Reborn in 97, I solved a cold case at the Municipal Bureau

Chapter 413 The Detective Returns
"I didn't see the rest of the interrogation either; only Comrade Xiang Jie and Comrade Qiao Jiali, who were in charge of the interrogation, know about it. After all, most of you here went to Xiao Bing's house to cover the crime scene."

Liang Wei signaled to switch to the next video segment.

Soon, the picture reappeared on the television.

Lu Xiaoshuang's eyes were red in the video, but her emotions had stabilized considerably.

Qiao Jiali asked, "Lu Xiaoshuang, can we continue? If you feel unwell, you can let us know anytime."

Lu Xiaoshuang sniffed and said, "It's okay, I can continue."

"Okay, let's continue. You mentioned earlier that you fainted, right?"

Lu Xiaoshuang nodded.

"During the time you were being held hostage and drugged, do you remember doing anything? For example, scratching the other person's arm or body, or losing something from your person?"

Lu Xiaoshuang thought for a moment and shook her head, saying, "No, that person was wearing long sleeves, and I don't have long fingernails either."

Suddenly she remembered something and quickly added, "The apples, the apples fell. I was holding a red plastic bag with four apples in it."

"Okay, we'll check. Do you remember when you left the No. 2 Steel dormitory?"

“I don’t have a watch, so I’m not sure of the exact time, but I can calculate it.” Lu Xiaoshuang held up her finger and said, “I left school at around 12:40. It took me almost 20 minutes to walk to the bus stop and wait for the bus. The 14-stop journey would take about 45 minutes. Then I didn’t stay at Officer Zhou’s house for long. From getting off the bus to asking the auntie at the stall for directions, it should have been at most 10 minutes. So I was probably drugged around 2:00, because there were very few pedestrians on the street at that time, and it was the hottest time of day. I remember that auntie was pushing a tricycle and standing under the shade of a tree.”

Lu Xiaoshuang's logical and clear time analysis made Zhou Yi clench his fist in excitement.

Xiao Shuang, well done!

Because all the details she gave, from meeting Xiao Bing to her disappearance, had behavioral traces and were verifiable, including the few apples that fell.

Instead of losing control of her emotions or going blank, she calmly recalled her every action and the timing, confirming that she was drugged around 2 p.m.

The first bag of body parts was discovered by witnesses at 8:03 AM in Nansha River.

The time frame was a mere six hours. Based on the experimental data provided by Song Yiming, she completely lacked the conditions and time to commit the crime, not to mention the time required to dispose of the body.

Previously, it was only suspected that she did not have the time to commit the crime. Now, as long as the information in her statement is verified one by one, her alibi will be established.

There are three key conditions for identifying a criminal suspect.

I. Motive for the crime.

Second, unable to provide a valid alibi.

Third, clear witness testimony or physical evidence.

The motive for a crime is a subjective analysis and cannot be used as direct evidence unless the person admits it.

If any one of the remaining alibis or physical evidence is confirmed to be excluded, then Lu Xiaoshuang's criminal suspicion will be dismissed.

Because a single piece of evidence cannot be used as valid evidence in the judicial system.

"When did you regain consciousness?" Qiao Jiali asked.

Lu Xiaoshuang shook her head and said, "I...I'm not sure...I only know that when I woke up, I was in the trunk of the car."

"you sure?"

"Yes, because the surroundings were very narrow, I couldn't move at all. I could feel and hear cars moving around, and the road was very bumpy."

"What can you see? Are they tied up?"

“My eyes were blindfolded and my mouth was stuffed with something, so I couldn’t shout or see.” Lu Xiaoshuang’s body trembled slightly again. “And I was tied up. I felt like my hands and feet were bound. My hands were tied behind my back, especially my thumbs, which were tied together by something.”

These few sentences contain several important pieces of information.

First, the murderer had a car! This car must have been the key tool for disposing of the body and taking Lu Xiaoshuang hostage.

But Xiao Bing said he didn't own a car and hadn't even taken a driving test. Unless he was lying, this alone doesn't make sense.

If it is ultimately confirmed that Xiao Bing did not own a car and could not drive at all, then the direction of the investigation will become unpredictable, and the possibility of a gang crime must be considered.

Second, the road is bumpy.

