Chapter 4 Chapter 3 in Ashes
It is inevitable that the forensic doctors of the provincial department have to attend some administrative meetings. Although I know that these meetings are very important, after all, there is no sense of accomplishment in solving the case after meeting, so I am really not interested in meeting.Of course, unless it is to Yuntai.
Ever since I came into contact with Lin Xiaoxiao's case, the "Yuntai case" has become a knot in my heart.It seems that there is no new information to be discovered just by looking up information on the intranet. The best way is to go directly to Yuntai City to look for clues.
So I appeared at the forensic work meeting of the Yuntai Public Security Bureau.
After stuttering through the manuscript, I wiped the sweat from my forehead, and then began to think about what questions to ask and what materials to read.Although I knew that it would be fantastic to solve a long-standing case based on these alone, I still held my breath secretly.
After dinner, I borrowed the office of my brother Huang Detachment, and asked the internal staff of the criminal police detachment to move the file of the "Yuntai case", opened the serial case system, and started researching in the file.
There are indeed a lot of files, and more than a dozen thick information books are piled up on the desk. I carefully flip through the interrogation transcripts, on-site investigation transcripts, autopsy transcripts and photos, hoping to find something.The photos of the three corpses were clearly displayed in front of me. They were all teenage girls who were killed when they went to the public toilet alone at night. Their young faces were full of fear and unwillingness.The murderer's purpose is very clear, which is to rape the corpse.But the case is very strange, there are no witnesses, no evidence, so it is impossible to identify the suspects.Judging from the records, dozens of suspects were locked in the three cases, but they were excluded one by one because they had no basis for screening or did not have the time to commit the crimes.There are still a few pages of new investigation records sandwiched in the dossier.Many years have passed since the case, and there are still a few policemen who are still perseveringly continuing to carry out investigation activities.
After searching through the files, I still haven't found any new clues. I looked over and over again at the scene photos of several cases, hoping to engrave them deeply in my mind, and maybe one day I can think of something.What puzzles me the most is that in all three cases, the vaginal swabs of the deceased had a weak positive reaction in the pre-sperm spot test, but the DNA could not be detected as belonging to anyone.
"Let's ask a DNA testing expert next time, is there any deviation in the testing process?" I said to myself.
"It's past eleven o'clock, and you haven't gone back yet?" Team Huang pushed the door open and walked in.
I shook my head, blinked my red eyes, stretched my waist and said, "Senior brother, why are you here so late?"
"Just now I chatted with him in the room of the forensic expert of the Second Institute of the Ministry of Public Security." Team Huang said while picking up a disposable paper cup, "Why don't you make some tea yourself? I really benefited a lot today. An expert is an expert, listening to him is better than reading ten years of books."
I stood up and said, "Brother, don't make tea, I'm hungry, please invite me to eat fried noodles."
Team Huang made a frightened expression: The last time I went to eat fried noodles, there was a corpse case (see the "Flying Corpse" case in the first part of the "Forensic Qin Ming" series), why don't you go? ?
"You're really superstitious." I said with a smile, "If it's really that evil, then there will be a murder case while eating noodles this time."
"Ancestor," Huang Detachment threw me a cigarette, "Is it okay to treat you to eat? Let's accumulate some virtue."
At 11:30 in the evening, there were no cars on the streets of Yuntai, and even the pedestrian street, which is usually the most densely populated, only passed by couples and patrolmen in twos and threes.On both sides of the pedestrian street, several parallel alleys stretched out. At this time, the lights were all off. The lampshades of the street lamps were blown by the night wind, and they swayed helplessly, and the lights on the ground also swayed. Weird feeling.
"These alleys are very busy during the day, selling everything." Team Huang said, "Now that housing prices are soaring, it is estimated that the facades here will sell for more than 20,000 square meters."
I wasn't interested in housing prices, so I asked, "Why are we here? It's like investigating a case. Is there a place to eat here?"
"Comrade Crow, can't you not talk about the case?" Detachment Huang pointed to the front and said, "The alley in front is full of late-night snacks, and you can eat whatever you want."
Sure enough, after walking less than 100 meters, I came to another alley entrance. The inside was really brightly lit and crowded with people. The smell of barbecue and spicy crayfish mixed with the smoke of barbecue came to my nostrils. I rubbed my nose subconsciously. .
"I changed my mind." I was excited when I saw the flaming lobster, "Let's eat lobster."
"It's really good at killing people." Team Huang said with a smile, "If I knew this, I would take you to my house and let your sister-in-law give you slices. Lobsters are so expensive now."
In half an hour, the pot of lobsters in front of me was dissected into a pot of lobster shells by Team Huang.
I picked up the drink and took a sip, stretched my waist and said, "This sleep will definitely be a comfortable sleep."
Suddenly, a sharp siren pierced the night sky. I followed the sound and saw a fire truck roaring past the alley.
"Fire?" I became alert. "Let's go over there and see if we can help?"
"Good luck." Team Huang said, "Stop saying a few words."
The scene of the fire was in an alley we just passed, and Team Huang and I ran over quickly.
This alley is relatively spacious, with a road surface of more than ten meters wide and a total length of two to three hundred meters. Both sides of the road are lined with storefronts. There are banks, supermarkets, Internet cafes, restaurants, and hardware stores. You can see the prosperity during the day.
"It seems that the shopkeepers of these stores don't live here at night, and no one is watching such a big commotion." I saw only a dozen people watching by the fire truck, and said.
Thick smoke was coming out from under the rolling gate of a facade in the middle of the alley, and the fire officers and soldiers were busy picking up high-pressure water guns while cooling down the rolling gate.Suddenly, the rolling shutter door fell down with a bang, and it turned out that the house was already in flames.Seeing the situation inside the house, the fire commander began to raise his voice, commanding the soldiers to put out the fire quickly, and the number of onlookers gradually increased.
"Wanting Supermarket," Huang said with a smile, "it sounds like it's run by a young girl."
"I think the scene is a bit strange." I said, "Have you noticed? The rolling shutter is not fully closed. The reason why someone can find the fire here is because there is thick smoke coming out from under the rolling shutter."
