frightfiction Chapter 1461 The Corpse in the Alley
Chapter 1461 The Corpse in the Alley
This dismemberment case on Heping Road serves as a stark warning: debt disputes should be resolved through legal channels. Never act impulsively and embark on a path of crime, lest you ruin your own life and cause irreparable harm to two families. Justice may be delayed, but it will never be absent; all illegal and criminal acts will ultimately be severely punished by law.
Less than a week after the dismemberment case was closed, the criminal investigation team received another report.
Case investigation record of murder in alley of urban village
At 6:40 PM, the urban villages in the old southern part of the city were shrouded in an ambiguous twilight. Narrow, crisscrossing alleys, like carelessly discarded ropes, coiled around low, dilapidated houses. Electrical wires tangled haphazardly overhead, fragmenting the last rays of daylight. Construction worker Li Baode, carrying a gleaming impact drill, trudged heavily through the alleys, his clothes still stained with plaster and cement. He had rushed a job in a nearby residential area that day, and was so exhausted he could barely straighten his back. All he wanted was to get back to his rented room, have a bowl of noodles, and smoke a cigarette to rest.
The alley he was walking through was a shortcut back to his rented room. Usually, only a few residents came and went, and it was especially deserted in the evening. The alley was less than two meters wide, with the walls of the houses on both sides crumbling, and piles of discarded cardboard boxes, broken furniture, and other odds and ends piled up in the corners, emanating a damp, musty smell and the sour stench of garbage. The path under his feet was a bumpy dirt road, the mud from the rain not yet completely dried, making it sticky and uncomfortable to walk on.
As he walked to the middle of the alley, near an abandoned coal shed, Li Baode suddenly tripped over something. He cursed instinctively, looked down in the dim light from the distant shops, and felt his blood freeze instantly.
A person lay motionless, curled up in the corner. Their dark clothes were stained by the night, only a vague human shape could be discerned. Li Baode's heart pounded. He tentatively called out, "Hey, brother, are you alright?"
No response.
He mustered his courage and took two steps forward. A faint smell of blood mixed with mold wafted into his nostrils—a pungent odor that made his stomach churn. He reached out to touch the other person, but his fingertips recoiled just as they were about to touch the clothes. Years of life experience told him that something was wrong.
Li Baode staggered back a few steps, pulled out his old, worn-out mobile phone from his pocket, and dialed 110 with trembling fingers. "Hello...hello! Is this a police officer? I...I found someone in the alley of the old locust tree village in the south of the city. It seems...it seems dead!" His voice was filled with undisguised panic, and he was speaking incoherently.
The sirens of the Municipal Public Security Bureau's Criminal Investigation Detachment shattered the tranquility of the old city, speeding towards the urban village. Li Ming, the deputy captain of the detachment, sat in the driver's seat, his brow furrowed and his expression grave. After receiving the emergency call, he immediately led his team out; the vehicle also carried a forensic doctor, investigators, and two key investigators—Xiao Yang and Xiao Sun.
Xiao Yang and Xiao Sun are long-time partners in the Criminal Investigation Detachment. Both have over ten years of investigation experience, work together seamlessly, and have handled countless difficult murder cases. Xiao Yang is calm and meticulous, skilled in extracting and analyzing crime scene traces, and possesses an extraordinary sensitivity to subtle clues; Xiao Sun, on the other hand, is quick-witted, proactive, and adept at crime scene reconstruction and logical reasoning. The two complement each other perfectly, making them a "golden duo" in the detachment.
The police car stopped at the entrance to the urban village. Due to the narrow alley, vehicles could not enter, so the team had to proceed on foot, carrying their investigation equipment. Li Ming led the way, holding a flashlight to illuminate the dark alley ahead. "Notify the local police station to seal off all entrances and exits of the urban village, prohibiting unauthorized personnel from entering or leaving. Conduct a preliminary investigation of the surrounding residents, inquiring about any unusual circumstances," Li Ming instructed into the walkie-talkie as he walked, his voice deep and forceful.
"Yes!" came a clear response from the other end of the walkie-talkie.
A few minutes later, the group arrived at the crime scene. Li Baode was squatting at the alley entrance, pale-faced, his hands covering his head. He slowly raised his head when he saw the police, his eyes filled with terror. Li Ming gestured to the officers beside him to calm Li Baode down, and then said to Xiao Yang and Xiao Sun, "You two are in charge of the on-site investigation. Examine every inch, inside and out, and be sure to collect all suspicious traces. The forensic doctor will first make a preliminary determination of the time and cause of death."
"Understood," Xiao Yang and Xiao Sun replied in unison. The two quickly put on their surveying uniforms, gloves, and shoe covers, took out their survey kits, and began a systematic investigation of the scene.
The crime scene was located in a corner of the alleyway. The door of the abandoned coal shed was tightly closed, its surface covered with dust and rust. The deceased was a middle-aged man, curled up in the corner, his head slightly turned to one side, his eyes wide open, his mouth agape, and a lingering expression of pain on his face. He was wearing a dark jacket and jeans, his clothes stained with a small amount of dirt, but overall relatively clean, not like a homeless person.
Xiao Sun first turned on the on-site investigation light, and the strong white light instantly illuminated the entire area, revealing the details in the darkness. "First, delineate the investigation area, starting from one meter around the deceased's body and gradually expanding outwards, focusing on checking the ground, walls, the coal room entrance, and surrounding debris." As Xiao Sun spoke, he took out a tape measure and began measuring the dimensions of the scene, while simultaneously using chalk to mark the boundaries of the investigation area on the ground.
Xiao Yang squatted down beside the deceased, not rushing to touch the body, but first observing the condition of the deceased's body. "There is a clear ligature mark on the deceased's neck, and the preliminary judgment is that he may have died of suffocation." Xiao Yang's voice was very soft, and his eyes were fixed on the deceased's neck. "The ligature mark is horizontal, with relatively neat edges, and there are no obvious signs of struggle. It is possible that he was attacked without any defense, or the attacker was much stronger than the deceased."
The forensic doctor then crouched down and gently parted the hair and clothing around the deceased's neck with tweezers to carefully examine the ligature mark. "The ligature mark is narrow, about 0.3 centimeters wide, and of uniform depth, consistent with the characteristics of strangulation with a thin metal wire. No other obvious external injuries have been found so far, and the fatal injury should be in the neck. The preliminary time of death is estimated to be between 10 p.m. last night and 2 a.m. this morning, but the exact time will need to be determined by an autopsy."
Hearing this, Xiao Sun nodded and turned his attention to the ground. The dirt road in the alley was uneven and covered with messy footprints. Due to recent rainfall, the soil was relatively moist, and some footprints were preserved. "There are several footprints on the ground, which need to be extracted for comparison." Xiao Sun took out a footprint extraction board and plaster powder. "Here is a relatively complete footprint, about size 42, with clear lines, which should be left by a man. The sole of the shoe has a fine pattern, possibly sneakers or casual shoes."