This information needs to be considered in conjunction with Qiao Jiali's question about the time it took to regain consciousness.

The duration of ether anesthesia is actually not very long and cannot last for several hours.

Because metabolism is very fast in the human body, it can take anywhere from a few minutes to twenty or thirty minutes.

The bumpy road indicates poor road conditions, and it's very likely that you're heading towards the suburbs, as it's unlikely that you'd experience prolonged bumpy rides on city roads.

Third, blindfolding, gagging, and binding.

Especially the act of tying both thumbs together after binding their hands behind their backs seems a bit too cautious.

This reminded Zhou Yi of when Lu Xiaoshuang was rescued and at the county hospital, Wu Yongcheng had someone conduct a medical examination to assess her injuries.

At the time, some minor bruises were found on Lu Xiaoshuang's thumbs, but they were not very deep, and it was impossible to determine how they were formed.

It now appears that this was caused by binding the thumb, because the wrist was bound, which reduced the range of thumb movement.

These are mostly nylon plastic straps.

But why did the murderer make it so complicated?
Was the purpose of kidnapping Lu Xiaoshuang simply to frame her?
Zhou Yi's biggest question is, didn't the murderer realize that framing Lu Xiaoshuang was full of flaws?
Would the murderer of such a major case, the one who shocked the nation in his previous life, make such a basic mistake?

Zhou Yi couldn't understand it.

Lu Xiaoshuang continued, "From the time I woke up until the car stopped, about fifteen minutes passed, because I counted in my head."

"So you were conscious during this time?"

"Yes. After the car stopped, I felt someone open the trunk, because a rush of fresh air came in. I was terrified; I didn't know what they were going to do to me, so I continued to pretend to be unconscious. Until..."

"Until what?"

"I couldn't keep pretending to be unconscious until they ripped the cloth out of my mouth and poured water down my throat."

"Flooding? What kind of flooding?"

Lu Xiaoshuang shook her head: "I don't know, it should just be normal water, but it was a little bitter. At first, I screamed for help, but after a few screams, the other person grabbed my mouth. He was very strong, and I couldn't break free. In the end, he forced several mouthfuls of water down my throat, and then his mouth was stuffed shut again. Then the trunk was closed again, and I felt the car start up again, but soon my consciousness began to blur, and then I passed out again."

Lu Xiaoshuang's ordeal broke Zhou Yi's heart; she must have been terrified.

Moreover, this murderer was frighteningly shrewd.

The perpetrator seemed to know that the effects of ether on a person's unconscious state were short-lived. Stopping halfway through the journey wasn't because they had reached their destination, but rather because they likely drove to a secluded spot they deemed safe and uninhabited.

The purpose of stopping the car was to force-feed Lu Xiaoshuang water, which had been laced with a strong sleeping pill.

In other words, it must have been around 3 p.m. at the time.

Only oral sleeping pills can keep Lu Xiaoshuang in a coma for a long time; ether simply cannot do that.

This proves that this was a very meticulously planned crime, because the murderer prepared at least two methods of control. The murderer not only knew that ether could not keep Lu Xiaoshuang unconscious for a long time, but also took into account the follow-up treatment.

What Zhou Yi couldn't understand was why, after Lu Xiaoshuang was rescued, the hospital did not find any trace of sleeping pills in her blood when they conducted a blood test on her.
It's normal if ether can't be detected because it evaporates quickly and has a short reaction time.

However, under normal circumstances, sleeping pills can be detected in the blood at least 24 hours after ingestion.

This is a bit strange.

Either the drug used by the murderer was uncommon, or the blood testing technology these days is not very advanced.

There was another point that Zhou Yi found strange.

Lu Xiaoshuang mentioned twice that the person who kidnapped him was very strong.

Lu Xiaoshuang has a standard height and weight, standing at 1.62 meters and weighing around 100 kilograms, with a well-proportioned figure.

Moreover, she was sensible and helped with housework at her uncle's house since she was a child. After the college entrance examination, she worked hard to earn money for tuition and living expenses. She is physically strong and is not the kind of weak girl who would be blown away by the wind.

If she is powerless to resist the killer's hostage situation in a desperate situation, it means that the killer is completely superior to her in terms of strength.

That means it's highly unlikely to be a woman; the probability of it being a man is extremely high.

