Diary of a Criminal Investigator-Chapter 387: Suspect Targets

Su Xiaochen, female, 26 years old, from Zhangzhou City, was reported missing last January in Zhangzhou.

This is the identity information of the second body.

Another missing persons case turned homicide.

The probability of a missing persons case turning into a homicide is actually not very high, generally only around 20% to less than 30%.

And it has nothing to do with age; the probability is the same for minors and adults.

This has been a characteristic that has only emerged in recent years.

In the past, it wasn’t like this.

A dozen or twenty years ago, it was rare for a minors’ missing case to turn into a homicide; most of the disappearances were about trafficking.

During that era, the probability for adults’ cases turning into homicides was even lower.

Because communication was not developed, many people weren’t truly missing; their families just couldn’t get in touch with them.

When Qin Yong was young, he experienced cases like a husband working away for three years, didn’t call home to save money, and didn’t even go home for the holidays.

As a result, when he returned with money after three years, he found his wife had remarried, and his son took another man’s surname.

In a fit of rage, there was a bloodbath, which resulted in a homicide.

Nowadays, missing persons cases are often absurd and bizarre, with some cases where the police can contact the person, but the family cannot.

"Does anyone have anything else to report?"

Everyone shook their heads, and Qin Yong started to assign tasks.

"First, we need to expedite the checks on the cold storage and vehicle checks at the Warehouse Valley landfill, leaving no stone unturned."

"Sun Jun, Ren Qiang, you are senior members of the team. Although you have extensive experience, you still need to be on high alert."

"We need to have high estimations of the opponent we are facing."

"Just at the Warehouse Valley landfill, we’ve already found two bodies."

"Although the forensic doctor hasn’t determined the exact time of death for the second body, looking at the garbage landfill layer where the body was found and the degree of decomposition, it appears to have been disposed of earlier than the first body."

"The first body had a history of long-term freezing, and if the perpetrator is the same person, then the second body was also very likely frozen."

"Considering this, the victim count might not just be two, and the disposal site may not only be the Warehouse Valley landfill."

"The killer is exceptionally cunning and brutal, so we must be extremely meticulous."

"Understood!"

"Roger that!"

"Additionally, we need to send another team to Zhangzhou to check on the Su Xiaochen missing persons case. Coordinate with them for a joint investigation; with it turning into a homicide case, they will deploy more police resources too."

Meanwhile.

Huangzhou City.

"Does this look like him?"

Lu Chuan’s side was progressing quickly, and in less than two days, they sorted out everyone seen in the surveillance video at the lounge back then.

They had printed out large photos in the order of entry and exit and were having Sun Xiaojuan identify them.

"This... doesn’t quite look like him, that person had longer hair, not this crew cut; I remember it was parted."

"This person?"

"A little bit like him."

"What about this one?"

"This one... seems about the same."

When Sun Xiaojuan came out of the bathroom at that time, she indeed couldn’t clearly see the person’s face, just had a vague impression that he was good-looking, had big eyes, parted hair, and was relatively tall.

There were a total of seventeen people matching Sun Xiaojuan’s impression.

Seventeen people!

These were the ones most likely to have greeted Wang Lili at the lounge back then.

Of course, it couldn’t necessarily be said that the killer was among these 17 people, but Wang Lili might have temporarily left at the invitation of one of them.

Because the person had behaved like this before: the two of them went for coffee, met a man at the cafe, exchanged WeChat, and then had relations.

Later, Wang Lili even introduced this person to Sun Xiaojuan.

After having Sun Xiaojuan identify once more, they basically narrowed it down to these 17 people.

"Brother Hui, how is it on your end?"

Zhang Hui was with the Huangzhou Criminal Investigation team, checking the payers’ identities through the lounge’s payment information from that day.

"Almost there, give me another hour, and I’ll get it done. Then we’ll compare notes."

One and a half hours later.

Huangzhou City Criminal Investigation Team, Meeting Room 3.

Since Wang Lili’s case had turned from a missing person case into a homicide, this side also took it very seriously.

Besides assigning Zhang Lijun to work with Zhang Hui and Lu Chuan, they specially set up a task force meeting room for them.

"These ten people... after comparison, we’re left with these few."

Zhang Hui, working with Huangzhou City’s economic investigation team, easily identified the payer’s identities from the lounge’s payment records.

Compared with the seventeen people identified by Lu Chuan and confirmed by Sun Xiaojuan, information for ten people matched successfully.

"The rest likely either were with another person or paid in cash."

It’s impossible that everyone at the lounge pays for themselves; some people in groups might have had only one person settle the bill, so the number of payers is definitely less than the number of people on video.

"Seven people, it’s not too many."

Zhang Hui was quite satisfied.

To have narrowed down the suspects to seven people in a homicide case meant that the case was close to being solved.

Yet, if the man who lured Wang Lili away was the killer, he most likely didn’t come to the lounge accompanied by others.

However, since Wang Lili’s case turned missing person’s has now been over a year, it’s been so long that the lounge’s staff have long forgotten anything.

"Check them, examine these seven people one by one."

Zhangzhou City.

The second team dispatched by Qin Yong has already begun investigating the Su Xiaochen missing persons case.

Compared to Wang Lili’s disappearance, there was no surveillance available for Su Xiaochen’s case, and the report was filed by her parents.

"She loves having fun, often goes to clubs, KTV, for singing and dancing. That day, after the Lantern Festival, she said she was going to the lounge, and then..."

Su Xiaochen didn’t have a formal job; she stayed at home after graduating from college, then found a job selling clothes, but quit after a while.

She usually relied on her parents’ pension, frequenting entertainment venues like lounges.

At Su Xiaochen’s home, the investigation team saw photos of her, tall with striking looks.

"Does she have a boyfriend?"

"Yes, we’ve met him once."

Three hours later, the investigation team met with Su Xiaochen’s boyfriend.

"I’m hardly her boyfriend, she just used my money for fun, and we’d sleep together occasionally."

"Such women love playing around, officers, you know, how many decent girls hang around lounges?"

"Give them some money, and if they look decent, you can sleep with them."

"We haven’t been in touch for a long time, I don’t know where she went."

"Women like her, if one’s gone, just replace them, there are plenty at the lounge."