Madness of the Heart

The homicide squad also came into contact with a "blood man"-shaped body last fall.

In order to avenge his half-brother, after killing Qin Xiong's family, Chu Xin repeatedly scraped and cut their skin with a sharp instrument, making them as terrifying as "blood men" at first glance.

But this time the wound on the corpse was caused by firecrackers.The victim had no intact skin on his body, and his face was severely damaged. It was barely recognizable as a male, but because of the changes in physical signs caused by the burning, it was difficult to determine his age and specific time of death. He had to be brought back to the Criminal Investigation Bureau for further autopsy. untie.

"What the hell is this hatred?" Fang Yuanhang squatted next to Xing Mu, stared at the corpse for a while and then turned his eyes away.It's not like he hasn't seen this even more horrifying corpse. Those who were burnt to death, the final appearance of the corpse is even more hideous than this, but when he thinks that this person was killed by firecrackers, he can't help but feel terrified, "The perpetrator Is the human psychology too perverted? What does this mean for people?"

What do you think of people?

Because of the lake shadow, Mingshu subconsciously thought of a word—worm.

The assailant treated the victim like a bug, so he trampled on it so recklessly?

The fine weather has lasted for many days. At this time, the sun is in the east, and it is still early before reaching the zenith. The sun is shining brightly, but the air is completely cold.

The sunshine seems to be an illusion, it can't cover the heat of the world in winter.

Mingshu frowned slightly, and walked around the pit.

The dirt pit was half the size of a basketball court and more than one meter deep. The red confetti was thin and broken, stuck in the soil, and it was not easy to clean it up.

From the perspective of the criminal police, the scene has a crazy sense of ritual no matter how you look at it.

Firecrackers not only represent the celebration of getting rid of the old and welcoming the new, but also represent "sending off" the dead.

"Xiao Man." Ming Shu called out to Xiao Man who was busy in the pit, "Show me the photos you took when you arrived at the scene."

Xiao Man struggled to get out, and took off his gloves, "The man who reported the case said that this man was related to the sacrifice, and I think so. This is his posture before he was transferred."

In the photo, the "blood man" is crawling in the pit, as if he had been fixed in a kneeling position.

Mingshu zoomed in on the photos and examined them carefully. However, because the body was severely damaged, there was no reason for it at all in a few photos.

"What about the footprints in and around the pit?" Mingshu asked.

Xiao Man said: "There are footprints, and there are quite a few, but they have been destroyed and are of little value."

"What does 'a lot of footprints' mean?" Mingshu returned the tablet to Xiao Man, "Many people committed the crime?"

Xiao Man shook his head, "That's not necessarily the case. I've learned from the nearby residents that this earth pit didn't appear recently, it was there early in the morning. It's located on the edge of the city, and it will be demolished in half a year. The garbage disposal work is not very up-to-date. To be sure, there are four other pits like this nearby, where residents throw discarded furniture, express boxes and other large pieces of dry rubbish, and every once in a while, someone comes to take them away."

Mingshu said: "So anyone who lives here and collects garbage may enter the pit."

"Yes." Xiao Man said, "And they know the rules for clearing the pits."

Mingshu said: "You mean, judging from the level of knowledge about the pit, the murderer is likely to be a resident nearby."

"I'm 'irresponsible' to speculate." Xiao Man said: "Maybe not only the murderer, but even the victim lives in this area. By the way, the police station received a report on the first day of junior high school, and a boy who was a sophomore in high school disappeared. Until now There is no news, and the boy's mother is going crazy."

Mingshu looked back, the woman who bumped into him not long ago was still outside the security zone, her face full of pain.

"The function of the earth pit is for the residents to temporarily place large pieces of dry garbage. Does no one find it strange that so many firecracker paper scraps are thrown here?" Mingshu said, picking up a piece of paper scraps, gently pinching the paper The crumbs shattered, "Fanglong Alley should also be in the no-burning zone for fireworks and firecrackers. Why did so many explode? No one cares?"

"They filed an application and said that demolition is about to happen. This is the last Spring Festival when everyone gets together." Xiao Man said: "Isn't it advocating humane law enforcement now? Let them go."

Mingshu's expression changed, "Is there such a thing?"

"Maybe the murderer just took advantage of this loophole." Xiao Man sighed, "Oh, it was originally a good thing to benefit the people, but now that there is a murder case, it's hard to say later, someone has to be responsible."