"We came late." The temperature at the scene was very high. Team Huang wiped the sweat from his forehead and said, "Maybe the fire brigade broke open the door."
"But there is no sign of the rolling gate being pried." As I said, I wanted to get closer to see the rolling gate that had been stretched out on the ground, but the firefighters stretched out their hands to block it.
"It's so late, there's no reason for the shutter to remain open," said Team Huang.
"Did a thief get in and set the scene on fire after stealing something?" I said.
"Why are the thieves so ruthless? There's no need for that," Huang said.
The fire brigade was busy for more than half an hour, and the fire was finally extinguished. Fortunately, the fire did not spread to nearby stores.A firefighter walked into the scene to investigate. Unexpectedly, he ran out in a panic within a minute after walking in, shouting: "Captain! There are dead people inside!"
I was a little sleepy and suddenly woke up. I turned my head to look at Team Huang, who was also looking at me, and said, "No way, it's really evil!"
A lieutenant standing next to the fire engine had already taken out his phone and asked for support from the Criminal Police Department.Huang Detachment showed their police officer ID and said, "We are from the criminal police detachment. I want to go in and see the scene." The policeman from the police station who maintained order also came over and said, "Yes, he is our leader."
"No, the danger must be ruled out before others can go in." The lieutenant said, "The corpse can be carried out first."
I poked my head around and saw that the inside of the supermarket was already a mess, with racks that had been swayed by high-pressure water guns, scorched goods all over the floor, and puddles of puddles of water on the ground.I took a deep breath and said, "I'm afraid it will be difficult to find this scene, the damage is too serious."
"Okay," Detachment Huang said to the lieutenant, "Then I trouble you to take a photo and remember where the corpse is lying."
After a while, four soldiers carried out a black corpse with a canvas.Detachment Huang was not in a hurry to examine the corpse, and began to question the reporter and fire fighters with other criminal policemen who came.
"I stayed online at an Internet cafe until twelve o'clock. When I passed by, I found that the shutter door of this supermarket was not closed properly. From the gap under the door, I could see faint fire and smoke, so I called the police. .”
The informant was an honest student who looked like a student.
"That's very suspicious." I looked at the burnt corpse in front of me, tilted my head and said to Team Huang, "The door is really not completely closed."
"Could it be because the weather is too hot? You see, this store has no windows. If the door is closed, it will be very stuffy." Team Huang stood at the entrance of the supermarket and looked in, pointing to the inner wall of the store.
"This supermarket faces south. There are three stores in total, but two of the rolling shutters are always locked. Only the rolling shutter on the west side is used as an entrance and exit. The entire store is lined with neatly arranged shelves. The platform is on the west side, and the easternmost side is the temporary living space of the owner himself. The partition is made of curtains. Now the curtains have been completely burned, and only some fragments can be seen on the hanging track above. There is a wardrobe inside. It had been washed down by the water cannon. There was also a bed against the wall. The furniture was badly burned. The body was lying on its back next to the bed, perpendicular to the side of the bed, with the head close to the bed and feet away from the bed."
"Can you tell where the fire started and when it started?" Team Huang asked the lieutenant.
"The fire started on the south side of the temporary living space, near the air-conditioning plug." The lieutenant said, "We thought it might be a short-circuit of the air-conditioning plug that caused the fire, so we used high-voltage ignition to extinguish the fire. Time, if there is no chemical combustion aid, we analyze The fire started half an hour before the report, so that it could form such a large fire when it was discovered."
I walked into the scene from the position where the rolling gate fell off, looked at the air conditioner hanging on the east side of the wall, turned my head and said to Team Huang: "It can be ruled out that the owner of the shop did not close the door on purpose because of the heat. You see, although the wires of the air conditioner are It was burned, but its windshield was open, which means that the air conditioner was on when the fire broke out, so there was no need to hide the roller shutters."
Team Huang nodded in approval of my point of view: "Then, what do you mean?"
"It looks to me like a murder."
"Is it arbitrary to judge murder based on whether the door is closed or not?" Huang Zhiqi said, "If the door lock is not locked properly, it may also create the illusion that it is not completely closed."
I said, "I think the position of the dead body is not right. If the deceased had been poisoned by carbon monoxide and was unable to escape when the fire broke out, then the posture of her falling from the bed should be parallel to the edge of the bed, not perpendicular to the edge of the bed."
I went to the corpse and squatted down. A smell of the corpse being burned quickly poured into my nostrils. I rubbed my nose and said, "Besides, this supermarket feels very narrow and deep. If it is If the fire on the easternmost side of the bed spreads to the westernmost end of the supermarket, the east side should be more severely burned than the west side. But I feel that the whole supermarket is seriously burned."
"You mean, there may be multiple fire points?" Huang Detachment said, "Close the scene, and I will ask comrades from the Physics and Chemistry Department of the detachment to take samples during the day. .”
"Do you have to wait until tomorrow?" I said.
"If according to the fire brigade's speculation, the fire was caused by electricity, it would be an accident. We have no evidence to prove that this is a criminal case, so we have no right to forcibly dissect the body. We have to wait for her husband who is away on a business trip to come back." Team Huang said.
"Who is the deceased? Have you investigated the neighbors of the deceased?" I was just looking at the scene roughly, so I didn't hear the basic information of the deceased from the investigation.
"The deceased Yu Wanting, female, 30 years old, owner of a self-employed business. Her husband was a salesman of Huating Insurance Company, named Liu Wei. He was 28 years old. Yu Wanting's parents died when she was in her teens, and she had no relatives in the local area. She married Liu Wei. For four years, they had a house in Guiyuan New Village of our city, but they had no children.” The policeman in charge of the peripheral investigation introduced, “Just now we contacted Liu Wei by phone, and he said that under normal circumstances Yu Wanting doesn’t live in the supermarket, but if If he is on a business trip, Yu Wanting will live in the supermarket. Liu Wei went to Shanghai on business this morning, so Yu Wanting will live in the supermarket. The air-conditioning socket in the supermarket has broken down several times, and Liu Wei himself suspects that the fire was caused by a short circuit in the socket. Liu Wei is rushing back, and it is estimated that he will arrive at Yuntai tomorrow morning."
