Chapter 24 Where to freeze to death
By the time the two of them arrive at the criminal police brigade, the crime team should be ready.
Perhaps because of the pressure from above, there were particularly many police officers on duty today.
Du Yu rolled down the window of his Santana and shouted at Paramela: "Follow me!"
Xu Yiqing gave him a thumbs up, and then the motorcade set off towards the fire scene.
Du Yu explained the case to Xu Yiqing and Zhou Shi through the intercom: "The place where the crime occurred is called Basia Village, which is more than 20 kilometers away from the city. The main surnames in the village are Liu and Wang, which are the common surnames in the village."
Xu Yiqing asked: "When did the fire happen?"
Du Yu replied: "Around ten o'clock, there is a custom in Basia Village of setting off firecrackers on the morning of the seventh day of the Lunar New Year to send gifts to the gods."
Zhou Shi raised her eyebrows slightly, as if recalling the memories of living in Jiangcheng ten years ago.
The seventh day of the Lunar New Year is the Human Day Festival. It is the tradition of Jiangcheng people to set off firecrackers and fish for fish.
After turning off the walkie-talkie, Xu Yiqing sighed: "I have rarely heard the sound of firecrackers in recent years... these customs are gradually being forgotten."
Zhou Shi said: "It is the first time in so many years that fireworks have been banned and there has been such a fire. No wonder some people are so anxious to find out the truth."
After a pause, Zhou Shi seemed to be thinking of Xu Yiqing's material life without desires and demands, and then said: "But it is a good thing to be more lively during the New Year. People really need a moment of extravagance, otherwise it will be very depressing."
Life was not good in the past, and Chinese New Year meant big fish and meat, a luxury many children longed for.
Nowadays, the pace of life is so fast that we are overwhelmed all year round, and the New Year's holiday has become a luxury that adults are looking forward to.
Chinese people need a lively Spring Festival so much.
It was the first time that Xu Yiqing heard the word "luxury" from Zhou Shi, so even though he understood what Zhou Shi meant, he still joked: "A moment of luxury?"
Zhou Shi watched him reach out and touch the leather seats of the Panamera, and smiled softly: "The 'luxury' I want is not these."
More than 20 kilometers is just a few cups of tea for a scooter. Soon after turning from the urban and rural roads onto a dirt road, the stone tablet inscribed with "Under the Dam" came into view.
Du Yu's voice came from the intercom: "We have arrived at the entrance of the village."
Zhou Shi thought for a while and said: "Let's park at the door and walk in."
After getting out of the car, Xu Yiqing didn't understand, so Zhou Shi explained: "I want to observe the situation in the village. It may be useful."
Xu Yiqing didn't know anything about living people, but analyzing criminal psychology was Zhou Shi's strength. Since it was possible that it was a homicide, it would be best to listen to Zhou Shi, an expert, about these details.
Basia Village is like many rural villages. Some old houses and renovated two-story houses are staggered. The roads built with funds raised by the village committee cannot be called exquisite, but they still add some luster to the facade.
Xu Yiqing noticed a dilapidated house on the roadside at the entrance of the village. It was leaking and the wooden beams were rotten.
Some of the garbage bags scattered on the ground were embedded in the ground. It had obviously been there for a long time... This place seemed to be regarded as a garbage dump by the villagers.
The only thing that seemed a little warm was the many green foxtails growing around the dilapidated house.
The foxtail grass sways slightly in the wind. Even though it has withered and turned yellow in winter, it is still as tough as the reeds.
Occasionally, shrill cries could be heard in the village, and the closer they got to the fire scene, the clearer they became.
The fire brigade has withdrawn, leaving only one fire truck to deal with the aftermath, surrounded by the mourning family members of the deceased.
Du Yu is negotiating with the firefighters.
The house that caught fire was a two-story building with a large yard. It could be seen that it had been built very grandly before.
After visiting and investigating, we found out that this is the village chief’s home. The firefighter said: "The source of the fire was in the corner of the yard, which was caused by igniting the stacked briquettes. Because it was very close to the gate, the escape route was quickly blocked."
