Chapter 61: Case Analysis

  After everyone analyzed for a while, the sky had gradually darkened. At this time, Cheng Bin looked outside: "It's getting late, let's go back first, don't delay Yang Manager and others from getting off work. As for the case, it will be handed over to Liu Li and others to deal with tomorrow."

  After finishing, Cheng Bin didn't wait for others to speak and took his briefcase to leave Yang Zhengcai's office. Seeing Cheng Bin leaving, Liu Li chatted with Yang Zhengcai for a couple of sentences before driving away from the crematorium as well.

  Liu Li did not go home, but went directly to the Third Brigade, met with the team members, and briefly reported the crematorium case to Liu Wei. At the same time, he conveyed Cheng Bin's intention and, after obtaining Liu Wei's consent, he transferred Wang Mingzhong, Zhang Tao, and Ren Dongchao to his side, temporarily forming a special case group.

  Because Wang Mingzhong went to the traffic police brigade to investigate clues, Liu Li called Zhang Tao and Ren Dongchao into the office of the third squadron. After listening to Liu Li's account of the case, Zhang Tao and Ren Dongchao exchanged a glance, then carefully said: "Deputy captain, this ghost story is not pleasant at all, let's change the subject."

  "Don't you believe me? Look, take a look at this. This is what I brought back from Cheng Da's place." Liu Li handed over a file bag to the two of them: "Inside are photos of the crime scene where Chen Baotang was murdered, and next to it is a forensic examination report issued by Dr. Deng."

  After reading the materials in the file, Zhang Tao's face flashed a hint of difficulty: "Deputy Captain, I think so. In this case, the deceased Chen Baotang has no family members left. His ex-wife and son have no objections to his death. The forensic doctor Deng's identification also explained that the deceased died from excessive adrenaline secretion, which can be defined as normal death, and it is also reasonable.

  "As for the missing body, it's even easier to explain. The deceased was a victim of a traffic accident and since his identity couldn't be confirmed, the Traffic Police Corps stored the body in a crematorium. Now that the body has disappeared, it's the Traffic Police Corps' headache, not ours, the Criminal Police Corps. Why should we take on this thorny case?"

  "With your skill at shirking responsibility, you shouldn't have come to work in the criminal police brigade in the first place, but should have gone to work in the petition department instead." After criticizing him, Liu Li's expression turned serious: "Remember, no matter what situation we're in, we must always remember that our primary identity is as people's police, and our purpose for existing is to help victims obtain justice."

  The deceased's ex-wife and daughter did not object to his death, because the deceased had no affection for them. It was precisely because the deceased had no relatives that no one would avenge him, so we should help the deceased take charge.

  As for the missing body, it's even more unimaginable. The value of a certain stolen item exceeded 1,000 yuan and was already a criminal case, let alone a human body. In a sense, a human body is priceless because it's the last memory of a life left in this world.

  After finishing this speech, Liu Li paused for a moment and then continued: "Alright, I won't talk about the big principles anymore. If Zhang Tao thinks this case is unimportant, he can withdraw from the special task force. This case will be investigated and handled by me, Wang Mingzhong, and Ren Dongchao."

  "I'm just making a suggestion, Deputy Captain, why are you being so serious? Alright, alright... I'll reflect on my attitude, is that enough?" Having acknowledged his mistake, Zhang Tao looked at Liu Li: "Deputy Captain, can I ask something? From what you said, it sounds like you suspect Chen Baotang's death wasn't normal. Can I ask why? What's your basis for thinking that?"

  Liu Li replied, "It's simple. The scene of Chen Baotang's death was suspicious. At first, I didn't have any doubts about the cause of his death because Deng Fahai had already made a judgment that he died from sudden death due to excessive fright before his death, which in itself is not suspicious."

  But when I saw that the deceased was wearing pajamas and died at the door of the mortuary in the crematorium, I felt something was off. Because Dr. Deng inferred from the changes in the body that Chen Baotang's time of death was between 1:00 and 3:00 in the morning, which coincidentally is the human sleep blind spot.

  Humans sleep the deepest during this time period, and their perception of the outside world is reduced to its lowest point. Sounds that would normally trigger an alarm do not get noticed at this time. However, Chen Baotang was not sleeping in his dormitory during this time period, but instead went alone to the mortuary in the funeral parlor.

  According to Yang Zhengcai, the manager of the crematorium, after work hours, the staff on duty would not leave the office area in the south. The staff on duty at the crematorium would not go out again once they closed the two doors of the office area.

  Even if someone came knocking on the door, they would pretend not to hear it. No matter what business it was, everything was put off until the next working day. The deceased had been following this routine since arriving at the crematorium. So why did the deceased walk into that gloomy funeral parlor in the dead of night?

  Furthermore, after discovering the deceased in the early morning, Cheng Da and his team carefully investigated the scene. They found that next to the deceased's body, except for a mobile phone, there were no other items, and the scene was very clean. But don't you think this scene is too clean at this time? Is something missing?

  After listening to Liu Li's words, Zhang Tao and Ren Dongchao both fell into deep thought. After a moment, they both looked at each other with bright eyes, then turned to Liu Li and replied in unison: "Flashlight."

  "Yes, there's a flashlight missing from the scene." After affirming both of their answers, a glint of sharp light flashed in Liu Li's eyes: "From the deceased's residence to the funeral parlor, there are over 200 meters of distance, and the entire road is pitch black.

  Moreover, in the courtyard of the crematorium, many cypresses and holly trees were planted. Those plants were arranged according to a certain pattern, with positions all over the place, making it very inconvenient for people to walk around. At the corners of the cypress and holly trees, there were also many stones of various sizes, which could easily trip people up if they weren't careful.

  At night, the courtyard of the crematorium did not have a lighting system. The deceased was already over 50 years old and his eyesight had begun to decline. Moreover, it was between 1am to 3am, in the dead of night. If the deceased went to the funeral parlor during that time period, why didn't he bring a flashlight to light the way?

  By this time, Zhang Tao and Ren Dongchao had already understood Liu Li's meaning. Ren Dongchao picked up the conversation: "There are two reasons why he didn't take a flashlight. First, the deceased was following someone to the mourning hall, and the other party had lighting tools, so he didn't need a flashlight."

  The second reason is that the deceased was killed at his residence and then carried to the morgue by the perpetrator. The perpetrator did this in order to confuse our thinking, so that we would see the deceased who died of shock in the morgue, and then mistakenly identify the death as a normal death based on the phenomenon of sudden death.

  Heart Pearl