frightfiction Chapter 913 Case Analysis Meeting
Chapter 913 Case Analysis Meeting
She sat on a small stool, picking vegetables as she recalled, "It was just two grown men arguing. The man (Zhang Fakui) did push Weiguo, but Weiguo stood firm and didn't fall. Later, Weiguo said, 'Just consider it as me giving you my son,' and that was the end of it." She suddenly lowered her voice, "But Weiguo has been acting strangely lately. One day I saw him staring blankly at an empty plastic sheet, muttering, 'How could this happen?'"
The technical team's report corroborated some of Zhang Fakui's statements: surveillance footage showed that after leaving the scene, he went straight back to the residential area and bought antipyretics at a pharmacy there at 19:00 PM that evening; there was clear surveillance footage and a receipt. However, Li Ming noticed that when Zhang Fakui lingered at the pharmacy entrance, he looked towards the alleyway, which was precisely the direction Liu Weiguo's house was facing.
"Apply for a search warrant and check his communication records and bank statements," Li Ming said to Wang Fang. "At the same time, collect biological samples from near Liu Weiguo's stall and compare them with Zhang Fakui's DNA." In the evening, the technical team reported that Zhang Fakui's fingerprints had been found on the doorknob of Liu Weiguo's house, but it was normal contact residue; his bank statements showed no unusual large transactions in the past six months, and his communication records included only family and colleagues, and a number with the note "stationery wholesale."
Li Ming dialed the number for "stationery wholesale," but all he heard was an automated voice prompt: "The number you dialed is out of service." He frowned as he looked at the call log—the last contact was the day before Liu Weiguo's death, lasting 37 seconds. Wang Fang suddenly pointed to a screenshot from the surveillance footage: "Captain Li, look at the plastic bag in Zhang Fakui's hand; it's made of the same material as the waterproof plastic bag we found at Liu Weiguo's house."
Inside the textile factory dormitory, Zhang Fakui's wife was feeding their child medicine. When Wang Fang asked about the plastic bags, she pointed to a corner of the kitchen: "They were bought at the supermarket downstairs, five for a dollar, lots of people use them." Li Ming squatted down, picked up a plastic bag, and examined it under the light; the texture and thickness did indeed match those at the crime scene.
As Li Ming left the residential area, dusk had fallen. Looking at the warm yellow light shining from Zhang Fakui's window, he recalled the sound of the child coughing during his visit. Wang Fang handed him the test report: "DNA comparison rules out Zhang Fakui is not the murderer. The disconnected stationery wholesale phone number shows its origin as Beizhou."
Li Ming gazed at the distant neon lights and folded Zhang Fakui's statement into a folder.
On the morning of the third day after the body was discovered, in the conference room on the seventh floor of the Dongchuan City Public Security Bureau, Criminal Investigation Detachment Chief Li Ming was reporting the case to Director Qin Chuan at a long table. A projector was projecting photos of the crime scene onto a screen. In the image, the swollen face of the corpse was blurred in the bluish-green water of an indoor fishpond, but the wrists bound with nylon rope and the tangled cement blocks were clearly visible.
“Three types of traces were found at the scene: white nylon fibers floating on the water, work shoe prints in the back alley, and ‘Hongtashan’ cigarette butts in the trash can.” Li Ming pointed to the photo with a laser pointer. “The fibers are made of the same material as the nylon rope used to dispose of the body, the shoe prints are size 43, and the saliva from the cigarette butts contains arecoline, suggesting that the murderer had a long-term habit of chewing betel nuts.”
Forensic pathologist Zhang Lin then reported on the autopsy findings: "The deceased was missing his right seventh rib, corresponding to the surgical record from 2022; old fractures of both upper limbs and the tibia and fibula were consistent with a history of trauma; the depressed fracture of the parietal bone was caused by a blunt force injury before death, and the cause of death was strangulation. The stomach contents tested positive for braised duck and beer, which matched the seasoning ingredients of the 'Old Brand Braised Duck Shop,' suggesting that the last time he ate was between 18:00 and 19:00 on January 2nd."
