Chapter 256: Won't Let You Off Even in Death

"The suspect's cornered and lashing out?"

This was the last thing Yu Dazhang wanted to see.

Could it be that his investigating the wrongful conviction case over in Province S had alerted the suspect?

In an instant, all kinds of guesses flooded up from inside Yu Dazhang's heart.

"He died four years ago." Ma Jian's voice carried a hint of helplessness:

"Car accident, died on the spot, taken away by the little black flower cart."

Yu Dazhang:...

"Can you stop talking in such breathless chunks?" Yu Dazhang said, none too pleased:

"I thought he'd been killed by the suspect."

He tossed all those guesses that had just popped up to the back of his mind.

Dead for four years, and by accident at that — basically no connection to the serial case.

Besides, judging by the suspect's style, he wouldn't have let him die that easily.

"At first I thought the same thing." Ma Jian said, a bit sullenly:

"Only after a deeper investigation did I find out that wasn't the case."

Anyone would think that way... Yu Dazhang didn't dwell on the topic any longer; he turned his attention to another matter:

"Where is he buried?"

He trusted that Ma Jian would certainly have investigated this.

Think a person's death is the end of it?

For criminal investigators, many investigations begin from the very moment of death.

As an experienced criminal investigator, he certainly wouldn't let a lead like that slip by.

"Hold on a moment."

The sound of papers rustling came from the other end of the line; after a pause, Ma Jian answered:

"Xicheng Mei Yuan Cemetery."

Reliable as expected... Yu Dazhang's fingers tapped lightly on the steering wheel, his eyes fixed straight ahead — no telling what he was thinking.

Ma Jian on the other end didn't press him either, just waited silently for him to speak.

Yu Dazhang deliberated for a moment, then said slowly:

"Contact the Xicheng City Bureau; in the name of the provincial department, have them send investigation personnel to Mei Yuan Cemetery."

"You mean..." Ma Jian caught on quickly:

"The suspect will go to the cemetery to pay respects?"

"Pay respects? Heh." Yu Dazhang laughed out of exasperation, a mocking look crossing his face:

"If I were the suspect, I'd knock the headstone over and stomp on it a few times."

Two and a half hours later.

Xicheng Mei Yuan Cemetery.

When Yu Dazhang arrived, three technical division officers from the Xicheng City Bureau were already waiting at the cemetery entrance.

For an ordinary case, there would usually be two technical division investigators; the extra person showed that the Xicheng City Bureau took this investigation seriously.

Everyone understood without saying it — they all knew it was the provincial department's name that carried weight.

Why come here?

Because Yu Dazhang was certain the suspect would come to confirm the truth of his death.

After confirming, there was a high probability he would also act out in venting his anger.

Chopping off fingers, stripping away dignity — these were obvious acts of venting anger, showing the suspect's hatred for them had reached an irreconcilable degree.

Even if the person was dead, it didn't stop him from retaliating, or even venting his anger.

If lucky, they might even be able to collect the suspect's DNA.

The group arrived at a section of headstones and found the deceased's headstone and urn storage spot.

"This is it."

Yu Dazhang pointed at the headstone and said:

"Footprints are pointless — with people coming and going, they've probably been trampled flat long ago. Focus on whether there are fingerprints or other human tissue on the headstone."

A layer of dust had settled on the headstone.

But in his view, the dust wasn't thick — someone must have wiped it recently.

There were also a few obvious water stains, indicating that a damp cloth had been used during wiping, or it had been rinsed with water.

The investigators acknowledged him, set down their evidence kits, and began taking out various forensic tools.

Yu Dazhang, meanwhile, began observing the surroundings.

Mainly to see if there were any cameras nearby.

The cemetery did have surveillance, but it didn't achieve full coverage, and even in covered areas, the pixel quality wasn't very clear.

After all, it was outdoors, and on a mountain — having surveillance at all was already quite good.

After looking around, Yu Dazhang spotted the nearest camera on a streetlight along a cement road on the mountain, at least thirty meters from here.

"A bit far," he couldn't help muttering:

"And it's shooting from top to bottom — at this angle there's no way to get a full face shot." Yu Dazhang shook his head helplessly.

Even if it could capture the suspect, the pixel quality would be very low.

Cemetery surveillance cameras have their focal length set very short — this widens the field of view and covers a larger area, but the details aren't clear enough.

Add to that the obstruction from the trees, and catching even a glimpse of the suspect's figure would already be good enough.

To speak of capturing his appearance — there was basically no hope.

It seemed the only option was to pin his hopes on the investigation.

October weather was dry to begin with, and since Yu Dazhang had arrived in Province S, it hadn't rained here once.

If the suspect had come during this period, traces would certainly have been preserved.

Watching the investigators carefully wipe the gravestone bit by bit, Yu Dazhang felt a bit irritated.

After a moment's hesitation, he decided it would be better to go check the surveillance footage.

!

Out of professional habit, not a single detail could be overlooked.

Yu Dazhang found a staff member, identified himself, and pulled the surveillance footage.

"Mm?"

He had only been reviewing it for half an hour when he spotted something off.

Half a month ago, a man dressed all in black had come, and had even lingered in front of the gravestone for two days running.

Each time, he never stayed more than three minutes.

Although his face couldn't be seen and his figure was very blurry, it could be confirmed he was a man.

"Height, build…"

Yu Dazhang recalled for a moment, and the figure gradually overlapped with the suspect's silhouette in his memory.

"It's him!"

He had watched the surveillance video of the suspect at the crime scene countless times — the man's figure had long since been imprinted in his mind.

"What is he doing?"

Yu Dazhang muttered to himself as he moved the mouse, pulling the footage up to the time segment of the suspect's first visit.

After examining it carefully, he finally confirmed it.

The suspect was kicking the gravestone.

And he kicked it several times in a row.

"He's really venting his anger." Yu Dazhang suddenly found it a bit funny:

"This method is a little too childish, isn't it."

It was his first time seeing someone in a public cemetery taking out their anger on a gravestone — and by kicking it, no less.

Not letting the dead rest either — looks like the grudge runs deeper than imagined.

Then Yu Dazhang pulled the footage up to the next day.

This time the suspect didn't kick, but instead…

"No way."

Yu Dazhang's head nearly pressed against the screen, afraid he'd read it wrong.

"Is he peeing?"

Only when he saw that figure shake twice did he finally confirm it.

The suspect really was… peeing.

And peeing on the gravestone.

In other words, what he'd seen on the gravestone earlier wasn't water stains at all — it was urine stains.

Right, that made sense.

Normally family members only came to sweep the grave once a year, and the layer of dust on the gravestone was very thin.

If it wasn't the family who cleaned it, then it could only have been the suspect.

On the first day, the suspect came and kicked it a few times.

Probably unsatisfied, or maybe wanting to wipe the footprints off the gravestone — that was why on the second day he'd used urination to wash the gravestone down.

Thinking of this, Yu Dazhang immediately stood up and went back to the gravestone.

"It's not water stains on the gravestone…"

He had just opened his mouth when one of the officers interrupted:

"It's urine. We've already collected it."

(End of chapter)