Eyes that are the same as those of evil

Chapter 100 The Army of Justice 2
Xiangfu Residential Area, Pozi Street, North District.

This is an old residential area with no parking lot. The main entrance only has a pedestrian walkway, and the small fence is not enough to stop people. Some ground-floor units have been renovated into shops for mahjong parlors and convenience stores, and the people coming and going are a mixed bag.

Room 302, 3rd floor, Building 3.

It was hot, and within just a few hours, the smell of blood had already reached the stairwell.

Tan Jia frowned upon smelling the stench. As he climbed the last step, he peeked through the gaps between the arms of a group of police officers and saw the horrific scene inside the room, which made him feel somewhat uneasy.

Blood was flowing into the living room.

Zheng Yan lifted the police tape and went inside, asking the police officer, "What exactly is the situation?"

The police conducted a preliminary investigation and said, "The homeowner's name is Jin Xiangyuan, 39 years old. He runs a steamed bun shop at the intersection and has to leave home around 2 or 3 a.m. Because he is divorced, usually only his 58-year-old mother and 11-year-old son are at home at this time. The door was pried open. After the murderer ransacked the house, the elderly woman and the young boy, who were lying on their side, must have heard the noise. For some reason, the murderer rushed in and killed them. In addition to the two victims, cash and some valuables were also stolen from his house."

"According to the neighbors' recollections, the incident occurred around three or four in the morning. Someone heard someone shouting something from his house, but since the sound quickly stopped, no one paid any attention to it. It wasn't until dawn when someone went out and found his front door wide open and bloody footprints on the ground that they called the police."

As they listened, they put on shoe covers and walked inside.

There were indeed signs of tampering on the door, but not many and the marks weren't very deep. This suggests either the lock wasn't very secure or the perpetrator had all the necessary tools and was highly skilled.

Further inside, there was a line of bloody shoe prints in the living room, with the toes of the shoes all pointing outwards.

Zheng Yan: "It seems the murderer stole the items before killing the person and then ran away. Judging from the size of the shoe prints, the murderer is most likely a man."

Then he asked the trace evidence being scanned throughout the living room, "What have you found so far?"

"We're still collecting samples, it won't be that fast. But there is definitely a very obvious problem with this shoe print."

The forensic examiner pointed to the clearest shoe print and said, "Something must have gotten stuck on the left side of the sole, which is why there's a solid stain in the mark."

It's a useful clue.

Further inside, another forensic investigator was using a small brush to sprinkle powder, trying to extract fingerprints from the doorknob, while someone else was taking pictures of the bloodstains splattered on the ground.

These are all learning materials. Tan Jia thought that if he were to make a clay sculpture of this crime scene, he might not need to completely replicate the gruesome state of the corpse. He could just use the hands and feet sticking out by the door and the splattered blood.

The challenge is to sculpt the house shape, which is another completely new challenge.

Just then, Zheng Yan led her into the side bedroom, where the tragic scene that had been hidden in darkness in her dream was now fully exposed.

The body was almost submerged in blood, with deep cuts on its body and face that exposed bone. Half of the child's face was split open, and the cleaver used in the attack was still stuck in the old man's shoulder bone. It was an absolutely horrific scene.

The group of people all gasped.

Tan Jia couldn't bear to look directly at them and turned to the two busy forensic doctors.

Old Li sighed, "The murderer really went all out. If this had happened during the day, he himself would have been terrified by what he saw."

"They must have been terrified. The killer seemed emotionally unstable; after slashing wildly, they left the weapon behind. Were fingerprints found on it?" Zheng Yan asked.

"No, he must have been wearing gloves. He didn't come to steal on a whim; he was well-prepared with all the tools. Only the murder might have been unplanned."

"What was the cause of death? Excessive blood loss?" Zheng Yan asked again. Old Li nodded: "You can tell by looking at this large amount of blood. The time of death was between three and four in the morning. It is said that the homeowner had just left home around two in the morning to go to the steamed bun shop to do business."

