Attending ex-girlfriend's wedding, arresting the groom's officer on the spot

"So, the suspect dragged the body from the road to the riverbank and then threw it into the river?" Yang Sen asked doubtfully. "Then why weren't there any more traces at the junction of the road and the river?" Yang Lin shook his head: "It's possible that the suspect used a vehicle to transport the body on the road and only got out to drag it here, so there were no obvious traces left on the road. Let's take a look upstream; maybe we can find more relevant clues."

The two returned and began investigating the area upstream of where the body was found. The riverbank upstream was steeper, covered with rocks, and had less soil, making the search for traces more difficult. Yang Sen, holding a probe, carefully probed the crevices in the rocks. Suddenly, the probe hit a hard object. He carefully brushed aside the soil next to the rock, revealing a metal hook.

"Is this a fishing hook?" Yang Lin leaned over to examine it. Several fishing lines were still wrapped around the metal hook. "But the hook is made of stainless steel, thicker than ordinary fishing hooks, and it has a small amount of dark red stains on it, which don't look like fish blood." He put the hook into an evidence bag. "Let's take it back to the branch for testing to see what the stains are made of. Maybe it's related to the case."

About 200 meters upstream, on a rocky beach, Yang Lin discovered another size 41 men's athletic shoe print. The print's characteristics were exactly the same as the one found downstream. There were also several blurry footprints nearby, suggesting that the suspect had lingered in the same spot. "The rocky beach here is relatively flat, and the shoe print is clearer than downstream," Yang Lin said, taking a picture of the print. "Look at the depth of the print; it's about 0.5 centimeters embedded in the soil in the rock crevices. Combined with the suspect's stride length and stride width, we can further confirm that he is between 170 and 175 centimeters tall and weighs about 65 to 70 kilograms."

Yang Sen then discovered a new set of tire tracks at the junction of the road and the rocky beach. These tire tracks were wider than those found downstream, about 30 centimeters in length, with longitudinal stripes and obvious wear marks at the edges. "These should be the tire tracks of a small truck or SUV," Yang Sen determined after measuring them. "The mud clinging to the edges of the tracks is consistent with the composition of the riverbank mud, indicating that the vehicle had stopped on the riverbank for a considerable period of time, and the mud next to the tire tracks showed obvious signs of compaction."

"Could it be that the suspect first transported the body here in a small truck, and then used an electric scooter or motorcycle to transfer the body to the disposal site?" Yang Lin speculated. "After all, a small truck is too conspicuous and not suitable for staying on the narrow riverbank for too long. Using an electric scooter or motorcycle for transfer is more discreet." Yang Sen nodded: "That's possible, but there are no more clues to confirm it at the moment. We can only take the tire track samples back to the branch and compare them with the vehicle database to see if we can find a matching model."

The two continued their search upstream. At the far end of the river, 500 meters from where the body was found, lay a dense poplar grove, next to which was the riverside road. Yang Lin found half a cigarette butt in the soil at the edge of the grove. The brand was Huanghelou, the same brand found earlier to the west of the body. "The cigarette butt had obvious teeth marks on the filter, and the soil on its surface was the same composition as the riverbank soil," Yang Lin said, placing the cigarette butt into a special DNA collection bag. "Moreover, the degree of burning was consistent with the previous ones—less than half burned—indicating that the suspect was very nervous while smoking, perhaps waiting for an opportunity to dispose of the body, or checking if anyone was around."

Yang Sen found a small amount of brown powder at the junction of the road and the cigarette butt. He used a cotton swab to collect a small amount of powder and put it into a sample bottle: "This powder looks like some kind of paint. The color is different from the white powder I found next to the tire tracks before. I'll test it together when I get back and see if I can find the source."

Before they knew it, the two had been investigating for nearly three hours, and the evidence bags they had collected were nearly half full in their investigation bags. They returned to the location where the body was found, and Yang Lin took out his notebook and meticulously reviewed the newly discovered clues: "Downstream, we found a 25-centimeter-wide tire track from an electric scooter/motorcycle with horizontal stripes, brown canvas fibers, a size 41 men's sneaker print consistent with previous ones, and drag marks; upstream, we found a stainless steel metal hook with dark red stains, another size 41 men's sneaker print, a 30-centimeter-wide tire track from a small truck/SUV with vertical stripes, a Yellow Crane Tower cigarette butt, and brown powder. These clues supplemented the details of the body disposal process, but we still couldn't find anything that could identify the deceased—no identification documents, and no jewelry or items that could identify the person."

“Yes,” Yang Sen leaned against a willow tree, wiping the sweat from his brow. “The deceased was wrapped too tightly in the canvas bag. There seemed to be nothing inside the bag except the body. The suspect must have deliberately cleared out the deceased’s belongings to prevent us from identifying him through the items. The tire tracks, fibers, and cigarette butts we found can narrow down the suspects, but we still can’t determine who the deceased is. Without the deceased’s identity, it will be very difficult to carry out further investigations.”

Yang Lin flipped through the notes in his notebook, his brow furrowing slightly: "However, there are a few points we can be certain of: First, the suspect likely has two vehicles, a small truck/SUV for long-distance transport of the body, and an electric scooter/motorcycle for short-distance transport to the riverbank. This would prevent the small truck from being discovered while staying on the riverbank for too long, and would also allow for flexible access to the narrow riverbank area; Second, the suspect is familiar with the environment of the Beihe River, knowing that the shallows downstream and the rocky beaches upstream are suitable for stopping, and is also aware that the surveillance cameras along this section of the riverbank are damaged, demonstrating a strong counter-surveillance awareness; Third, the suspect smokes, the brand is Huanghelou, has a habit of chewing cigarette butts, is 170-175 cm tall, and weighs 65-70 kg. Although these characteristics are clear, without the victim's identity as a breakthrough, the investigation will still be very difficult."

"Do you think the suspect might be a villager from the area around Beihe?" Yang Sen suddenly asked. "Only people familiar with this area know which sections of the riverbank are less crowded and which roads are suitable for evacuation. Besides, most villagers in the area own electric bikes or motorcycles, which matches the tire tracks we found." Yang Lin nodded: "That's possible, but we can't rule out the possibility that outsiders scouted the area beforehand. When we get back, we need to have Wang Shuai and the others check the villagers in the three villages around Beihe to see if there are any people who match the height and weight characteristics and have exhibited unusual behavior recently, especially villagers who own small trucks or SUVs and also have electric bikes/motorcycles."

The two packed up their investigation tools and prepared to return to the scene to report to Lu Chuan. Halfway there, Yang Sen suddenly remembered something and turned back to the rocky beach upstream. He shone his footprint light again on the size 41 shoe print: "Look at the pressure points of the shoe print; they're mainly concentrated on the toes and heel, indicating the suspect walked in a hurry. Perhaps they were rushing to leave after dumping the body, or maybe they were worried about being discovered. Also, there are a few grass seeds in the soil next to the shoe print, the same type as those in the reeds downstream, further confirming that the suspect moved between upstream and downstream." (End of Chapter)