The fire was very serious. The big iron door was burned black, the yard was in a mess, and the glass on the roof was also smoked with a layer of black carbon.
The air was filled with the unpleasant smell of burnt plastic and leather. Xu Yiqing gave masks to the members of the task force and entered the yard.
There are traces of white ash on the dark ground to fix the lines, which is where the body last lay.
One in the yard, two in the main room, three in the master bedroom and one in the secondary bedroom.
Du Yu pushed away the burned-out house and looked inside: "Because there were more combustibles in the house, the fire was much bigger than in the yard... But why didn't they run out as soon as the fire started?"< br>
There was no body here, and Xu Yiqing's skills were useless, so he couldn't answer, so he turned his attention to Zhou Shi and reminded her: "Be careful where you step."
Zhou Shi walked into the house carefully step by step, looked around, then returned to the yard and squatted down to carefully look at the only fixed line of corpse traces that appeared in the yard.
A few hours ago, a man lay here in despair and was burned alive.
After thinking for a moment, Zhou Shi said based on the distribution of corpses at the scene: "Because they thought the fire could be controlled at first, they did not leave the yard immediately and let the fire burn. Instead, they tried to control the fire and rescue property... But After that, for some unknown reason, the fire became uncontrollable and trapped them in the house... The deceased tried to walk through the fire at the end, but the severe pain prevented him from succeeding."
Zhou Shi touched the wreckage on the ground with gloves, "This is the trace left after burning cotton, which shows that the deceased was trying to rush out of the fire while wearing a water-stained quilt, but he failed for unknown reasons. Then he was in a dilemma, rolling on the ground trying to put out the fire, and finally fell into a coma from exhaustion. This shows that he was older and stronger than those who died trapped in the house."
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Everyone looked carefully and saw signs of friction near the white line of the corpse. Combined with Zhou Shi's words, they imagined the struggle of a dying person.
Xu Yiqing and Du Yu asked about the serial number of the corpse in the yard, and confirmed Zhou Shi's statement based on the autopsy report.
"The deceased in the yard was numbered No. 3. He was thirty-two years old. During the autopsy, there were severe burns and adhesions on his back...the cloth was inseparable from the flesh."
He paused, suddenly thought of something, and asked Du Yu: "Where was the body numbered 7 first found?"
Obviously deceased No. 7 is the key to restoring the fire, and everything must start with the reason why No. 7 froze to death.
"In the second bedroom." Du Yu led the two of them inside.
After passing through the blackened wall and opening the door that had been burned to charcoal, Xu Yiqing and Zhou Shi saw the messy second bedroom.
Amidst the devastation, there are lines drawn in white and gray on the bed where only the remains are left. The impact of black and white makes the atmosphere solemn.
Du Yu saw the clue: "Died on the bed."
Xu Yiqing nodded: "That's right. It's impossible for a conscious person to have a fire and still lie in bed."
Zhou Shi put her slender hand against her chin and thought for a moment, then said: "I need to know whether this is the scene of the first crime of deceased No. 7... In other words, whether the deceased froze to death here."
Soon, Lin Sheng, who stayed in the forensic department to continue the autopsy, called and reported the complete autopsy report.
"The deceased was a female, 42 years old, 164 centimeters tall, and her weight before death was estimated to be between 106 and 114 kilograms. The time of death has been more than 12 hours. The burns on the front were so severe that the appearance cannot be restored, and the back was burned The situation is minor and it can be concluded that the body was face up when it died.”
After a pause, Lin Sheng told the key information the task force needed.
"There are no body spots on the back of the deceased."
Xu Yiqing was stunned when he heard this, and then thought thoughtfully: "The corpse spots appear no later than ten hours. They are formed when the blood circulation stops after death and the blood accumulates along the vascular network. If there are no corpse spots on the body lying on its back, then It means that the body has been moved.”
Zhou Shi and Du Yu both understood what he meant: "This is not the scene of the first crime. The body numbered 7 was moved into the house."
So next, finding where deceased No. 7 froze to death has become the key to further solving the case!
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(End of chapter)