Detective: From the Police Academy

Chapter 183 The mantis stalks the cicada and the oriole follows behind
At six o'clock in the morning, a ray of white light rose in the east, piercing the darkness.

Downstairs of the teaching building of Haihui Middle School, Zhao Ming parked the survey vehicle, and then he and his two apprentices changed into white chemical protective suits.

Zhao Ming looked around. The middle school had been abandoned for ten years, and the desolate scenes everywhere looked like a scene from a horror movie.

Weeds grew from the cracks in the concrete floor, withered creeping grass grew on the walls, and fallen leaves swirled into the air in the morning breeze.

The long-neglected teaching building looks like a crouching prehistoric beast, revealing its bloody mouth in the gray light.

Zhao Ming carried the survey box and led his two apprentices up the stairs on the left. Along the way, they met dejected colleagues. In addition to their tired faces, there was deep fear in their eyes.

Zhao Ming knew what had happened. More than an hour ago, he heard Luo Rui yelling on the phone and the screams of the crowd.

Although the victim was found in time, he did not survive!

Zhao Ming also felt deeply guilty. If he had found the switch hidden on the ground earlier, such a tragedy would not have happened!

At that time, when Luo Rui and others were out searching, he was not idle. He was analyzing the video, hoping to find more clues.

The switch on the ground was very hidden and was not captured in the video.

No one knew that there was a gear saw blade hidden under the table where the victim was trapped.

In addition to the guillotine on the ceiling, this is the second mechanism set up by the murderer.

If the police cannot find the victim in time, the light will burn the knot, the guillotine will fall, and the victim's head and body will be separated.

Even if the police find the victim in time and prevent the guillotine from falling, if the switch on the ground is accidentally touched, the victim will still die, and his death will be even more tragic!

The reason why Zhao Ming was able to find the switch was because of the glass lampshade of the oil lamp.

He used special software to process this video image, and then he found a shadow on the glass lampshade and a tiny convex dot reflected on the glass cover.

It's blurry and hard to see.

Zhao Ming also discovered that the cement floor of the classroom had been repaired, and there was a "scar" on the floor under the victim's desk where he was tied!
This "scar" is two centimeters wide and the color does not match the surrounding ground at all!
This "scar" flashed by in the video and only appeared for 0.1 seconds!
If it was a less experienced technical detective officer, it would probably be difficult to discover!
When Zhao Ming saw it, he immediately thought of the plumbers burying the wires underground and then smoothing the ground with cement to prevent the wires from being exposed.

Moreover, cement was also used when the first female victim was trapped in a cement pipe.

So, he called Luo Rui immediately, but it was too late!
The mechanism was not hidden behind the classroom door, but on the floor of the classroom.

At that time, it was the darkest time of the night. The detectives had been up all night and were mentally exhausted. As long as they got close to the victim and accidentally touched the switch, the victim would still die, and it would be at the hands of the detectives.

Zhao Ming arrived at the fifth floor. The corridor was full of people. Everyone looked depressed. When they saw Zhao Ming, they didn't even have the energy to greet him.

He also saw a young policeman squatting at the end of the corridor, with his head buried in his knees, motionless.

Zhao Ming knew without guessing that it must be him who accidentally touched the switch.

It's not that he's not careful, but he's just really unlucky.

Such a thing could happen to anyone.

Solving a murder case requires constant trial and error, but the cost of this trial and error is too high and may ruin the young man's future.

When something like this happens, not only him, but also the Haijiang Branch has to face pressure from above.

When Wei Qunshan saw Zhao Ming, he rubbed his eyes and walked over.

"Director Zhao, our branch's equipment is not very good, and we were in a hurry to save people. The scene was very chaotic and the workload was very heavy, so I also called the technical detectives from the Municipal Bureau to come over. You will join them in the investigation later."

Zhao Ming didn't care and nodded.

He and his apprentices had already put on protective clothing. The three of them filed into the classroom door. After taking two steps forward, they were all stunned.

The scene was not just chaotic, but horrifying!

