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

Chapter 340 You are the murderer!
As the captain of the Third Brigade, Gao Jie had seen countless corpses.

But seeing such a young girl with her neck pierced still chilled him to the bone.

The Qincheng Detachment has strict rules: forensic doctors and technicians must enter the site first, and only after they delineate the area to be investigated can others enter.

Prior to this, the three detachments of the brigade, in their pursuit of a higher case-solving rate, inadvertently contaminated the physical evidence at the scene. Either the footprints at the scene were covered up, or biological evidence that should not have appeared was left behind, making it difficult for investigators to screen.

Moreover, some of them don't really believe that they can track down suspects through technology and have their own set of standards for investigating cases.

The most typical example is the First Brigade, where they were more willing to trust the intuition of their brigade leader, Lu Ruixiang.

This is what a large group of team members often say: "Captain Lu's animal-like sense of smell."

After the forensic doctor Li and the technician Lao Wei from the detachment had finished their investigation, Gao Jie pulled up the rope and led Gu Jun inside.

"Old Li, Old Wei, what's the situation at the scene?"

Li Yuanquan spoke first: "His neck was pierced, twice, and very deeply."

Gao Jie glanced at the female victim. She was wearing a white dress, which had been lifted up to her stomach, exposing her lower body, and her red shorts were lying to the side.

The straps on both shoulders were pulled down, revealing her chest.

"Have you been violated?"

"It's not certain yet," Li Yuanquan shook his head.

Wei Ming, the technician, said, "There are signs of a struggle at the scene, and there should be footprints left behind."

At that moment, several technicians were using brushes to sift through the traces at the scene.

Gao Jie turned to look at the night market across the street, which was more than 100 meters away from the other side.

He frowned and asked, "Around when did the person die?"

Li Yuanquan replied, "It's 3 a.m. now, so it must have been two hours ago, between midnight and 1 a.m.

Gao Jie instructed, "Jun'er, go to the night market and ask around. Find out who's having a late-night snack at this time. Since they're so close, they might have seen someone suspicious."

"Okay," Gu Jun replied.

As soon as he stepped outside, someone outside the police cordon shouted, "I know this woman."

Gao Jie immediately went outside and stared at the person who had spoken.

The man was slightly overweight and had a full beard.

Who are you? What's your name?

The other person replied, "I'm the owner of a barbecue stand."

"You know her?" Gao Jie pointed into the garbage dump.

The other person nodded: "She sells silver in Sihai Hutong. I don't know her name."

"you sure?"

“I’m sure she comes to my place for barbecue every few days; I see her all the time.”

Without waiting for Gao Jie's instructions, Gu Jun quickly gathered the men from the Third Brigade and the police officers from the local police station, and together they headed towards Sihai Hutong.

In less than an hour, the victim's identity was discovered.

Her name is Wan Simiao, she is nineteen years old, from Dayan City, and lives at No. 113 Sihai Road.

Gao Jie and Feng Xiaocai rushed over immediately. When they arrived, the people inside the house had already been taken into custody.

There were seven women and three men, a total of ten people.

The women sat on a bench, while three men, handcuffed, squatted side by side against the wall.

"Who is in charge here?"

“Captain Gao, this kid’s name is Zeng Chao, nicknamed Grass Dog, he’s the boss,” Gu Jun replied, pointing to a young man.

The person had shoulder-length hair and wore a cross earring in their left ear.

Gao Jie could tell from Zeng Chao's face that he had been questioned before Gao Jie arrived; otherwise, Zeng Chao wouldn't have been so obedient.

"You're missing one person here..."

Zeng Chao nodded, glanced at Gu Jun, and his pupils contracted: "I know."

"What's your name?"

"Wan Simiao".

"How old is she? What kind of clothes is she wearing?"

"Nineteen years old, wearing a white dress."

"Where did she go?"

"I don't know," Zeng Chao shook his head.

At this moment, a middle-aged woman sitting on the bench spoke up: "She went to buy late-night snacks."

Gao Jie turned to look at her: "When did she leave?"

"I don't remember, it was around 11 o'clock."

"She went out alone?"

"Yes."

At this moment, Zeng Chao asked, "Officers, why are you asking her that?"

Gao Jie gave him a cold glance, then said, "Take two people with you, and bring the rest back to the brigade."

Gu Jun responded and ordered someone to take Zeng Chao and the woman who had just spoken away away.

More than ten minutes later, the two were taken to the garbage station.

By this time, the body had already been carried out and was ready to be loaded onto a vehicle and transported to the funeral home for autopsy.

"Come here!" Gao Jie shouted.

Zeng Chao and the middle-aged woman were pushed next to the corpse.

At this moment, both of them realized why the police had suddenly come knocking on their door.

Gao Jie lifted the white sheet covering the corpse, revealing only its face; the wound on its neck was concealed.

Is it Wan Simiao?

Zeng Chao was alright, but the middle-aged woman shouted and almost made him kneel on the ground.

"Yes, it's her. How did she die?"

Zeng Chao's face was also pale, and he was somewhat speechless: "Who, who killed her?" "That's the question you should be asking me, who would kill her?" Gao Jie gripped his shoulders.

"I...I don't know. She just arrived and hasn't offended anyone."

"Just arrived? When?"

"Just over a month ago."

Who referred you?

“She and I are from the same village. I brought her to Qincheng.”

Who are her family members?

