You're supposed to be a security officer, what case are you solving?

Chapter 159 Arsonist!
"And then what?"

Kou Yong pursed his lips and recalled, "After that, we waited for a while, and soon Gou Hao came back."

The gasoline he took from the video arcade was stolen by me and Zhao Xiong from a gasoline thief.

He has several cellars in the suburbs, filled with jars containing both diesel and gasoline, but mostly diesel.

After the oil drum arrived, Gou Hao poured gasoline into the storage room, and Zhao Xiong and I piled up the bodies and burned them together.

I disagree; I don't think burning it that way is thorough.

But Gou Hao said that if they were burned together, the bodies would stick together, and the police wouldn't be able to tell who was who, so they wouldn't be able to trace it back to us.

I think he's talking nonsense; he just likes to burn things piled up together.

As for the two corpses in room 202, we were too lazy to move them, so we just poured gasoline on them and burned them.

Killing people is exhausting. That night, I was completely drained. It was more tiring than working in the fields..."

Who started the fire?

"Gou Hao started the fire."

Has he killed anyone before?

"I don't know that."

Interrogation Room Number One.

Zhao Xiong nodded: "Gou Hao has killed people. If it weren't for that, I wouldn't be afraid of him."

Upon hearing this, He Jinbo's spirits lifted; this had led to another murder case.

The arson and murder case at the guesthouse, with seven victims, is such a serious crime that it is indeed unlikely to have been committed by a novice.

Who did he kill?

"I heard him bragging about it while he was drinking. It happened several years ago. He said he had done something on the outskirts of our town."

He has a hobby: he likes to light fires and burn things when he has nothing to do.

He liked to burn wheat straw in the fields and rice straw piles in the paddy fields, and then hide on the side and watch.

That was a few years ago, wasn't it? He didn't say exactly, but back then he hadn't opened a video arcade in the city yet; his mother gave him the money to open the arcade.

I don't know the exact date, but I heard him say that it was autumn, and there was a large paddy field on the edge of the town with a dozen or so piles of straw, piled up really high.

He couldn't resist, and as it was getting dark, he ran and set fire to three large piles of straw.

He described to us how the fire started up very quickly; it was dry autumn, and there was wind, so the fire burned particularly fiercely.

He hid on the edge of town and watched. It was just straw anyway. When the people in town saw it, they didn't try to put out the fire. They just cursed and thought, "What's done is done."

Afterwards, two families in the town had their children go missing; one was seven or eight years old, and the other was five or six.

I know about this. The police station even organized people to look for it and came to our village to inquire.

To everyone's surprise, the next morning, the farmers in that paddy field dug two charred objects out of the ashes.

Upon hearing this, the interrogation room fell silent, but breathing became heavy.

He Jinbo quickly said to Maozi beside him, "Call the Wuyang Town Police Station and ask if this is true?"

The cat nodded and quickly pushed the door open to go out.

Zhao Xiong continued, "Police officers, Kou Yong and I had no idea that Gou Hao was so ruthless and inhumane."

We thought we were just going to cause trouble for Du Licheng, extort some money, or beat him up.

Little did anyone expect that Gou Hao would directly commit murder, ultimately turning things into this mess.

After the fire broke out at the guesthouse, Kou Yong and I left on our motorcycles, but Gou Hao was very bold and stayed on the other side of the road to watch.

He seemed particularly fascinated by the fire until someone shouted "Fire!" before he rode away on his motorcycle.

When we got back to the video arcade, Kou Yong and I were both terrified and couldn't sleep. Then Gou Hao said that the bodies were all charred, and the police wouldn't even recognize the people, so it was impossible for them to trace it back to us.

We thought about it and agreed, so we felt relieved. Gou Hao even told us to go back to our hometown for a while and come back to the city when things were calmer, and we listened to him.

He Jinbo felt a tightness in his chest and asked, "Is what you're saying true?"

Zhao Xiong nodded hurriedly: "From beginning to end, I only accidentally killed one person. I didn't kill him intentionally, I guarantee it."

"Let him sign first."

He Jinbo handed the recorded statement to the two prosecutors. After He Qing read it, she nodded to confirm that it was correct and then handed it to Zhao Xiong.

After confirming that everything was in order, he signed the document and pressed his fingerprint on it.

He Jinbo picked up the statement and gently blew on the red thumbprint.

Zhao Xiong asked, "Officer, how many years would I be sentenced for accidentally killing someone?"

He Jinbo glanced at him and laughed, "Accidental killing? Zhao Xiong, listen carefully. In such a big case, do you think it's convincing to say that you killed someone by accident?"

This statement has been recorded. We will investigate whether what you said is true or not. If it is not true, this will be your charge. You should consider it carefully!

Upon hearing this, Zhao Xiong's expression turned flustered, and he kept swallowing.

After several hours of continuous questioning, He Jinbo was unwilling to waste any more time with him.

Although the person has been caught, several rounds of interrogation will be needed; it's impossible to resolve the matter in just one interrogation.

After Zhao Xiong was taken to the detention center, He Jinbo's group met with Jiang Jianbing and compared their statements. Sure enough, the statements were full of loopholes.

Zhao Xiong's account completely contradicts Kou Yong's testimony.

Zhao Xiong said he was watching the store from the front desk on the first floor, but Kou Yong said that he was the one watching the store.

In addition, when murdering the two victims in case number 202, they each blamed the other for the killing. (In the conference room.)

Zheng Kang said, "It's not hard to prove who was at the front desk. Zhao Jianxin did go to the Dongfeng Guesthouse that night, so we can let him identify them."

