Free Web NovelChapter 409: Chapter 388: Am I Going After the Murderess?_1
Of course, unless there was some kind of transportation, with the killer standing on the vehicle, they could easily get over the height of the guardrail.
However, looking around, the entire bridge was brand new. There were several surveillance cameras at both the south and north entrances and exits of the bridge. Given this setup, it shouldn’t be here.
Zhou Ning returned to the Iveco and glanced at Mr. Qu, who was holding a laptop in the passenger seat.
"Have they finished searching all the surveillance on these bridges? The twenty-four hours before 8 p.m. on October 27, did they find any valuable information?"
Mr. Qu shook his head, somewhat hesitant to speak.
Liu Yongxin slapped him on the back and said with a stern face:
"Say what you’re thinking, why are you hesitating? Could it be that you’ve discovered something?"
Mr. Qu leaned in and lowered his voice: freewebnσvel.cѳm
"This isn’t Qindao, and I’m a bit embarrassed to say, but just now, after I did some filtering, I’ve already searched the surveillance around these seven bridges, of course including the ones on the bridges. However, two of the bridges are quite old and are not located at intersections, and moreover, there’s no surveillance. ƒreewebɳovel.com
Based on Director Zhou’s estimated time frame, I didn’t find any suspicious individuals, and there was not a single person or vehicle that lingered on the bridge, but that’s not easy to state outright, right?"
Liu Yongxin paused, clearly indicating that Mr. Qu had used his own method, but indeed, this was not Qindao, and Mr. Huang was not Xu Dayuan, so it really wasn’t easy to speak so directly.
Zhou Ning, however, stared into Mr. Qu’s eyes and raised his hand to ask:
"Wait a minute, let’s set that aside for now. Which two of the bridges you just searched are the older ones without surveillance at the nearby intersections?"
Mr. Qu stood up from his seat, directly squatting in front of Zhou Ning. The computer screen now displayed a map, and Mr. Qu pointed at the fourth and fifth bridges counting from east to west:
"It’s these two bridges, Yongsheng Bridge and Menqiao Village Bridge. They connect two rather dilapidated streets. I also checked the local forums and saw that many netizens complained that inside the old city of Dayao City, the newly constructed roads are quite good, but Yongsheng Bridge and Menqiao Village Bridge have fallen into disrepair, and their guardrails even have breaks.
As for the remaining five bridges, the first, Quetian Bridge, and this CuiZhao Bridge in front of us are showcase projects and are well-maintained. The other three bridges are Haixin Bridge, Hexie Bridge, and Xingwang Bridge. Just by hearing it, you’d know they were built recently, along with the roads they are connected to."
Zhou Ning nodded.
"Go call Mr. Zhao and Mr. Huang over. We shouldn’t waste any time at this moment; we should hurry over to take a look. Only by seeing it at night will we understand what the situation is like on the bridge."
A moment later, Mr. Zhao and Mr. Huang returned. Zhou Ning briefly mentioned Mr. Qu’s findings, merely saying that Mr. Qu discovered that not all bridges had surveillance and wanted to go see what those two without surveillance were like at night. Mr. Huang naturally had no objections.
They all got into the car and quickly arrived at Menqiao Village Bridge. The driver took this stretch, and Mr. Zhao watched closely out of the car window, almost pressing his face against it. When the car stopped, he exclaimed in surprise.
"Are we here? I didn’t see anything, is there no street lighting here?"
Mr. Huang laughed and was the first to jump out of the car.
"Dayao City can’t be compared to Qindao. Although we’re also a prefecture-level city, we aren’t by the sea nor do we have any major corporations. In terms of economic development, we might not even compare to one of Qindao’s county-level cities. Otherwise, we wouldn’t struggle so much to retain people. Initially, the forensic department also had four or five people, but one by one they all left."
Zhou Ning realized in retrospect that when he first arrived, he had also been too embarrassed to ask; how could a prefecture-level city have only one forensic doctor accompanied by an evidence technician? This was no joke. The inspection department, on the other hand, was not short-staffed. It seemed he really ought to be content.
"Mr. Zhao, you go with them to check the bridge’s railings. Call me if you find anything."
Mr. Zhao went on his way, and Mr. Huang continued:
"Alright, no more lamenting. Menqiao Village Bridge, as the name suggests, used to be called Menqiao Village. It was the first major village outside the moat. This bridge was built in the 1980s and at that time, served as the main road outside the west city gate, mainly to accommodate the textile factories number three and six.
Ever since the textile factories closed down, the bustling Heping Road that extends beyond Menqiao Village Bridge has also lost its luster, especially since they cut off Heping Road when they expanded and redirected the roads to the south. Hence, hardly anyone comes this way. The streetlights used to all be on, but now, eight out of ten are not working, and there are many large potholes in the road."
This introduction made Zhou Ning understand; during that era, many families suffered such changes. Glancing at the pitch-black bridge surface, and out towards the sides, indeed, it was rare to see a streetlight on.
Given its proximity to the moat, with no surveillance, no streetlights, no pedestrians or residents, it indeed was an ideal spot for dumping a body.
"Is the crime rate around here high?"
"Not high, the surrounding area is all in a state of demolition and relocation. There are not many people coming here on a regular basis. I heard that both factory three and six have sold their land and factory buildings, and it looks like this whole area is set to be redeveloped. Actually, the residents are happy, at least bringing life back to these crumbling buildings.
However, it’s been back and forth for two years, and I don’t know whether negotiations fell through or what, but they’ve never started construction. The roads leading here have been blocked off with mounds of dirt, making it inaccessible to four-wheeled vehicles. To drive in like us, one must come along the riverside road."
Zhou Ning nodded, understanding what Huang Youdao meant.
"You mean that if you want to drive here, you must take this small road along the river, and even if this entrance can’t be captured on camera, other entrances could still capture it."