"Her parents and younger brother; her younger brother is still in elementary school."

"Wan Simiao really hasn't offended anyone?"

"Really, there isn't any!" Zeng Chao said with a mournful face.

The middle-aged woman lying on the ground cried out, "She was fine just a moment ago, how could she suddenly die? My God, that's terrifying..."

Gao Jie observed the expressions of the two men, then waved his hand: "Take them back for questioning."

Gu Jun nodded and helped them into the car.

At that moment, two members of the Third Brigade rushed over from the night market.

Gao Jie went up to him: "What's going on?"

"Captain Gao, we've checked. Between 11 p.m. and 1 a.m., there were about 30 people having late-night snacks at the night market. The two security guards who found the body were the closest to them."

"and then?"

"There are eyewitnesses who saw the victim being followed!"

"How to say?"

“There was a man wearing a raincoat following behind the victim in Sihai Hutong. At the time, the victim was carrying a bag of garbage.”

How tall is that person?

"Witnesses said he was about my height."

"how tall are you?"

I'm a little over 1.7 meters tall.

Gu Jun immediately asked, "That's not right. I asked her, and when the victim came out, she wasn't carrying anything in her hands."

The other person shook their head: "Then I don't know."

Gao Jie looked at the garbage station: "No wonder she was murdered in the garbage station. She was ambushed by the murderer while throwing away garbage."

After saying that, Gao Jie began to make arrangements: "Investigate all the people who have late-night snacks in the vicinity between 11 p.m. and 1 a.m., especially the mysterious person who followed the victim. You must find him!"
He might be the murderer!

The crowd responded and dispersed.

Just as dawn was breaking, a major piece of news came back.

The man wearing a raincoat had bought a pack of cigarettes at a small shop on Dayuan Road, not far from Sihai Hutong, before the incident.

Based on the boss's description, the suspect's appearance became clear.

He is over 1.7 meters tall, with a thin face, a buzz cut, and single eyelids.

Gao Jie was stunned when he heard this.

Seeing that he was not in a good mood, Feng Xiaocai immediately asked, "Master, what's wrong?"

"The suspect in last year's 711 case!"

Gu Jun frowned: "Captain Gao, that's impossible, right? They're just about the same height, and Lao Wei's footprints haven't come out yet, so it might not be the same person."

"What was the name of the security guard who called the police in the 711 case?"

Feng Xiaocai immediately opened her eyes wide, and Gu Jun was also startled.

"His name seems to be Kou... Kou Tao."

The two hurriedly ran to the archives, found Kou Tao's photo, and showed it to the shop owner for verification.

The other person immediately nodded: "That's right, it's him."

Immediately afterwards, the autopsy report and the technical team's investigation results were also released.

First, the victim, Wan Simiao, was stabbed twice in the throat. The weapon used was a single-edged fruit knife, but the specific type could not be determined.

It's unclear whether Wan Simiao was harmed, given the unusual nature of her profession.

However, there were semen stains on her thighs. It was unclear whether they were left by the murderer or by a customer. She had entertained three men that night.

Secondly, after the technical team's investigation, they found signs of a struggle at the scene, with footprints identical to those found in the 711 case, but no fingerprints were left at the scene.

Wei Ming concluded that the victim, Wan Simiao, must have been killed immediately, otherwise it would be impossible to explain why she did not scream.

If she calls out, someone in the night market across the street might hear her.

Kou Tao was immediately identified as a prime suspect.

The three detachments under the Qincheng Detachment began to carry out the arrests.

On the way to make the arrest, Gu Jun said to Gao Jie, who was sitting in the passenger seat, while driving: "Boss, we were still being ridiculed by the First and Second Detachments for not solving the 711 case last year. This time, we've finally caught the murderer and can hold our heads high."

Gao Jie said with a heavy heart, "Jun'er, I feel something is wrong. When we were investigating the 711 case, I interrogated Kou Tao carefully, and he doesn't seem like the murderer."

"They've been hiding it too well. Besides, this arrest was approved by Captain Wu, so let's not overthink it. Now that we've caught him, we're not afraid he won't talk."

Gao Jie squinted and did not answer.

Gu Jun glanced at Feng Xiaocai in the back seat and continued, "Do you think my analysis is correct? The 711 case was Kou Tao's first crime. He killed someone with a screwdriver, so it must have been a spur-of-the-moment decision. In the 609 case, he had experience and knew that using a knife to kill someone was more reliable."

"In the 711 case, it was Kou Tao who reported it to the police. He was also at the scene of the 609 case, and he even followed the victim, Wan Simiao. If it wasn't him, I can't think of anyone else who did it."

Feng Xiaocai frowned: "If he really did commit the 711 case, and it was his first time, how could he have hidden it so well? How could he have gotten away with it so easily? I think there's something wrong here."

“That’s a copycat murder!” Gu Jun said. “Even if he didn’t do 711, he’s definitely involved in the 609 case.”

Half an hour later, the Third Brigade arrived at Kou Tao's residence, a dormitory building near the grove of trees where the July 711 case occurred last year.

As soon as the car stopped, Gao Jie picked up the walkie-talkie and ordered the team members in the two cars behind him, "Get out of the cars and arrest them!"

Immediately afterwards, the car door opened, and more than a dozen people jumped out. Some were carrying handbags, while others lifted the back of their clothes, which were places to hide guns.

(End of this chapter)