Chapter 24 Where did he freeze to death?

Chapter 24 Where did he freeze to death?

Chapter 24 Where did he freeze to death?

By the time the two of them arrive at the Criminal Police Brigade, the serious crime team should be ready.

Perhaps because of the pressure from above, there are an unusually large number of police officers on duty today.

Du Yu rolled down the window of his Santana and shouted to the Panamera, "Follow me!"

Xu Yiqing gave him a thumbs up, and then the convoy set off towards the fire scene.

Du Yu explained the case to Xu Yiqing and Zhou Shi through the intercom: "The place where the crime took place is called Baxia Village, which is more than 20 kilometers away from the city. The majority of people in the village are surnamed Liu and Wang, which are the major surnames in the village."

Xu Yiqing asked: "When did the fire happen?"

Du Yu replied: "Around ten o'clock, in Baxia Village, there is a custom of setting off firecrackers to send off the gods on the morning of the seventh day of the first lunar month."

Zhou Shi raised his eyebrows slightly, as if recalling the memories of living in Jiangcheng ten years ago.

The seventh day of the first lunar month is Human Day. It is a tradition for people in Jiangcheng to set off firecrackers and eat fish salad.

After turning off the intercom, Xu Yiqing sighed: "I rarely hear the sound of firecrackers these years... These customs are also gradually being forgotten."

Zhou Shi said: "It's no wonder some people are so anxious to find out the truth when such a fire broke out for the first time in so many years since the ban on fireworks was introduced."

After a pause, as if thinking of Xu Yiqing's materialistic life, Zhou Shi continued, "But it's a good thing to have a lively New Year. People really need a moment of luxury, otherwise they will feel very depressed."

In the past, when life was poor, the Chinese New Year meant eating plenty of meat and fish, a luxury that many children looked forward to.

The pace of life is so fast nowadays that people are overwhelmed all year round, and the New Year holiday has become a luxury that adults look forward to.

Chinese people really need a lively Spring Festival.

It was the first time Xu Yiqing heard the word "extravagance" from Zhou Shi's mouth, so even though he understood what Zhou Shi meant, he still joked: "A moment of extravagance?"

Zhou Shi watched him reach out and touch the leather seat of the Panamera and smiled softly: "This is not the 'luxury' I want."

More than 20 kilometers is just a few cups of tea for a vehicle. Soon after turning from the urban-rural highway into a dirt road, a stone tablet engraved with "Baxia" came into view.

Du Yu's voice came from the intercom: "We are at the entrance of the village."

Zhou Shi thought for a moment and said, "We'll park at the door and walk in."

After getting off the car, Xu Yiqing didn't understand, so Zhou Shi explained: "I want to observe the situation in the village, maybe it will be useful."

Xu Yiqing didn't know much about living people, but analyzing criminal psychology was Zhou Shi's strong point. Since it was possible that it was homicide, he should just listen to Zhou Shi, an expert, about the details.

Baxia Village is just like many other rural villages, with some old houses and renovated small two-story buildings interspersed. The road built with funds raised by the village committee cannot be called exquisite, but it does add some luster to the facade.

Xu Yiqing noticed that there was a dilapidated house on the roadside at the entrance of the village. It was leaking wind and rain, and its wooden beams were rotten.

Some of the garbage bags scattered on the ground were embedded in the soil, and it was obvious that they had been there for a long time... It seemed that this place was used as a garbage dump by the villagers.

The only thing that seemed a little warm was the many foxtail grasses growing around the dilapidated house.

The foxtail grass sways slightly in the wind. Even though it has turned yellow in winter, it is still as tough as a reed.

Occasionally, shrill cries were heard from the village, and the closer you got to the fire scene, the clearer the cries became.

The fire brigade had already withdrawn, leaving only one fire truck to deal with the aftermath, surrounded by the wailing of the deceased's family members.

Du Yu is negotiating with the firefighters.

The house that caught fire was a two-story building with a large yard. It could be seen that it was built very grandly.

After visiting and investigating, we learned that this was the home of the village chief. The firefighters said: "The fire source was in the corner of the yard, and it was caused by the burning of the piled honeycomb coal. Because it was very close to the gate, the escape route was quickly blocked."

