freenovelworld Chapter 1025 Forensic Report, New Clues
Chapter 1025 Forensic Report, New Clues
When we visited Li Baocun's cousin's house, the setting sun was turning the bed sheets on the clothesline orange-red. The cousin wiped away tears and stuffed a boiled egg into Xiao Wang's hand: "Baocun was sensible from a young age. When my mother was sick, he would come to help change her dressings after work." She suddenly remembered something and pulled a crumpled calendar from a drawer. "On the fifteenth of last month, he came to deliver pumpkins he had grown himself, saying he had some extra money recently and wanted to treat us to dinner at a newly opened restaurant—who could have imagined that would be the last time we saw each other?"
Night fell over the urban village, and Xiao Wang knocked on the door of Li Baocun's childhood friend's rented room. The room reeked of instant noodles, and the walls were covered with faded celebrity posters. His friend was shirtless, with beer cans piled at his feet: "We stole watermelons together once, and he was chased all over the village by dogs." He suddenly choked up, "I even dreamed about him a few days ago, saying he would teach me how to fix a water heater... Officer, it really wasn't a revenge killing; he wouldn't even step on an ant."
On the evening of the seventh day, Xiao Wang stood in front of Li Baocun's parents' old house. The two elderly people were curled up on a faded sofa, with the news playing silently on the television. "Cunzi comes every weekend," Li's father said, stroking his son's high school award certificate, "He brings us blood pressure medication and fills the refrigerator." Li's mother suddenly pointed to a wicker chair in the corner, "He bought that, saying it would be comfortable for us with our old leg pains..." Before she could finish speaking, the old couple embraced and wept bitterly, tears welling up in their wrinkles and shimmering silver in the dim light.
Back at the police station, Xiao Wang's notebook was filled with 37 densely packed pages. Those trivial, warm details—the money lent out, the cup he'd paid for, the pumpkin he'd given away—were like scattered puzzle pieces, yet they couldn't piece together the outline of the case. Staring at the name "Li Baocun" on the whiteboard, he suddenly remembered the "part-time job" mentioned by Master Chen at the machine factory. Perhaps, in those overlooked cracks of life, lay the key to unlocking the truth. Outside, the rain poured down. Xiao Wang put his police hat back on and stepped back into the rain.
A few days later, the projector in the Criminal Investigation Detachment's conference room projected a cold white image of the autopsy table onto the wall. The autopsy photos preserved by Li showed an eerie bluish-gray hue under the strong light. Li Ming tapped the title "Second Case Analysis Meeting" on the whiteboard with a red pen, leaving a dark circular mark on the conference table from the bottom of his coffee cup: "Zhang Lin, first tell us about the new findings from the autopsy."
Zhang Lin flipped through the report, which reeked of formaldehyde. A photo of a scalpel cutting through the chest cavity was enlarged on the screen: "The deceased's skull suffered three heavy blows. The first two caused linear fractures, and the third resulted in a depressed fracture combined with intracranial hemorrhage, which was the primary cause of death." He pulled up a 3D model, with red arrows marking the wound trajectory. "The murder weapon was a metal rod-like object, sharp at one end and flat at the other, about 3 centimeters in diameter, with rust residue on its surface—matching the trace amounts of rust extracted from the scene."
Xiao Sun suddenly raised his hand to interrupt: "The metal fragments we detected in the drainpipe, after spectral analysis, also contain No. 45 medium carbon steel, the same material as the door-prying tool." He projected the image of the fragments under the microscope, "But there is a contradiction: the angle of the fatal wound indicates that the murderer was between 182 and 188 cm tall; while the shoe print left on the door frame when prying the door corresponds to a height of only 175 to 180 cm."
A murmur of discussion rose and fell in the conference room. Li Ming gestured for silence: "Zhang Lin, were any unusual substances detected in the deceased's body?"
“Capsaicin was found in the gastric mucosa and blood.” Zhang Lin switched to the chemical analysis spectrum. “The concentration reached 0.3%, far exceeding the normal amount added to food. This industrial-grade additive is commonly used in fast food restaurants. Combined with the oil residue in the mouth, the deceased did indeed go to a fast food restaurant before the murder.” He pulled up the surveillance screenshot, in which a blurry figure turned into an alley. “But we checked 73 restaurants in the surrounding area and found no useful clues.”
Xiao Wang slammed the interview record on the table: "The deceased's social circle was abnormally clean. His colleagues at the machine factory, old classmates, and relatives all described him as a 'good guy.' The only suspicious thing was that he withdrew 9 yuan every month for the past three months, but the bank statements showed that the money was neither transferred to a specific account nor used for large expenditures." He circled the date on the bank statement, "Coincidentally, the last withdrawal before his death was on September 8th, which was the day before the incident."
Xiao Zhou suddenly stood up and played two surveillance videos side by side: "This is footage of the murderer entering and leaving the residential area. When he entered, he was carrying a hiking backpack and his steps were steady; when he left, the backpack was noticeably deflated and his steps were unsteady. More importantly—" He zoomed in on the details of the heels, "He was wearing sneakers when he entered, and the soles were covered in coal slag from the old industrial area in the west of the city; when he left, he changed into leather shoes, and the angle of wear on the heels perfectly matched the shoe prints at the scene. I deduce that the bag contained the murder weapon and bloodstained clothing, and the murderer changed clothes within the residential area."
“So there are at least two murderers.” Li Ming wrote “AB” on the whiteboard and connected them with a red line. “A was responsible for the violent attack, about 185cm tall, strong; B was responsible for the technical work, such as breaking in and processing evidence, about 178cm tall. The two worked well together, but there was a mistake in cleaning up the bloodstains—” He pointed to the luminol reaction traces in the photo that were not completely covered, “Xiao Sun, have you analyzed the components of those fluorescent residues?”
“It’s sodium hypochlorite, commonly found in bleach.” Xiao Sun pulled up an ingredient comparison table. “But what’s special is that trace amounts of fluorescent whitening agent were detected. This additive is rarely seen in ordinary household cleaners; it’s more like an industrial-grade product.” His eyes suddenly lit up. “Wait! The machinery factory where Li Baocun works stores this kind of cleaner in its warehouse!”
The atmosphere in the meeting room suddenly became tense. Zhang Lin's hand, which was flipping through the autopsy report, suddenly stopped: "Speaking of which, although no other person's DNA was extracted from the deceased's fingernails, mineral oil was detected, which is a common lubricant in metal processing." He and Xiao Sun exchanged a glance, their eyes flashing with a sharp light.
Li Ming heavily circled the words "Machinery Factory" in red pen, the ink seeping into the paper: "Xiao Wang, re-examine Li Baocun's colleagues, focusing on those who left, took leave, or had technical handover with the deceased within the last six months. Xiao Zhou, retrieve the entry and exit records of the Machinery Factory warehouse and verify the usage of cleaning agents." He turned to the technical department, "Re-test the fibers and hair extracted from the scene, expanding the comparison scope to relevant personnel at the Machinery Factory."
After the meeting, the night was as thick as ink. Li Ming stood before the whiteboard, looking at the chaotic yet gradually clarifying network of clues. Rain had started falling outside the window, the water droplets striking the glass like undried bloodstains. When the first raindrop seeped in through the window crack, he knew that this battle with the two villains had finally found a breakthrough, tearing through the darkness.