Detachment Huang patted me on the shoulder and said, "You've been tired all day, go back and rest. The scene has been sealed up. The autopsy will be carried out when Liu Wei comes back tomorrow. I will arrange for them to carry out the peripheral investigation overnight."
"How can we wait until dawn to solve a murder case?" I knew that if I was in a hurry, I wouldn't be able to sleep well.
"We don't have sufficient evidence to prove that this is a murder case." Huang Zhitu said, "She has no other relatives, so let's wait for Liu Wei to come back. Only when you have enough energy can you do a good job."
It's no use rushing, I'm really too tired and too full.Lying on the bed in the hotel, I flipped through the scenes in my mind, and fell asleep after flipping through.Until seven o'clock in the morning, the phone call from Team Huang woke me up: "Get up, have something to eat, let's go to the funeral home."
When he arrived at the funeral home, Liu Wei was already waiting at the door of the dissection room.At first glance, he is thin and tall, with fair skin, sharp eyebrows and sharp eyes, and looks a bit like a celebrity.I took another look and saw two shallow marks on the outside of his right arm. From a forensic perspective, they should be scratches.
"Can you describe what your wife looks like?" I asked suddenly.
Liu Wei didn't expect this question for a while, and Liu Wei seemed a little nervous: "Oh...she, she is quite beautiful, the kind with long hair, big eyes, high nose bridge..."
"Do you have any photos?" Team Huang knew what I meant to confirm that the deceased was Yu Wanting.
"Oh, yes, there are." Liu Wei took out his wallet, which contained a photo of Yu Wanting's headshot.
The woman in the photo is indeed a beautiful young woman, with long black hair, eyebrows and bangs, red lips and white teeth, beautiful and elegant.I noticed that the woman in the photo was wearing a pair of very delicate diamond earrings, and then turned to look at the corpse on the dissecting bed. There were no earrings on her ears.I shook my head and sighed secretly, a beautiful woman has become a terrible corpse in this way.
"We need to go to your house to find some of Yu Wanting's daily necessities, extract DNA and compare it with the DNA of the corpse." I said, "After all, the burns are beyond recognition, and the earrings do not match. We must first confirm the identity of the deceased."
"It's her, it's her, I recognize it even after it's burned like this." Liu Wei said with tears.For some reason, it seemed to me that he was crying a little fake.
"That also requires scientific verification." As I said, I put on the autopsy equipment and started the autopsy.
Team Huang arranged for the criminal police to take the key from Liu Wei's house to get Yu Wanting's DNA.
I was mentally prepared for this to be a murder, so I wasn't too surprised to see some signs that didn't fit the bill.While checking, I said: "The body of the corpse is severely charred. The whole body is covered with burnt clothes and hair. Spotting bleeding can be seen in the conjunctiva. No ashes can be seen after wiping the nasal cavity with gauze. There are many arc-shaped wounds on the forehead. It is temporarily impossible to judge whether it is Injured before death."
I forcefully opened the mandibular joints that had formed rigor, and irradiated the mouth of the deceased with a light source: "There is no obvious dust adhesion on the inner wall of the mouth, and there is no obvious dust adhesion under the tongue. The hands are burnt, and the nails cannot be seen."
Team Huang shook his head to express regret, he knew what I meant.In summer, people wear less clothes, and there are many exposed parts of the body. If there is a fight between the deceased and the murderer, and the deceased has nails, it is easy to scratch the murderer, and it is possible to leave evidence that can prove who the murderer is.
"At present, it is very likely that this is a murder case." I said to Liu Wei who was sitting on the ground outside the door of the autopsy room, "We are now going to conduct an autopsy on the corpse."
"No! No!" Liu Wei suddenly shot up from the ground and shouted loudly, "Wanting loved beauty the most before she was alive. I don't allow you to use a knife on her! No one is allowed to touch her!"
Liu Wei's overreaction startled me, and I suppressed my anger and said, "We suspect this is a murder case. In order to get her justice, we must conduct an autopsy. I promise you, after the autopsy, we will suture it neatly." .”
"Are you trying to snatch the corpse?" Liu Wei said, "It is said on the Internet that your police often snatch the corpse, but it is true. She belongs to me. I forbid you to use a knife on her!"
"According to the "Criminal Procedure Law of the People's Republic of China", we suspect that this is a criminal case, and the cause of death of the deceased is unknown, and the public security organs have the right to decide to conduct an autopsy." Team Huang said, "I hope you will cooperate."
Liu Wei was crying all the time, and Team Huang signaled the policemen around him to pull him out of the door. Liu Wei was still shouting, "Don't touch her! You are all bandits, and the police are all bandits!"
Team Huang and I looked at each other, and both felt that Liu Wei was very suspicious.Detachment Huang signaled forensic doctor Gao to put on his dissecting suit and start the autopsy with me, and at the same time told the criminal police around him to be optimistic about Liu Wei.
The skin and subcutaneous tissue of the deceased had been charred, and there was a crisp rattling sound when the scalpel cut it.After separating the neck skin and muscles of the corpse layer by layer, the truth basically emerged.There were obvious signs of bleeding in the muscles on both sides of the neck of the deceased, and the hyoid bone and thyroid cartilage had severe fractures and signs of bleeding.
"The signs of suffocation are very obvious, and the neck injury is also very serious. Although there is no skin injury on the neck," I said, "it can also be concluded that the deceased was strangled by a strong man with both hands, resulting in suffocation." die."
"Hands strangled the neck, there is no way to restrain the hands of the deceased, then the murderer is likely to be scratched." Huang Detachment added from the side.
"It's just that the head injury is very strange." I cut open the dead man's scalp and turned it back and forth.The scalp has been scorched, and it will probably be broken if you use a little force.There are seven or eight small arc-shaped wounds on the forehead of the scalp, and there are subcutaneous hemorrhages connected in large sheets under the corresponding skin.The periosteum of the skull was not injured, and there was no skull fracture or intracranial injury.
"These small wounds are very minor, not the cause of death," I said, "but the vital reaction is very obvious, indicating that it was formed before the strangulation."
