Chapter 266

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Jingling Community was built about twenty years ago, but later expanded with Phase Two and Phase Three, so overall it still looks fairly new.

However, since it was built very early, there's no car-pedestrian separation here; the community has only narrow roads a few meters wide, which serve as both walking paths and vehicle lanes on regular days.

The community's maintenance, however, is quite good: trees shade the paths, the pavement is clean and tidy, and the benches along both sides are regularly wiped.

Clearly, the developer was willing to forgo property management profits to sell houses. Even the trash bins are well-designed, mostly made of metal, unlike ordinary municipal bins, and have higher density.

But for disposing of body parts, the difference doesn't matter much.

The trash bins that held the burned bone fragments were all hauled away, and the new ones were placed in different locations.

But the original bin positions were marked with white lines, and the shape of the nearby bins didn't hinder Jiang Yuan's observation.

"All of them are roadside bins. Easy to toss things into." Jiang Yuan walked the perimeter once, and on his second lap, he made his judgment.

Wan Baoming followed him closely and immediately said, "Indeed, all these are convenient spots for disposal."

"The burned bone fragments could've been wrapped in a bag and casually tossed away," Jiang Yuan glanced back at Wan Baoming.

Wan Baoming said, "We also lean toward the theory that they were discarded on foot. Fourteen bone fragments were dumped into five bins, all within close distance. Driving, parking, then getting out to toss them would be more conspicuous and unnecessary."

Jiang Yuan nodded and said, "But we can't rule out that they were discarded by residents from other communities?"

"True. Moreover, Jingling Community has already been screened once—we sent people into every home with commercial stoves or large ovens." Wan Baoming sighed. "The resistance was already substantial, sparking many disputes. Expanding to five or six nearby communities would be even harder."

Screening and screening aren't the same. Home inspections are extremely difficult, and expanding the scope is out of the question. They mainly needed to inspect villa residents, who demand higher privacy, making it even harder.

Entering every household, inspecting every corner, searching every room—no matter where you are, that's impossible. It'd turn into a complete mess.

Jiang Yuan understood. If someone came to his house and said they wanted to check his stove—or even dig through the ashes—Jiangfuzhen comrades would surely refuse too.

Jiang Yuan kept walking, thinking.

Wan Baoming and the others trailed behind him.

Wang Chuanxing paced nervously, scratching his head.

In his view, the case had already hit a dead end—and it wasn't surprising. Just a few bone fragments lying there couldn't possibly count as evidence.

If solving cases relied purely on imagination, he wouldn't mind straining his brain.

Yet hundreds of officers were already assigned to this case, and honestly, none of them knew what to do next…

"Actually, we don't have much right now, especially evidence—it's far too scarce." Jiang Yuan said, "Should we ask Liu Chu?"

Liu Jinghui often handles cases with no evidence.

Though his clearance rate isn't extremely high, compared to regular detectives, Liu Jinghui is already an exceptional expert.

Wan Baoming paused, surprised that after circling the scene for so long, Jiang Yuan's solution was to call Liu Jinghui.

Then he reconsidered—it wasn't a big deal. One bed is a bed, two beds are still a bed; what difference does it make?

"I'll report to Captain Yu and ask Liu Chu—I'll say it was your suggestion," Wan Baoming smiled. He wasn't close to Liu Jinghui; it was better to have a middleman. Besides, the case falls under Yu Wenshu's command, so they needed his approval to bring anyone in.

Jiang Yuan agreed and continued walking through the community.

In the afternoon, Jiang Yuan arranged for a villa, and in its backyard, he used the owner's barbecue grill to roast meat.

The villa's owner, Yuan Songping, was a friend of Yu Wenshu, a businessman in his forties who ran a beverage business and owned restaurants.

This man was quite clever—he knew a little about the case, saw Jiang Yuan had no reservations, and said, "Why not simulate the scene? I'll bring a sheep, skin the meat, roast it, and crush the bones in the charcoal."

Jiang Yuan's interest sparked—he immediately agreed. "Sheep bones are a bit too soft. Better to use pork bones—preferably from free-range pigs with longer growth cycles—to simulate the state of the sternum we found. Also, burn a pork femur—I'm curious how hard the tibia is to process…"

"Got it! I've got plenty of those at my restaurant. Wait a moment—I'll have them bring fresh ones, just like freshly slaughtered." Yuan Songping was eager.

Jiang Yuan quickly added, "If you have any stored, frozen bones are fine too."

The killer didn't necessarily burn the body immediately.

Many people, especially first-time killers, become dazed after killing. Some drag the corpse to bury it—usually the impulsive ones.

Others, slower to react, leave the corpse lying for a while, wait until it starts to smell, then shove it into the fridge, and later decide whether to bury or discard it.

Those who choose to burn the body at home are wealthy and patient.

Think about it: how much fuel and smoke would it take to burn a rat or cat down to bone? How strong would the odor be? People living in high-rises or apartments wouldn't even consider this option.

Villas offer far more freedom. If there's a swimming pool, draining it and dismembering the body inside is far more comfortable than doing it in the bathroom.

But completely incinerating a corpse always takes a long time. Residential stoves, whether furnace chamber or temperature, can't match the crematoriums at funeral homes. So, freezing the body in the fridge and burning it slowly is a fairly reasonable option.