Chapter 458: Reconstructing the Scene

Chen Shi and Lin Dongxue returned to the neighborhood and saw police cars and a crowd of people from a distance. Near the entrance of the community was a small river, more like a ditch, with a bridge over it. The body was stuck under the bridge.

As soon as Xu Xiaodong saw them, he complained, “Why did you leave me behind and go back without me?”

“We had to deliver the body. Stop complaining and eat something.” Chen Shi handed him the packed clay pot rice.

Seeing the food, Xu Xiaodong’s grievances vanished, and he obediently squatted nearby to eat.

The body had already been retrieved by the police and was lying on a waterproof tarp by the shore. Chen Shi lifted the cloth covering the body and saw that the deceased was wearing a security uniform, a middle-aged man in his forties. The blood on his chest had been washed away by the river, leaving a faint stain. There was a hole that looked like a gunshot wound in the center of the bloodstain.

Chen Shi put on gloves and checked the body’s mouth. The oral cavity was tightly shut, and the airway was clean. Typically, drowning victims have pink frothy foam in their mouths. He also checked the hands, which were not clenched, and there was no mud or sand in the nail crevices.

He said, “The time of death is very close to the other body. He was killed first and then thrown here.”

Lin Dongxue asked, “The body looks quite heavy. How could a woman drag it from here to the entrance of the community?”

“He’s about my height. We can test it out.”

Xu Xiaodong chimed in, “The other security guards came by earlier and confirmed his identity. It’s Old Wang, the guard on duty last night. They said the bathroom is far away, so the guards often use the river for convenience at night.”

“If he was shot while urinating, it’s unlikely he was shot from the front… Dongxue, let’s turn the body over.”

They turned the body over and found another bullet hole in the back. Determining which is the entry and which is the exit wound would require a forensic examination. Generally, entry wounds have gunpowder residue.

Chen Shi asked the officers for a marker and counted the vertebrae on the deceased, instructing Lin Dongxue to mark a corresponding spot on his own body.

Lin Dongxue remarked, “Aren’t you afraid of staining your clothes?”

“It doesn’t matter. This shirt is only a few bucks. I can buy another one.”

She marked the spot on his back and then Chen Shi used the ribs of the deceased as a reference to mark a spot on his own chest. Comparing the two bullet holes, they found the bullet trajectory was slanted, higher in the back and lower in the front.

Chen Shi asked everyone to spread out and search for footprints. They found a pair of leather shoe prints about ten centimeters from the riverbank, similar in size to the deceased’s shoes. Chen Shi stood in a parallel position and asked Lin Dongxue, “Where do you think the shooter stood?”

“There are no obvious footprints on the ground.”

“Then they must have been standing on the concrete path.”

Lin Dongxue stood there, simulating the shooter’s actions. Based on the angle of the bullet entry, it was roughly calculated that the shot was fired from the road above, with the bullet falling into the water.

To be thorough, Chen Shi asked the officers to search the opposite bank. One officer remarked, “Detectives really have a lot of tricks. You can reconstruct the scene without equipment.”

Chen Shi speculated, “The killer probably waited in the community for the guard to come out, shot him, and the body fell into the water. Then she calmly deleted the surveillance footage… Poor guy died unjustly.”

The body was bagged and loaded onto a vehicle. With so many people around, Chen Shi took detailed photographs and said there was no need to secure the scene.

The autopsy results took longer than expected. Peng Siyue, lacking experience with gunshot wounds, consulted with a ballistic expert. From the bullets found at the scene, it was confirmed that the weapon used was the Russian Makarov pistol.

The day passed uneventfully. The next morning, everyone gathered in the office. Peng Siyue presented the autopsy report, stating, “Song Yuwen’s time of death was around 11 p.m. on July 25. He had three fatal gunshot wounds, all entry wounds in the chest. The trajectory of Bullet A was almost perpendicular to the body, suggesting he was standing when shot. Bullets B and C had an angle of about 30 degrees and less blood loss, indicating they were likely fired as he lay on the ground, with a ten-minute interval between Bullet A and the others.”

Chen Shi asked, “What could the killer have done in those ten minutes? Talked to him? Would the first shot have killed him?”

“It punctured the main vein and lung, but he would have struggled for a while. There were drag marks on the floor covered by the body. During a secondary inspection, we found two things: leather fragments on the floor and the victim’s chest, and a long brown hair on his jacket hanging on the coat rack.”

“Leather fragments? Why would there be leather fragments?” Chen Shi pondered.

Old Zhang, holding a breakfast bag, mimicked a gun with his hand and put it in the bag. “Could the shooter have fired through a leather bag?”

“Very likely!” Chen Shi praised.

Peng Siyue continued, “There are some other findings that might not be related to the case. The deceased had old injuries about four or five days old, concentrated on his torso and right arm.”

“So he fought with someone or was attacked… This wouldn’t be the killer’s doing. Based on the timeline of the stolen gun, four or five days ago the killer already had the gun. She wouldn’t need to attack him and raise suspicion.”

Other officers reported on the victim’s social relations. He had a lot of friends, making the investigation time-consuming.

The victim’s phone couldn’t be recovered, but his communication records showed many birthday messages on the day he died. Chen Shi said, “Make a list of everyone who sent him messages. The killer might be among them.”

Lin Dongxue speculated, “Could the killer have chosen his birthday to commit the murder, anticipating this?”

Chen Shi shook his head. “That’s too cunning. From the killer’s actions, it looks like a crime of passion. After killing, she immediately destroyed the phone and killed a security guard to delete the surveillance. If it was premeditated, she could have avoided those entirely… I think she’s a first-time offender. She killed in a moment of rage and then thought of covering up.”

Peng Siyue agreed, “During the secondary inspection, we found the cups on the table had been wiped clean, leaving some fiber, likely from a synthetic cloth.”

“By the way, have we found the victim’s girlfriend?” Chen Shi asked.