funbook-pk Chapter 1384 After the identity of the deceased was confirmed
Chapter 1384 After the identity of the deceased was confirmed
However, most villagers in Wangjia Village said they did not know Qin Lifeng and had not seen a stranger with similar characteristics on the morning of September 11. Only one villager said that around 10 a.m. on September 11, he saw a stranger wearing blue overalls walk by near the cornfield at the east end of the village, but the distance was too far and he could not see the person's face clearly, nor did he know where the person was going.
Around 6 PM, the day's investigation concluded, and Xiao Zhou led his team back to the Criminal Investigation Detachment to report the findings to Li Ming. "Team Leader Li," Xiao Zhou said gravely, "the deceased has been identified as Qin Lifeng, the owner of Qin Family Oil Mill in Qinghe Town. We conducted a comprehensive investigation into his interpersonal relationships and social interactions, including his customers, suppliers, neighbors, and friends, but found no individuals with whom he had significant conflicts. Qin Lifeng is honest, well-liked, has no enemies, has not participated in any illegal or criminal activities, and is financially secure, ruling out the possibility of a revenge killing or murder for financial gain." He continued, "We located Liu Jianjun, the supplier he argued with on the phone on the evening of September 10th, but after verification, we found that the two only had a minor dispute over sesame prices, and Liu Jianjun has an alibi, thus ruling him out as a suspect. Currently, we have not found any significant leads pointing to a suspect."
After listening to the report, Li Ming frowned. He had thought that confirming the deceased's identity would bring a major breakthrough in the case, but unexpectedly, the investigation had once again reached a stalemate. "Qin Lifeng went to Wangjia Village on the morning of September 11th. There must have been a reason. Who was he going to see? What was he going to do?" Li Ming pondered. "The next step is to focus on investigating Qin Lifeng's connection with the villagers of Wangjia Village, to see if he knows anyone there or has had any financial dealings with them. At the same time, expand the scope of the surveillance investigation, retrieve surveillance footage from all intersections leading to Wangjia Village, and look for anyone who accompanied Qin Lifeng before he went missing or any suspicious persons. In addition, the technical department should expedite the comparison and examination of the work shoes and other physical evidence extracted from the Qin family's oil mill, striving to find a new breakthrough."
"Received!" Xiao Zhou nodded immediately. By this time, it was completely dark outside, but the Criminal Investigation Division's office building was still brightly lit. Although the victim's identity had been confirmed, the suspect's whereabouts remained elusive, putting immense pressure on all the investigators. Sitting at his desk, looking at Qin Lifeng's photo and the investigation records, Xiao Zhou secretly resolved: no matter how difficult, he would find the suspect, bring justice to Qin Lifeng, and allow his son, Qin Xiaoyu, to live in peace.
While Xiao Zhou led the investigation into Qin Lifeng's interpersonal relationships, the technical department was also working overtime to examine physical evidence. Xiao Yang compared the work shoes extracted from Qin's oil mill with the footprints of the deceased extracted from the scene, confirming that the work shoes were indeed worn by the deceased Qin Lifeng before his death. The wavy pattern on the sole and the wear marks on the outer heel were completely consistent with the footprints at the scene. Xiao Sun further examined the brass-colored metal buttons and black fibers extracted from the scene. The black fibers were confirmed to be the fiber composition of Qin Lifeng's work clothes. The brass-colored metal buttons, after multiple metallographic analyses and composition tests, were determined to be made of ordinary brass. There were no new fingerprints or DNA information on them, and no relevant manufacturers or sales channels were found, so their origin could not be determined.
Forensic pathologist Zhang Lin also conducted a supplementary autopsy on Qin Lifeng's body, further confirming the cause and time of death, which was consistent with the previous autopsy findings. Simultaneously, Zhang Lin extracted residue from Qin Lifeng's fingernails and trace amounts of material from his clothing, sending them to the technical department for testing in hopes of finding the suspect's DNA. However, the test results showed that the fingernail residue only contained soil and plant fibers from the cornfield, and the trace amounts of material on the clothing were merely ordinary dust and soil; no DNA information of a suspect was found.
As night deepened, the lights remained on in the Criminal Investigation Detachment's conference room. Li Ming, Xiao Zhou, Xiao Wang, Xiao Yang, Zhang Lin, and other core investigators sat together, re-examining the case leads. "The leads we have so far: the deceased, Qin Lifeng, 42 years old, owner of the Qin Family Oil Mill in Qinghe Town, was murdered on the morning of September 11th while traveling to Wangjia Village. The cause of death was a ruptured heart caused by a single-edged sharp weapon, leading to hemorrhagic shock; a 41-yard grid-patterned footprint was found at the scene, suggesting the suspect was 30-40 years old, weighed 65-70 kilograms, and had a slightly pigeon-toed gait; a brass-colored metal button of unknown origin was also found." Li Ming meticulously reviewed the leads. "However, we don't know Qin Lifeng's purpose in going to Wangjia Village, his relationship with the suspect, or his motive. This is currently the core difficulty of the case."
“Perhaps Qin Lifeng was delivering goods to Wangjia Village?” Xiao Wang guessed. “He runs an oil mill, and the villagers in Wangjia Village might buy sesame oil from him. He might have been delivering goods to the villagers in Wangjia Village and encountered a robbery or accident on the way.” Xiao Zhou shook his head: “We checked Qin Lifeng’s ledgers and found no record of him delivering goods to the villagers in Wangjia Village. Moreover, his oil mill mainly sells in the town and rarely delivers to the villages.”
"It's also possible that Qin Lifeng owes money to someone and is being chased for debt in Wangjia Village?" another investigator speculated. "Impossible. We checked his bank accounts and ledgers; his financial situation is very good. He has no debts and actually has quite a bit of savings," Xiao Zhou retorted.
“Could it be a crime of passion? Although Qin Lifeng’s wife has passed away, perhaps he has other romantic entanglements?” Zhang Lin said. Xiao Zhou added, “We interviewed Qin Lifeng’s neighbors and friends, and they all said that after Qin Lifeng’s wife passed away, he had not looked for another partner and his mind was focused on his son and the oil mill. He had no romantic entanglements.”
A silence fell over the meeting room. Everyone was trying to find a breakthrough in the case, but the existing clues were far too limited. "No matter what, we can't give up," Li Ming broke the silence, his tone firm. "Tomorrow, Xiao Zhou will lead the team to continue investigating Qin Lifeng's connection to Wangjia Village; Xiao Wang will lead the team to expand the scope of the surveillance investigation, retrieving surveillance footage from all intersections leading to Wangjia Village over the past week; the technical department will continue to conduct in-depth examinations of the physical evidence at the scene, especially that brass metal button—we must find its origin; at the same time, we will contact the public security bureaus of surrounding counties and cities, requesting their assistance in investigating individuals matching the suspect's characteristics. I refuse to believe we can't find any clues!"
As night fell, the Criminal Investigation Division's office building gradually quieted down, but everyone's determination to solve the case burned within them. Although the victim's identity had been confirmed, the murder case in the cornfield remained shrouded in mystery.