After a pause, Xiao Man said again: "It's hard work this time, Teacher Xing. The situation of the victim is similar to that of burning a corpse. Many important traces on the corpse have been destroyed. The autopsy is very difficult."

Mingshu nodded, "You stay here and watch, I'll go to the alley to have a look."

As soon as a criminal policeman came out of the cordon, Chen Hongbing rushed up, crying, "Have you found out? Who is lying in there? Is...is it my Xiaoming?"

"Little..." Mingshu's forehead twitched, "The identity of the deceased cannot be determined for the time being. Once the DNA comparison results come out, we will tell you immediately."

Chen Hongbing rolled up his sleeves, "Are you going to draw blood? You take mine. I am Xiao Ming's mother, and I can do DNA comparison! Or let me go in and see if it is Xiao Ming. I can recognize it at a glance. come out!"

Mingshu shook his head, "You can't go in."

The "blood man" inside, let alone an ordinary person, is an experienced criminal policeman. He had to get used to it when he first saw it. Now let this mother go in, I am afraid that he will faint on the spot.

The police from the police station were all guarding the perimeter. When Mingshu asked about the firecrackers, they all looked embarrassed.Mingshu also doesn't want to make it difficult for these grassroots film police, but firecrackers may be a breakthrough, he can't let it go.

"When were the red confetti, boxes, and unused firecrackers in the pit thrown in?" Mingshu asked, "Who threw them in? Who organized the purchase of the firecrackers?"

A policeman pointed at Chen Hongbing.

Mingshu was slightly surprised, "It's her?"

"It's not that she bought the firecrackers." The policeman briefly introduced the situation in Fanglong Alley, and mentioned that Chen Hongbing is the lead dancer of a small square dance group. He usually organized everyone to participate in competitions and buy uniform costumes. This time The group year activities are also organized by Chen Hongbing. Chen Hongbing is responsible for collecting activity fees from everyone in the early stage, ordering firecrackers, and buying decorations.

In addition to Chen Hongbing, the police also mentioned several names, all of whom were active residents in Fanglong Alley.

Yang Guizhen was watching the excitement outside the security zone, but when she heard the police calling her, she hurried over.

"The one inside is really Xiang Haoming?" Yang Guizhen had a strange expression on his face, as if there was an unreasonable excitement.

Mingshu was concerned and stared into Yang Guizhen's eyes.

Yang Guizhen couldn't stand him looking at it like this, so she didn't look away, "I, I just asked. After all, Sister Hongbing has been looking for her son for many days."

"Do you think that person inside is Chen Hongbing's son?" Ming Shu said, "Is there any basis?"

Yang Guizhen hesitated for a long time, "Hey, let me tell you the truth, in fact, the day Xiang Haoming disappeared, I saw him, and he even greeted me."

Xiao Wang was surprised, "Is there such a thing? Then why didn't you say anything after Chen Hongbing reported the crime?"

"I didn't expect that Xiang Haoming might be dead!" Yang Guizhen argued: "I thought, I thought it was a boy who was naughty, ran away from home, and came back in a few days, and our Binbin also ran away from home..."

Mingshu said: "When did you see Xiang Haoming? What did he say?"

"At about 11 o'clock in the evening on the [-]th. I sent Binbin back to sleep, and saw Xiang Haoming rushing out of the corridor, as if he was going to do something." Yang Guizhen said, "By the way, sister Hongbing that day It is said that Xiang Haoming went on a date with his girlfriend, but in fact Xiang Haoming was locked up at home by her to do his homework. Xiang Haoming said that he was panicked at home and wanted to take a breath outside, so he told me not to tell his mother."

The situation Yang Guizhen explained was consistent with the time when Xiang Haoming was last photographed by surveillance.

"I didn't mean to hide it from you guys. One more thing is worse than one less thing. I have to leave my relatives during the New Year's Eve. If I say I saw Xiang Haoming, no one can tell how much trouble there will be in the future, right? "Yang Guizhen opened his mouth and said, "But now people may be gone, so I can't justify it if I keep it a secret."

Ming Shu thought for a moment, "Who first suggested setting off firecrackers? When was the final decision?"

"It's Sister Hongbing." Yang Guizhen said, "We'll make an agreement on the tenth day of the twelfth lunar month."

