Free Web NovelChapter 894: Chapter 467: Returning to the Crime Scene! (Part 2)
"Perhaps with so many pairs of eyes observing together, we can truly discover some details we’ve previously overlooked."
"That’s how criminal investigation works; it’s often the most inconspicuous details that hold the key to solving the case."
Immediately, Political Commissioner Li quickly contacted the municipal bureau’s dispatch center to request the deployment of the special bus usually used for major operations.
Ten minutes later, a jet-black bus with the word "Police" painted on its body steadily drove into the front yard of the criminal investigation unit.
The criminal investigators had already gathered at the entrance, each with a focused expression and brisk pace, boarding the bus in order.
The driver, Mr. Zhang, was a long-time employee of the bureau, responsible for various field assignments, and was very familiar with the personnel and work modes of different departments.
He glanced at the boarding detectives through the rearview mirror and casually remarked while adjusting it:
"Mr. Qin, with such a grand lineup today—is it a collective party day activity?"
"I’ve heard that the barren hillside on the outskirts of the city is nothing but yellow soil and gravel, not much of a scenic view."
Just seated in the front row, Mr. Qin faintly smiled at this remark and shook his head, replying, "Mr. Zhang, you guessed wrong this time."
"We’re not going for a study tour; we’re heading to the scene to handle a case."
"Handling a case?" The driver was taken aback, and his hands paused briefly on the steering wheel.
"What kind of case requires the entire unit to be deployed?"
"I’ve been driving this bus for seven or eight years, transporting for training and exercises, but I’ve never seen the whole team being taken to solve a case."
Mr. Qin said in a low voice, "The case is quite complicated, and we can’t manage with fewer people."
"As you know, sometimes the more hands, the better. Unity is strength."
The driver initially wanted to ask more but saw Mr. Qin had already gathered his smile and was looking silently out the window, clearly not intent on continuing the topic.
Mr. Zhang wisely swallowed the questions he was about to ask, leisurely turning on the left signal, and the bus slowly pulled out of the criminal investigation unit’s gate.
Forty minutes later, the vehicle left the main road, turning onto the mountainous roads of the suburbs.
The surrounding scenery gradually transformed from urban hustle to rural tranquility, with the distant mountain outlines becoming clearer.
However, the road ahead became increasingly uneven, littered with gravel and pockmarked with potholes, and the bus started to bump noticeably.
The driver slowed down, carefully picking a route while seeking advice, "Mr. Qin, this road is really bad. If we go further, I’m afraid the undercarriage won’t hold up."
"Why don’t we stop here? From now on, everyone will have to walk a bit."
Mr. Qin leaned forward to look through the front window. The dirt path ahead was indeed rugged, not suitable for the bus to venture further.
After a brief thought, he nodded in agreement, "You’re right; this bus has a low ride height, forcing through might get it stuck, delaying us instead."
"Walking is fine; all of us are used to it."
Speaking, he turned to Mr. Political Commissioner Li and Director Hou seated in the front row, and asked, "Political Commissioner Li, Director Hou, shall we get off here and walk a bit? What do you think?"
Political Commissioner Li gave a slight smile at these words, cheerfully replied, "Mr. Qin, haven’t you known us all these years?"
"We used to run down clues step by step with backpacks; what’s this distance!"
"Let’s go, might as well stretch our muscles."
Director Hou added, "Precisely, cases don’t wait, let’s hurry up."
Mr. Qin nodded, signaling the driver to stop.
The bus door opened with a hiss, and the special case team members disembarked one after another, led by Mr. Qin, steadily making their way toward the crime scene along the rugged mountain path.
After speaking, Director Hou and Political Commissioner Li also got off, continuing their journey on foot along the bumpy dirt road ahead.
In fifteen minutes, the group finally reached the site where the body was found.
Mr. Qin quickly walked to the front, raising his hand to point at a half-buried gray stone on the ground, solemnly saying, "Mr. Jiang and Director Hou, this is the mark I intentionally left at the time."