Blood splattered everywhere, and fingernail-sized pieces of flesh fell on the table and the floor.

The victim's abdomen looked like a fish belly.

The gear saw blade is still embedded in it!
Zhao Ming has been a police officer for many years and has seen many crime scenes, but this time, he was still frightened.

His two apprentices had already turned around and were running outside, retching.

Zhao Mingqiang suppressed the discomfort in his heart, looked away, and then saw Luo Rui sitting at the back of the classroom.

Behind him was a blackboard with the words "I'm watching you!" written on it.

Below the blackboard, tables and chairs with broken limbs were piled up like a small mountain.

Luo Rui found a desk and chair and sat in front of the "hill".

He leaned forward, resting his arms on his knees, staring at the scene in front of him motionlessly.

Zhao Ming looked at him, and neither of them spoke, not even a greeting.

Zhao Ming put down the survey box and started working.

This time, unlike the crime scene of the first victim, there is a lot of physical evidence that needs to be extracted.

This is no longer a murder case involving a murderer and a victim. Because it involves the police, we must be meticulous and careful.

Wei Qunshan and most of the criminal police have left. As a leader, he must report to the provincial department and explain tonight's actions and cooperate with the investigation.

There were only a few police officers and auxiliary police officers from the police station left in the corridor. The auxiliary police officers were witnesses of the on-site investigation, and Zhao Ming needed their signatures after completing his work.

Zhao Ming's father, forensic doctor Zhao Chunlai and the technical investigators sent by the Municipal Bureau all arrived, and a large group of people became busy in the classroom.

Luo Rui just sat in the chair without moving.

Time passed slowly, and the gloomy sky did not bring sunshine. Instead, wind blew and rain began to fall.

The winter rain hits the window glass, making a sound.

In the afternoon, the body had been transported back to the funeral home and Zhao Chunlai was performing an autopsy.

But the on-site investigation was not over yet, because someone from above had arrived and they had to get information from the on-site personnel, so Luo Rui and Zhao Ming were both called back to the police station.

The inspection team has questioned Wei Qunshan and most people in detail, including the young policeman who accidentally touched the switch, and he has been suspended.

Luo Rui was called into a room where he didn't recognize anyone.

A video camera was placed on a tripod facing the rectangular desk.

After Luo Rui sat down, he was constantly questioned and scolded, and then he had to repeat last night's actions. If his words were inconsistent and he was caught with loopholes, they would not let him go.

The police officer who assisted in the questioning had a laptop on the desk in front of her, and she kept typing in the questions and answers.

When it came to the key point, she even turned the screen of her laptop around so that Luo Rui could see the images captured by the law enforcement recorder.

The review lasted for an hour before they let Luo Rui sign the document.

"Thank you for your cooperation. I hope you can keep this conversation confidential!"

Luo Rui walked out of the room and returned to his office. Cai Xiaojing was not in the bureau.

He had stayed up all night last night and was extremely nervous, so he sat in the chair and fell into a deep sleep.

But he slept very lightly, and the scene at that time kept appearing in his mind.

Blood splattered everywhere, and flesh flew everywhere.

Especially the piercing "sizzling" sound, which kept playing in his ears on a loop.

Everyone understood that the murderer encountered this time was different from the Zhu Lizhi case, and also different from the jewelry store and escort vehicle robberies. This time the murderer was challenging the police!

Suspect? Criminal?

No, this person is an enemy! And he has a very high IQ and is extremely cunning!
In a daze, Luo Rui's shoulder was pushed. He opened his eyes and found Cai Xiaojing standing in front of him.

Her face was pale and her eye sockets were deep, and it was obvious that she had not rested for two days and one night.

Luo Rui stood up from his chair: "You just came back? Don't you want to take a rest?"

Cai Xiaojing shook her head and sighed: "Where is the time? Let's go to the meeting first. After the meeting, I will go to sleep for a while."

"Row!"

Luo Rui rubbed his swollen cheek and followed her.

