novelaction Chapter 941 On-site Investigation Clues
Chapter 941 On-site Investigation Clues
"Protect the scene! Set up a cordon!" Old Chen roared, pointing his baton at the workers taking photos. Several auxiliary police officers quickly pulled out cordon tape, the yellow tape clearly marking a restricted area in the sunlight. Old Chen crouched down and carefully picked up a rusty work badge next to the skeleton with tweezers; the character "王" (Wang) was still faintly visible inside the plastic casing. A question came from the command center over the walkie-talkie, and his voice unconsciously rose: "Preliminary assessment: a criminal case! Requesting support from the Criminal Investigation Division!"
At the demolition site, workers were driven to the base of a wall a hundred meters away. Some squatted on the ground, smoking heavily, ash falling onto their work boots; several female workers huddled together, sobbing softly, their terrified eyes peeking out from under their safety helmets. A second wave of sirens sounded in the distance. Old Zhou stared at the dark entrance to the basement and suddenly remembered hearing the faint sound of fingernails scratching at a cement wall during a patrol last winter night. A chill ran down his spine.
Of course, regardless of whether the discovery of the remains constitutes a criminal case or not, the police station can't get involved now. The main task is to cordon off the scene. The police station immediately arranged for someone to call the criminal investigation branch.
The police officer Lao Chen from Zhenjiang Road Police Station was Li Ming's colleague, so he called him directly.
"Captain Li, skeletal remains have been unearthed during the demolition of the old textile factory on Zhenjiang Road. Preliminary assessment suggests a criminal case!" Old Chen's voice carried a hint of tension. Li Ming grabbed his coat and ran outside, the officers quickly following behind. The sirens blared again, shattering the afternoon tranquility of the city.
At the demolition site, the workers' initial shock had turned into panic. "I heard someone died in this basement before!" "I knew this place was creepy; I was too scared to even look up at night!" Various rumors spread among the crowd. Several timid workers even packed up their tools to leave, but were stopped by police officers: "Don't panic, everyone. Cooperating with the investigation will bring the truth to light sooner!"
When Li Ming arrived, the scene was already heavily secured. He put on gloves and slowly descended the basement steps. The beam of his flashlight swept across the walls, revealing mold spots that resembled eerie human faces. Scattered around the skeleton were broken porcelain bowls, rusted nails, and half a belt buckle. "At least three years since the death," Li Ming muttered to himself. "Notify the forensic and technical departments to conduct an immediate investigation."
Old Chen leaned over and handed over a photo of the employee badge: "Team Leader Li, this was found next to the skeleton. It seems the surname is Wang. I've already contacted the textile factory's custodian office, and they're checking relevant personnel information." Li Ming nodded, his gaze falling on the indentation on the skull: "This is a blunt force injury, most likely the cause of death. First, investigate the missing persons at the factory, especially those who suddenly went missing."
Technician Xiao Liu arrived with his equipment, and the site was instantly illuminated by blinding survey lights. "Start 3D scanning, pay attention to bone damage," Li Ming instructed. Xiao Liu operated the instrument, the blue light slowly moving across the white bone, recording every detail. "Team Leader Li, there are obvious signs of fracture healing on the left rib; the deceased must have suffered multiple acts of violence before death," Xiao Liu said, staring at the screen.
The workers who had been watching were pushed further and further away, but their eyes never left the scene. A few older workers huddled together, whispering, "I remember there used to be an old man named Wang in the factory, a really nice guy, but then he suddenly disappeared. At the time, everyone thought he had gone back to his hometown, but now that I think about it..." The police officer overheard this and quickly reported it to Li Ming.
"Check this old Wang's information immediately!" Li Ming's eyes lit up. As the investigation deepened, the textile factory's staff found a yellowed employee file. "Wang Jianjun, male, 45 years old, suddenly disappeared seven years ago. A police report was filed at the time, but there has been no news since." The staff member said, flipping through the file, "His wife even came to the factory to cause trouble a few times, and then she disappeared as well."
Outside the police cordon, the whispers of the onlookers mingled with the sounds of traffic outside the factory, while inside, Li Ming's criminal investigation team had already swiftly begun their investigation. Technician Xiao Liu, carrying a 3D laser scanner, carefully descended the moss-covered steps and entered the long-sealed basement. The damp air was thick with a nauseating stench of decay, mixed with crumbling plaster from the walls; every breath carried a rough, granular texture.
"Watch your step, don't disturb the scene," Li Ming warned, the beam of his flashlight flickering in the dim space, illuminating the scattered brick fragments, rusted nails, and several broken porcelain bowls around the skeleton. Forensic pathologist Zhang Lin, wearing double-layered latex gloves, squatted beside the skeleton, first gently picking up the tattered strips of cloth covering the bones with tweezers. "The clothing fibers are severely degraded; it seems the deceased had been lying here for at least several years." He placed the cloth strip into a numbered evidence bag, then turned to his assistant and said, "Take soil samples and record the original location of the skeleton."
Xiao Liu activated the 3D laser scanner, and the blue light slowly moved across the surface of the skeleton, converting every detail into digital information. "Team Leader Li, there are signs of an old fracture healing on the left ulna, indicating that the victim must have been subjected to violence before death." Xiao Liu stared at the device screen, his brow furrowed. "The indentation on the right side of the skull is likely the fatal wound. The edges of the wound are irregular, suggesting that the murder weapon was an irregular blunt object, something like a hammer."
Li Ming bent down to carefully examine the ground, trying to find any possible footprints or fingerprints, but years of damp conditions and mechanical work during the demolition had made the ground muddy and impossible to extract any valid trace evidence. He used tweezers to pick up a few pieces of gravel near the skeleton and put them in an evidence bag: "Send these stones for testing to see if there is any bloodstains left on them."
The investigation lasted for several hours, with the team examining almost every inch of the basement. Aside from the skeleton and some miscellaneous items, they found no identification documents and no objects suspected to be the murder weapon. Just as everyone was starting to lose heart, Zhang Lin suddenly made a discovery. "Look," he said, examining the surface of the skeleton with a magnifying glass, "there's some black substance attached to the crevices of the ribs and finger bones, like some kind of grease or tar."
He carefully scraped the substance with a cotton swab and placed it into a sealed test tube: "These samples are very important and need to be sent for testing as soon as possible to see if we can analyze their components. Perhaps this was left by the murderer during the crime, or it may be related to the victim's work or living environment before death."
Meanwhile, in the old textile factory's former office building, Officer Wang and three of his colleagues were still there. He took off his police hat to fan himself, and the back of his police uniform was already soaked with sweat, clinging tightly to his body.