Chapter 1090

The next day.

Early morning.

Liu Jinghui followed Jiang Yuan to Liu Chengming's residence, a container house on a construction site.

Compared to ordinary housing, this kind of house converted from a shipping container is cold in winter and hot in summer, and the area is small; besides the function of sleeping, there is basically no space for enjoyment.

Despite this, Liu Chengming's residence was considered quite good on the construction site because he was a technical worker, which was why he was able to live in a single room.

But for such a container house, Jiang Yuan's survey was also dull and uninteresting; even after checking it carefully, he couldn't find any useful clues.

The technician who accompanied him packed up the equipment and said: "Team Leader Jiang, should we move the things inside back for further inspection?"

This was purely out of respect for Jiang Yuan; even if it were an ordinary expert, such a survey would be out of the question. The work of the criminal science department is never-ending, and every unit is urging them on; if too much manpower and time are wasted here, they have to find ways to make up for it elsewhere.

Jiang Yuan didn't have such a strong demand, so he shook his head and said: "This is the suspect's temporary residence. If we can't find evidence, let's consider other places."

"The suspect said he threw the knife into Dongxi Lake. Deputy Dai has already organized people to search for it, but Dongxi Lake is quite deep and has underwater currents, so it probably won't be easy to find." From the technician's perspective, finding the knife used in the crime was the most important thing at the moment. Once the knife is found, and then the vehicle used in the crime and the corresponding photos are found, the chain of evidence for this case will be relatively complete.

At this time, after a night of thinking, Liu Jinghui was even more determined: "The credibility of Liu Chengming's confession is questionable, and many testimonies cannot be falsified at present. At the very least, we must find some objective evidence. As for the knife, they can go find it themselves."

Unlike ordinary murder cases, Liu Chengming burned the two victims into ashes, making it impossible for the police to directly extract evidence from the victims. How they were killed, what murder weapon was used, etc., can only be heard from Liu Chengming's confession. This is a mode Liu Jinghui dislikes very much; naturally, he is unwilling to trust it, and even less willing to pay a huge price for it.

Jiang Yuan listened to Liu Jinghui's tone and asked: "Then what do you want to investigate?"

"Can I investigate whatever I want?" Liu Jinghui asked suddenly.

"Of course." Jiang Yuan gave a definite answer.

"It's all in my head, but I don't have any evidence in my hands." Liu Jinghui said.

"That's not how you've always been." Jiang Yuan glanced at Liu Jinghui strangely.

Liu Jinghui was suddenly moved. This is the meaning of a Dragon Knight's existence. A Dragon Knight doesn't need any explanation; where the dragon lance points, the dragon breathes long flames and dives down. How romantic is that.

The Dragon Knight rides the dragon, as if the arm commands the hand, as if the hand commands the fingers, like Watson under Sherlock Holmes.

"I feel that Liu Chengming is not right. I have a key question: was the male victim's skull burned away, or was the head cut off beforehand?" Liu Jinghui asked.

Jiang Yuan had clearly considered this question, so he said: "I think there's a high probability it was cut off beforehand. Although the possibility of it being burned to ash cannot be completely ruled out, it's too difficult; it would require a large amount of accelerant, and one would have to stay right there to burn it. Burning it openly in the wild like that, it's unlikely to be burned to ash in one go. Looking at the final state of the other bones, the male victim's skull must still have remnants."

Liu Jinghui nodded: "If the killer had stayed there the whole time and had time to take away the burned bone fragments of the male victim's skull, logically, he should have taken away all the other burned bone fragments as well. If that were the case, this case might not even exist."

"That would require bringing a large amount of accelerant and waiting there for several hours, which isn't certain either. Handling the burned bone fragments is another problem. Burying them?"

"The head he cut off really might have been buried." Liu Jinghui expressed his thoughts: "I think we should prioritize finding the head. If the victim's head is found, it proves Liu Chengming lied, and we can send him straight to the death penalty. The specific details of the case should also become clear."

Burning corpses in a funeral home involves spraying diesel from all sides to assist combustion, while using the body's fat to burn as fully as possible. Even so, by the end, a large amount of blocky bone remains.

These bones are often smashed by funeral home staff with hammers, and then a portion is put into the client's urn. It's impossible to put them all in; there's too much left over, and a standard urn doesn't have that much space.

Burning bones in the wild, even with diesel, is unlikely to achieve such an effect. Most importantly, the skull should have been the most heat-resistant part.

To burn it completely to ash in such an environment would require someone standing right there, repeatedly pouring diesel, using a hammer to knock it, etc., to make it possible.

Clearly, if the killer were willing to go that far, he could have easily picked up all the burned bone fragments or handled them accordingly.

And analyzing it from this angle, Liu Chengming's testimony has inaccuracies.

This is also one of the reasons for Liu Jinghui's suspicion. As a murder suspect who has already been arrested, since he has chosen to confess, a comprehensive and accurate confession is actually more cost-effective. Because this is one of the bases for reduced punishment, it is the only way he might escape immediate execution.

Liu Chengming admitted to the murder but didn't confess truthfully and completely, which is somewhat abnormal, indicating that he definitely has things he is hiding from the police. He doesn't have any family wealth, nor is he an official, which couldn't help but arouse Liu Jinghui's curiosity.