However, Xiao Bing's height and weight are considered very thin for a man, and he doesn't usually have any sports hobbies; his interests are mostly artistic.

If Xiao Bing were to take Lu Xiaoshuang hostage, before the ether takes effect in thirty seconds, Xiao Bing might not be able to control her due to her violent struggles.

It should be impossible to pull the person into the nearby bushes in a short time.

But if it wasn't Xiao Bing, why would he have tricked Lu Xiaoshuang into leaving school?
Lu Xiaoshuang was drugged and abducted in an alley next to her home, clearly indicating that the kidnapping of Lu Xiaoshuang was a premeditated and deliberate act by the perpetrator.

But if it wasn't Xiao Bing, why would he run away?

Could it really be a gang crime?
In the video, Qiao Jiali continued to ask, "Lu Xiaoshuang, after you fell into a coma this time, how long did it feel like you woke up? And what was the situation?"

Lu Xiaoshuang frowned slightly and said, "I'm not very sure. I feel like I woke up once in the middle, but I wasn't fully awake. I vaguely felt someone give me water. I was so thirsty, so I drank it instinctively."

Zhou Yi took a deep breath. From the time Lu Xiaoshuang was first given water on the 30th to the time the little boy heard the sounds in the mine on the evening of May 1st, more than 24 hours had passed.

It's true that normal sleeping pills wouldn't make someone sleep for a whole day and night, and the water given in between was probably to keep Lu Xiaoshuang asleep.

The question remains: why complicate things so much?
What is the purpose?
Complex criminal methods must have a clear purpose, unless the murderer is an extremely narcissistic and perverted person. But even such murderers wouldn't dump people in an abandoned mine. They prefer to let people "admire" their masterpieces in public and watch the police being fooled by them.

Zhou Yi bit her fingernails as she pondered.

Suddenly, a possibility occurred to him.

It's certain that the murderer wanted to frame Lu Xiaoshuang.

There was a hair tie in front of them, placed with the body parts, and it was stained with blood.

Based on this clue, the police could easily suspect that the deceased was Lu Xiaoshuang, or that the case was related to Lu Xiaoshuang.

Later, Lu Xiaoshuang's fingerprints appeared on Xu Liu's student ID, the zipper of the travel bag containing the human head, and the murder weapon.

Moreover, the murderer provided various physical evidence.

It also provides an abandoned mine shaft as a dumping ground for the body. What's inside this mine shaft?
The presence of harmful gases inside could lead the police to suspect that Lu Xiaoshuang collapsed in the mine after accidentally inhaling the harmful gases while disposing of the body.

The murderer was providing a plausible logic for the police investigation.

Suppose Lu Xiaoshuang hadn't been rescued in time and had died in the mine, what are the possible outcomes?
The first scenario is that Lu Xiaoshuang's body and Xu Liu's head were discovered in a short period of time for some reason, but the police could only obtain physical evidence with clear indications.

Since Lu Xiaoshuang is dead, she is unable to recount what happened on the afternoon of the 30th, and the police naturally have no way to verify Lu Xiaoshuang's whereabouts that day.

Then the alibi would become ambiguous, unlike now where it can be verified and excluded through multiple pieces of information provided by Lu Xiaoshuang.

Although there will still be many doubts, the police will definitely make Lu Xiaoshuang a criminal suspect the primary focus of their investigation.

The suspicious points, after the investigation yields no results, may be analyzed as "a group crime".

This raises the question of why the murderer didn't kill Lu Xiaoshuang and then dispose of her body, but instead continued to use drugs to make her unconscious and then dump her into the cave.

Only if the forensic autopsy determines the cause of death to be "death by inhalation of excessive methane and carbon monoxide poisoning" can it fit the conclusion that "Lu Xiaoshuang is the murderer or one of the murderers".

Any other cause of death would lead the police to suspect that Lu Xiaoshuang was also a victim.

After all, there's a possibility that Lu Xiaoshuang could walk in on her own in the former case, but not in the latter.

Therefore, the police will launch an investigation focusing on "social relationships closely related to Lu Xiaoshuang".

The result will naturally be an investigation into the air, and it will probably first lead to Zhou Yi, and then to Wu Yongcheng, Qiao Jiali and the others.

At this point, the anonymous letter of complaint sent to the municipal party committee office will come in handy.