"The arc is upward, the circular arc is downward, and the two corners are bent upward. The arc is not small. If it is a part of a circle, then this tool should be a circle with a diameter of about five centimeters. What kind of tool is this? Team Huang said, "There is so much bleeding under the scalp, and there is an interstitial bridge in the wound, it must have been formed by a blunt instrument."
"I'm not worried about the tools." I said, "The wounds are so dense, it should be formed by the deceased being in a fixed position. Then there are two problems. First, since the murderer wanted to kill her, why did he want to kill her?" There are so many small injuries on the head; secondly, why did the deceased not move when he was not dead, and kept a fixed position for the murderer to smash."
"The murderer may have a psychological problem." Huang Zhiwei said, "The deceased may also have been hit on the head while being poisoned and comatose."
"There is no brain injury. If it is a coma, it is only possible that it is due to the use of drugs." I said, "Let's take blood for poison testing."
"Did you find out when the deceased had dinner?" I said while cutting open the stomach, duodenum, and small intestine of the corpse with a scalpel. The only way to make an accurate judgment is to look at the digestion and migration of gastrointestinal contents.”
"That's no problem," Team Huang said. "After investigation, the deceased went to the snack bar at the entrance of the alley for dinner at six o'clock in the afternoon."
"According to the digestion situation," I fiddled with the contents of the buttery stomach with a scalpel, raised my elbow and rubbed my nose, and said, "there is still a lot of chyme-like substance in the stomach. I judge that the deceased died within five hours after the last meal." .”
"The fire brigade said the fire started at 11:30." Team Huang said, "If you judge the death before 11:00, there is a time difference of at least half an hour. Then, the murderer did not light the fire until half an hour after killing the deceased. What to do?"
"Look, what is this?" Forensic doctor Gao who was observing the head and face of the deceased suddenly dragged me and Team Huang out of our thoughts.
Team Huang and I leaned over to look. It turned out that forensic doctor Gao pinched a blue fiber in the nostril of the deceased.
Detachment Huang took the fiber and observed it under the microscope in the dissection room: "This is the fiber of the tarpaulin, and many clothes are made of this material."
"It seems that there are quite a few such fibers." I carefully scraped the soot and charcoal on the face of the deceased with a razor blade. Sure enough, in the scraped black material, I found some pieces of blue tarpaulin, the largest piece It is about a few square millimeters.
Forensic doctor Gao also used a hemostat to remove a piece of white cloth that was stuck to the skin near the ear of the deceased. Blue fibers could also be seen on the edge of the cloth. unrecognizable.
I went on to say: "It can be concluded that when the scene was burning, there was a blue dress covering the face of the deceased. This white piece of cloth is the trademark of the dress."
"What does this mean?" Forensic Gao asked.
"Psychologists have done a study," I said, "that if a person kills someone whom he respects and fears, he will be afraid to see the face of the dead person. Some people will use some objects to cover the face of the dead person to relieve themselves." psychological pressure."
"You mean, an acquaintance committed the crime?" After Huang Zhidu finished speaking, he turned to look at Liu Wei who was squatting on the ground outside the window.
"The investigation shows that Yu Wanting is stingy, has no very close friends, no obvious conflicts, and no improper relationship between men and women." The investigator said from the side, "If it is judged that an acquaintance committed the crime, then her husband is suspected of committing the crime. .”
"But Liu Wei said that he went to Shanghai on a business trip yesterday morning." Gao Forensic Doctor said.
"He can say this on purpose and forge an alibi." Huang Zhili said, "I also saw scratches on his arm."
I nodded and said in a low voice: "I saw it too. Just now we analyzed that the deceased may have scratched the murderer, but the nails of the deceased were burnt, so we can't confirm it. I don't think there is such a coincidence in the world, right?"
"That's right," Team Huang said, "Just now he was so violently obstructing the autopsy."
I took off my dissecting suit, walked up to Liu Wei, and said, "You came here directly after getting off the train, right? Please show me your return train ticket."
Liu Wei looked terrified: "Ah? What? Oh, the train ticket, the train ticket, I... I, the train ticket was collected by the staff when I left the station."
"What about the train ticket to Shanghai?" I asked.
"Also...it was also accepted."
"It turns out that you don't need a receipt for travel expenses reimbursement when you are on business trip?" I stared at Liu Wei, looked at his flickering eyes, and asked forcefully, "Or do you need to pay the expenses privately when you are on business trip?"
Liu Wei's face suddenly turned red and white.
Team Huang said: "If this is the case, then I'm sorry, please come back with us to assist in the investigation."
The two investigators drove the dejected Liu Wei away by car.
"This case won't be solved just because of the cloth on the face of the deceased?" I said, "I always feel that it's not that simple."
"Ouch, ancestor," Huang said, "Isn't it better to be simple? Don't be crowed."
I lowered my head and smiled, and said, "There are still a lot of tests that haven't produced results. Let's go to the scene to take a look at this time. After so long, the dangers on the scene should have been ruled out, so we can go in and have a look."
The scene is still a mess.Except for items that cannot be burned, other furniture and goods have basically been burned.The same is true in the temporary living area separated to the east of the supermarket. A large wardrobe was washed down to the ground by a high-pressure water gun, and a bare bed board was lying there, all blackened by smoke.
Detachment Huang and I briefly inspected the supermarket. The floor of the supermarket was full of water. We wore rubber shoes and straddled the rickety shelves. We didn't find any useful clues. It is estimated that the useful clues were not completely burned by the fire. , was also washed clean by the high-pressure water gun.
I went to the bed, put on my gloves and lifted the bed.Suddenly, I saw some dotted darkened areas on the side and underside of the bed board, which were different from the attached soot and charcoal.I opened the survey box, took out the benzidine reagent, and pre-tested blood on these areas, which came back positive.
"Senior brother, look," I said, "there is blood on the side of the bed board and the bottom side of the bed board. Looking at it this way, it should be blood splatter."
Detachment Huang came over and took out a magnifying glass to look at the blood on the bed board, and said, "Well, from the shape, it can be confirmed that it is a blood spatter, and the direction is from the outside to the inside."