On the tenth day of the twelfth lunar month, Fanglong Alley decided to welcome the Spring Festival by setting off firecrackers, so the murderer would have plenty of time to prepare.

Mingshu asked again: "Who suggested throwing unused firecrackers, red confetti, and boxes into the pit?"

Yang Guizhen thought for a long time, "Sister Hongbing too? I don't remember, but even if she doesn't say it, we will throw the paper scraps in in the end, because there is no place to pile it up."

Mingshu said, "You only set off firecrackers on New Year's Eve?"

This time it was the policeman who answered, "Yes, they applied for New Year's Eve, so the last ones that were not finished can only be thrown away."

"This..." Yang Guizhen licked her lips, "In fact, some people secretly released it later."

Mingshu asked, "Who?"

"I don't know." Yang Guizhen said: "According to the regulations, we could only put it at one or two o'clock in the morning on the first day of the new year. That's when the red confetti was swept into the pit - I was there at the time, so I remember it very clearly. But later Everyone dispersed, and someone set off firecrackers again, and I complained to my family members, saying why should we set off firecrackers in the middle of the night."

The urban management who rushed over said with a bitter face that they were thinking about celebrating the New Year anyway, and the application for Fanglong Alley had already been approved, so it didn't matter if it was left on for a few hours, so they didn't take care of it seriously.

Mingshu said: "Then what happened afterwards? In the second and third grades of junior high school, did anyone still set off firecrackers?"

Both the urban management and Yang Guizhen shook their heads.

At present, the identity of the victim and the time of death have not been determined. Mingshu arranged some team members to conduct initial investigations in Fanglong Alley, and then went to the police station to retrieve the records of Chen Hongbing when he called the police on the first day of the junior high school.

"Whether the victim is Xiang Haoming or not, Chen Hongbing is an important person." Mingshu said: "Xiang Haoming disappeared strangely. He didn't contact anyone he knew before he left home—at least there is no abnormality in the known communication records. According to Yang Guizhen, Xiang Haoming was forced by Chen Hongbing to study at home. He couldn't take it anymore and wanted to go out for a breather. Xiang Haoming even told her not to tell Chen Hongbing. This actually ruled out the possibility that Xiang Haoming ran away from home on his own initiative. Xiang Haoming intends to go out for a while, and then go home before Chen Hongbing returns home, at the latest before Chen Hongbing wakes up the next day, otherwise even if Yang Guizhen doesn't say anything, Chen Hongbing will know that his son is gone."

Because he was not on duty normally, Xiao Yuan didn't wear a police uniform, and a short leather jacket took away some of his usual elegance and made him a little more wild - the leather jacket was Mingshu's choice.Just now Mingshu went to the scene, and he rushed back to the Criminal Investigation Bureau to deal with other matters.

"Have you been in contact with Chen Hongbing?" Xiao Yu'an asked.

Mingshu nodded, "She is in a very bad state of mind. From her reaction, she seems to think that the 'blood man' in the pit is her missing son."

"It's not surprising, it's human nature. I don't want the worst to happen, but I subconsciously believe that the worst will happen." Xiao Yu'an said, "Is this a single-parent family?"

"No, Chen Hongbing has a husband." Mingshu said, "This is what I find weird. After Chen Hongbing called the police, the police station tried to contact his husband, Xiang Lin, but they couldn't. Xiang Lin's cell phone was always turned off. Chen Hongbing told The police, she and Xiang Lin have long since broken up, and Xiang Lin has not been home for a long time. However, many residents of Fanglong Alley said that Chen Hongbing and Xiang Lin were in harmony. Before Xiang Haoming disappeared, Chen Hongbing himself said, Xiang Lin is at home preparing meals for relatives."

"Is there such a thing?" Xiao Yu'an crossed his arms, thought for a while and said, "Chen Hongbing lied for two reasons. First, Xiang Lin was not simply 'unable to contact'. Xiang Lin might have had an accident. Chen Hongbing knew, but Second, because of her personality, Chen Hongbing simply doesn't want the neighbors to know that her family is not harmonious, and tries her best to create an illusion of 'family happiness', and she doesn't know why Xiang Lin can't be contacted."

Because the surface of the corpse was seriously injured, the autopsy took a long time. When Xing Mu came out of the forensic identification center with the autopsy report, the DNA comparison results had already come out.