In the corridor, most of the criminal police officers who were walking with their heads down had serious expressions and hurried steps. They came from different directions and gathered in the large conference room.

The conference room that could accommodate a hundred people was full of people.

Some police officers were more alert. Those who did not participate in the operation last night did not sit at the conference table, but stood directly, which clearly showed that they wanted to distance themselves from the incident.

Luo Rui saw Zhu Yong from the Provincial Department and several first-level police inspectors sitting there. In addition, there were Wei Qunshan and Cao Hua. Wu Dahao did not show up.

The murderer of this series of homicides has killed two policemen in succession, one of whom is the captain of the criminal police detachment of the Municipal Bureau. It can be seen how cunning his methods are.

After Luo Rui sat down, he immediately turned his gaze to Wei Qunshan. He looked tired, but his expression was more relaxed than this morning.

After noticing Luo Rui's gaze, he nodded slightly, then lowered his head and began to communicate with Zhu Yong.

Soon, when everyone arrived, Wei Qunshan presided over the meeting.

The opening remarks were brief, without mentioning last night's mistakes, and he went straight into talking about the general situation of yesterday's case.

After Wei Qunshan finished speaking, he looked at Zhao Chunlai, who was sitting against the wall. He was dozing with his head down.

The apprentice pushed him and he woke up, then stood up and asked, "The body has been autopsied and the report has been handed over to you. What? You still want me to speak?" Wei Qunshan nodded: "Director Zhao, you should speak."

Zhao Chunlai is old and has reached retirement age. He knows very well what the director is planning. It is all because of the forensic report.

So, Zhao Chunlai unscrewed the thermos cup, took a sip of strong tea, and said slowly: "The body... No, the victim's age is between 158 and years old, no more than years old! He is meters tall and weighs kilograms, which is obese.

There were purple bruises on the inside of the thighs and knees, presumably from an attack before being kidnapped.

After inspection and comparison, the shape of the scars should have been caused by a baseball bat or an iron pipe... Judging from the bruises, the attack should have taken place a week ago..."

As Luo Rui listened to his story, he pictured the scene in his mind.

Because he had been in the training room every day for the past two months, studying how to kill people, the damage to his thighs and knees was easy to judge.

The killer must have attacked from behind, hitting the victim's thigh with the murder weapon, then stepped forward and hit the knee again, forcing the victim to kneel down and then subduing him.

But it is quite difficult to subdue a man weighing 158 kilograms, or pounds.

And where was the kidnapping? When? Are there any witnesses? And so on, all of these are clues...

Zhao Chunlai paused and continued, "Other than that, the victim had no external injuries. However, when the gear saw blade started... the victim was already dead!"

already dead?

As soon as these words were spoken, there was an immediate commotion in the conference room. The detectives looked at each other with their eyes wide open.

Luo Rui was so shocked that he was speechless. He originally thought that the young policeman accidentally touched the switch, which led to the victim's death...

To the extent that, he was like all the other detectives, feeling guilty and sad, and couldn't muster up any energy the whole day.

The forensic report came out a long time ago, but few people have seen it because Zhao Chunlai submitted it directly to Wei Qunshan.

At this time, Zhao Chunlai blinked and glanced at Wei Qunshan out of the corner of his eye. This old fox asked him to say this, obviously for him to provide evidence. Although his name, Zhao Chunlai, was signed on the forensic report, the words spoken from his mouth were more authoritative.

After all, Zhao Chunlai has a high prestige and has experience in dissecting 8,000 corpses. No one would question his statement.

Besides, with the city bureau's forensic doctor cooperating in the autopsy, there is definitely no foul play involved.

But is there something fishy going on?

Who knows?
At least, everyone believed that Zhao Chunlai would not ruin his reputation in his later years.

"How did he die?" everyone asked, and their mood improved a little.

Zhao Chunlai answered word by word: "Starved to death!"

starve?

The detectives opened their eyes wide again, somewhat incredulous.

Luo Rui was also confused, meaning that the murderer had no intention of letting the victim go.

Whether the guillotine falls or not, whether the police accidentally flip the switch or not, the victim will die.