I said: "The corpse was lying on the ground with its head on the bed, and there was a wound on the head, so when the wound was formed, the blood was indeed sprayed in this direction."
Team Huang said: "I know what you mean, the place where the body is lying is the original scene of the murder."
I nodded.
Team Huang added: "Since this is the scene of the murder and the deceased was not restrained, it means that the murderer can enter the supermarket peacefully from the westernmost entrance, and then walk to the easternmost bedside."
"In the middle of the night," I said, "who would a beautiful single woman let anyone into her supermarket? Isn't she vigilant at all?"
"Unless it is an acquaintance," said Huang Detachment, "I was a little nervous at the beginning to infer that the acquaintance committed the crime based on the cloth on the deceased's face. Now, based on the situation at the scene, it is basically certain that the acquaintance committed the crime. It seems that her husband was not wrongly arrested."
I stood on the scene with my eyes closed, trying to restore the situation on the scene again, but I always felt that the damage problem was somewhat unexplainable.So I shook my head and said, "Let's go back first, and watch the interrogation of Liu Wei while waiting for the test results."
We watched Liu Wei in the interrogation room drooping his head in the video observation room, looking listless and like a dead pig not afraid of boiling water.
"Have you recruited?" Team Huang asked.
The investigator shook his head: "He repeatedly emphasized that he didn't kill anyone, but he didn't say a word about his whereabouts last night."
"Go to the train station and adjust the monitoring to see if he has gone to Shanghai." Huang said.
The investigator showed embarrassment: "Well, there are so many people at the train station, it's a bit difficult."
"No," I said, "I went to check the hotel registration. I suddenly felt that he didn't look like a murderer. There may be other reasons why he didn't mention his whereabouts last night."
Team Huang looked at me in astonishment, was stunned for a while, then turned to the investigator and said, "Let's do it."
Team Huang watched the investigator leave the observation room, and said to me, "Isn't it a little arbitrary for you to say that? If your intuition changes the way of investigation, it's not a trivial matter."
I shook my head and said, "It's not just my intuition, I think the damage of the deceased is a bit strange."
"You mean those dense little cuts on her forehead?"
"Yes," I said, "if the deceased was not stunned by drugs, the forehead wound and neck injury were formed at the same time when the deceased was awake, unless it was not done by one person. If Liu Wei wanted to kill her, no It’s such a hassle to find a helper.”
"It's getting late," Team Huang said. "The results of various inspections and investigations will come out at night. You should rest first."
Lying on the bed in the hotel, the scenes of the scene appeared in my mind one after another.Suddenly, the appearance of the large wardrobe being washed down by the water gun flashed into my mind.
"No, why are the clothes and bedding under the big wardrobe?" I said to myself.I seem to recall that during the on-site inspection during the day, I found that there seemed to be clothes and bedding under the large wardrobe.I always feel that something is wrong, but where is the wrong place?
Thinking about it, I fell asleep.
Because I have something on my mind, I got up early in the morning.The task force meeting room is reporting on yesterday's work.
"After comparing the DNA on the toothbrush that Yu Wanting usually used with the DNA of the deceased, it was confirmed that the deceased was Yu Wanting. After conducting poison tests on Yu Wanting's hard work, it was possible to rule out the possibility that Yu Wanting was poisoned to death or fainted during her lifetime. Physical and chemical tests on the ashes extracted at the points showed that there were multiple fire points at the scene, but there was no combustion-supporting solvent. That is to say, after the murder, the murderer ignited many combustible goods in the supermarket, causing a big fire.” Yuntai City Reported by Hui Hui, director of the Criminal Science and Technology Research Institute of the Public Security Bureau.
"However, it doesn't take more than half an hour to ignite the fire in many places." I said, "Our forensic doctor judged that the fire was not ignited at the scene for at least half an hour after the death of the deceased."
"What is the murderer doing?" Huang said.
"In addition," I said, "if the possibility of poisoning the deceased is ruled out, the head injury of the deceased will not be dizzy through the forensic examination. Then, why did the deceased maintain a fixed position in the awake state? Let the murderer hit her on the head? Also, how did the murderer crush the dead man's neck and hit the dead man's head with a blunt instrument at the same time?"
"Riding on her, choking her neck and beating her at the same time," said an investigator.
"Impossible." I said, "We know that when fingers touch the neck, only small flakes of bleeding will be left, and when palms are touched, large flakes of bleeding will be left. According to the forensic examination, the muscles on both sides of the deceased's neck were Large flakes of bleeding can be seen, indicating that two palms pinched both sides of the deceased's neck at the same time, closing the trachea and jugular artery and vein, resulting in suffocation and death. At this time, the murderer had no other extra hands to hit the deceased's head."
"Why can it be sure that two kinds of damage are formed at the same time?"
"Because both injuries have obvious life reactions, the forehead injury can only be formed when the deceased's neck is pressed and the head position is relatively fixed." I said.
At this time, the policeman who was in charge of the peripheral investigation of Liu Wei opened the door and said, "Liu Wei's suspicion has been ruled out."
"What did you find?" Team Huang was already mentally prepared.
"Liu Wei did not leave Yuntai on the day of the incident." The investigator said, "After checking the check-in registration, we found that Liu Wei had a room in a hotel that morning. We obtained the video surveillance of the hotel. , Liu Wei checked in at ten o'clock in the morning and left at seven o'clock the next morning."
"That means he didn't leave the room when the crime happened, and he didn't leave until the next morning to go directly to the funeral home, right?" I asked.
"Yes," said the investigator, "certainly he did not have time to commit the crime."
"It seems that we caught the wrong person." Team Huang said.
"I didn't catch the wrong person." The investigator said happily, "There was also a woman staying with Liu Wei. Through facial comparison, it was confirmed that it was a woman nicknamed Sister Ying. This Sister Ying was suspected of being involved in a gang. Drug trafficking case. At present, it is certain that Liu Wei has something to do with this drug trafficking case. We have obtained clues about Sister Ying through Liu Wei, and now we are sending people to arrest her."
"But Liu Wei has a scratch on his arm." I said.
"We also asked about this." The investigator said, "Liu Wei had an affair with this sister Ying, and the scratch was caught by sister Ying during making out."
