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

Chapter 1044 Case Analysis and Discussion

His voice was already hoarse, each word sounding like he'd swallowed a razor blade. "Hello, are you Li Fang? We need to reconfirm the information of the missing person, Zhang Moumou... What? The person has been found? Then why isn't the case closed?" He slammed down the phone in frustration, marking a third of the record with an angry "X." "This invalid information makes up a third of the record; it's a complete waste of time!"

Time ticked by, and at two in the morning, the atmosphere in the office grew increasingly oppressive. The coffee pot was long gone, instant noodle boxes piled high, and the mingled smells of smoke and sweat made it hard to breathe. Technician Liu suddenly cursed, "The facial recognition system crashed again! All the suspected cases we just screened are gone!" He frantically typed on the keyboard, error messages popping up on the screen, and in his anger, he kicked over the nearby trash can.

Xiao Zhou paced back and forth between the workstations, occasionally bending down to check on his team members' progress. He noticed that intern Xiao Lin was asleep at her desk, drool still hanging from the corner of her mouth, while the photos of missing persons on the computer screen continued to scroll slowly. He gently woke her up and handed her a piece of chocolate: "Eat something, hang in there a little longer." Xiao Lin nodded, her eyes red-rimmed, but the moment she bit into the chocolate, tears uncontrollably streamed down her face.

At four in the morning, a glimmer of hope seemed to appear. Xiao Wang found a possible match in the system: missing person Zhao Moumou, 48 years old, who had undergone gastrectomy three years ago for a stomach ulcer. Xiao Zhou immediately led a team to Zhao Moumou's home to verify. However, when they pushed open the dilapidated door, they found Zhao Moumou sitting in a wheelchair, grinning foolishly at the television—he had been bedridden for two years due to a sudden cerebral hemorrhage and could not possibly be the deceased.

Back at the police station, it was already dawn. The team members slumped in their chairs, their eyes vacant and lifeless. Xiao Zhou stared at the densely packed records on the whiteboard, the clues crossed out in red pen resembling wounds. "Everyone, take three hours off," he said in a low, weary voice, "We'll continue checking the missing persons databases of surrounding cities at nine."

No one answered, only sighs rose and fell. Xiao Lin sobbed softly, her head resting on the table; Lao Zhou silently tidied up the scattered files; Xiao Wang stared blankly at the ceiling. Outside the window, the city streetlights gradually went out, a new day was about to begin, and they, once again, would continue searching for that faint glimmer of hope amidst the vast sea of ​​information.

The next morning, Li Ming organized a case analysis meeting for Zhao Kai.

The air conditioner in the conference room emitted a low hum, mingling with the sound of the projector to create a monotonous background noise, while colleagues filled the room with cigarette smoke. Li Ming stood in front of the whiteboard, heavily circling the satellite image of the crime scene in red pen. Morning light filtered through the blinds, sculpting his face into lines of light and shadow. "The first case analysis meeting. All the clues are laid out on the table; now we need a breakthrough." His voice carried an undeniable authority, his gaze sweeping over the team members with their prominent dark circles under their eyes.

Xiao Yang stood up first, and the screen behind him switched to a 3D model of the crime scene, with each piece of rubble marked with precise coordinates. "The excavated pit is 2.3 meters long, 1.5 meters wide, and 0.8 meters deep, shaped like an irregular ellipse." He pointed a laser pointer at the layered structure of the pit wall; "The upper layer is construction waste backfill, and the lower layer contains organic matter, suggesting the body was buried 20-22 days ago." When the image zoomed in on the excavator bucket, the biological remnants on the metal surface glowed eerily.

"Pay close attention to this." Xiao Yang pulled up a photomicrograph; the cross-section of the fiber, magnified 1000 times, was clearly visible. The grayish-white fibers extracted from the deceased's clothing were made of polypropylene, consistent with the composition of the construction site safety net. However, the wood fragments found under the deceased's fingernails were identified as tulip trees, a type of wood extremely rare in the area. He flipped to the soil test report; the trace amounts of cinnabar in the soil at the bottom of the pit were completely inconsistent with the composition of the surrounding geological layers.

Zhang Lin's autopsy report instantly sombered the atmosphere in the meeting room. On the projection screen, the CT image of the skull appeared stark white, with bone fractures spreading like a spiderweb in the depressions. "The cause of death was traumatic brain injury combined with mechanical asphyxiation." He pulled up the autopsy video; the moment the scalpel sliced ​​open the skin of the neck, dark red, putrid blood seeped out. "The thyroid cartilage on the left side of the larynx was fractured, showing typical strangulation marks from a single hand. Based on the angle of force, the perpetrator's height should be between 178 and 185 cm, and they were right-handed."

When the screen switched to analyzing the stomach contents, several team members instinctively tried to identify the deceased's face. "Methamidophos residue was detected in the stomach contents, but the dose was insufficient to be fatal," Zhang Lin pushed up his glasses, his voice suddenly lowering. "The key point is this—the deceased had undergone a Billroth-II gastrectomy, and the anastomosis healed well, suggesting the surgery was performed 3-5 years ago." He pulled up the tooth wear analysis chart; "The incisors showed wear at level five. Combined with the morphological characteristics of the pubic symphysis, the age was estimated to be 45-50 years old."

Xiao Wang slammed a stack of case files heavily on the table, the plastic covers clanging sharply. "Chen Hai's theft case has been confirmed; 27 steel bars were stolen, with a total value of approximately 32,000 yuan." He showed a screenshot from surveillance footage, showing a security guard in uniform cutting steel bars, "but after comparing the timeline, the time of the crime completely overlaps with the murder." Interviews with 137 workers at the construction site revealed no connection between the deceased and Chen Hai. He suddenly pulled up a missing persons list compiled by Xiao Zhou; "Out of 4372 records, 37 people matching the age and surgical characteristics have been ruled out."

Xiao Zhou added, "We tried to trace back through dental treatment records, but the deceased's teeth showed no signs of modern treatment. We retrieved stomach surgery records from the past five years across the city, involving 2176 cases, and are currently verifying them one by one." His voice was noticeably tired, and his dark circles almost reached his cheeks. "The only thing confirmed so far is that the deceased had an old fracture in his left little finger, which had healed more than eight years ago."

After a brief silence, Li Ming drew three large question marks on the whiteboard: "Rare wood, source of cinnabar, fractured little finger." He turned to Xiao Yang: "Can we trace the source back from trace evidence?"

"We are contacting the forestry department and the geological research institute." Xiao Yang opened his notebook. "North American tulip trees are mainly used in high-end furniture manufacturing; there are no more than five companies in the city that use this type of wood. Regarding cinnabar, preliminary tests show it contains mercuric sulfide and realgar, possibly originating from traditional Chinese medicine or sacrificial items."

Zhang Lin held up the pathology report: "The deceased had rheumatic heart disease of the aortic valve, a chronic condition requiring long-term medication. It is recommended to investigate prescription drug purchase records at pharmacies throughout the city, with a focus on warfarin, aspirin, and similar medications."