From what Zhao Chunlai said, the victim’s scars were inflicted a week ago, which means the murderer may have tied him up a week ago, and then the murderer starved the victim for a whole week, and when the police arrived, he was starved to death?

Wei Qunshan quickly shouted, "Be quiet, everyone, stop arguing, and wait for Director Zhao to finish what he has to say!"

Suddenly, the conference room fell silent.

Zhao Chunlai continued, "The victim's stomach was empty, and his lips were chapped and his throat was dry. He probably hadn't drunk any water for a long time. So his specific time of death was between 1 and 3 this morning, and it was not caused by the gear saw blade. That's all!"

After saying that, Zhao Chunlai sat down in the chair, looking like he was ready to continue dozing off.

Zhao Chunlai's speech swept away the previous situation. The criminal police were no longer depressed and the guilt in their hearts disappeared.

Cai Xiaojing and Du Feng, neither of whom participated in last night's operation, breathed a sigh of relief when they heard this.

Only Zhao Ming, who had just rushed back, had a blank expression on his face, with deep worry hidden in his eyes.

He glanced at his father and found that he was also looking at him.

The father and son looked at each other for a long time, and finally Zhao Chunlai looked away.

There was no report on the on-site investigation of the crime scene, and Zhao Ming was called to the conference room before he could do it.

When it was his turn to speak, he had to dictate, but no matter what he said, it was always "estimated, possible".

After all, technical detectives let the physical evidence speak for itself rather than just making empty statements.

However, there are a few points that are certain and do not require in-depth investigation!
After preliminary investigation, it was found that there was more than one power switch connected to the gear saw blade. In addition to the one on the ground, there was another one under the victim!
This switch has been precisely designed and is always pressed by the victim's body. As long as the victim twists slightly or lifts his body slightly, the red button under him will automatically rise up and the gear saw blade embedded under the table will start.

The victim will be disemboweled in an instant!
Hearing this, not only the criminal police in the conference room, but even Zhu Yong who had been silent and several first-level police inspectors from the provincial department frowned.

How much fear and despair did the victim face at the time?

There is a guillotine hanging on the ceiling that may fall at any time. As long as the rope is burned by the flames, your head and body will be separated immediately!
There are also extremely sharp gear saw blades hidden under the body. As long as the body moves slightly, the saw blades will immediately cut itself in half.

Moreover, within a week, the victim had not taken a drop of water, his body was extremely weak, and he was on the verge of death.

He could only watch himself die!

In extreme despair, he starved to death!
If the young policeman had not accidentally touched the power switch at that time, when rescuing the victim later, he might have triggered the red button under the victim, which would have caused the tragedy!
It can be said that it is impossible to guard against!
How deep is the hatred between the murderer and the victim?
The police in the entire Haidong Province have never encountered such a murderer.

Unlike the female corpse in the cement pipe, this time the murderer committed the crime after careful planning, and each move was linked to the next!
Luo Rui frowned, his mind working rapidly, he felt that the murderer was too smart and must not be an ordinary person.

In the first case, he delivered the USB flash drive containing the recorded video to the reporting mailbox of the Municipal Bureau. He expected that the people in the Municipal Bureau would not discover the video at the first time, so it was relatively simple to design the death of the female victim, but the means were cruel!

For the next ten days or so, the murderer must have been hiding in the dark and observing the police's every move. His plans and killings did not attract the police's attention, so he planned a second case.

This time, he delivered the USB flash drive containing the recorded video to the reporting mailbox of the Haijiang Branch. He must have checked it out in advance and knew that the branch handled cases rigorously and had a correct style of work, so the second time he committed the crime, he used almost all the means he could, as if he was playing a high IQ game, challenging the criminal police of the Haijiang Division!

Who is this person?
What kind of deep hatred existed between him and the victim?
All of this needs to be investigated urgently.

Before Zhao Ming finished speaking, he opened the investigation box at his feet, took out a white evidence bag from it, and then showed it to everyone.

