Chapter 498: The Unplanned Murder

Everyone gathered at the supermarket to review the surveillance footage, only to find that the camera’s view conveniently missed the crime scene, showing only the street in front.

Lin Qiupu frowned, “Could it really be this coincidental? The only surveillance camera didn’t capture anything useful.”

“I think it’s intentional,” Chen Shi said, borrowing a stepladder from the supermarket. He and Lin Dongxue went outside, set up the ladder, and Chen Shi held it steady while Lin Dongxue climbed up to check the camera.

Lin Dongxue examined the camera and said, “There’s some wiped-off dust on the camera.” She took a picture with her phone.

Chen Shi looked around and noticed another surveillance camera at a fruit shop across the street. The police reviewed the footage from that camera, and after half an hour, they saw someone moving stealthily to the supermarket door late at night and using a hook to adjust the camera.

The timestamp showed it was August 6th, before the crime occurred.

The person on the screen was wearing a black hoodie, thoroughly covered up. The poor resolution made it impossible to determine their gender.

It was undoubtedly the killer, showing a meticulous nature by scouting the dumping site beforehand and eliminating any potential surveillance. Such caution explained how the killer had evaded capture for six years.

Chen Shi pondered, “Why did they do this?”

Lin Dongxue bought two drinks from the supermarket and handed one to Chen Shi, “Isn’t it obvious? To avoid being recorded.”

“But the other camera caught them, meaning they didn’t mind being seen but wanted to hide something else…”

“Something else?”

“Their vehicle or the time of dumping the body. They anticipated the police would check their alibi, which means they’re already within our sights…” Chen Shi muttered, his mind racing. He suddenly looked up, “Make sure to copy the supermarket footage!”

Lin Qiupu replied, “We’ve copied both the supermarket and the fruit shop footage.”

“Old Peng, let’s go back to the crime scene.”

Chen Shi briskly crossed the street, and Lin Qiupu grumbled, “Who’s the captain here?” Lin Dongxue laughed, “He seems to have an idea.”

Back at the scene, Chen Shi examined the body from various angles like an artist appraising a masterpiece. He opened the victim’s eyelids and moved her arm to reconfirm the time of death.

Peng Siyue said, “Stop it, the time of death is around 9 PM on the 7th. I’m certain.”

“What about the time of dumping the body?”

“The time of dumping…”

“Can you determine that?”

“It’s difficult. We can use microorganisms and insects, but…”

“That’s not precise enough. I need something accurate within an hour.”

Everyone looked puzzled. This was a monumental challenge. Chen Shi stood there for half an hour, talking to himself. A police officer nearby lit a cigarette, and Chen Shi walked over, took a deep breath of the secondhand smoke, and let the nicotine fuel his thoughts.

Peng Siyue said, “We need to take the body back for an autopsy.”

“Wait, wait…” Chen Shi squatted beside the body, examining the salt particles in his hand. He lay down to observe the ground and suddenly smiled, “The ground is soil!”

“Soil, so what?” Peng Siyue asked.

“Salt mixed with blood dissolves and seeps into the soil… Can we use this to estimate the time of dumping the body?”

Peng Siyue considered it, “We’d need to conduct a comparative experiment.”

“Then do it. Collect soil samples from the site, both with and without blood.”

Peng Siyue instructed his team to carefully collect the soil samples without disturbing the original layers, using takeout boxes bought from a nearby convenience store to store them.

In his eagerness for results, Chen Shi rode back with Peng Siyue, leaving Lin Dongxue behind.

Lin Qiupu sighed, “That guy, he’s really obsessed… Let me take you home.”

That evening, the technical team worked late under Chen Shi’s watch, conducting salt infiltration experiments. By 10 PM, they had to wait until the next morning for the results.

Chen Shi supervised while contemplating the case. Suddenly, he asked, “Old Peng, can you drink alcohol while taking antidepressants?”

“It depends on the type.”

“Paroxetine.”

Peng Siyue checked the components of the drug on his computer, “Mixing this drug with alcohol raises blood pressure and can cause stomach cramps, among other side effects.”

“Could it be fatal?”

“It depends on the dosage, but normal doses with alcohol won’t be fatal, just very uncomfortable.”

“Oh… The doctor would probably advise against drinking, right?”

“That’s beyond my expertise.”

“‘I don’t know’ would have sufficed…” Chen Shi laughed. “By the way, is the autopsy report for this morning’s body ready?”

Peng Siyue handed him a report. Chen Shi skimmed it, “Internal organs crushed, stomach missing? Found fragments of burned bricks on the back of the head?”

Peng Siyue said, “Your guess might be correct. The killer opened the victim’s abdomen to search for something. The abdominal cavity was shredded, and it seems the killer lacked anatomical knowledge, so they took the entire stomach.”

“So, the victim might have swallowed something before dying, something important… Do you think the two bodies were the work of the same person?”

“I’m not sure about tonight’s body yet, but the details of the morning’s body were very similar to previous cases. I remember them well because I did those autopsies.”

Chen Shi scanned the report, “Then Cai Yating’s case was an unplanned murder. After killing her, the killer took her stomach and dressed her in red… What could Cai Yating have swallowed? Can we analyze it?”

“There was no damage to the esophagus during the autopsy, so it wasn’t something big. But analyzing it is labor-intensive and might not yield results. Are you sure?”

“Never mind then… She swallowed it to keep it safe, so it’s something small and durable.”

“Could it be a USB or a memory card?”

“Possibly, but we might never see it… If that’s the case, Cai Yating was secretly investigating the killer and discovered their identity, leading to her murder.”

“Captain Lin has been investigating Cai Yating’s background. She was a journalist for a newspaper, and her computer had files on the Qixi serial killings. She was indeed following the case.”

“What a pity. She might have found the truth but never got to reveal it.”