"Regarding interpersonal relationships," Li Ming switched slides to show a street map of Hongxing Lane, "after the deceased was released from prison, he lived with his mother, and his social circle was limited to vegetable market vendors and street vendors. The only conflict was an argument with customer Zhang Fakui on December 30th over returning goods, but Zhang Fakui had no opportunity to commit the crime. The 'stationery wholesale' number in his mobile phone communication records is no longer in service, and its registered address is Haizhou City; no valid information has been found to link it to this number yet."
A murmur of discussion arose in the conference room. Veteran detective Lao Chen spoke first: "Judging from the modus operandi, the body was bound with a 'cow stake knot,' and the location near the seafood market suggests the perpetrator may have worked in the seafood industry and possessed counter-surveillance awareness. Considering the victim's prior criminal record, we cannot rule out revenge from the family of a robbery victim from years ago."
“But revenge killings usually involve a sense of ritual, such as making the crime scene public,” young detective Kobayashi objected. “This time, the body was dumped in a fish pond, which seems more like an attempt to disguise it as an accident or a debt dispute. Moreover, the deceased’s life had been uneventful in recent years, and he did not show any signs of being followed.”
"Could it be a crime of passion?" Female detective Wang Fang interjected. "Although the deceased had been divorced for many years, there was a photo of his ex-wife in his medical records, which may indicate a romantic entanglement." She pulled up a family photo of Liu Weiguo's family. "His ex-wife remarried a civil servant in Haizhou City, which may involve property disputes or custody issues."
Old Chen shook his head: "According to the investigation, his ex-wife has been out of contact for two years, and the child is being raised by his maternal grandmother. There are no female contacts in the deceased's phone, so the probability of a crime of passion is too low. I tend to think it was murder for money - he seemed honest as a street vendor, but he might have been secretly engaged in illegal transactions, such as selling controlled knives or fake documents."
“Illegal transactions?” Li Ming pointed to the timeline on the whiteboard. “The deceased’s search history over the past six months has focused on ‘childhood leukemia treatment costs’ and ‘what to sell at a stall for high profit,’ which seems more like an attempt to raise money to save his son. According to hospital records, his son does indeed have leukemia, and treatment requires 50 yuan.”
“That’s right,” Kobayashi slammed his hand on the table. “When he was desperate, he might have blackmailed his former accomplices or enemies, and ended up being silenced. Don’t forget, the DNA from the skin tissue under his fingernails hasn’t been matched yet; it might even be the murderer’s.”
Qin Chuan had been listening silently until now, when he finally spoke: "Everyone's analysis covers three possibilities: crime of passion, crime of money, and revenge killing, but all lack direct evidence. Now, let's clarify three points: First, focus on verifying the DNA in the fingernails and expand the scope of comparison with people with criminal records, especially those working in the seafood industry and those with betel nut addiction; second, thoroughly investigate the disconnected phone number of the 'stationery wholesaler' and contact the Beizhou Municipal Public Security Bureau for assistance; third, re-examine the deceased's street vending route and investigate all vendors he came into contact with, especially those around the seafood market."
He stood up, tapping his fingers on the photo of the body on the screen: "The murderer used cement blocks to dispose of the body, indicating familiarity with seafood transportation; choosing the flower and bird market to dump the body suggests knowledge of the market's schedule. Judging from the modus operandi, it wasn't a spur-of-the-moment act, but a premeditated murder. Li Ming, send people to the seafood market, focusing on investigating Zhao Yongqiang of 'Hongyun Wholesale Department,' who has a criminal record and had contact with the deceased; Zhang Lin, you're in charge of following up on DNA comparisons, especially for those recently released from prison; Wang Fang, go to Haizhou City to investigate the deceased's ex-wife and attending physician to see if there are any unusual sources of medical expenses."