"I just found this. It's hidden in the corner of the ceiling. It's very secretive!"

Wei Qunshan opened his eyes wide and quickly stood up from his chair, as did Zhu Yong and other leaders.

Because inside the evidence bag was a small hidden surveillance device.

Zhao Ming said: "When I found it, its light was still on. I didn't find the power supply system, so the school had lost power long ago. Moreover, this thing is not a domestic product, it may be a high-end device purchased from abroad!"

Wei Qunshan didn't understand this and asked hurriedly, "You mean our actions last night were all filmed?"

Zhao Ming nodded: "It's very likely!"

This heavy hammer hit everyone present, causing their slightly relaxed mood to immediately tense up again.

The murderer installed hidden surveillance at the crime scene, which means that the murderer saw everything that happened last night.

Including the "death" of the victim, whether he starved to death or not, as soon as the video is released, it will immediately cause an uproar.

The meeting room was in complete silence and no one dared to speak.

Wei Qunshan was stunned and felt a chill in his heart.

From last night, when Cai Xiaojing received the USB flash drive, until now, in one day and one night, the case has been handled extremely badly, it can be said to be a complete failure, with many twists and turns, continuous accidents and reversals, which constantly irritate everyone's nerves.

Zhu Yong and several first-level police inspectors from the provincial department thought that although the case was difficult, it should not be difficult to solve. But now, after listening to the analysis of the case, they all shook their heads.

But no matter what, the case must be followed up and the murderer must be caught!

The meeting could no longer proceed, and Wei Qunshan stopped asking the various groups about their investigation progress and instead asked them to report to him privately.

He couldn't let all the detectives know the details of the case, so as not to shake their morale.
After the meeting was dissolved, Wei Qunshan, Zhu Yong and several others immediately set out for the provincial department to set up a special task force to jointly handle the case.

After walking out of the meeting room, Luo Rui immediately called Du Feng.

"Captain Du, has the suspect who was caught delivering the USB flash drive been caught?"

Du Feng replied: "He is not the murderer. I interrogated him for several hours without any results. He said... No, he pointed out that a stranger asked him to do it. I have to go to the city police station to find a portrait artist and a sign language expert."

Luo Rui had already thought of this. The murderer was so cunning that it was impossible for him to leave any trace under the surveillance.

But Du Feng wants to find a sign language expert? What does that mean?
Before he could ask, Du Feng sighed deeply and explained, "The suspect we caught is a deaf-mute and illiterate. He can only gesture with his hands."

Luo Rui opened his eyes wide. Why would the murderer choose such a person to do the job?
"Could it be..."

Du Feng nodded: "This murderer not only has strong anti-detection capabilities, but also has a very high IQ. He is a cement worker, an electrician, and knows high-tech equipment. He is also very strong. After all, the second victim weighed nearly 300 kilograms. After he subdued the second victim, I was very puzzled as to how he took the person away. In addition, the murderer also knows sign language!
Luo Rui, I have never encountered such a murderer since I joined the police force. We are fighting a tough battle now!
In the past, when we handled homicide cases, the murderers would hide the bodies after the crime happened and hide from place to place for fear of being caught by the police. But now, this murderer is not only not afraid of us police officers, but he is facing us and challenging us!
Damn it, don't let me catch him, or I'll drown him in the toilet!"

Du Feng exhaled and walked downstairs to the interrogation room.

Luo Rui remained silent and stood where he was.

It wasn't until Cai Xiaojing, Chu Yang and Su Mingyuan came running over that he came to his senses.

Cai Xiaojing said: "Luo Rui, Captain Zhu and Director Wei just ordered that our criminal team of four will investigate this serial murder case alone and will not work together with the special investigation team that will be established later!"

Luo Rui looked at Chu Yang and Su Mingyuan. Both of them had serious expressions and were eager to try.

He nodded solemnly: "Okay, let's go somewhere first!"

Chu Yang immediately asked: "Where are we going?"

Luo Rui's pupils shrank and he replied, "Gun depot!"

(End of this chapter)