They knew the more precise time of death, but Zheng Yan didn't say it, instead deducing it from the timeline.

"The murderer broke in and stole things almost as soon as the male homeowner left to do business. It seems that he was very familiar with the family's whereabouts, either because he knew them or because he had been following them for a long time."

He then asked, "You just said that the cash and gold and silver jewelry in your home were stolen? Where were they kept before?"

The police officer pointed outside: "The living room and the master bedroom."

They came out of the side bedroom and first saw the victim's family members sitting on the sofa, looking distraught.

Jin Xiangyuan was of medium build and had a miserable appearance. He was wearing an apron and had a long towel around his neck. The flour on his clothes hadn't been wiped off, so he must have just rushed back from the steamed bun shop and finished dealing with the interrogation. He was still unable to accept the reality and sat there motionless, his face pale.

When Tan Ming asked him about the location of the stolen cash, he only gave a brief answer, clearly still reeling from the tragic deaths of his mother and son.

“Most of them are in the master bedroom,” Tan Ming asked, then pushed open the master bedroom door and easily saw the drawers and cabinets that had been ransacked. “Judging from the blankets and personal belongings, only Jin Xiangyuan lives in the master bedroom.”

Xiao Chen looked at the master bedroom door: "There are no signs of forced entry, so the door must have been unlocked to begin with, which is why the murderer was able to get in so easily."

Tan Jia examined the dough figurine for a moment, not too closely, but a question lingered in his mind: "Why would a thief with all the necessary tools choose to rob their house? The steamed bun shop is so profitable that everyone in the surrounding villages thinks they're rich. These days, it's rare to see people keeping large sums of cash at home, so why would the murderer think they could steal enough money to satisfy them here?"

Xiao Chen: "The steamed bun shop is indeed quite profitable, but your question is also very valid. Those who bring their own tools to steal are usually habitual thieves. These people are very cautious and will only act after scouting the place. The amount they steal is often not small."

“But he killed someone, which means he chose the latter between ‘being arrested and convicted of theft’ and becoming a fugitive murderer. Did he think that killing was easier than being convicted of theft?” Tan Jia didn’t understand.

Tan Ming explained: "Theft is a serious crime with severe penalties. A sum between 30,000 and 100,000 yuan is considered a large amount and can result in a sentence of three to ten years, plus a fine. For amounts over 300,000 yuan, those with serious circumstances could face life imprisonment."

"Did the murderer steal a lot of money?" she asked again, glancing at the drawers that had been ransacked.

The question should be asked of the victim, but Jin Xiangyuan is not too concerned about the theft of his money right now. He seems to have finally come to his senses and is kneeling at the door of the side bedroom, crying loudly.

They were all looking outside.

Zheng Yan then said, "If I were the murderer..."

Such a familiar opening. Tan Jia glanced sideways.

“Well, to borrow one of your famous quotes,” Zheng Yan continued, “If I were the murderer, according to your dream, I didn’t initially intend to kill anyone; I only wanted to come in and steal. Given that I wasn’t familiar with the layout of this house, I should have searched everywhere that might hide money, but only two or three drawers here have been searched.”

Tan Ming: "So the murderer might be someone he knows who has been here before? That's why he was afraid of being discovered by the old man and the young man in the side bedroom, because he was afraid of being recognized?"

He didn't say whether it was right or wrong, then thought for a moment and called for forensic examination: "As soon as possible, summarize the traces left by the murderer and see if he went straight to the master bedroom where he hid the money after breaking in."

"Xiao Chen, go check the community's surveillance footage. See where the murderer went and how well-equipped he was."

"Tan Ming, go ask Jin Xiangyuan how much money was stolen, whether he has been targeted recently, and also check his social connections, his relatives and friends."

As for the dream specialist who sculpts dough figurines, he was taken along to take statements from the neighbors.

(End of this chapter)