Chapter 231: Chapter 231

The Criminal Investigation Team of Haizhou City does not have a sterile laboratory; in fact, there isn't such a laboratory in the entire province.

Fortunately, Lu Chuan doesn't need a sterile environment to cultivate these larvae; ordinary petri dishes will suffice.

As Shen Yan began the autopsy, the frontline detectives were also working intensely on the investigation.

Ren Qiang and his team braved the heavy rain, starting from where the body was found and tracing upstream for the initial location of the body.

"The nearby police stations have all been informed, and there haven't been any new missing persons cases recently."

Upon discovering an unidentified corpse, detectives typically start by checking for local missing persons.

Based on the degree of the body's decomposition, the time of death can be preliminarily estimated to be around a month ago.

Zhang Hui focused on examining missing persons reports from this period.

Comparing details like gender, height, and clothing, there were no matches.

"Start with the clothes the deceased was wearing."

Qin Yong had already received the preliminary crime scene investigation results about the clothing of the corpse.

"The size of the deceased's underwear distinctly differs from their physique, and this brand of underwear is relatively expensive. There shouldn't be many shops selling it in Haizhou City. Check it out to see if anything comes up."

It's a slim lead, but it might still reveal something with further investigation.

After all, not many people can afford bras costing over a thousand yuan each.

"What does the salvage team say?"

After discovering the corpse, Ren Qiang immediately contacted their regular salvage team.

"Old Wu's team sent someone into the water; however, the river's water level has surged, and the underwater conditions are extremely complex. Coupled with the ongoing rain, they estimate that even if they dive, finding anything is unlikely."

Wu Jingzhong is an expert in underwater salvage and has worked with the Criminal Investigation Team for years. If he says that, it's indeed challenging to find anything.

Qin Yong pondered for a moment and shook his head, "No, once the rain stops, we should still have Old Wu's team dive in."

"The deceased clearly washed down from upstream, and one shoe is missing; it's possible other items came down with the body."

"If necessary, we should expand the search area."

Ren Qiang nodded; such strategic decisions could only be made by someone like Qin Yong in the team.

"Alright, I'll call him after the meeting; the weather forecast said the rain would stop by morning, so the hydrological conditions should be less complicated and diving safer then."

"Also, Liu Guodong just called; the dagger found in the black plastic bag at the scene is confirmed to be the murder weapon."

Yang Sen and Old Bai had already discovered bloodstains matching the victim's blood type on the dagger.

Although the severe decomposition made comparing the wounds to the dagger challenging, the matching blood type shows it was a stab wound.

The proximity of the discovery sites supports the conclusion that the dagger is indeed the murder weapon.

"Are there fingerprints?"

Solving a murder case requires identifying several crucial factors.

Firstly, the victim's identity, the time and cause of death, and the murder weapon.

Now that the second and third factors are identified, only the first remains.

"No fingerprints; Lu Chuan already checked, and the handle was carefully wiped clean, leaving no traces."

"However, there is something illogical."

Ren Qiang stood up and drew two parallel lines on the whiteboard.

"This is where the body was found, on the bank of the Bailan River, with the body face down on the bank at the time."

Ren Qiang drew another straight line: "This is where Yang Sen found the murder weapon, measured to be over fifty meters from the body, to be precise, fifty-three point eight meters."

"Bloodstains matching the decomposing body's blood type were extracted from the dagger, and the chest wound was also caused by a sharp weapon."

"Based on current information, it can be concluded that this is indeed the murder weapon."

Ren Qiang paused and pointed to the straight line he drew, "But the issue is that the distance between the black plastic bag containing the dagger and the corpse is over fifty meters."

"So, how did the murder weapon end up in that location?"

"Was it washed by the river?"

Ren Qiang shook his head, "The section of Bailan River where the body was found, the furthest the overflowing river reached into the land was twenty meters."

"In other words, the plastic bag containing the murder weapon could not have been washed there by the river."

"So how did this murder weapon get there?"

"Also," Ren Qiang picked up a photo, "this is the identification report from the crime scene investigation."

"There wasn't enough blood on the dagger for testing initially; Yang Sen extracted enough blood from inside the scabbard."

"Considering the fingerprints on the handle were deliberately wiped clean, it indicates that the person handling the handle also wiped the blade."

"The bloodstains remained because they couldn't access the inside of the scabbard or the perpetrator forgot to clean it."

This is easy to understand.

After murdering, the perpetrator returned the dagger to the scabbard and wiped it before discarding it.

However, bloodstains remained inside the scabbard.

Qin Yong understood what Ren Qiang was implying.

But what does this imply?

The body drifted downriver, but the murder weapon was discarded?

"I think there are two possibilities."

"First, the perpetrator abandoned the weapon; after the murder, the body was left to decompose, and the weapon was taken from the scene and discarded where it was found."

"Recently, the body was accidentally washed into the river due to the heavy rain, coincidentally being pushed to the riverbank where the perpetrator discarded the weapon."

"You mean, the weapon was there first, and later the body came by accident?"

"Right, the perpetrator might have casually discarded the weapon, and the body was coincidentally washed to Bailan River due to rain."

"What's the second possibility?"

Ren Qiang thought for a moment and shook his head again, "The perpetrator intentionally left the weapon near the body to taunt us?"

Qin Yong had dealt with various types of perpetrators over the years.

There are indeed some who think they are clever and cautious, purposely leaving clues to play cat-and-mouse with the police.

"Yes, to taunt us. After the murder, the perpetrator allowed the body to rot, and upon seeing the body washed away by the river, followed it and left the weapon at the scene."

"Of course, there is a time gap, and the weapon was discarded before the flood patrol arrived."

"Anyone with ideas, please share."

"The first possibility, while coincidental, isn't impossible, but the second possibility… why taunt the police?"

"Right, I agree with Old Song; taunting is usually found in serial cases."

"Over the years, haven't we come across one or two such cases?"