The "blood man" is Xiang Haoming who disappeared before.

Xing Mu looked at Xiang Haoming's photo and sighed, "It seems that it is indeed him, and the age determined by me is also correct. This kid is only 17 years old this year."

Mingshu's autopsy report, "The victim was severely restrained during his lifetime?"

"Yes, although the body surface has been destroyed, but after an autopsy, I can confirm that the victim was bound while alive, the murderer took off his coat, and directly tied the firecrackers to him - he was only wearing underwear and underwear at the time Xing Mu said: "However, the cause of death has little to do with firecrackers. I found a large amount of mud in his mouth and trachea, and there were obvious crush injuries on the back of his head and neck. He was pushed into the mud by someone. Sexual asphyxiation."

Fang Yuanhang was speechless, "This is too cruel! Were those firecrackers lit when he was on the verge of death?"

Xing Mu nodded: "It may have been earlier, the suffocated person did not die immediately, the murderer lit the firecrackers tied to his body when he was still conscious, and he died in unbearable pain. The wounds on his body were caused by life reactions. After his death, the murderer continued to tie firecrackers to his head and body, and the explosion and burning played a role in destroying the body. I cannot give a specific information about the current situation of the body. The time of his death can only be said to be within two days of the first or second day of junior high school."

"It was between 3 am and 6 am on the first day of the new year." Mingshu said: "Only during this time period, the murderer will not attract attention by setting off firecrackers on the victim. After the daytime on the first day of the new year, no one in Fanglong Alley and around Over firecrackers."

Fang Yuanhang said: "Then what if the murderer didn't kill the victim in Fanglong Alley? That earth pit is just the place where the corpse was dumped?"

"No, that's the scene of the murder." Xiao Man said, "The dirt in the victim's mouth and airway is the same as in the pit."

Xing Mu continued: "And there is no sign of the body being moved."

Mingshu said: "This method of death, the murderer is probably not alone. Xiang Haoming is 1 meters tall. Pressing him into the soil to suffocate him is not something that can be done casually."

"Before he was killed, Xiang Haoming drank heavily." Xing Mu said: "Alcohol interfered with his reaction."

Mingshu frowned, and said softly, "Where did he get the wine?"

Yi Fei said: "If you buy it yourself, you can only use cash."

Mingshu turned his face, "Bringing wine from home? Being lured to drink on the way? The former situation is possible, but the latter... Nowadays, students are not weak in vigilance. Xiang Haoming is willing to take it, so let him The person drinking the wine is most likely an acquaintance of his. The murderer's method is cruel, and the scene is ceremonial, and Fanglong Alley has confirmed that firecrackers will be set off on New Year's Eve more than ten days ago. The murderer is familiar with Fanglong Alley and even Chen Hongjun's family. The key thing to investigate is the interpersonal relationship between Xiang Haoming, Chen Hongjun, and Xiang Lin. Although the victim is Xiang Haoming, but Xiang Haoming is underage, it may be Xiang Haoming's parents who are involved with the murderer. Xiang Lin now appears In the missing state, he must be found as soon as possible. Also, Xiao Man."

Xiao Man looked up, "Yes."

"There are a lot of firecrackers left in Fanglong Alley on New Year's Eve, but before the murderer committed the crime, it is impossible to determine how many firecrackers will be left on the scene. He, or they, must have been prepared." Mingshu said: "Go and check the soil. Whether the red confetti in the pit is the same kind, and then ask the manufacturer for verification.”

"clear."

Heart-piercing cries came from the corridor outside the meeting room, and a few "my son" could be heard vaguely.

Fang Yuanhang rubbed his nose, "I'm most afraid of facing a middle-aged mother who lost her son, especially Xiang Haoming died so badly."

In ordinary murder cases, there is a link for family members to identify the body.But as far as this case is concerned, the significance of identifying the dead body is not great.At first, Chen Hongbing insisted on taking one last look at Xiang Haoming, but he dared not open his eyes when he reached the door.

Mingshu took her to the inquiry room, stared at her for a long time, and finally had to say, "I understand your sadness, but in order to find the murderer as soon as possible, I have to ask you a few questions now."

Chen Hongbing was devastated, "Who the hell killed my child!"

Mingshu looked into Chen Hongbing's eyes, "Tell me what you know about Xiang Haoming, and why Xiang Lin left."