I'm not a genius detective

Chapter 79 Police dispatch to the funeral home

It's hard not to be tempted when a seven-year-old child is alone in the middle of nowhere with a ginseng worth tens of thousands of yuan.

Moreover, the child was injured while resisting.

Unfortunately, even if the wild ginseng is recovered, it cannot belong to the child because it is a nationally protected plant, and it is prohibited for individuals to dig it up and sell it. Any form of individual digging and sale is illegal.

The case involved robbery, a young victim, injuries to the victim, and the harvesting and sale of nationally protected plants. After a preliminary investigation by the local police station yielded no results, the case was reported to the Criminal Investigation Brigade of the branch bureau.

The criminal investigation team acted swiftly, solving the case within a few days.

After listening to Ji Bowei's report, Feng Yao nodded slightly, remained silent, and looked somewhat lost in thought.

Ji Bowei also fell silent, and the office became very quiet for a moment.

After a long while, Ji Bowen spoke up: "Captain Feng, are you thinking about that child?"

Feng Yao's gaze flickered violently. He picked up the cigarette pack on the table, opened it, and lit a cigarette.

As the smoke rose, Ji Bowei felt a sense of desolation as he looked at Feng Yao.

Feng Yao has lost much of his sharpness and edge now, but he was glorious and shone brightly in his youth.

Ji Bowen knew very well that Feng Yao hadn't gotten his position as captain of the criminal investigation team by chance.

The other party once chased the murderer for thirty miles in a torrential rain, and even when his legs were covered in mud and he lost feeling, he did not slow down. In the end, he cornered the suspect in an abandoned brick kiln.

He once faced a robber and murderer, engaging in close combat in a narrow stairwell. Despite the cold sweat streaming down Feng Yao's young face, he did not back down an inch and ultimately brought the suspect to justice at the cost of injury.

At the celebration banquet, Feng Yao laughed heartily and was in high spirits.

Back then, Feng Yao had inexhaustible energy and boundless enthusiasm; his bright eyes seemed to illuminate every dark corner of his jurisdiction.

A hero doesn't dwell on past glories; as time passes and age increases, the fire of yesteryear gradually cools.

Undeniably, Feng Yao is a highly qualified criminal investigator.

Ji Bowei understood this, which is why he always maintained respect for him, even though the other party was about to be transferred to another position.

"Twelve years, hasn't it?" Feng Yao asked, his cigarette half-burnt.

“Yes.” Ji Bowei nodded. “It’s been twelve years.”

Twelve years ago, a seven-year-old child was murdered in the wild, stabbed six times all over his body, almost every stab to a vital organ. Feng Yao investigated such a heinous case for a long time.

The body was found at a dumping site, while the crime scene was several kilometers away and has been located.

To date, the suspect remains at large.

There are two main clues:
First, the victim strongly resisted the murderer's attack, and DNA was found under his fingernails; it was the murderer's DNA, and he was male.

Although DNA testing technology was already being used in criminal investigations at that time, it was not very mature, the consumables were expensive, and the establishment of DNA databases was just beginning.

With so many men in Qingchang, it's impossible to complete the comparison for all of them, and the murderer may not even be from Qingchang.

Twelve years have passed, and now this clue can only be used as final evidence to close the case; it is difficult to use it to find the suspect.

Unless, by some stroke of luck in the future, a match is made with the DNA of the suspect or a relative of the suspect, for example, if the suspect or a relative of the suspect is arrested for illegal or criminal activities and their DNA is entered into the system.

Secondly, within a year of the incident, the public security authorities conducted a thorough search of the area where the body was dumped and the surrounding area within dozens of kilometers, eventually finding a tomb robbery hole and discovering an ancient tomb.

The tomb had been robbed, or rather, it had just been robbed.

Investigators speculate that it is possible the tomb raiders happened to run into the victim when they were leaving, and killed him to cover their tracks for fear of being exposed.

The location of the tunnel was not particularly far from the crime scene.

Feng Yao investigated this lead for a long time, meeting with hundreds of convicted tomb raiders over the years. He even went so far as to dismantle several locations where stolen cultural relics were sold, but ultimately came up empty-handed.

In terms of interpersonal relationships, the victim's family had no enemies, and at the time, Feng Yao judged that the case was most likely a murder to cover up the crime.

Of course, we cannot rule out the possibility of a passionate murder committed by a stranger with unclear motives, which would make the case even more difficult.

If a stranger randomly stabs someone to death in the wild and runs away, leaving only their DNA, how can the investigation proceed if the suspect is careful to hide and not leave their DNA information anywhere?

The victim in this robbery was also seven years old. Ji Bowei knew that Feng Yao was thinking of the child who had been killed.

Since we're on the topic of this case, Ji Bowen added a few more words: "Judging from the footprints, there are at least two suspects. Captain Feng's judgment is correct; it's very likely that the tomb raiders did it."

The reason why they couldn't be found in any direction afterward must be because the suspect went into hiding after the murder. They dared not show themselves rashly, nor dared they dispose of the stolen goods in a short time; the country is so big, they could go anywhere.

Feng Yao sighed and said, "I wonder if I'll be able to see what the murderer looks like before I retire. Just seeing him is enough."

Ji Bowei didn't know how to respond.

That case really depends on luck. If the suspect hides in some remote corner and lives in isolation, the police will be unable to find him without new clues.

"Forget it, let's not talk about it anymore." Feng Yao smoked his cigarette quickly and stubbed it out in the ashtray. "Oh, by the way, there's something. The SWAT team invited Han Ling to practice shooting, and Director Zhao agreed. If you don't see Han Ling in your spare time, don't worry about it."

Ji Bowei nodded: "Okay, I understand."

