Diary of a Criminal Investigator-Chapter 388: Solved a Murder Case in Spare Time

Chapter 388: Chapter 388: Solved a Murder Case in Spare Time

The investigation into the second body, that of Su Xiaochen, was tense and not proceeding smoothly.

Her interpersonal relationships were complex, and she often frequented slow rock bars and KTVs, mingling with many men.

According to her parents, her boyfriend was just one of Su Xiaochen’s meal ticket companions.

After all, her parents’ combined retirement salary was only 6,000 yuan a month.

Half of this money was used for daily expenses, while the other half was given to Su Xiaochen.

More than 3,000 yuan a month wasn’t even enough for Su Xiaochen to buy a dress and two sets of cosmetics.

Without a source of income, she often lingered in high-spending places like slow rock bars and KTVs, mingling with different men and providing certain services, which obviously became her only option.

As a result, she often stayed out all night and sometimes didn’t return home for three to five days while out playing.

"In Zhangzhou, the entertainment industry is quite developed; we’ve encountered many such cases."

One of the criminal police officers cooperating with the Criminal Investigation Team of Haizhou City sighed.

Zhangzhou’s entertainment industry is the most famous among the nearby cities, attracting many people from outside.

So, there is a high turnover of people, and reports of missing persons are something each police station deals with almost daily.

Some people report their husbands missing, some say their wives are lost, and others talk about their children running away; there’s a report for everything.

The most absurd case was a 70-year-old lady who reported her husband missing a couple of years back.

It turned out the police found the gentleman asleep on a hostess’s lap in a KTV room.

That incident caused quite a stir, and the police mediated for several days.

Most of the time, missing persons return after one or two days or at most a week or two when they’ve had enough fun.

So, the emphasis on missing person cases in Zhangzhou City isn’t as high as in other places.

No choice, they simply can’t keep up.

Cases like Su Xiaochen’s, which eventually developed into a murder case, have only occurred once in the past few years.

Therefore, when Su Xiaochen was reported missing last year, the related investigation progress was not satisfactory.

At that time, she hadn’t returned home for days, and her parents didn’t know whether she was missing or just didn’t want to come home.

Her parents finally decided to file a report because, previously, when calling Su Xiaochen, she would hang up directly, but that time her phone was off for four days straight.

A year later, they were separated by life and death.

So much time has passed that they don’t even know where Su Xiaochen went missing.

Where she went before she disappeared, which slow rock bar or KTV she visited, is practically untraceable.

They asked some of her friends she often hung out with, but because so much time had passed, they had forgotten, and the surveillance tapes had long been overwritten, leaving no traceable information.

With no other ways, the investigation team had to return to Haizhou City. 𝒻𝓇𝑒𝘦𝘸𝑒𝒷𝓃ℴ𝑣𝘦𝑙.𝒸ℴ𝘮

Meanwhile, the work in Huangzhou was progressing relatively smoothly.

"It was too long ago; I can’t remember clearly, but I generally went to slow rock bars with friends; I never went alone."

"It was something from last year; truly, I can’t remember."

Out of seventeen people, the information for ten was confirmed, and for the other seven, identities were gradually clarified.

Four people stayed in Huangzhou City, while three were nowhere to be found.

After roughly understanding the situation, Lu Chuan and Zhang Hui discussed the direction of the next step of work.

"I think we can now seek assistance from the Criminal Investigation Team in Huangzhou City."

"Of the seven people, the identities have been mostly confirmed."

"And with the original ten people whose whereabouts had been tracked, we can now proceed with investigations."

"We’re short on manpower, but with Huangzhou’s Criminal Investigation Team getting involved, things can move much quicker."

Zhang Hui nodded: "I think so too; I’ll go communicate with them now."

Solving cases is not a one-man show; the body may have been discovered in Haizhou City, but the victim was from Huangzhou City, and the missing person report was filed here. In terms of jurisdiction, both sides can handle this case.

If they can unite now and work together on the case, the progress would be significantly faster.

Liao Junlong, the captain of the Huangzhou City Criminal Investigation Team, had no objections after hearing his subordinates’ reports.

"In this case, the action team here will fully cooperate with Haizhou, give it their all, and carry out proper follow-up work."

"By the way... show Teacher Lu that fingerprint we received last time."

Fingerprint?

When Lu Chuan received the fingerprint, he was momentarily surprised.

"Teacher Lu, here’s the thing: last week, there was a murder case here. There were fingerprints on the murder weapon, but they were very blurred. The graphics card has been researching it for a week but hasn’t succeeded, and the fingerprint has already been sent to the provincial department. However, it’s lined up, and it’s estimated that it will take at least another two weeks to get results, and even that’s not guaranteed to be a successful match."

"Look... can you lend a hand?"

"It’s not a big problem; let me talk to our team lead, and anyway, it won’t take much time."

Zhang Hui certainly wouldn’t oppose.

They came here to solve a case, and they’ve received significant support from the Huangzhou City Criminal Investigation Team. Especially on the day they arrived, the captain personally received them and placed a high priority on the matter.

Moreover, if Lu Chuan can help identify the fingerprint and solve the prior murder case, the Huangzhou side could free up more resources to help them.

Besides, if Captain Liao Junlong were to receive a case to solve a murder himself, hosting a few individuals back then might have been out of a hope that Lu Chuan could help identify the fingerprint.

"Captain Liao has already transferred more than a dozen people. You don’t have to worry about our situation; focus on identifying the fingerprint."

Ten minutes later, Lu Chuan received the fingerprints related to the local homicide case.

There were three people in the Crime Scene Investigation Office of the Huangzhou City Criminal Investigation Team.

The head of the Crime Scene Investigation who briefed Lu Chuan, holding the same position as Liu Guodong, was named Wang Gang.

"Teacher Lu, I personally extracted the fingerprint from the murder weapon."

"However, because the perpetrator threw the weapon into a pool of blood, soaking it, the fingerprint is very blurred."

"We’ve tried many methods, but we still haven’t managed to identify it."

While Wang Gang was briefing him, Lu Chuan casually flipped through the case file.

The case itself was not that complicated and was most likely a crime of passion. The perpetrator had left many clues at the crime scene, not just fingerprints but footprints as well.

They were likely committing a crime for the first time, lacking experience, and leaving the murder weapon behind right at the scene before fleeing.

Footprints...

Without analyzing the fingerprints, just from looking at the footprints, Lu Chuan could roughly deduce the physical appearance of the perpetrator.

"Brother Wang, do we have a range of suspects?"

"Yes, the dead person’s neighbor, brother-in-law, and several people from the same village; they all worked together in a brick yard and had disputes."