Chapter 548: Chapter 548: The Missing Tenant

In the car, Liu Guodong introduced the case to Lu Chuan, Old Bai, and Yang Sen.

"Around 12:30 this afternoon, the Huaguang Street police station received a report about a missing person."

"The police there, oh yes, Lu, it was your old classmate Yang Lin, responded to the call."

"Some issues were found and reported directly to us; it was suspected to be a possible homicide."

Yang Lin?

Hearing this name, Yang Sen was slightly taken aback, "Lu, this name... just missing a wood radical from mine?"

Lu Chuan nodded, one might think they were brothers.

If there was another named Yang Mu, it would complete the trio of terms 木 (wood), 林 (forest), 森 (dense forest).

Lu Chuan remembered that during elementary school, there was a classmate named Yao Bomu, and he had a brother named Yao Bolin, and another brother named Yao Boshen. Three sons in one family... their father certainly had his hands full.

Liu Guodong continued, "The person who reported it was a cleaner."

"The missing person rented an apartment in Tianhe Home District, hiring a regular cleaner weekly."

"The cleaner had been working there for over three years, had a key to the house, and found the drain clogged while cleaning. During unclogging, they found a severed little finger and reported it immediately."

"They suspect a dismemberment case, but the details are still unclear. We’ll investigate further at the site."

Tianhe Home District, building seven, third unit, sixth floor.

By the time Lu Chuan and the others arrived, the area was cordoned off. Yang Lin was nearby and quickly approached when he saw Lu Chuan arriving.

"Lu Chuan!"

Lu Chuan met Yang Lin’s approach. As Yang Lin was the first on the scene, he likely had the most information about the situation.

"What’s going on?"

Yang Lin looked a bit pale and spoke gravely, "It seems to be a dismemberment murder."

"We received the report at 12:30 and I arrived on the scene at 12:39."

"The cleaner found a severed little finger while unclogging the drain."

"After we arrived, we continued to clear the drain and found numerous bits resembling fat and internal organs."

"Are you sure?"

Yang Lin nodded, "No mistake. We learned this in anatomy class, and I remember it vividly."

"After consulting our director, we reported directly to the Criminal Investigation Team."

"Was anything in the room disturbed?"

"No, I wore shoe covers when I went in, and my colleagues who responded with me did as well."

"Once we realized the seriousness of the case, we sealed the scene immediately. No one has entered the room."

As they were speaking, Qin Yong also arrived at the scene.

"Captain Qin!"

Zhang Hui and Liu Guodong went over.

"What’s the situation?"

"Two officers from Huaguang Street police station responded, suspected to have found a dismemberment case."

"Where’s the scene?"

"The bathroom."

"Give me an overview."

Yang Lin was still the most informed about the case; he had been there the whole time and was involved throughout the process.

"Captain Qin, our officer Yang Lin was the first to arrive at the scene; let him report."

The director of Huaguang Street police station, Huang Jianmin, pulled Yang Lin over to report directly to Qin Yong.

Yang Lin had met Qin Yong before, so he wasn’t overly nervous. Besides, right now all he could think about was the case, and he started his report immediately.

"At 12:30 noon..."

"We already contacted the landlord immediately, but they were out of town and couldn’t come back."

"However, some information about the deceased has been sent through WeChat."

"The tenant of the room is named Yang Qianqian, female, 28, and she had been renting that apartment for three and a half years."

"According to the landlord, Yang Qianqian is a fashion model without stable employment."

"Given the potentially serious nature of the case, we have not searched the room yet. After discovering fat and organ fragments in the drain, we withdrew."

After listening to the report, Qin Yong nodded heavily, "You’ve done well."

"Alright, let the Crime Scene Investigation team first examine the scene. Zhang Hui, investigate Yang Qianqian’s background, while another team checks with the neighbors."

"Yes!" 𝒻𝑟ℯℯ𝑤𝑒𝑏𝑛𝘰𝓋𝑒𝓁.𝒸𝑜𝘮

As Qin Yong was listening to the report, Lu Chuan, Liu Guodong, and the others were already wearing hairnets, gloves, shoe covers, and white protective suits.

Four people, working together.

"Yang Sen and Old Bai, you check the other rooms, Lu Chuan and I will go to the bathroom."

The apartment Yang Qianqian rented was a two-bedroom, one living room layout, approximately 80 square meters.

The bathroom was small, only about three square meters, with a wet and dry separation. The washbasin was outside, and the shower was inside.

On the floor were items extracted by the cleaner when unclogging the drain, as well as things unearthed when Yang Lin later cleared the drain.

The reported partial little finger was lying on the floor.

It wasn’t long, just over a centimeter, but there was a nail attached.

Despite the grime, one could faintly see that the nail had been manicured, with what looked like small crystals, shimmering and translucent.

Using tweezers to pick up the severed finger, Lu Chuan observed it closely for a moment.

"Third segment of the right-hand little finger, about two-thirds in size, cut by a sharp object."

"A female, with manicure marks."

"The skin is tight and fair, likely a young woman."

"Judging by the decay, about a week old."

From just a single severed finger, Lu Chuan had gathered a lot of information.

Given the current circumstances, it’s highly likely that Yang Qianqian has gone missing, and a part of her may well be in this drain.

Of course, whether the deceased is Yang Qianqian cannot be confirmed just yet.

But it could be easily determined.

Yang Sen and Old Bai were conducting a crime scene investigation in the living room and bedrooms. Later, they would conduct DNA testing on the hairs found and compare it with the DNA from the drain to confirm the identity.

Next to the finger was a mix of yellow and brown fragments.

Lu Chuan was skilled in forensics and had participated in many autopsies.

He immediately recognized that pile as indeed fat.

It seemed that this substance clogged the drain, and the severed finger, which should have been washed away, remained because of the clog.

Collecting the items in an evidence bag, Lu Chuan began a detailed investigation of the bathroom.

Spraying some luminol reagent revealed a large number of fluorescent spots, densely packed.

"Was the dismemberment done here?"

"Not necessarily, the direction of the blood spatter isn’t right."

Lu Chuan pointed to the spots on the wall, "The force is off; it looks like it was splashed upwards, possibly when the drain was flushed, causing the blood to splash up."

"And here," Lu Chuan pointed to a large fluorescent stain on the floor, "the culprit likely placed the dismembered meat pieces here before flushing them down the drain."

"Otherwise, there wouldn’t be such a large, discontinuous fluorescent mark."