"It seems that Liu Wei really doesn't want us to kill his wife. He still really loves his wife. No wonder he didn't say anything about what happened that night. First, he broke the law, and second, he was sorry for his wife." Team Huang said, "It's okay, and a drug trafficking case has been solved by the way. However, where should we start with this murder case?"
I took a sip of water and said, "Let's go and see the scene again."
Back at the scene of the crime, I seemed to have more confidence than the last investigation.Thinking of the problems I was thinking about in the hotel, I went straight to the side of the big wardrobe.I remember correctly, there are indeed some clothes and bedding under the big wardrobe.
I called two investigators and worked together to lift up the wardrobe. There were some clothes and bedding scattered under the wardrobe, and the exposed parts of the wardrobe except for the indentation were completely burned.I opened the door of the large wardrobe. The two doors were closed by strong magnets, and the doors were not locked.
There were still several coats hanging in the closet, which had not been destroyed by the fire.Putting on my gloves, I reached into my coat pockets and other clutter in my coat closet.During the inspection, I found a photo frame and took it out to see. Inside was a group photo of Yu Wanting and Liu Wei in the ice and snow.In the photo, Yu Wanting was wearing a blue down jacket, curled up in Liu Wei's arms, smiling brightly.
"Process this picture technically and see if you can see the brand of the clothes clearly." I handed the photo to Team Huang beside me.
Next to the large wardrobe, there was a stainless steel teacup, which had been burned and deformed.I went over and picked it up. The teacup was heavy and had a rounded edge at the base.I tested the base with benzidine and it came up.
"The base of this teacup is five centimeters in diameter, with rounded edges protruding, which fit perfectly with the small wound on the forehead of the deceased. There is also an occult blood reaction at the base of the teacup, indicating that this teacup is probably the murder weapon." I said.
“可惜茶杯已经被烧，黏附大量灰烬，已经没希望从这上面提取到指纹了。”黄支队说。
“或许它对我们的下一步推理分析有一点儿用处。”我胸有成竹地掂量了一下手中的不锈钢茶杯。
我绕过正在用筛子清理现场灰烬的痕迹检验民警，走到了超市的收银台前。收银台是玻璃制造的，已经被完全烧毁，柜台里放着的杂物都已无法辨认。我捡起一截铁棍扒拉着柜台里的炭末，突然，在外面明媚的阳光照射下，一个亮闪闪的东西吸引了我的注意。
我找来痕检民警照了几张柜台的照片，然后小心地围绕闪光的物体把周围的灰烬分离开，映入眼帘的，是一堆一元钱、五角钱的硬币。
“这是超市老板放钱的钱盒？”我说，“这个私人小超市是没有电子收款台的，看来收的钱都是放在这个钱盒里。”
痕检员用筛子慢慢筛出了硬币附近的灰烬，说：“据痕检角度看，这确实是一个钱盒，应该是用竹篮编制的。”
“我知道了。”我说，“云泰盛产螃蟹，就类似是那个装螃蟹的竹篮是吗？”
痕检员点了点头：“不过基本已经被烧毁了。”
“有纸币的残渣吗？”我问。
