Phi-Fic Chapter 1286 Begins Investigation and Visits in the Surrounding Area
Chapter 1286 Begins Investigation and Visits in the Surrounding Area
Xiao Yang continued: "In addition, the soil on the shovel and the soil in the pit have the same composition, and there is also a smell of gasoline, just like the smell we smelled in the soil before. This indicates that the suspect may have been in contact with gasoline, such as working in a car repair or gas station job."
The two men put the shovels into the evidence bag and expanded their investigation around the pit. About 10 meters away from the pit, they found a shallow wheel mark. The mark was about 10 centimeters wide and 50 centimeters apart, which was about the size of an electric tricycle wheel. The mark was covered with fresh soil and extended in the same direction as the footprints, both pointing to the main gate of the park down the mountain.
“The suspect most likely used an electric tricycle to transport the body here!” Xiao Yang analyzed. “Electric tricycles are small and easy to drive on park paths, and they are not easy to attract attention. The tire tracks and footprints are in the same direction, which means that the suspect first used the vehicle to transport the body to the vicinity of the bushes, then dug a hole to bury the body, and finally left on foot, leaving behind footprints and cigarette butts.”
At noon, the initial on-site investigation concluded. Xiao Yang and Xiao Sun collected samples such as footprints, cigarette butts, shovels, and tire tracks, preparing to take them back to the Criminal Investigation Detachment for further analysis; Xiao Wang continued to question Deng Guojun to confirm if any details had been missed, while also arranging for team members to conduct interviews around the park to find more witnesses.
Standing beside the police cordon, Li Ming looked at the pit in front of him. He knew that the investigation into this burial case in Beishan Park had only just begun. Who was the deceased? Why did the suspect bury the body in the bushes in the park? Who was the suspicious person in the black jacket? These questions needed to be answered by examining the traces at the scene and conducting further investigations. But he firmly believed that with meticulous examination and patient investigation, the truth of the case would eventually be revealed, and justice would not be denied.
Before leaving the park, Li Ming told his team members, "Xiao Yang and Xiao Sun, go back and analyze the samples as soon as possible, especially comparing the fingerprints on the shovel with the tire tracks; Xiao Wang, continue to monitor the surveillance footage and investigate witnesses, focusing on the suspicious person in the black jacket; the rest of you stay around the park and register the electric tricycles that have recently entered and exited the park, checking for vehicles that match the tire tracks. We must find the suspect as soon as possible, identify the deceased, and give the deceased and his family an explanation."
The team members responded in unison: "Yes!"
The police car slowly drove away from Beishan Park. The sun was already high overhead, shining through the car windows onto the officers' faces. Although the case was still full of mysteries, everyone's eyes were filled with determination. They knew that as long as they followed the clues left at the scene, the murderer hiding in the darkness would eventually be brought to justice.
At 12:30 PM, after the initial on-site investigation of Beishan Park, Xiao Wang and two team members headed straight to the park management office. "We need to retrieve surveillance footage from the park and its surrounding area over the past week, especially from the back mountain path, the main entrance, and the winding mountain road. We need to focus on the footage from 2 PM to 4 PM yesterday and from 7 AM to 10 AM this morning," Xiao Wang said urgently, handing his police ID to the management office director. "Also, could you please provide a distribution table of all the surveillance equipment in the park? We need to confirm which equipment is functioning properly."
The director of the management office didn't dare to delay and immediately instructed the staff to turn on the computers in the monitoring room. The monitoring room was filled with monitors, the screens divided into dozens of small windows, displaying the situation in various areas of the park in real time. "Officer Wang, look," the staff member pointed to several dark windows on the screen, "the three cameras on the back mountain path were out of service last week due to a line fault and haven't been repaired yet; there's only one camera on the mountain road at the entrance, and the camera at the exit was damaged by lightning last month and hasn't been replaced; only the cameras at the main entrance and the mountaintop pavilion are working."
Xiao Wang's heart sank. The most crucial surveillance cameras—those on the back mountain path and the exit of the winding mountain road—were malfunctioning, undoubtedly increasing the difficulty of the investigation. "First, pull up all the surveillance footage we can, especially the recordings from yesterday afternoon and this morning at the main entrance, as well as the footage from the entrance of the winding mountain road." He stared at the screen, his fingers sliding across the keyboard, reviewing frame by frame the main entrance surveillance footage from 2 pm to 4 pm yesterday.
The surveillance footage showed that most of those entering and leaving the park were elderly people doing morning exercises or parents with children. Occasionally, a few young people carrying backpacks appeared, but all were dressed casually. The suspicious individuals described by Deng Guojun as "wearing black jackets, baseball caps, and carrying black backpacks" were not present. "Let's look at the surveillance footage at the entrance to the mountain road," Xiao Wang switched the view. The footage at the entrance to the mountain road was somewhat blurry, but the general outlines of vehicles entering and leaving were visible. From 2 PM to 4 PM yesterday, only three private cars, two electric bikes, and one electric tricycle passed through the entrance. The driver of the electric tricycle was wearing a helmet and a blue raincoat, making his face unclear. The cargo bed was covered with a black tarpaulin, making it impossible to determine if it was carrying anything.
"There's something wrong with this electric tricycle!" Team member Xiao Li pointed at the screen. "Yesterday afternoon the weather was fine, it didn't rain, but he was wearing a raincoat and covered with a tarpaulin. It's very suspicious!" Xiao Wang nodded and asked the staff to zoom in on the screenshot of the electric tricycle and carefully observe the outline of the cargo bed: "The shape under the tarpaulin looks like there's a bulge, maybe it's carrying a corpse or a shovel, but the image is too blurry to confirm. Check the license plate number of this electric tricycle, can we see it clearly through the surveillance footage?"
The staff repeatedly zoomed in on the footage, then shook their heads helplessly: "The license plate was partially obscured by a tarpaulin; we could only see the last two digits, '36,' the rest was illegible. Furthermore, the surveillance camera at the exit of the mountain road was broken, so we don't know which direction the car ultimately went."
Next, we retrieved the surveillance footage from this morning. In the footage from the main entrance, Deng Guojun entered the park with Dahuang at 7:15 a.m. and hurriedly ran out of the park at 9:05 a.m. During this time, most of the people entering and leaving were elderly people who regularly exercised in the morning, and there were no suspicious persons. In the surveillance footage at the entrance of the mountain road, only a few private cars passed by this morning, and the electric tricycle from yesterday was not seen.
“It seems we can’t find any more clues from the surveillance footage for now.” Xiao Wang turned off the monitor and rubbed his temples. “We’ll go around the park and interview the elderly people who often come here for morning exercise and strolls, as well as the shop owners on the roadside. We’ll ask them if they have seen any suspicious people wearing black jackets and baseball caps recently, or if they have seen that electric tricycle with the license plate ending in '36'.”
After leaving the management office, Xiao Wang led his team to visit the streets surrounding the park.