Diary of a Criminal Investigator

Qin Yong’s suspicious gaze turned to Liu Guodong, wondering why Liu wanted him to leave while he was deploying work.

The two had worked together in the Criminal Investigation Team for years and were very familiar with each other. Liu Guodong was known for his professionalism and principles. Yet, in the midst of a case analysis meeting, he suddenly asked him to leave after glancing at his phone?

Moments ago during the case analysis meeting, Liu Guodong seemed a bit out of character. What kind of information caused him to suddenly stand up, his expression uncertain?

If it wasn’t something particularly significant, Liu Guodong wouldn’t act this way.

"Everyone take a break. I’ll be right back."

After speaking, Qin Yong put down his materials, nodded towards Liu Guodong, and the two left the case analysis meeting room one behind the other.

Outside the meeting room, Qin Yong paused: "Old Liu, what’s going on?"

"Lu Chuan just sent a message, we better discuss it in your office."

Lu Chuan?

The Crime Scene Investigation office and the forensic team really did a commendable job this time, identifying seven out of the eight skeletons. This laid the foundation for solving the case.

In skeletal cases, the hardest part is identifying the skeletons.

Qin Yong had encountered several skeletal cases in past investigations, even Haizhou City’s Criminal Investigation Team had two or three cases, unsolved for a decade or two, because the identities of the discovered skeletons couldn’t be determined.

If you don’t even know who the dead person is, it’s impossible to find the killer.

When the eight skeletons were found under Lion Mountain Bridge, Qin Yong was uneasy.

The sheer number of skeletons and the vast timespan, the earliest from over twenty years ago and the latest about five years ago, made it daunting. If there was no record in the DNA database, identifying the skeletal information would be nearly impossible.

Moreover, Qin Yong knew DNA identification technology well; the longer the time, the harder it is to extract effective DNA information from skeletons.

If the skeletons couldn’t be identified, the case might remain unsolved.

Setting these thoughts aside, Qin Yong was puzzled why Liu Guodong wanted to report in his office.

Couldn’t they just discuss it in the empty hallway?

Liu Guodong pointed at his phone and gestured insistently to go to Qin Yong’s office.

Three minutes later.

"Old Liu, what’s the useful clue you found? We were about to finish the case analysis meeting, and you pulled me out?"

"I didn’t mean to, but the clue is too important. Lu Chuan just sent me a message, take a look first."

Liu Guodong handed his phone to Qin Yong and opened the video on it.

It was a video of Lu Chuan recording the surveillance from Wang Mingshan’s phone; they didn’t have time to export it, so the picture wasn’t clear.

"Lu Shuai said they found a significant clue from five years ago left by Wang Mingshan. They’ve confirmed its authenticity. I haven’t seen the video myself, but Lu Chuan insisted it must be watched in your office, away from others."

A clue left by Wang Mingshan five years ago?

Wang Mingshan, killed and buried under Lion Mountain Bridge five years ago, was found as nothing but a pile of bones. How could he leave a clue?

Suppressing these doubts, Qin Yong opened the video on the phone and played it.

"One million..."

"The officer from Songbei Police Station..."

Minutes later, Qin Yong finished watching the video on the phone.

"Call Lu Chuan to my office immediately!"

Qin Yong’s expression was both excited and lively, with no trace of the frustration of being interrupted during the case analysis meeting. With this video, why continue the meeting?

If the video’s authenticity could be confirmed, or the origins understood, they could directly apprehend the suspects.

Ten minutes later, Lu Chuan arrived at Qin Yong’s office.

"Lu, what’s going on with this video? Tell Captain Qin."

Liu Guodong just saw the video for the first time as well.

During the meeting, Liu Guodong merely read Lu Chuan’s text message about discovering a clue left by Wang Mingshan, which explains his excitement.

After all, Wang Mingshan had been dead for five years, leaving only bones. How did he leave information?

How did Lu Chuan’s team discover it?

"Well, this morning I..."

Lu Chuan didn’t mention Old Bai and Yang Sen watching a TV series, merely that it suddenly reminded him of Morse code depicted in "Wind Sound."

"Actually, during the forensic examination of Wang Mingshan’s bones, I was puzzled by the long and short marks on his shin bones, but it took a while to realize it was Morse code. I hadn’t encountered Morse code before, so initially, I missed the clue left by Wang Mingshan."

"Once we realized the potential, we visited the address left in the Morse code, a pawn shop."

Lu Chuan explained how Old Bai, Yang Sen, and he went to the pawn shop.

"We found Wang Mingshan’s phone in the pawn shop."

"Good!"

Qin Yong was exceedingly thrilled.

The clue Lu Chuan discovered was decisive for solving the case.

When the eight skeletons were found under Lion Mountain Bridge, Qin Yong had hinted to superiors about possible issues with Songbei Mining.

But the investigation was complex, with no progress or evidence. Superiors worried about alerting the suspects, hence no extreme measures were taken.

Now with the case of the eight skeletons under Lion Mountain Bridge, if there were breakthrough progress, using the criminal case as a lead could facilitate further investigation.

Wang Fugui!

Song Junwu!

Songbei Mining’s operations involved more than one or two individuals. Wang Fugui was merely the face.

Who did Wang Fugui give the one million to?

Apart from this one million, were there other millions?

"Lu Chuan, you all did a great job! The Crime Scene Investigation office did excellently. If this case can be solved, the credit will go to you guys."

Qin Yong was satisfied not only with the clue discovery but also the team’s keen attitude.

So far, only five individuals knew about this clue: the four from the Crime Scene Investigation office and himself who had seen the video.

This ensured maximum confidentiality of the clue, making it difficult for the opposition to grasp real progress through petty means.

"Captain Qin, should we continue the case analysis meeting?"