The fire was very serious. The big iron gate was burned black, the yard was in a mess, and the glass on the roof was covered with a layer of black carbon.

The air was filled with the unpleasant smell of burnt plastic and leather. Xu Yiqing distributed masks to the members of the task force and asked them to wear them before entering the yard.

There was a fixed line drawn with white lime on the black ground, which was where the body was lying last.

There is one in the yard, two in the main house, three in the master bedroom, and one in the second bedroom.

Du Yu pushed open the burnt house and looked inside: "Because there are more combustibles in the house, the fire is much bigger than that in the yard...but why didn't they run out when the fire just started?"

There was no corpse here, so Xu Yiqing's skills were useless and he couldn't answer. He turned his gaze to Zhou Shi and reminded her: "Watch your step."

Zhou Shi walked into the house carefully, looked around, then went back to the yard and squatted down to carefully examine the only fixed line of traces of the body that appeared in the yard.

A few hours ago, a man lay here in despair and was burned to death.

After thinking for a moment, Zhou Shi said based on the distribution of the bodies at the scene: "Because they thought the fire was controllable at first, they did not leave the yard immediately and let the fire burn, but tried to control the fire and rescue property... But after that, for some unknown reason, the fire became uncontrollable and trapped them in the house... The deceased wanted to walk through the fire in the end, but the severe pain prevented him from succeeding."

Zhou Shi touched the debris on the ground with gloves on. "These are traces left by burning cotton, which means the deceased was trying to rush out of the fire scene wearing a wet quilt, but failed for some reason. He was then caught in a dilemma and rolled on the ground trying to put out the fire, but eventually he ran out of energy and passed out. This shows that he was older and stronger than those who died in the house."

Everyone looked carefully and saw signs of friction back and forth near the white line of the corpse. Combined with Zhou Shi's words, they imagined the struggle of a dying person.

Xu Yiqing asked Du Yu about the number of the body in the yard, and confirmed Zhou Shi's statement based on the autopsy report.

"The deceased in the yard is number 3, aged . During the autopsy, there were severe burns and adhesions on the back... The cloth could no longer be separated from the skin and flesh."

He paused, suddenly thought of something, and asked Du Yu: "Where was the body numbered 7 first found?"

It is obvious that the deceased No. 7 is the key to reconstructing the fire. Everything must start from the reason why No. 7 froze to death.

"In the second bedroom." Du Yu led the two people inside.

Passing through the blackened wall and opening the door that had been burned into charcoal, Xu Yiqing and Zhou Shi saw the messy second bedroom.

Amidst the devastation, there were lines drawn in white and gray on the bed, which was only a wreckage left. The impact of black and white made the atmosphere solemn.

Du Yu saw the clue: "Dead in bed."

Xu Yiqing nodded: "No doubt about it. It is impossible for a conscious person to lie in bed during a fire."

Zhou Shi put her delicate hand on her chin and thought for a moment, then said, "I need to know if this is the first crime scene of victim No. 7... In other words, did the victim freeze to death here?"

Soon, Mr. Lin, who stayed in the Forensic Department to continue the autopsy, called and reported the complete autopsy report.

"The deceased is a female, 164 years old, 106 cm tall. According to estimates, her weight before death was between 114 catties and catties. She has been dead for more than hours. The burns on her front are very severe and cannot be restored. The burns on her back are minor. It can be concluded that she was facing up when she died."

After a pause, Lin Sheng told the key information that the task force needed.

“There were no livor mortis on the deceased’s back.”

Xu Yiqing was stunned when he heard this, and then he thought for a moment: "Lividity appears at the latest after ten hours. It is formed when blood circulation stops after death and blood accumulates along the blood vessel network. If there is no livor mortis on a body lying on its back, it means that the body has been moved."

Zhou Shi and Du Yu both understood what he meant: "This is not the first crime scene. The body numbered 7 was moved into the house by someone."

Then, finding out where victim No. 7 froze to death became the key to further solving the case!

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(End of this chapter)