of Number Six and Number Nine, it seemed that each of them had seven or eight similar pieces of information, with consistent provincial affiliations. It appears that this victim’s appearance had distinct regional characteristics.
Zhou Ning came over, smiled at Xia Momo, and encouraged her:
"In this line of work, many people don’t go back to get new IDs for a variety of reasons. The most important one is that since 2009, a nationwide network has been gradually established. Now, whatever crime someone has committed can be traced. When they go back to get a new ID, these records will show up, and naturally, they’ll be questioned."
Xia Momo had an epiphany and seemed to understand a bit more.
"I see. I’ve already sent it to Mr. He."
He Chunyang was visibly pleased, and Xu Dayuan patted him before quickly gesturing with his hand.
"Set a direction and get busy then."
Doctor Liu let out a yawn, and Zhou Ning knew he was truly exhausted. The intensity of the autopsies had left even him feeling weak in his limbs, let alone Liu Yongxin.
"Leader, I’ll go check if they have finished numbering everything. Could you please have someone take my master to rest? He can’t be too tired out."
Liu Yongxin smiled and lifted his chin, his foot shaking continuously, tauntingly looking at Xu Dayuan.
Xu Dayuan was so annoyed he spat.
"Damn! One of these days, I’ll take on a disciple too. Then you can stop using this to one-up me all the time. Have Mr. Bai take the forensic doctor to rest. You and Zhou Xiaozhou should also leave soon. Let’s deal with everything else tomorrow; after all, this isn’t a one-day job."
Liu Yongxin laughed, stood up from his chair, and patted Xu Dayuan on the shoulder.
"Mr. Bai is your disciple, don’t be down. A good disciple is hard to come by. I’m leaving now."
After speaking, Liu Yongxin quickly left, his earlier yawning energy nowhere in sight. Zhou Ning also stood up and glanced into the neighboring autopsy room, where Zhu Xingxing and his team were packing the samples. Seeing the two large sorting boxes on the floor, Zhou Ning’s eyelid twitched.
"Mr. Zhao, go call Xu Da. If we let Mr. Liu take those, he might get kicked out. These aren’t just a few samples; I reckon there must be close to a thousand there, right?"
Zhu Xingxing nodded dumbly.
"Just now, I tallied them up. There are a total of 1,132 samples. Before, when the event ended, a batch had already been sent off, with 521 samples in that batch. Adding the two together, it’s almost two thousand."
Mr. Zhao already had come back by then, with Xu Dayuan trailing behind him. Seeing the two large sorting boxes on the ground, he was also taken aback. The layers upon layers of densely packed bags, numbered and labeled, astonished him.
"So many?"
Zhou Ning nodded.
"Having Mr. Liu go by himself, he might get a thrashing from Mrs. Cui, it’s better if you assign someone else. But we really need to get these lab results quickly; otherwise, we can’t proceed with the bone reconstruction, and our work will halt."
Xu Dayuan sighed and waved at Mr. Zhao.
"Load them up. I’ll go back personally and explain the situation to Mr. Hu. If necessary, we can temporarily pull in extra people to help. If the supporting work can’t keep up, our case investigation is limited. Chunyang will watch over here."
After speaking, Mr. Zhao and the others moved the items downstairs and made arrangements for Zhu Xingxing and his team’s accommodation. Only then did Zhou Ning pull the two away to leave.
Mr. Zhao drove the police car, taking Zhou Ning and Xia Momo, dropping Xia Momo off at her home in Qidong first.
"Get some rest early. You don’t need to follow us first thing in the morning; come over after you’ve had a good sleep."
Xia Momo shook her head.
"When you go to the branch office, come to pick me up. If the labs come out and you’ve reconstructed the skull, I can start the scanning reconstruction. We can’t delay this. The more identities of the victims we find, the more it will help with the investigation."
Zhou Ning smiled at the serious Xia Momo and nodded slightly.
"Okay, I’ll pick you up tomorrow morning, then take you to breakfast. Mr. He previously took me to a place that serves really good tofu brain."
Xia Momo smiled as she got out of the car and waved at Zhou Ning.
"See you tomorrow morning!"
Mr. Zhao clicked his tongue repeatedly on the side, and Zhou Ning gave him a look.
"If you have something to say, say it. Stop making that noise."
"I’m saying, stop struggling and just hurry up and marry Mr. Xia. I think that whether it’s before or after, it will be hard for you to meet a girl better than Mr. Xia. Or could it be that you still have some unforgettable person in your heart, some kind of unerasable scar-eye man?"
Zhou Ning shook his head, his gaze drifting off to the distant neon lights, and he sighed slowly.
"I want to reclaim my memory first. If the scar-eyed man who exists in my memory learns I’m not dead, do you think he would come and try to silence me?"