Jiang Jianbing shook his head: "His statement also said that he saw two people, Zhao Xiong and Kou Yong, who were both on the first floor at the time."

The most difficult thing to prove is who killed the seven victims, who was killed first, and who was killed later.

He Jinbo looked at Wen Ling who had just entered and asked, "Forensic Doctor Wen, can you determine the order in which the seven victims were murdered?"

Wen Ling put her hands in her pockets and shook her head: "I can only tell you that the two victims in room 202 were probably the last to die. The exact time of death for the first five victims cannot be determined."

Xu Guoliang said, "Whatever, we're going to be executed anyway, we can't be executed twice."

He Jinbo glared at him: "What are you saying! You're not going to do the evidence collection and transfer to the procuratorate? You want to shirk your responsibilities after arresting people? What kind of attitude is that?"

Xu Guoliang rolled his eyes, lowered his head, closed his eyes, cleared his mind of all distractions, and lost consciousness within seconds, falling asleep.

At this moment, Wen Ling walked to the end of the conference table and sat next to Yang Jinwen.

Yang Jinwen looked up and smiled, then continued to stare at Zhao Xiong and Kou Yong's testimonies.

Seeing his tense expression, Wen Ling asked, "The people have been arrested, why are you still frowning?"

Yang Jinwen pondered for a moment and said, "I feel like something's not quite right."

Just as Wen Ling was about to ask him a few questions, He Jinbo's voice came through.

"Forensic Doctor Wen, Comrade Xiaoling, in room 202, the female corpse, the shampoo girl named Wu Qingfang, can you find out who assaulted her? Or is there any evidence that someone killed her?"

Although the person has been arrested, securing evidence will require the help of forensic experts and technical teams.

Wen Ling sighed and said helplessly, "In cases like this, where the victim is assaulted, the crime can actually be determined through DNA testing."

For example, bodily fluids and hair, but if a fire burns everything to the ground, leaving nothing behind, how can you determine who killed the person?

Jiang Jianbing cursed, "Those two bastards, Zhao Xiong and Kou Yong, must be based on this point, so neither of them admits to killing anyone."

He Jinbo glared at him: "Where did you learn the word 'diao mao'? What does it mean?"

Jiang Jianbing said, "I learned it from a movie."

"Watch fewer movies!"

Zheng Kang yawned, took out a pack of White Pagoda Mountain cigarettes, and said while offering them to others.

"Although we've caught the person, the case still needs to be investigated. There's a lot to do. Not to mention anything else, we haven't even figured out the identities of the second, fourth, and fifth victims yet."

At this moment, Yang Jinwen didn't even look up, and casually said, "The murder weapon."

"What?" He Jinbo looked at him.

Yang Jinwen put down his statement, raised his head, and said, word by word.

"I read the interrogation statements, but they didn't ask about the murder weapon. All seven victims were killed with a hammer, so we need to find the murder weapon as soon as possible."

The murder weapon had the victim's blood on it, which could be matched with the victim's DNA.

In addition, the murder weapon also had fingerprints left by the perpetrator. Whoever left the last fingerprint on it must be the one who killed the victims number one and number two.

This hammer, or sledgehammer, which the perpetrator used to kill seven victims, is crucial, and possibly the only, physical evidence in this case.

His words silenced the old-timers in the meeting room.

He Jinbo and Zheng Kang, in particular, looked as if they had eaten bitter melon.

Right, why wasn't the murder weapon asked about?

It wasn't that they didn't ask, but after staying up all night, He Jinbo and Zheng Kang hadn't slept for two days and one night. There must have been oversights, and it was impossible to solve the case perfectly in a short time.

This does not mean they have truly forgotten the murder weapon.

However, the murder weapon was indeed the most crucial element in this case.

It will definitely be brought up during the subsequent interrogation.

However, deducing who killed victims number one and number two from the fingerprints on the murder weapon is a very good way of thinking.

This was something they hadn't anticipated.

Seeing the atmosphere in the meeting room suddenly become awkward, Wen Ling quickly smiled and said, "Captain He and Captain Zheng haven't slept for dozens of hours. They should rest first. Only when they are well-rested can they cheer up."

Unlike you, Yang Jinwen, who's in your twenties, young and energetic, staying up all night and still looking so vibrant. I hope you can maintain that when you reach Captain He's age.

With Wen Ling's intervention, the atmosphere in the meeting room improved slightly.

He Jinbo slammed his hand on the table: "Old Jiang, come with me. We'll go and interrogate him again."

Jiang Jianbing reluctantly stood up, and Zheng Kang immediately said, "Let's go, let Lao Jiang and the others rest first."

"it is good."

Just before leaving, Maozi ran in to report: "Master, the Wuyang Town Police Station has replied that five years ago, two children were indeed burned to death in a pile of straw, and the case is still unsolved."

"Okay, I understand," He Jinbo replied, and went out with Zheng Kang.

Immediately afterwards, the older folks in the meeting room also got up and left.

Cat entered the house, looked at Yang Jinwen and Wen Ling, and frowned, saying, "What's wrong? Why are these old guys so sullen?"

Wen Ling looked at Yang Jinwen: "Can't you have some emotional intelligence? Some things should be said in private, not in front of so many people. You're not giving Captain He and your master any face at all."

Yang Jinwen rubbed his temples, exhaled, and replied, "I should have reminded them during the interrogation; I made a fool of myself."

“That’s right, you’re a complete idiot.” Wen Ling patted his shoulder: “Just hang in there. Once you become the captain, you’ll know how tough it is for Captain He and your master.”

(End of this chapter)