Insights Chapter 93: Suspect

Chapter 93: Suspect

Translated by Addis of Exiled Rebels Scanlations

Editor: Karai

The corpse of Wei Sen, another elderly man, was finally found. As time passed, the sky gradually darkened, and the entire hill seemed to be shrouded in a gray mist. There were many plants on the hill, and occasionally, the sound of insects could be heard. Combined with the sight of the emaciated elderly corpse hanging under the tree, the atmosphere was eerie.

Bao Dui and several detectives from the sub-bureau were dumbfounded when they saw this scene. They quickly took out the unused police tape from the morning to cordon off the scene. Then they called the sub-bureau to report the situation.

Qi Yi’an brought a camera and a forensic kit. The camera clicked as it captured all the traces at the scene before Qi Yi’an dared to approach. There were no traces under the tree, and no footprints to collect. There was a small puddle of water, likely from the victim losing control of his bladder. 

After inspecting the surrounding environment, Shen Junci and Qi Yi’an looked up at the hanging corpse. The old man had been dead for a long time, with a pale face, a slightly lowered head, a swollen tongue protruding, and the neck completely hung on the rope, swaying gently in the night breeze.

Shen Junci first examined the knot, and with a cold tone, he judged, “It’s a single-loop knot.”

The way the knot was tied was also important evidence. To preserve the knot intact, Qi Yi’an stepped on a nearby rock while Gu Yanchen helped support the corpse. They cooperated to cut the hanging rope from the middle, took down the rope, and gently lowered the old man’s corpse.

The elderly man was thin, and the corpse was not heavy.

Shen Junci felt the pockets of the corpse. “The wallet and cellphone are still on him. The cellphone has run out of battery and automatically shut down.”

These elderly people who lived alone usually carried everything they needed, so they wouldn’t be able to return home if they forgot their keys.

“No wonder we couldn’t locate him earlier,” Bai Meng said cautiously as she carefully collected the evidence and sealed it in evidence bags. Then she checked the charging port, took out a power bank, and charged Wei Sen’s phone.

Lu Ying helped with the flashlight, allowing the medical examiners to work. Qi Yi’an began recording.

Shen Junci first measured the body temperature and examined the state of the corpse, “The body temperature is close to room temperature, the corneas are cloudy, and the livor mortis is in the second stage of spreading. There is fading upon pressure, and the rigor mortis has peaked. Considering all these factors, the time of death is estimated to be around twelve hours ago.”

According to the time estimation, it was almost 8 o’clock in the evening now, which meant that this elderly man had been murdered around 8 o’clock in the morning. This meant that shortly after Zhao Chuanwen’s death, Wei Sen encountered trouble.

Shen Junci squatted down to conduct a body examination. He first observed the deceased’s face. “There is evident congestion and swelling on the deceased’s face, with pronounced cyanosis and numerous hemorrhagic spots on the conjunctiva.”

Then he looked at the neck, where there were obvious red linear marks. Qi Yi’an also examined it with him.

Shen Junci pointed at the skin on the neck of the old man. “There are two obvious ligature furrows on the deceased’s neck, both showing subcutaneous injuries and bleeding. One furrow is horizontal, with a circular pressure mark, indicating strangulation by a rope. The other is an oblique figure-eight shape, with deeper ligature marks and wider in the middle, narrowing towards the sides. This indicates that the deceased may have been strangled by someone and then staged to look like a suicide. This is also a homicide case.”

The situation was quite typical, so after Shen Junci analyzed it for Qi Yi’an, he asked him to take photos for documentation. Then Shen Junci carefully examined the ligature marks on the neck again and looked at a nearby stone that seemed to have been stepped on.

Shen Junci said, “Based on the ligature marks on the neck, the perpetrator is not experienced. They attempted multiple times, resulting in some overlapping marks. The perpetrator is likely male, with a height of approximately 1.75 meters.”

After rechecking, he carefully observed the old man’s hands, especially the fingernails. “There are no obvious signs of resistance on the body.”

Bai Meng frowned. “There aren’t many surveillance cameras around this mountain, and it’s sparsely populated here. There probably isn’t much footage available.”

“The perpetrator still left plenty of clues,” Gu Yanchen analyzed as he illuminated the surroundings with a flashlight. Then he continued, “Although this mountain isn’t very high, it’s still about a hundred meters high, and neither bicycles nor electric scooters can go up. There’s only one road up the mountain, and there are no obvious signs of dragging on the ground. This should be the primary crime scene. The perpetrator knew the victim and the environment very well. They probably brought a rope with them, so they were prepared.”

If this weren’t the primary crime scene, and the perpetrator had killed someone elsewhere, they would need to carry a corpse up the mountain, which would consume both time and energy and increase the risk of being seen. Considering the lack of significant signs of resistance on the corpse, it was likely that the perpetrator was acquainted with the victim. Moreover, this place was remote, and newcomers might not even notice it, so the perpetrator should be familiar with the surroundings.

“According to the timeline, if both cases involve the same perpetrator, then it’s likely that after pushing Zhao Chuanwen off the subway, the perpetrator came to the area outside the residential complex, arranged to meet Wei Sen, and then came here?” Lu Ying speculated, “Does that mean the perpetrator also lives nearby?”

Gu Yanchen corrected him, “Being familiar with the area doesn’t necessarily mean living here. They could also work nearby or used to live nearby.” Then he summarized, “Male, over 1.75 meters tall, and acquainted with the victim. When you go back, check if there’s anyone matching this description around the victim.”

If the subway case had relatively few clues, this case had left behind many pieces of information. This crime seemed somewhat hasty, perhaps because the perpetrator wanted to silence a witness, or perhaps because they knew they had already killed someone, so they decided to act recklessly.