He wasn't surprised. With Han Ling's excellent marksmanship, the SWAT team must be envious. Since they couldn't recruit him, they would use other methods, which was perfectly normal.

Having an additional skill and getting closer to the special police unit is not a bad thing for Han Ling.

"What case is Han Ling investigating now?" Feng Yao asked. Compared to Fang Zhou, he was now prioritizing Han Ling, showing a hint of fickleness.

Ji Bowei replied, "I've assigned a small case. The person who reported it came directly to the branch office. I don't know the specifics. Just wait for his call. He'll contact Fangzhou if there are any problems."

Feng Yao simply said "oh" and didn't ask any further questions.

The cases handled by the branch office mainly come from the secondary triage of the police stations, but some people will also bypass the police stations and come directly to the branch office to report the crime. Whether or not to accept the report depends on the situation.

In terms of trivial matters, the branch office is sometimes no less busy than the police station, and the cases they handle are equally varied.

Han Ling had just arrived at the branch office, and Tong Feng had just been promoted. Regardless of whether the case met the branch office's filing criteria, it would be good for the two newcomers to handle it and gain experience.

When there are no major cases, the criminal police officers in the branch office have a relatively high degree of independence and freedom under the command of their superiors.

……

It takes more than two hours to get from the branch office to Huaiyan Town; it's quite far.

This was the first time the two of them had gone out on a call together to handle a new case on their own. Tong Feng knew that Han Ling had been working at the police station for a year and was more experienced, so they started chatting on the way.

On the surface, this case should be a prank, but the suspicious points mentioned by the complainant need to be investigated further.

To be fair, it's indeed unlikely that a healthy college student would suddenly fall ill and die.

"The person who reported the case said that Cao Kexuan might not be dead. Do you believe it?" Tong Feng asked half-jokingly.

Han Ling looked out the window at the scenery; the vehicles were gradually leaving the city, and the buildings were starting to decrease: "Letter."

Tong Feng: "Huh? Seriously? Don't scare me."

Since the Hou Jiarou case, he has inexplicably developed a sense of trust in Han Ling, and he is now less inclined to take some jokes seriously.

Han Ling said, "Theoretically speaking, anything is possible, isn't it?"

Tong Feng: "You're being too theoretical. Do you think Cao Kexuan's parents wouldn't know whether he's dead or not? Do you think the person who reported him wouldn't recognize him? You...you be normal, let's talk seriously."

Han Ling leaned back in the passenger seat and glanced at Tong Feng: "If things were normal, he should really be dead. The person who reported him has been overthinking things these past few days."

Tong Feng was relieved: "Then all that's left is the death certificate and sending prank text messages. Stealing the phone and maliciously threatening the deceased's girlfriend are both illegal acts."

Han Ling: "Why did someone steal Cao Kexuan's phone on the day of Cao Kexuan's funeral to send a text message to the person who reported the incident? Was it just to scare them? Were they that idle?"

Tong Feng said, "Didn't the person who called the police say that many people in the village are jealous that the Cao family produced a college student, and that this college student even found a girlfriend from the city?"

Now that Cao Kexuan is dead, he's lost everything. Aren't some villagers secretly gloating? Sending more text messages to scare him, just to vent their anger—they're really out of their minds.

During the conversation, the police car drove away from the city.

Two hours later, they arrived at Huaiyan Town, and Tong Feng drove into the funeral home.

At this moment, a staff member in a room on the second floor of the funeral home subconsciously turned his head, saw the police car through the glass, his expression changed, and he quickly got up and left, going to the deputy director's office.

"Brother Sun! The police are here!" the man with a birthmark on his chin said urgently, his voice very low.

A fat man sat at the desk, wearing a loose suit and with a round face.

Sun Jinbao is the deputy director of the Huaiyan Town Funeral Home.

"Police?" Sun Jinbao jumped, seemingly startled as well. "Which police are they? From town?"

Man: "Definitely not! I've seen police cars in town, they look like they come from the city."

In the city?!

Sun Jinbao got up and walked out. After going downstairs, he ran into Han Ling and Tong Feng who were coming in.

"Hello, hello." Sun Jinbao reacted quickly, immediately putting on a smile and extending his hand. "I am the deputy director of the funeral home, my surname is Sun."

Han Ling politely shook hands with the other party, then took out his identification: "Hello, Director Sun, we are criminal police officers from the Gu'an Branch. Sorry to bother you, we need the funeral home's help with something."

Sun Jinbao was very enthusiastic: "Come on, come on, let's talk in my office."

Han Ling: "Okay."

Upon arriving at the office, Sun Jinbao politely made tea for the two of them and offered them cigarettes. His busy manner, combined with his physique, was somewhat comical.

In a society based on personal connections, Han Ling needed to integrate, so she didn't stop him.

"Thank you." Han Ling took the cigarette offered by the other party. "Director Sun, please don't be so polite. We're just here to check someone's funeral certificate. We'll leave after we're done. Thank you for your help."

The death certificate for residents consists of four copies. The fourth copy is the funeral certificate. The family members bring the funeral certificate to the funeral home for cremation, and the funeral certificate is then kept by the funeral home.

The funeral certificate bears the official seal of the issuing authority.

The complainant, Zhu Yuntang, did not provide the hospital where her boyfriend died, so the two of them went directly to the funeral home to inquire and also to find out about Cao Kexuan's death, killing two birds with one stone.

"Funeral permit?" Sun Jinbao brought over the tea. "Sure, sure, whose funeral permit?"

Han Ling: "Cao Kexuan, a villager from Weijiazhuang Village."

Upon hearing Cao Kexuan's name, Sun Jinbao's hand suddenly trembled, and the cup slipped from his grasp and fell to the ground.

(End of this chapter)