"Actually, there's another problem." Liu Jinghui stood inside the container house, sweat already slightly forming on his face, and said: "The suspect Liu Chengming is an excavator operator. He actually had the conditions to bury the body deep, without much effort. Choosing to burn the corpse is actually a bit unnecessary."

"Perhaps it's because excavators aren't easy to move around." The technician who had been standing by the side spoke up at this moment: "According to my understanding, many excavators now, especially this kind of excavator that has an owner, have very detailed data monitoring inside. Some require a password to start, and the location and time of the excavator at the time are all recorded clearly. The dynamics of the digging bucket are the same. If he secretly dug a pit to bury the body, the data on the excavator could bury him."

Liu Jinghui nodded slowly: "That is indeed a possible factor. However, Liu Chengming has been operating an excavator for so long, finding another one shouldn't be difficult; borrowing one or even renting one would work..."

"But he still chose to burn the corpse."

"Burning the corpse also has many benefits. If handled well, it's better than burying it with an excavator, and the traces are smaller. If it weren't for you, it would have been very difficult to identify the victim even if found. Besides, an excavator is relatively large. With such a big commotion, people around would easily know. Going to the wilderness isn't easy either, and carrying a corpse at the same time is inconvenient."

Hearing Liu Jinghui speak so logically, everyone nodded.

Liu Jinghui said at this time: "Let's investigate it anyway. First, have people ask the people around Liu Chengming to see if he has borrowed or rented an excavator. Check all his contact lists and WeChat records; if he rented one normally, it should be through these channels."

"Yes." Seeing that Liu Jinghui had made up his mind, Wang Chuanxing immediately made the arrangements.

This form of inquiry is also slightly like a dragnet, but much simpler and cheaper. It belongs to the level of a police station or criminal investigation brigade.

"As far as this case is concerned, we are actually being a bit nitpicky. However, I feel that Liu Chengming has other cases on his back, and digging deeper might yield results." Liu Jinghui only said this in front of Jiang Yuan; if Dai Mingsheng were present, he would have hesitated.

The technician next to him felt helpless, silently took out his phone, and began sending a message to the detachment captain.

Liu Jinghui watched him send the message and then said to Wang Chuanxing: "Check the previous corpse-burning cases as well, see if there are any similar ones, and try to combine the cases. With Liu Chengming doing this, it might just be path dependency."

Connecting cases is a basic skill for criminal investigators. If the clues for one case aren't enough, put two cases together, and suddenly the clues are enough. And criminals who can peacefully commit one case and not commit a second are in the minority. Even murder suspects are no exception.

This thing is like gambling. If you can earn several years or decades of income by guessing big or small once, who can endure the loneliness and work peacefully? If killing someone can resolve a conflict that decades of income can't resolve, who can maintain the patience to maintain relationships?

With a few phone calls made, the Lanyue City Criminal Investigation Detachment immediately sprang into action.

Jiang Yuan put his mask back on and collected the evidence in the container house once more.

No matter what disturbances are outside, the most basic technical work must be done after all.

The survey of Liu Chengming's temporary residence was completed. Jiang Yuan took a walk around the construction site, and after finding nothing else, he returned to the criminal investigation detachment with Liu Jinghui, set up the hot pot, and waited for reports from all sides.

By evening, new reports were sent over one after another.

"No new clues. However, we found the car Liu Chengming used. He rented a car on Xianyu..." Wang Chuanxing gave Jiang Yuan and the others a rough explanation.

Jian Louyuan also came over and said: "No clues have been found regarding the excavator or the corpse burning for the time being."

Liu Jinghui nodded slowly.

Wei Shikan squeezed out from behind his own team captain like toothpaste and said: "Could it be... that Liu Chengming really doesn't have any old cases?"

If the leader finds it hard to say something, let the person who cares the least say it.

Liu Jinghui just smiled at him and said: "Then has Liu Chengming confessed completely?"

"No." This time it was Jian Louyuan who answered.

It is extremely difficult to make a case self-consistent, especially when examining details; it is very hard to tell a lie and then try to round it off.

And criminal suspects do not have the power to choose which details not to describe. Not answering obediently means not stating truthfully.

"Then keep interrogating." Liu Jinghui wasn't in a hurry at this moment, and said to Jian Louyuan: "Since we can't find anything on the corpse burning, we can list another project: are there any unsolved murder cases involving abandoned bodies or buried bodies at construction sites? Let's directly check the construction sites Liu Chengming has worked at and the murder cases that occurred near those sites to see if any can be matched."

Jian Louyuan was somewhat puzzled: "Even rabbits don't eat the grass around their own burrows. Besides, Liu Chengming burned the corpses so far away; would he kill people at the construction site?"

"Maybe it's because he wasn't successful in killing people at the construction site. People can't be taught by others, but one experience teaches a person everything." Liu Jinghui's brain was spinning rapidly: "Liu Chengming is an excavator operator who has worked on construction sites for half his life. As a result, the whole process of coercing, killing, burning the corpse, and hiding the head was handled too smoothly. Let's check it first."