痕检员摇了摇头。
黄支队这时候走了过来，说：“刚才你说的照片通过技术处理，可以看出俞婉婷穿着的羽绒服胸口绣有MCC商标字样。看来和我们在死者脸上提取的布片很吻合啊，你是在怀疑凶手就是用照片上的这件衣服遮盖死者脸部的吗？”
我摇了摇头，说：“师兄，这是一起以侵财为目的的杀人案件，凶手不一定和死者熟识。”
黄支队低头思考了一下：“有依据吗？”
“有。”我胸有成竹，“首先，刚才我们在柜台附近发现了死者收钱用的钱盒残骸，里面有一些硬币，却没有任何纸币的残渣。”
“纸币可能都被烧毁了啊。”黄支队说。
“不会，”我说，“竹子是隔热效果不错的材料，竹篮尚未被烧毁殆尽，那么放在它里面的纸币即便是燃烧，也不会一点儿残渣都不留下。”
“会不会是死者把纸币都收起来了？”痕检员说。
“那倒不会。”黄支队说，“据调查，俞婉婷平时离开超市，也只拿一些一百元的大钞，零钱再多也不拿走，更别说她知道案发当天自己不离开超市。”
“那就是说钱盒里应该有一些纸币，即便是十块、几十的纸币也应该有一些，”我说，“现在没有了，只有一种可能，被别人拿走了。”
黄支队点点头：“接着说。”
“还有，”我说，“开始我们认为凶手把衣服覆盖在死者的脸上，是熟人作案的特征。排除了刘伟的嫌疑后，这个问题就一直困扰着我。今天看来，凶手之所以用衣服覆盖住了死者的面部，纯属意外。”
“现在我们已经确定，覆盖在死者面部的，是她自己的一件蓝色羽绒服。”我走到大衣柜旁边，说，“现在是夏天，羽绒服不可能放在外面，应该是放在大衣柜里面的。死者睡的床上有毛巾毯，有床单，凶手为什么不用这些顺手能拿得到的东西，而非要去拿应该放在大衣柜里面的东西去盖死者的脸呢？”
“不能肯定羽绒服就是放在衣柜里面啊。”黄支队说，“没有依据，说不准就是叠在床头当枕头呢？”
“别急，我还有推断。”我一边拉开大衣柜的门，一边说，“这个大衣柜的门是通过强力吸铁石闭合的，不用一点儿力气是打不开的。也就是说，凶手有主动打开大衣柜大门的动作，还有把大衣柜里的衣物、被褥翻出来的动作。”
“不能是被高压水枪冲倒以后，衣服、被褥掉落出来的吗？”黄支队说，“如果是凶手事先翻动出来的，被翻出来的衣物应该会被完全烧毁了啊。”
我说：“如果是消防动作导致大衣柜倒下，并且倒下的同时里面有东西掉落，则大衣柜的门应该是开着的。不可能是在大衣柜倒下的瞬间，里面的衣物掉了出来，大衣柜倒下后，门又合上了。即便那么巧能合上，也会把地上的衣物夹一部分在门内。你们再看，大衣柜后面的腿比前面的长，放不稳，所以我分析是凶手火急火燎地翻动大衣柜，把衣物拽出衣柜，在关门的时候，因为紧张用力过度，大衣柜向后倾倒，碰撞墙壁后，由于反作用力向前倒下，才造成了这种现象。”
说完，我指了指大衣柜后方墙壁上的一个新鲜磕碰痕迹。
大家点头。
我接着说：“根据上述两点，结合死亡时间的推断，我们可以判断，凶手在杀死死者后，用了半个小时以上的时间来翻动超市，寻找财物，至少翻动了柜台和大衣柜。凶手的目的应该是侵财。”
“侵财多数不会是熟人，即便是认识的人，也很少有非常熟识的人。”黄支队说，“可是这个案子明显应该是熟人作案啊。”
“不，”我说，“我现在觉得不一定是熟人作案，至少不是非常熟知的人。”
“可是事实是俞婉婷把凶手从西侧大门带到了东头的居住区域。”黄支队说，“不是熟人的话，那么这个俞婉婷也太没有警惕性了吧？深更半夜敢把陌生人带进自己的屋子？我觉得不太可能，这个俞婉婷还长这么漂亮，晚上估计还穿得比较少，她就不怕陌生人？”
“这个问题我也矛盾过。”我说，“不过我刚才仔细地筛了一下尸体附近的灰烬，现在我搞清楚了尸体附近的这个货架摆放的是什么货物了，所以我也就理解为什么俞婉婷会在衣冠不整的状态下，带个陌生人走进自己的超市了。”
我用止血钳夹起尸体位置附近倒伏的货架下压着的一片塑料包装纸碎片，上面印着几个字：“七度空间”。
“师兄，明白了吧？”我笑着说，“我的推断，有没有道理？”
黄支队若有所思地点了点头。
一旁的侦查员有点儿丈二和尚摸不着头脑，问道：“这是怎么个意思？”
黄支队说：“尸体附近的货架是放卫生巾的，所以我们现在怀疑，凶手是个女人。如果是女人，半夜来买卫生巾，俞婉婷很有可能会放松警惕，带她到放置卫生巾的货架附近，然后凶手趁机行凶。”
“师兄忘了吧？”我打断黄支队的话，“我们开始怀疑不是刘伟作案的依据，是我们觉得本案应该是两个人作案哦。”
“哦，对对对。”黄支队说，“女人可能只是敲开门的，凶手应该是个男人。”
我说：“我们在尸体上发现了两种损伤，都有生活反应，也就是说，我们觉得一个人不可能在双手掐压死者颈部的同时，又拿钝器打击死者的头部，所以我们开始就怀疑是两人作案。尸体上的两种损伤反差极大，掐压颈部的力度非常大，导致了颈部的软骨都严重骨折，但是头部的损伤比较轻。今天我又找到了这个凶器——茶杯，这么重的茶杯，如果是力气很大的人挥舞起来，反复击打在死者头上很容易造成颅骨凹陷性骨折，但是尸体上只有轻微的表皮和皮下组织损伤。”
我咽了口口水，接着说：“经过现场勘查，现在我更加可以肯定，凶手应该是一男一女。女的骗开超市大门，男的趁俞婉婷带女人进入现场的时候溜门入室，在床边这个货架附近将俞婉婷按倒，掐压住她的颈部。女人则顺手拿来一个不锈钢茶杯反复打击俞婉婷头部，逼她说出钱的位置。由于男人的力气过大，将俞婉婷掐死，于是他俩翻动超市，拿走了柜台里的纸币，在超市里容易起火的货物货架处点火，毁尸灭迹，然后离开。”
“可是，这样的案子，从什么地方找突破口呢？”黄支队一筹莫展。
“别急，师兄，”我说，“我们去巷子口看看。”
我和黄支队绕着这条两三百米长的巷子走了一圈，有了很显著的发现。这是一条两头通马路、中间封闭的巷子，也就是说，凶手如果想进入现场地段，必须从巷子的两头进入，离开也是这样。巷子的东头是一个三岔路口，有红绿灯，也就是有监控录像。巷子西头有一家银行，门口也有监控。
“等于是我们掌握了小巷两头的进出口资料。”我说，“通过看监控，应该可以发现可疑的人员吧？”
黄支队摇了摇头，说：“这个侦查部门早就想到了，奇怪也就奇怪在这儿，案发时间段附近，没有任何可疑的人进入巷子或者离开巷子。”
“那就说明犯罪分子在案发时间段附近，就住在这个巷子里，作完案也没有离开。”
