Chapter 657: Secrets Unveiled

The fire had finally subsided, but the air was still thick with the acrid smell of burning. Charred trees stood like blackened skeletons. Lin Qiupu called for boxed meals and bottled water to reward the exhausted firefighters and police officers who had battled the blaze. The whole ordeal had left everyone frazzled.

“Everyone, great job. We suspect this fire is related to a case we’re working on. We believe it was started by a murder suspect. We’ll take it from here for evidence collection and investigation,” Lin Qiupu said.

A fire captain replied, “No problem, but be careful in the burnt area. There might still be some smoldering spots under the debris and brush piles.”

To be safe, the fire department left a truck and two firefighters with foam extinguishers on hand.

As the team ventured into the scorched forest, the crunch of ash underfoot sent up tiny clouds of dust. The ground radiated residual heat that penetrated even through their shoes. Lin Dongxue surveyed the scene and said, “This whole area is burnt. The arsonist must face criminal charges, right?”

“Depends. It hinges on whether there were fatalities and if it counts as public property,” Lin Qiupu replied.

“This forest belongs to Dong Xiao. If he burned it himself, he probably won’t face jail time,” remarked journalist Chen Gong casually. “Assuming he didn’t die in the fire.”

After walking for about ten minutes, they came upon the ruins of a small villa. The grand facade hinted at its former glory. This was Feng Yi Pavilion, a lavish retreat Dong Xiao had built for his mistress, Su Chan.

Police searched the remnants, primarily looking for bodies. Several charred corpses were found, unidentifiable. Even if one of these bodies belonged to Dong Xiao, his body fat would have burned away, leaving bones indistinguishable from others.

Chen Shi pried open the mouth of one corpse, finding soot in the oral cavity and airways, indicating the person had died from the fire. Most of the bodies were found in small rooms like bathrooms and laundry rooms, suggesting they had tried to hide from the flames but suffocated instead.

One body lay in a bathtub. Both the tub and the body were relatively intact, though the corpse had a strange color. It turned out this person had taken refuge in a water-filled tub but had been boiled alive.

“Gruesome!” Lin Dongxue frowned. “Who are these people?”

“Housekeepers, bodyguards, maids perhaps,” guessed Chen Gong. “Such a large place couldn’t be maintained by just one person.”

“Remove all the bodies,” Lin Qiupu ordered.

The thirteen remains were transported to the station. The forensic work took three full days. Meanwhile, Chen Shi and Lin Qiupu delved into Dong Xiao’s background. With him gone, it was easier to search his office and uncover his secrets.

It turned out Dong Xiao was deeply entangled with criminal activities. He had ties to organized crime, had purchased firearms, and was involved in kidnapping and murder. His rapid rise from a small telecommunications company in the northwest to prominence in the south was soaked in blood.

Secretary Li had minor burns, and bloodstains on his clothes were identified as belonging to Lu Qi. Li was incoherent and had to be sent to a psychiatric hospital for treatment.

From this, Lin Qiupu deduced that Dong Xiao knew he was about to be arrested. Somehow, he discovered that Lu Qi, his confidant, had betrayed him. He went to kill Lu Qi, but Chen Shi raised a question: Why was Lu Qi at Feng Yi Pavilion at that time?

Lu Qi should never have been at Feng Yi Pavilion, a place where Dong Xiao hid his mistress.

As the investigation deepened, police found that before disappearing, Dong Xiao had viewed surveillance footage not from his company, but from inside Feng Yi Pavilion. The footage showed a man and a woman in an intimate act, comparable to a pornographic video.

The man was Vice President Lu Qi, and the woman was Su Chan.

This discovery shocked everyone. It turned out Lu Qi and Su Chan were having an affair. Colleagues had long suspected their relationship, noting how often Lu Qi accompanied Su Chan on outings, supposedly under Dong Xiao’s orders to look after her.

Chen Shi thought Dong Xiao must have been quite naive. Su Chan was stunningly beautiful, and Lu Qi was young and vigorous, far more appealing than Dong Xiao himself. It was almost inevitable that sparks would fly between them.

Reexamining Lu Qi’s driving records, Chen Shi noticed Lu Qi often didn’t go home at night. He would park on Chenggao Road, switch to another car, and meet someone. Sometimes, the car would remain parked for half an hour, rocking rhythmically before Lu Qi, looking exhausted, returned to his own car.

This indicated the affair had been ongoing for a long time, with Dong Xiao completely in the dark.

The police found a locked drawer in Dong Xiao’s office. Inside was nothing but dust imprints suggesting a gun had been there. The gun was gone.

Three days later, autopsies revealed none of the bodies belonged to Dong Xiao, Su Chan, or Lu Qi.

The incident might be simpler than everyone thought. Lu Qi, learning about Dong Xiao’s impending arrest, rushed to Su Chan to “celebrate.” Dong Xiao, seeing them on surveillance, exploded with rage, grabbed a gun, and went to confront them. Lu Qi might have been killed. In his fury, Dong Xiao could have accidentally started the fire, consuming Feng Yi Pavilion.

Peng Sijue’s team revisited the site but found no DNA from Lu Qi, no clues, nothing. It was as if the three had vanished.

Whether Lu Qi was the informant didn’t matter anymore. Finding Dong Xiao was the priority. He was implicated not just in Cao Man’s case but in multiple kidnappings, extortions, contract killings, arms purchases, and numerous financial crimes.

The police issued a substantial reward. Tips about Dong Xiao could earn between 10,000 to 100,000 yuan, and aiding in his capture could fetch 600,000 yuan.

Chen Shi jokingly asked Lin Qiupu, “I’m a citizen too. If I catch Dong Xiao, do I get the reward?”

“You’re practically a half-cop with all the cases you’ve helped solve. Do you still need the reward? But if you have clues, I can consider making an exception.”

Chen Shi shook his head. “No clues, but want to hear my theory?”

“Go ahead.”

“I believe the fire was deliberate, not accidental! Here’s the scenario: Dong Xiao went to catch the adulterers and possibly killed both Lu Qi and Su Chan. That’s one scenario, meaning he had to move two bodies. Or, Dong Xiao killed Lu Qi and took his body along with Su Chan. But Su Chan wouldn’t cooperate after being caught in the act…”

“She’s a woman, and Dong Xiao had a gun. She’d have to comply,” Lin Qiupu interrupted.

“Okay, fair point. The third scenario: Dong Xiao killed Su Chan, took her body and Lu Qi, which is absurd. Killing his beloved woman only to leave with the man who betrayed him? Regardless, Dong Xiao had to move two people, alive or dead. Given his size, could he move a body, especially Su Chan’s hundred-pound body during a fire?”

“So, the fire was no accident. Someone wanted to cover up the truth. Dong Xiao was already desperate, facing imminent arrest. Would he burn his own house to hide the truth? I think not. Dong Xiao was likely already dead, and Lu Qi set the fire to cover it up.”