frightfiction Chapter 1105 Detailed On-Site Investigation
Chapter 1105 Detailed On-Site Investigation
He measured the depth of the ruts with his hand. "They're very deep, which means the truck was heavily loaded. There's also a sign of sudden braking near the door, and the tire treads are horizontal stripes, which matches the truck characteristics described by the person who called the police." He suddenly pointed to the railway in the distance. "There are fresh friction marks on the rails, as if someone pried them open with a crowbar. There's also an abandoned knot of hemp rope next to it."
Li Ming's walkie-talkie was constantly buzzing with reports from Xiao Yang and Xiao Sun. Dragging marks, broken wire, dark blue fibers, brown shoelaces, size 43 leather shoe prints, tire tracks, and even a piece of high-carbon steel shavings—all were meticulously recorded. "Preliminary assessment: the deceased was transported here by truck and then dragged into the gap of the rolling mill," Li Ming said into the walkie-talkie. "Focus on investigating medium-sized trucks that have been operating near the steel mill recently, especially those with tires featuring horizontal stripes and size 43 diamond-patterned leather shoes."
The sunlight gradually dispelled the dust in the workshop, and Xiao Yang and Xiao Sun moved under the investigation lights. Their investigation notebooks were already filled with 32 clues, each pointing to a vague outline—the murderer was familiar with the steel plant environment, might have worked with steel, had an old injury on his right leg, used a medium-sized truck to transport the body, and committed the crime around 11 p.m. last night.
When Xiao Wang handed the last page of the statement to the person who reported the crime for signature, the other person's hand trembled so much that he could barely hold the pen. "We'll arrange for you to stay temporarily in the police station's break room," Xiao Wang said, putting away the statement book. "If you remember any details, feel free to contact us anytime." The beggar nodded and was helped into the police car by the officers. The corner of his military overcoat swept across the ground, kicking up a cloud of dust that settled on the dark oil stains, as if adding a thicker layer of mystery to this nascent case.
Li Ming's rubber boots crunched over the steel slag heap, making a soft, rustling sound. He wiped the sweat from his face and spread the survey area map on the rolling mill, drawing an arc along the existing survey area with a red marker. "Extend eastward to the railway line, westward to the waste disposal area, and 50 meters north and south," he said, pressing his pen heavily on the railway junction on the map. "Focus on checking the rail joints, the abandoned oil drum storage area, and that collapsed brick wall. Don't overlook any unusual traces." Sunlight streamed through the workshop's broken skylight, casting dappled shadows on his shoulders, and the stench in the air seemed even stronger.
Xiao Yang was squatting beside the overhead crane track, adjusting the multi-band light source. The blue-violet beam swept across the rusty rails, casting a faint fluorescence at the joints. "Xiao Sun, look at this gauge," he said, using calipers between two rails. "1435 millimeters, standard gauge, but there are fresh scratches on the inner rail web. The way the oxide layer has peeled off indicates it formed last night." He asked the technicians to take samples from the scratches. "The composition of the metal shavings needs to be analyzed in the lab, but judging from the luster, it looks like it was scratched by something made of high-carbon steel, which matches the characteristics of the metal shavings we found."
Carrying his investigation lamp, Xiao Sun went around to the waste disposal area, where a dozen rusty oil drums were piled up, their labels long since blurred. "Drum number 3 shows signs of being moved," he said, using a laser rangefinder to measure the gap between the bottom of the drum and the ground. "The bottom is 30% less corroded than the other drums. There are circular indentations in the dust on the ground, with the same diameter as the bottom of the drum. There's half a size 43 shoe print on the edge, and the diamond pattern on the forefoot is clear. It belongs to the same pair of shoes as the ones in the workshop." He pried open the lid, and a strong smell of kerosene hit him. "There are traces of liquid sloshing inside, with a residue of about 2 liters. We need to extract a sample for gas chromatography analysis."
“The lock on the overhead crane operator’s cab shows signs of being pried open,” Xiao Yang’s voice came from the east side of the workshop. He was examining the lock cylinder with a magnifying glass. “The pins are misaligned by 15 degrees, and there is brass powder at the base of the bolt. The oxidation indicates that it was left within the last 24 hours.” The glass window of the operator’s cab had a hole in it, and glass shards were scattered on the windowsill. “The dust on the windowsill shows signs of wiping. The dark blue polyester fibers collected by the fiber vacuum cleaner have a warp and weft density of 120x80 threads/inch, which is exactly the same as the fibers on the rolling mill gears. The twist coefficient is 18.5, which is an industrial-grade workwear fabric.”
Xiao Sun made a discovery under the collapsed brick wall. He used a probe to pry away the broken bricks, revealing a patch of cement stained with oil. "This footprint is three-dimensional," he said, carefully pouring plaster into the brick joints. "It's a size 43, with the center of pressure on the forefoot 1.2 centimeters outward, and the pressure surface on the heel is an irregular trapezoid, matching the alternating pauses in the workshop. It should have been left by the same person." He measured the stride length: "78 centimeters, stride width 15 centimeters, estimating the height to be 175 ± 3 centimeters. Gait analysis shows that the right leg's stance phase is 0.3 seconds longer than the left leg, further confirming the hypothesis that there was an old injury in the right leg."
"There's a broken footprint on the sleeper beside the railway," Xiao Yang's shout echoed through the empty workshop as he knelt between the rails making a rubbing. "The forefoot pattern is 70% visible, the diamond angle is 82 degrees, and the match rate with a size 43 shoe print is 85%, but the edges are deformed, as if it was caused by stepping on soft sleeper." He used a hygrometer to measure the moisture content of the sleeper. "18%, 5% higher than the surrounding environment, indicating recent liquid seepage, which could be oil or blood." He had the technicians cut off the stained wood shavings, put them in an evidence bag, and label it "Sample R-07."
Xiao Sun's surveying light shone on the ground in the area where abandoned oil drums were piled up, where the weeds showed signs of being trampled. "The degree of cell rupture in the grass leaves indicates that they were trampled between 10 p.m. last night and 2 a.m. this morning," he said, picking up an oil-stained leaf with tweezers. "The oil film on the surface is 0.02 millimeters thick, and infrared spectroscopy analysis shows that it is composed of diesel fuel, consistent with the residual liquid in drum number 3." He walked forward along the trampling marks and stopped in front of a clump of foxtail grass. "Here is the tip of a shoe print, the pattern of which perfectly matches a size 43 shoe print, and the fibers on the grass stems are the same as the fibers of dark blue work clothes."
“Look at this collapsed brick wall,” Xiao Yang said, squatting in the pile of bricks. The beams of light from a multi-band light source reflected strangely on a red brick. “There’s a 2x3 cm patch of fresh cement on the brick surface, strength grade C30, which is consistent with the cement composition of the workshop’s load-bearing wall. It must have fallen off the wall.” He cleaned the brick seam with a steel brush. “There’s a brown shoelace stuck inside. The direction of the heat deformation from the burn marks is from left to right, and the temperature gradient indicates it was burned by an open flame. It’s the same shoelace we found before, and the fiber structure of the broken surface shows it was violently torn.”
Xiao Sun made a new discovery next to the switch machine at the railway crossing: the rust on the control lever showed signs of being touched. "The fingerprint developer showed a blurry fingerprint," he said, taking photos from different angles with his camera.