The crackdown on organized crime began with the arrest of the mother-in-law.

Chapter 981 Discoveries from the On-Site Investigation

Xiao Sun found half a melted plastic bottle at the edge of the scorched earth; the twisted bottle remained in its tilted position. "The bottle opening still had the distinctive smell of evaporating gasoline." He collected the remaining liquid inside the bottle in a sealed container; "The murderer must have poured the whole bottle and started igniting it from the victim's head." However, rainwater continuously diluted the chemical components in the soil, and gas chromatography results showed that most of the volatile substances had been lost.

As dusk fell, the searchlights cast pale beams of light through the rain. Suddenly, Xiao Yang pointed to the charred corpse's left hand: "There's a reflection there!" The crowd gathered around and discovered several tiny, transparent particles embedded in the ash, refracting a rainbow-like halo under the light. "They're diamond fragments." Xiao Sun confirmed after examining them under a microscope that they were made of the same material as the bracelet on the corpse's wrist, indicating that the deceased had worn multiple pieces of jewelry.

The torrential rain showed no signs of abating, and puddles formed tiny streams on the ground, constantly swallowing any possible clues. Xiao Sun tried to make footprints with plaster casts, but the mud was too soft, and the plaster was washed away before it could harden. "All traces are disappearing rapidly," he wiped the rain from his face, his voice filled with anxiety, "We must use a drone for thermal imaging."

The drone struggled to take off in the rain, the airflow churned by its propellers dispersing the mist. On the screen, the charred scene appeared with an eerie blue-green hue, with only a few slightly warmer areas showing orange-red. "Three meters to the right of the body!" Xiao Yang suddenly pointed to the screen, "There's an abnormal temperature point!" As they dug in the rain, they only found half a burnt and deformed mobile phone, its circuit board sizzling in the rain.

"There might still be residual data on the SIM card." Xiao Sun carefully sealed the phone, but he knew that after being burned in high temperatures and soaked in rain, the chances of data recovery were extremely slim. At this moment, Xiao Wang ran over to report that of the twenty villagers he had visited, only one elderly person had heard the sound of a car engine in the early morning, but the heavy rain had masked other details.

Through the rain, Xiao Sun looked at the scene, ravaged by the rain, and suddenly noticed the wall near the charred head of the corpse—irregular black soot marks remained, spreading in a fan shape. "The flames spread from here." He marked the direction of the marks with a laser pointer. "The murderer stood near the corpse's head and started the fire, and..." He moved closer to the wall and found several tiny grayish-white particles in the grooves eroded by the rain.

"This isn't ash." He placed the particles into the sample bottle; "They're crystals of unburned oxidizer." This discovery thrilled everyone, but then a gust of wind blew in, and raindrops swept across the wall, washing away the remaining suspicious traces. Xiao Sun stared at the swaying sample bottle in his hand; those few precious crystals inside might be the key to solving this mystery of the burned body.

After the last suspicious area was examined, everyone's clothes were soaked through and their shoes were filled with mud. Xiao Sun and Xiao Yang exchanged a glance, their tired eyes filled with a hint of resentment—the downpour had destroyed too many clues.

The crime scene was deliberately destroyed by the murderer to cover up the crime, so there were already few clues. Then, the fire was compounded by torrential rain, so the clues obtained from the crime scene investigation were even fewer.

On the other hand, the timing of the rain was extremely unfortunate. If it had rained when the suspect was burning the body, it might have left more traces. However, the rain came just as the body was almost completely burned away, and some items were already damaged. Although some items were preserved, it actually made the crime scene investigation very difficult.

While Xiao Yang and Xiao Sun were conducting the on-site investigation, Xiao Wang and Xiao Zhou also split into two groups to investigate the surrounding area in an effort to confirm the identity of the deceased.

As dusk deepened, a light autumn rain drizzled down, dampening the winding paths of Wangjiagou Village. Xiao Wang and his team split into several groups, knocking on doors to visit each household. At each house, he patiently asked, "Have you seen any strangers recently? Has anything unusual happened?" Most of the time, the responses were shakes of the head and "I haven't noticed."

Xiao Zhou's visits also didn't go smoothly; the villagers either knew nothing when asked, or were in a hurry to go home because of the rain and were unwilling to talk much. But neither of them gave up and continued to travel along the muddy paths.

Xiao Wang arrived at an ordinary farmhouse and gently knocked on the weathered wooden door. "Who is it?" a woman's voice came from inside, tinged with wariness.

"We're police officers, here to find out what's going on," Xiao Wang said loudly.

The door slowly opened, and a middle-aged woman with a haggard face peeked out. Seeing Xiao Wang's police uniform, a glimmer of hope flashed in her eyes, quickly replaced by worry. "Officer, please come in," she hurriedly greeted.

Xiao Wang walked into the yard and found an electric scooter parked there, with clothes drying nearby swaying gently in the rain. Inside the house, the food on the table had gone cold and remained untouched.

"Sister, don't be nervous. We just wanted to ask if you've noticed anything suspicious lately, whether it's a person or an event?" Xiao Wang tried to keep her tone gentle.

The woman bit her lip, hesitated for a moment, and then her eyes suddenly reddened: "Officer, I was just about to call the police... My husband, Song Houdong, drove out yesterday and hasn't come back yet. I can't get through to him on the phone." As she spoke, tears welled up in her eyes.

Xiao Wang's heart tightened, and he quickly asked, "Don't rush, tell me slowly. What kind of work does Brother Song usually do? Did he say where he was going yesterday?"

The woman wiped away her tears and choked out, "He drives a truck and usually picks up goods in the neighborhood. Yesterday afternoon, he received a phone call saying he had an urgent job and needed to pick up goods in the west of the city, and told me not to wait for him for dinner. But by evening, I couldn't get through to him on the phone. At first, I thought he was busy, but after calling countless times, no one answered."

Xiao Wang took out his notebook and meticulously recorded: "What kind of car does Brother Song drive? What's the license plate number? Did he tell you who the person who hired him to pick up the goods is?"

"He was driving a blue Foton truck with license plate number xxxxxx. He didn't say who was looking for the cargo on the phone, only that he was in a hurry," the woman recalled. "Normally, he would let me know he was safe no matter how late it was, this was really unusual."

Just then, Xiao Wang's phone rang. It was Xiao Zhou calling. "Xiao Wang, I've done my rounds of inquiries, but haven't found anything yet. How's it going on your end?"

"I have something to report." Xiao Wang told Xiao Zhou about Song Houdong's disappearance. "Come over here first, and we'll analyze it together."