In any case, the perpetrator was in a hurry. Gu Yanchen and Shen Junci cooperated tacitly and circled many features of the perpetrator through analysis based on the evidence left at the scene and the corpse. Since they couldn’t go back now and it was already eight o’clock, they had barely eaten lunch earlier, and a few detectives from the sub-bureau had managed with just some bread.

Everyone was starving.

Gu Yanchen reminded, “If you’re hungry, just order takeout. I’ll treat you tonight.”

As police officers, they often worked in remote areas, so having takeout was quite convenient. Bai Meng took out her phone to let everyone order fast food, and the detectives from the sub-bureau didn’t hesitate to order some food as well.

When it came time to pay, Bai Meng hesitated and asked, “How should we write the address?” She discussed it with Lu Ying for a while and ended up writing, “At the first fork in the road at the bottom of the hill, call for directions.”

Qi Yi’an looked up and asked, “Will the delivery person find it? Should we add ‘next to a crime scene’?”

Shen Junci, still checking the corpse, spoke calmly, “Add ‘one meter from the corpse.’ Let’s see if anyone dares to take the order.”

Gu Yanchen said, “Don’t be lazy. You guys should have the delivery person come to…”

Before he could finish, Lu Ying’s flashlight flickered, revealing an abandoned livestock shed nearby, and a shadow darted out from the darkness.

Lu Ying hesitated, wondering if he had seen things. Before he could figure it out, Bai Meng had already chased after the figure and shouted, “Stop!”

Lu Ying realized what was happening and followed suit. The shadow ran into the small woods upon seeing someone chasing. The mountain path was rugged and narrow, only allowing one person to pass. In such a place, Bai Meng’s figure was more advantageous than Lu Ying’s. Bai Meng chased closely behind, with Lu Ying not far behind, trying his best to illuminate for her. The figure ahead was desperately fleeing.

Ten meters, five meters, the distance between them was gradually closing. Although Bai Meng was a woman, she never fell short in bravery. When the distance was only one meter, she reached out to grab the person in front of her, but they dodged her hand. Bai Meng’s hand missed, but her fingers accidentally hooked onto the hat on the person’s face.

As the hat fell off, the person suddenly turned around and headbutted towards her.

Lu Ying reminded from behind, “Be careful…”

Bai Meng heard the warning and hesitated for a moment, afraid that the person might have a weapon. She lowered her body to dodge, slowing her pace. However, the person didn’t pull out anything; they just made a feint and then accelerated forward.

Feeling played, Bai Meng cursed, “Damn it! It’s just a diversion.”

The two were chasing after the shadow in the forest when suddenly, from the darkness, a police dog leaped out, jumping as high as a person. The police dog barked and pounced on the person’s shoulders, directly knocking them down. The person tried to struggle, but the police dog wrestled with them on the ground.

“Don’t move!” 

“Stay still!” With a few shouts, someone rushed over and pinned down the person’s arms, twisting them behind their back. It was Wuliang and Gu Yanchen who arrived. Following them were the rest of the team and several detectives from the sub-bureau.

It turned out that the on-site officers heard the noise and came down to assist them.

Wuliang acted like another commendable achievement was made, while licking his paws on the side. Gu Yanchen then pulled out handcuffs from behind, ready to capture the person’s hands.

Bai Meng and Lu Ying also ran up, reaching out to pull the person up. Now they could see more clearly; the one caught was a middle-aged man, slim in build and not very tall. They arrived at the scene late at night, and everything matched the previous conjectures of Gu Yanchen and Shen Junci.

Lu Ying felt the person in front of him was highly suspicious. He asked sharply, “Why run? Did you kill the person?”

Bai Meng took out her credentials and showed them to him. “City Bureau detective.”

The man tugged at his clothes in frustration, revealing the yellow shirt inside. “I’m a delivery guy. I didn’t know who ordered the food, and the address wasn’t clear either. There were too many deliveries, so I said I’d lock the bike first and come up to check. Then, as soon as I climbed the slope, I heard someone yell ‘Don’t move’. It was pitch dark and deserted, I thought it was a robbery, so I got scared and ran…”

Everyone, “…”

Gu Yanchen, “We placed the order.”

Bai Meng finally realized, “I think we came down the mountain to pick up the delivery?”

Lu Ying hurriedly apologized, “I’m really sorry, got too engrossed in the case, and you weren’t wearing the delivery uniform, just wrapped in a black coat, so we misunderstood.”

Gu Yanchen asked the delivery guy proactively, “Are you okay? Sorry about that, let me give you an extra tip.”

The delivery guy was understanding and patted his clothes, walking down the mountain to bring them the takeout. “The police work hard.”

Just as a “suspect” appeared, he was absolved of suspicion. They returned to the mountain, divided the food, had dinner, and continued working.

At night, the corpse was carried down the mountain by everyone, taken back to the City Bureau for autopsy, and the detectives could finally go off duty. Late at night, Bai Meng didn’t leave; she stayed back to work overtime. The City Bureau was quiet in the late hours. She sat in front of the computer, pouring herself a cup of hot coffee.

At night, she felt she had made a mistake and felt a bit frustrated. Thinking about that scene at night made her so embarrassed that she wanted to dig a castle out of the ground with her toes. She really didn’t want to go home to sleep, so she thought about finding more clues to make up for her mistake.

During this time, fingerprints had been collected from Wei Sen’s phone and sent over, and the phone had been charged. She turned on the computer and connected to Wei Sen’s phone, which was a basic model, and the password was easy to crack. The first thing she accessed was the phone’s photo album. She looked at the photos inside, scrolling through them one by one.

Suddenly, Bai Meng’s finger stopped. The person in this photo was…