"The body was initially buried at this spot, covered with soil, but the head was partially exposed."
He took a stack of scene photos from the hands of a fellow investigator and, after carefully comparing them with the surrounding environment, nodded affirmed, "That’s right, this is the place."
"Look, the terrain features in the photos match exactly with now."
He specifically handed the photos to Jiang An and Director Hou, clearly documenting the original state when the body was discovered.
Jiang An accepted the photos, his gaze moving back and forth between the photos and the scene.
He noticed the environmental details around the body in the photos: disturbed soil, scattered dead leaves, and a few branches that seemed to be placed casually.
He pointed to the branches beside the victim’s head in the photo and asked, "Were these branches originally at the scene? Were there any other unusual marks found at the time?"
Mr. Qin immediately replied, "The branches were indeed present at the scene."
"At the time, we placed significant importance on this case, and extracted all suspicious items within a three-hundred-meter radius of the body as the center."
"Not only the branches, but even stones potentially used as weapons were all cataloged and recorded."
He pointed to some obvious pits at the site and said, "Look, the stones in this area are much sparser than the surroundings precisely because we extracted some as evidence back then."
Upon hearing this, Director Hou couldn’t help but give a thumbs-up, sincerely praising, "This site investigation was indeed thorough."
"Even extracting stones, such diligence is commendable."
He glanced around and added, "It’s better to be overly detailed in preliminary work than miss anything. If these foundational tasks are left for later, it might be too late."
Political Commissioner Li took over the conversation, further explaining, "At the time, the nature of the case was unclear, whether it was suicide, homicide, or an accident, and all required ample physical evidence."
"If it was homicide, the victim’s chest fracture likely resulted from stones found on site."
"Therefore, we took the most cautious approach, extracting everything possible to leave enough evidence for subsequent analysis."
Jiang An nodded thoughtfully, his gaze returning to the photos in his hands.
In the photos, the victim’s head and body were separated, appearing particularly stark under the mottled shadows of the trees.
And those scattered branches seemed like unsolved riddles, waiting for them to uncover the truth behind them.
While conversing, Director Hou slowly scanned the surroundings, his gaze sweeping over this open yet deserted area, his tone carrying a sense of gravity, "From this vantage point, the view is indeed broad, capturing distant scenery at a glance."
"Precisely because of this, it makes this place noticeably eerily remote."
He paused, listening intently, then raised his hand to point toward a faint noise in the distance, asking, "Do you hear it? Is that the sound of a car? Though not clear, you can hear it intermittently."
Standing nearby, Mr. Qin quickly responded, "Yes, Director Hou, there’s a highway not far to the side."
At this moment, Jiang An did not join the conversation but crouched down, meticulously comparing the scene photos he held with the actual view before him.
He examined it very closely, sometimes raising his head to observe the terrain, other times lowering his head to scrutinize the photo details.
A moment later, he turned to Mr. Qin and asked, "When the body was discovered, what was the state of the surface soil coverage? Was there much?"
Mr. Qin, after a brief recollection, replied, "Not much, one could even say very little."
"Moreover, the soil distribution was very uneven; some places were almost devoid of soil, while other places had a concentration."
On hearing this, Jiang An looked up thoughtfully, carefully examining the surrounding ground environment.
He noticed the vegetation cover in this area was indeed sparse, most of the ground exposed, with only a few clusters of wild grass swaying in the wind.
"Has this area always been so bare? The grass is so sparse?" he inquired further.
"Yes, it has mostly remained the same since we discovered the site,"
Mr. Qin confidently answered, "The soil here is quite peculiar, with many rocks and thin soil, making it hard for vegetation to take root. Even those pine trees grow sparse and scattered, not forming a forest."
Jiang An’s gaze continued to wander the ground until it stopped at some depressions.
"In terrain like this, if it rains, would the water naturally flow and carve grooves?"
Mr. Qin nodded in response, "Indeed so."
Finally, Jiang An stood up, dusted his hands, and glanced around.
