Diary of a Criminal Investigator

At the same time Lu Chuan and others were excavating the corpse overnight, in an office building in Haizhou City.

The office faced the most bustling street view of Haizhou City, with large floor-to-ceiling windows resembling a celestial curtain, covering three walls of the office.

On the side with its back to the wall, a solid wood desk held a computer screen broadcasting the scene of Lu Chuan and others unearthing the skeleton under Lion Mountain Bridge.

The footage was being transmitted live, but the clarity was not very high, suggesting it was taken surreptitiously from a considerable distance away, which affected the resolution.

Sitting in the boss’s chair, a middle-aged man held a smoldering cigar in his right hand, with another man of indiscernible age standing to his right.

"Boss, what should we do next?"

The middle-aged man, savoring an imported premium cigar, nonchalantly turned off the computer.

"What do you mean what to do? Just let Old Mo continue selling fish peacefully. So what if they found it? It’s just a skeleton, what’s it got to do with us?"

"Also, from now on, stop making decisions on your own, you’re putting us in a reactive position."

"Who told you to make a move on that cop? Just because he found a little clue?"

"So they found the body, so what use is it?"

"A bunch of useless idiots!"

...

Haizhou City Criminal Investigation Team.

The autopsy this time was conducted in the forensic doctor’s examination room, but Wang Changjiang and Shen Yan were assisting, with Lu Chuan leading the inspection.

Technically, body identification was the job of a forensic doctor, but Lu Chuan’s skill in Skeleton Identification Analysis was recognized by the top forensic doctor in the provincial office, Zhang Yuanchao.

It was only fitting that Lu Chuan undertook this job.

"Master, we need to take these soil samples back to analyze them on our side. The soil’s compaction and color differ from that around the body; I suspect it might have been soaked with blood at the time."

Five years had passed, and many things were no longer observable with the naked eye and had to be verified through experimentation to ascertain the situation back then.

"Alright, I’ll take the other evidence back with me for analysis as well."

Liu Guodong referred to the fragments of clothing found around the body.

Next, Lu Chuan continued with the skeleton identification analysis.

"Male, height 1.78 meters, weight 70 kilograms, aged between forty-three and forty-five."

Not considering the police ID found at the scene, solely from the skeleton, Lu Chuan concluded it matched the information of Wang Mingshan, who disappeared back then.

"Cause of death... mechanical asphyxiation."

The skeleton was discovered in a curled position, and the grasping form of the found bones is a typical reaction of being buried alive, suffocating mechanically, with the body naturally struggling.

Additionally, there were minor abrasion marks on the wrist bones, suggesting the handcuffs chafed the skin, rubbing against the bones during the struggle, leaving marks.

"The head was struck by a blunt weapon, resulting in slight skull fractures."

"Ribs three, five, seven, and eight were broken, and the left shin bone had a fracture mark."

"Judging from the scars on the skeleton, the victim suffered torture and severe physical abuse before death."

"...The left shin bone... this mark..."

While examining the fracture on the left shin bone, Lu Chuan discovered an unusual mark.

"What?"

Wang Changjiang leaned in to observe the mark Lu Chuan discovered.

"It’s strange, this pattern... appears to have been manually engraved..."

The so-called pattern was actually a few lines of varying lengths, similar to knife marks breaking the bone surface, leaving traces.

"It could be knife marks left during the torture from the perpetrators?"

Indeed, it seemed likely the perpetrators physically tortured Wang Mingshan before killing him.

The fractured skull, broken ribs, and the fracture marks on the shin indicated he suffered severe blows before dying.

The process of this skeleton identification was relatively straightforward; the body’s identity was confirmed to be Wang Mingshan, who disappeared five years ago, through DNA identification from bone marrow extraction.

At half-past noon, without stopping to eat, the Crime Scene Investigation and forensic team jointly made a work report.

"First, DNA identification confirmed the skeleton discovered beneath the Lion Mountain Bridge is that of the missing police officer Wang Mingshan from five years ago."

"Second, Wang Mingshan’s cause of death was being buried alive, but he suffered severe torture before death."

Liu Guodong provided a simple report because Qin Yong, having started the search for the skeleton last night and only ceasing after excavating the body this morning, had been on the scene throughout.

To save time, Liu Guodong didn’t recount the entire process from earlier.

"That’s the basic situation."

Qin Yong’s face was ashen; five years ago, upon Wang Mingshan’s disappearance, there was suspicion he had already died, but without a body, they couldn’t conclude.

Now that the skeleton had been found, the remaining task was to solve the case and catch the perpetrator who killed Wang Mingshan.

Early this morning, while Lu Chuan and others were conducting the identification analysis, Qin Yong personally visited the City Public Security Bureau to report the situation to Song Jiangguo.

When Wang Mingshan disappeared five years ago, Song Jiangguo was the bureau chief at the Haizhou City Public Security Bureau. The disappearance case back then was highly influential, and he was well aware of it.

He not only knew the course of events but also why the case was ultimately shelved.

So, after hearing Qin Yong’s report, Song Jiangguo wasted no time reporting it to a higher level.

Five years ago, when investigating a missing police officer case privately, Wang Mingshan disappeared, implicating Songbei Mining at the time.

Not to mention Songbei Mining was Haizhou City’s flagship enterprise; regarding the missing officer case investigated by Wang Mingshan, given he was already dead, where were the other missing police officers?

The boss behind Songbei Mining now held significant power, and it wasn’t just about being a businessman.

Therefore, it was necessary for Song Jiangguo to report to a higher level.

Just one hour ago, Qin Yong received a call from Song Jiangguo.

"No matter who is involved, no matter how extensive the scope, investigate to the end with no leniency."

With this directive or rather promise, Qin Yong felt reassured to investigate the case boldly.

In fact, Qin Yong had already resolved, as long as he wasn’t replaced, the case would be investigated thoroughly.

If he, as a superior, couldn’t deliver justice for his fallen subordinate, what was the point of wearing the police uniform?

Of course, Qin Yong didn’t need to disclose such details to Liu Guodong, Lu Chuan, and the others; some pressures were for Qin Yong, as the Criminal Investigation Team captain, to bear.

Those outside only needed to work hard, solve the case, and deal with technical issues.

"What are everyone’s thoughts?"

Although Wang Mingshan’s body was found, there were no clues pointing to the perpetrator from the crime scene.

In fact, from Ren Qiang’s car accident, it was evident that the perpetrators were seasoned veterans.

The investigation of the case itself would not be easy.