Chapter 238: Chapter 238

"After death, within a few minutes, even just a few minutes, fly eggs can be laid."

Liu Guodong paused and explained.

Of course, Qin Yong knew this, but he still asked. Liu Guodong naturally understood what he meant and continued, "So, that’s roughly the time range. The time of death should only be earlier than this, not later."

After all, if the murder happened in a closed indoor environment without flies, there would be no eggs laid.

So, don’t speak too firmly, leave some room for flexibility.

"Do you have any suggestions?"

This was a lead Qin Yong hadn’t thought of at all.

Qin Yong had encountered cases where the body was frozen and then thawed.

The muscles of the frozen body would have significant water retention, and traces of freezing could be found in the internal organs during autopsy.

However, the decomposed body on the bank of the Bailan River showed no signs of freezing in the autopsy.

As for cold storage...

This was something he hadn’t seen before.

"Our suggestion is to conduct a sweep around the cold storage facilities found near the body."

Liu Guodong’s suggestion was discussed among several people in the Crime Scene Investigation office.

Although Lu Chuan discovered traces of cold storage on the body, it didn’t provide substantial help in solving the case.

However, wanting to cold store an entire body for over twenty days is certainly not something a regular family can do.

"Three years ago, in the Happy Garden case, the murderer froze the body in a home freezer."

Qin Yong remembered this case mentioned by Liu Guodong very well.

The murderer was the victim’s wife, who, due to domestic violence, gambling issues with the victim, killed her husband by accident during a conflict after he got drunk.

Later, she kept the body in the freezer for over a year, and no one discovered it.

"Home freezers don’t have cold storage functions, and the time the body was stored by the murderer was around twenty-five days."

"Without professional equipment for such a long time, the body should have decomposed earlier."

"This is indeed a lead..."

"I’ll arrange for Ren Qiang and his team to focus on the investigation."

Shuntian Logistics is a logistics company that has recently risen in Haizhou City.

The company is engaged in cold chain logistics transportation.

Compared to the past, the development of cold chain logistics can be described as an explosion.

In the past, transporting frozen goods was only feasible in winter.

In the south, due to the higher temperatures, even winter did not bring below-zero temperatures, making frozen goods transportation a challenge.

Cold chain logistics transportation emerged in response.

Shuntian Logistics’ transit cold storage is located by the Bailan River.

Zhang Xiao came to this cold storage once during the neighborhood investigation, but didn’t go inside.

Now, with orders from Ren Qiang’s side, a thorough search of the twelve cold storages around the Bailan River was required, so he came again.

The security guard at the gate, named Wang Zhi, in his fifties, was a local villager.

Chen Dong, the police officer from the nearby precinct, had been assisting Zhang Xiao in the investigation recently.

"Old Wang, open the gate, we need to search the cold storage here."

Wang Zhi didn’t doubt their intent, nor did he ask to see any search warrant.

The locals used to make their living farming when they were young, and as they got older, they weren’t very educated, only knowing a few words.

In recent years, with quick local development, lands in the village were uniformly contracted, so Wang Zhi stopped farming.

Chen Dong’s police uniform worked well without needing any certification, especially since Wang Zhi often relied on Chen Dong’s help for things like registering his grandson’s household.

The township police station’s registration officer was hard to deal with; with Chen Dong’s help, things went smoother.

"Yes, orders from above, every cold storage needs to be checked."

"Oh, okay, wait a moment, I’ll go inside and get the remote control."

In just a few breaths, the barrier gate lifted, and the two vehicles drove into the cold storage courtyard.

"Old Wang, does your cold storage have a cold storage area?"

Zhang Xiao had already visited three cold storages, two were logistics companies, one was a food factory.

But these three only had freezing compartments, no low-temperature storage rooms.

This didn’t align with the lead found by the Crime Scene Investigation team.

Vehicles came and went at the cold storage entrance, loading and unloading goods.

Zhang Xiao glanced around, seeing the same bustling scene from his last visit.

"Yes, yes, it was built new last year, behind the main cold storage."

Zhang Xiao felt a slight surge of enthusiasm.

Leads in the Bailan River decomposed body case were dwindling; with an entire week of overtime, front-line detectives were exhausted.

Wang Zhi’s response was the best news Zhang Xiao had heard in days.

But Zhang Xiao didn’t rashly rush to the cold storage area.

Instead, he stepped through the main cold storage door.

Last time, he only had a brief look, didn’t enter inside the cold storage.

He just got some information from Wang Zhi, asking if there had been any abnormalities recently, or if any local residents were reported missing.

This time, it was going to be a thorough examination.

"How many vehicles go in and out of this cold storage daily?"

This cold storage of Shuntian Logistics was built three years ago, relatively advanced.

The entire facility can accommodate large-scale cold chain transportation vehicles moving in and out, and inside, there are individual cold storage area exits with workers using forklifts to handle goods.

"Not sure, but at least forty to fifty, and in summer, during peak times, there are over a hundred daily."

Wang Zhi, since the cold storage was built, has been guarding its gate, familiar with many things.

"Let’s take a look inside."

"Alright, let me report to the on-duty officer, I can’t go inside myself, and I don’t have a coat."

The cold storage has sub-zero temperatures, and wearing just a shirt won’t do.

And Wang Zhi is merely a security guard, knowing a lot but not having the authority to lead two police officers to search the entire facility.

Pretty soon, a crew-cutted man jogged over with a smile.

"Officers, my apologies for not welcoming you sooner."

"This is our Manager, Li Biao."

"Manager Li, we’re from the Haizhou City Criminal Investigation Team, here to search the cold storage; here is the warrant."

Chen Dong didn’t know Li Biao and presented his credentials in an official manner.

The other party didn’t approach to check, just smiled even more warmly.

"No worries, no worries, rest assured, we’re here to cooperate fully, cooperate fully!"

"Well, where shall we start?"

"Let’s check each cold storage compartment."

"Alright, Old Wang, go to Sun and get three coats. I’ll accompany the officers personally."

The Bailan River case was widely known, and people working nearby had heard of it.

"Officers, your visit... Is it about the body at the riverbank?"

"Why, do you have any leads?"

Zhang Xiao observed carefully, watching every storage section closely.

"No, no," Li Biao quickly waved his hands, "just curious to find out."