The case will then reach a stalemate because the investigation will lead to a group of criminal police officers who are not in Hongcheng, which is quite absurd.

This allows the perpetrator to effectively interfere with the police investigation, leading them down the wrong path.

The second possibility is that no one discovers the bodies and heads in the mine in the short term. It might take three to five years, or even eight to ten years, before someone discovers the human bones in the mine.

At that time, the police will launch an investigation and use DNA to confirm that the complete skeleton belongs to Lu Xiaoshuang and the skull belongs to Xu Liu.

Then it will be linked to a major case that has never been solved.

With the discovery of a new body belonging to the victim, the investigation into the major case will naturally be reopened.

The major cases that preceded this were absolutely unsolvable.

Because two people went missing in this case, Lu Xiaoshuang and Xu Liu, and the two were about the same height and weight.

Moreover, all the body parts disposed of outside were deep-fried, making it impossible to identify whether the deceased was Lu Xiaoshuang or Xu Liu from the body parts.

There's no point in talking about solving a case if even the deceased can't be identified.

But by then, the case would be even more impossible to investigate, because so many years had passed and all the information had become blurred.

The fingerprints on the murder weapon and the travel bag became direct evidence to suspect that Lu Xiaoshuang had committed murder and disposed of the body.

Of course, the final result was either that the case remained unsolved or that it was hastily closed on the grounds that Lu Xiaoshuang was the murderer.

The murderer could then rest easy.

The third possibility is that, with the development of the times, these wastelands in Xinbei Township may be used for development and construction, and a large number of abandoned mine shafts will be filled in.

Lu Xiaoshuang and Xu Liu's remains were completely buried.
It's underground, and nobody knows.

That's right! There are only these possible outcomes!

In his excitement, Zhou Yi slammed his hand on the table, startling everyone who was watching the television.

Everyone turned to look at him.

On the television screen, Lu Xiaoshuang's gaze happened to be directed at the camera, as if she were looking at Zhou Yi through the lens.

Zhou Yi raised his hand and said, "Captain Liang, can we pause for a moment? I have something to say."

Upon hearing this, Liang Wei gestured to the person operating the DV camera, and the recording immediately paused.

Liang Weidao said, "Tell me your thoughts."

This time, Zhou Yi stood up and began to explain the various possibilities he had just analyzed in his mind.

There's no need to shy away from these ideas, as they are all based on the clues we already have, and there's nothing about the past life that needs to be avoided.

After all, none of these things happened in the previous life.

"This is my idea, especially since there was a problem that had been bothering me for a long time: why are the pieces of flesh dumped outside deep-fried to destroy the possibility of DNA testing, while the human heads in the mines are only superficially fried?"

Someone didn't understand and asked, "Why?"

"The oiling process was designed to compromise the accuracy of the forensic examination in determining the time of death, and to prevent us from ruling out Lu Xiaoshuang as a suspect based on the time of death if the first scenario occurs."

Zhou Yi said loudly, "Therefore, I reasonably suspect that Xu Liu's time of death should be the night of the 28th or the night of the 29th, which is within the period when Lu Xiaoshuang has a sufficient alibi."

"But why didn't the murderer completely destroy Xu Liu's head? Given the current state of dismemberment, I think the murderer had the time and ability to completely destroy Xu Liu's DNA. But he didn't do so to prevent the second scenario from happening; the murderer deliberately left Xu Liu's DNA for our police."

"Because the murderer's goal is to make us guess that 'Lu Xiaoshuang killed Xu Liu,' thus misleading our investigation. Even if this misleading might not take effect for three to five years, ten years, or even twenty years!"

"After all, without Xu Liu's DNA, when Lu Xiaoshuang, whose only remaining body is found years later, is discovered, the police will only assume that this skeleton is the skeleton of the victim who has been missing in the huge case, and thus confirm that the deceased is Lu Xiaoshuang."

"Xu Liu will either be classified as a missing person and investigated separately, or because of the bloodstains on her hair tie, she will become a suspect in the murder of Lu Xiaoshuang. But either way, it means that the huge case will not end. Because to close the case, we must find the murderer and find both of the missing persons in this case, because we must find them alive or dead!"

Zhou Yi took a deep breath and said in a deep voice, "So only when the police confirm that one of them is the victim and the other is the murderer, and there are no other valid clues, can this major case be closed. Only when the case is closed can the murderer completely disappear from the police's investigation and escape legal punishment."

"So all of this was a setup by the murderer to achieve his criminal intent!"

This analysis astonished everyone present, because Zhou Yi's logic was not only meticulous but also very bold, and the assumptions about the development of several cases were quite reasonable.

If the previous analysis of the criminal psychological profile was considered too subjective by some people present, after all, it was clear that Zhou Yi and Lu Xiaoshuang had a good relationship.

Then no one will question this case analysis anymore.

Everyone present works in this field; you can tell whether someone has real skills in just a few words.

Moreover, Zhou Yi's analysis did indeed resolve several of the biggest doubts at present.

Why were Lu Xiaoshuang's head, Xu Liu's severed head, and the murder weapon found in a mine—a place completely unrelated to Hongda?

Why is it that while the dismembered bodies outside are destroyed by frying, DNA can still be extracted from the human head, and even the facial features are not damaged?

And why did the murderer repeatedly drug Lu Xiaoshuang instead of simply killing her?

While everyone else was surprised, Qiao Jiali and Chen Yan, who were beside Zhou Yi, seemed much calmer.

But they couldn't suppress their joy, because they knew that the "super detective" of the Third Brigade had returned!

No longer worried about Lu Xiaoshuang's safety, Zhou Yi rediscovered his indomitable spirit.

When Zhou Yi explained several key points, Liang Wei's eyes lit up noticeably.

However, the expression on his face remained as still as a mountain.

People of his caliber don't easily reveal their true inner thoughts.

But regarding Zhou Yi's performance, he finally felt that he had "lived up to his reputation".

After all, in the previous series of major cases in Hongcheng, Xie Guoqiang had mentioned Zhou Yi's outstanding performance in the provincial department.

He even went so far as to retrieve Zhou Yi's file to see just how outstanding this young man's resume was.

However, it turned out that Zhou Yi's resume before being exceptionally transferred to the Municipal Bureau was as ordinary as could be.

He therefore became suspicious that this young man named Zhou Yi might have some kind of nepotism.

When he learned that a special task force had been established to investigate the major case, he was quite looking forward to seeing how Zhou Yi would perform.

When they received the list submitted by Hongcheng, they discovered that Zhou Yi was not on it.

He rushed to Hongcheng overnight to join the task force. After the meeting, he casually asked Xie Guoqiang why Zhou Yi wasn't in the task force.

Xie Guoqiang smiled and said that young people still need more experience.

He was convinced that this person was probably just a half-baked amateur.

But almost a week later, the head of the brigade suddenly told him that Qin Beihai had approached Director Xu and recommended Zhou Yi to join the task force.

This completely baffled him; why would Old Qin suddenly vouch for Zhou Yi?

He became even more curious about Zhou Yi.

Zhou Yi's analysis of criminal psychology just now was quite interesting and novel to him, and it was very similar to some advanced research theories he had seen abroad.

I think Zhou Yi might actually have some real expertise.

Just now, Zhou Yi's impassioned speech confirmed his suspicions.

He definitely played a part in those cases in Hongcheng before!
"So you think the reason the murderer chose Lu Xiaoshuang to take the blame is because the murderer knew that Lu Xiaoshuang and Xu Liu had a conflict in the past, which could be used as a motive for the crime?" Liang Wei asked.

Zhou Yi replied, "No! Captain Liang, I think this is just a superficial phenomenon."

"Oh why?"

"Because if the murderer dismembers and disposes of Xu Liu's head using the existing methods, the chances of being caught are still very small." Zhou Yi wasn't joking or trying to demoralize anyone; it was the same in his previous life. As long as the murderer maintained this method of committing crimes, he wouldn't be caught.

"So theoretically, the murderer didn't need to go to the trouble of finding a scapegoat and making the whole case so complicated."

Liang Wei nodded knowingly and said, "So you mean... Lu Xiaoshuang wasn't actually a pawn used by the murderer to divert our police's attention?"

Zhou Yi nodded firmly and said, "That's right! Although I haven't figured out the reason yet, I'm certain that the current grand case is a deadly trap that kills two birds with one stone!"

"Because Xu Liu and Lu Xiaoshuang were both the murderer's targets!"

(End of this chapter)