黄支队说：“可是这里只有店面，没有住家啊。”
我说：“可是我们当天看见着火，哪里来的那么多围观群众呢？”
“你提示我了，”黄支队说，“这里有家网吧！虽然现在网吧不准通宵营业，其实这些网吧还都是偷偷摸摸通宵营业的。”
我笑着说：“那就去看网吧的监控吧！”
调取了网吧当天晚上的监控录像，很快我们就发现了线索。一个穿白色衣服的魁梧男子和一个短发女子在案发当晚十点多先后离开网吧，但是没有去服务台结账。十一点四十分，这两个人又一起回到了网吧。十二点十分，两人又和网吧的数十个人一起出了网吧，应该是去围观灭火现场的。
“原来当天凶手和我们一起在现场。”我感觉背后一阵发凉，转头问侦查员，“网吧的上网记录呢？”
侦查员摊了摊手，说：“这些网吧晚上偷偷摸摸开张，都不登记身份证，所以掌握不了上网人的信息。”
“唉，这么好的线索，因为网吧不守规矩，没戏了。”我无奈地说。
“可是这个短发女子出门的时候穿的是红色的T恤，回来的时候穿的却是浅色的。”黄支队看出了一些蹊跷。
我想了想，说：“我还记得我们在床板处发现喷溅状血迹区域中间有个空白区。这个空白区应该就是拿杯子打击死者头部的人站的位置，她的存在挡去了一部分喷溅血。”
“你是说，她是因为衣服上黏附了血迹，怕人发现，所以换了衣服？”
我摇了摇头，说：“监控上看，衣服的款式应该是一样的，就是颜色不太一样。嫌疑人的身材明显比俞婉婷瘦小多了，不可能是在现场换上俞婉婷的衣服。所以，最大的可能是嫌疑人反穿了衣服。”
“我去问网吧老板。”侦查员跳了起来，快步出门。
我和黄支队在专案组耐心地等了大约两个多小时，侦查员才推门进来。
“怎么去这么久？”黄支队问。
侦查员高兴地说：“因为我们直接把犯罪嫌疑人抓回来了。”
这个喜讯出乎意料。
侦查员说：“网吧老板称当天晚上上网的人很多，自己在服务台里侧早早睡觉了，网管看了监控也不认得嫌疑人是谁，也不知道他们什么时候出去又什么时候回来的，上网有押金，所以也不用怕他们跑。但当我们提出这个人可能反穿衣服的时候，网吧老板说晚上起火的时候他也出去围观，无意中看到了我们说的那个反穿衣服的嫌疑人。他认得是在网吧隔壁打工的服务员李丽丽，当时还在奇怪这小妮子为什么要反着穿衣服呢。”
“太符合了！”我兴奋道，“正好在附近打工，和俞婉婷怎么说也是个面熟，俞婉婷就更加可能对她没有警惕了。”
“我们去听听审讯情况吧。”黄支队高兴地说。
对李丽丽的审讯无法开展，李丽丽拿着一份诊断怀孕的B超报告，在审讯室里不停地哭、不停地吐，就是一个字也不说。
于是我和黄支队来到了审讯李丽丽的男朋友陈霆威的审讯观察室。审讯室里，侦查员递给浑身发抖的陈霆威一根烟，陈霆威摇了摇手说：“谢谢，我不会。”
侦查员说：“说吧，从网吧的监控里已经看到你了。”
陈霆威瑟瑟发抖，说：“其实我也不想，其实我也不想啊……我和李丽丽都在外打工，每个月的工资加在一起只有不到两千块，还要寄回老家给双方父母一千块，我们真的活不下去啊，现在丽丽又怀孕了，一罐奶粉都要一百多，我们怎么养得活自己的孩子？”
我看着眼前这个魁梧的二十岁男孩，心中又浮起一丝恻隐。
陈霆威说：“丽丽说这个婉婷超市每天都有好几千块的进账，我们就准备去偷。晚上我们估计她关门回家了，就从网吧出去，到超市撬门，没想到刚撬了一下，就听见超市里有动静，于是我就赶紧躲到了一旁，丽丽很沉着，没有躲开。超市老板拉开卷闸门上的小窗，看见是丽丽，就打开了卷闸门。丽丽说自己正在上网，突然来了例假，要买卫生巾，就来敲敲门试试，结果婉婷姐你还真在。于是超市老板就和丽丽说笑着走进去了，进去前，丽丽给我使了个眼色。我知道她是示意我们去抢劫。我趁黑溜进卷闸门，看老板正背对着我看丽丽挑选卫生巾，我就扑了上去按倒老板，掐她。丽丽跑过去拉下卷闸门，又不知从哪儿拿了个茶杯回来打老板的头部，问她钱在哪里。可是老板就是不说话，我一生气就使劲儿掐她，没想到，过了几分钟她就不动了。我们见她死了，很害怕，丽丽说不能白杀个人，于是我们就开始到处找钱，可是只在柜台里找到了几百块的零钱。”
“你们为了毁尸灭迹，所以烧了超市，是吗？”侦查员厉声道。
陈霆威哭着点头。
“案子破了，这两个孩子，再穷也不该犯法杀人啊。唉，可惜了。”我叹了口气。
“我觉得我们的证据还不太扎实。”黄支队担心地说道。
“有监控证明他们在发案时间内离开网吧，又有口供，而且李丽丽应该还有血衣。”我还没说完，就听见审讯室里侦查员说：“你们当天晚上穿的衣服呢？”
“丽丽回家就洗干净了。”陈霆威抽泣着说道。
我看了看黄支队，说：“真被你说中了，现在没物证了。”
“是啊，证据链不完善。”黄支队说，“虽然他是主动招供了，但是如果碰见个无良律师唆使，上庭翻供，说是刑讯逼供什么的，不好办啊。”
“别说人家律师，”我笑着说，“证据链不完善，是我们的责任，律师质疑是对的。我们去他们俩租住的房子里看看吧。”
看得出来，这一对小青年还是很勤奋的。租住的房子里收拾得干干净净，监控录像里看到的他们穿着的衣物已经整整齐齐地叠好放在柜子里了。
黄支队拿了出来仔细看了看，说：“洗得很干净，找到血的希望不大了。”
我摇了摇头，走到一个五斗橱附近，随意拉开其中一个抽屉。抽屉里赫然放着几条白沙、红塔山香烟。
“我们有证据了。”我一边招手让侦查员过来拍照，一边和黄支队说，“监控里，陈霆威出去回来都是拎着一个包的，虽然看不清包的外形变化，但是这些香烟很有可能是用那个包拎回来的。”
“烟的档次不高啊，”黄支队说，“会不会可能是他自己买来抽的呢？”
“他不抽烟。”我笑着说，“审讯室的时候，他拒绝了侦查员递给他的香烟，说他不会。”
“那他拿这些廉价烟回来做什么？”侦查员问。
“我觉得吧，可能不止这几条，应该有其他高价烟，已经被他卖了。”我说，“因为他不抽烟，可能不一定认识这种白沙烟，所以一起拿来，只是卖不掉罢了。”
黄支队点点头，开始下达指令：“嗯，可能性极大。一方面通过烟草公司验证这几条烟是不是配送到婉婷超市的；另一方面，调查附近回收礼品的店铺，找到被他卖掉的香烟。”
云泰市公安局的办案效率很高，在第二天早上我离开云泰的时候，黄支队就走过来对我说：“证据查实了。”
我摇了摇头，对这一对可怜、可悲又可恨的小青年表示了惋惜：“他俩的父母，还有丽丽肚子里的孩子，以后该怎么办呢？”
Notes:
Notes: