Chapter 162: The Murder and Theft Case (Part One)

Chapter 162: The Murder and Theft Case (Part One)

The luxurious car and the beautiful woman instantly captured everyone's attention, making it hard to look away.

None of the men present could resist admiring the car, even though they knew they had a mission to complete.

Du Jiabao, with his limited knowledge, boldly estimated, "That car must cost at least half a million, right?"

"Daydreaming! That’s a Ferrari sports car; this model costs over a million."

Ren Feiyue looked down on the expensive sports car with an air of ‘you’re too young to understand,’ but secretly felt in his pocket for his last possession—a measly one yuan and twenty cents.

No wonder the crime rate is so much higher now; the wealth gap is getting wider, easily breeding evil thoughts.

Du Jiabao’s mouth hung open as he calculated, "My God, how do people make that kind of money? I’d have to go without food and drink for over five hundred years to buy a car like that! We’re all human, yet the difference is so huge! Can someone tell me what rich people are thinking, spending so much money on a car!"

Jiang Minghao, hearing their chatter, turned around and scolded, "Are you here for sightseeing?"

Du Jiabao and Ren Feiyue quickly pulled their wandering thoughts back, not daring to say another word.

Tang Qingqing remained calm, though she had her doubts, she did not forget her mission.

She put on gloves and shoe covers, preparing to examine the scene.

Tang Qingqing didn’t rush into the house but first checked the door lock: "There are no signs of forced entry on the lock."

Without needing her instructions, a young girl stepped forward to take photos of the lock, while another young male officer opened the investigation kit and carefully collected fingerprints from it.

Tang Qingqing nodded at them; the City Bureau had welcomed many new recruits in recent years, and she didn’t recognize these two, but despite their youth, they seemed experienced.

She didn’t say much more and asked the first officer who arrived at the scene:

"Where is the victim?"

The officer hurriedly replied, "According to the emergency call, the victim is Zhong Guohai, the owner of this house. He was found dead in the second-floor bedroom this morning by the maid while she was cleaning."

The officer pointed to a woman in her thirties, "This is Wang Damei, the maid of the deceased, Zhong Guohai."

Jiang Minghao looked at Wang Damei, "Was Zhong Guohai alone in the house last night?"

Wang Damei was still in shock, huddled and trembling, unable to speak for a long time.

The officer urged her, and Wang Damei finally stammered:

"Mrs... Mrs. Zhong went... went back to her... her parents' home, and the... the children are... are at boarding school, so... so they weren't here."

"What time did you arrive this morning?"

Hearing this, Wang Damei trembled even more.

"I... I live here as a live-in maid."

Jiang Minghao: "So you were here last night?"

Wang Damei lowered her head, shrinking even further.

"Yes."

Living under the same roof, another person being killed was terrifying just to think about.

Ren Feiyue: "Did you hear anything unusual last night?"

Wang Damei shook her head, "No... no, I... I live far from the main area, so... so I wouldn’t have heard anything upstairs."

Tang Qingqing took a quick look around the first floor and then went directly to the second floor.

At the top of the stairs, the smell of blood was already noticeable. Tang Qingqing followed the scent to where the victim was found.

The room was in disarray, and the safe inside was open and empty.

The victim lay face down on the ground, only a meter away from the door. His back was covered in blood, his eyes wide open, as if he couldn’t rest in peace.

As soon as Tang Qingqing entered, she noticed the bedroom window was wide open. She walked over and saw a footprint on the windowsill.

Tang Qingqing gestured to the female officer taking photos of the victim, "Comrade..."

The female officer quickly introduced herself, "Hello, Teacher Tang! My name is Xu Nan. We are alumni from the Police University. I was assigned to the City Bureau last year. I’ve even attended your lectures before; you are our goddess in forensic science!"

Xu Nan was very excited, her eyes almost sparkling when she looked at Tang Qingqing. If the timing were different, she would have said more.

"Hello," Tang Qingqing smiled and nodded at her, "There’s a footprint here; please take a photo of it."

Xu Nan hurried over, placed a marker, and took the photo.

The footprint was clear and didn’t require special attention to lighting or angle to capture it clearly.

After taking the photo, Tang Qingqing leaned out the window to check the outside. Below the window, there was a protruding ledge about five centimeters wide, and nearby, she saw a shallow shoe print.

Tang Qingqing’s eyes flickered as she examined the surroundings. Although the villa was built and decorated luxuriously, its security was poor, making it easy to climb to the second floor.

Using several protruding points on the wall, Tang Qingqing was confident she could climb up.

The window had no protective measures and no restrictions on how wide it could be opened.

Before the series of thefts at Aiqin Castle, its security was top-notch, boasting that not even a fly could get in. All personnel entering and exiting were strictly vetted. When they arrived in the police car, they were held up for a long time, undergoing repeated checks before being allowed in.

The previous theft had already tarnished the reputation of Aachen Castle, and now with a murder, it has sparked intense dissatisfaction among the homeowners.

"Teacher Tang, it appears the murderer climbed in through the window. Based on the marks at the scene, the murderer was stealing when the victim suddenly woke up, leading to a struggle that ended with the victim being killed," Xu Nan analyzed, marking and photographing as she spoke.

Tang Qingqing: "It does look that way on the surface."

"Is there more to it?" Xu Nan picked up on the implication in her words.

Tang Qingqing didn't rush to answer but continued with the preliminary investigation, ensuring their work was done before others could enter the scene.

Jiang Minghao soon entered, inquiring about the situation.

Forensic doctor Liu, who had just completed the initial autopsy, said:

"The victim is male, 1.72 meters tall, 43 years old. The fatal wound is a stab to the chest. Livor mortis has begun to coalesce, rigor mortis has set in the upper limbs, and the corneas are slightly cloudy. The time of death is approximately six hours ago."

Doctor Liu glanced at his watch, "That would be around three or four in the morning."

Tang Qingqing: "All the valuables in this room have been plundered, while other rooms show no signs of disturbance. The murderer must have scoped out the place beforehand, knowing exactly where the victim kept his important belongings."

Jiang Minghao walked over to the window and saw the two footprints.

"Did the murderer jump in through the window?"

Ren Feiyue also came over to take a look: "Just like the previous cases, all the burglars climbed in through the windows. The door lock wasn't damaged, so the victim probably didn't close the window at night. These rich people are really bold, knowing how rampant thieves have been lately, yet they still sleep with the windows open."

"It's our fault for not doing a good enough job; you have the nerve to blame them." Jiang Minghao shot him a glare.

Ren Feiyue chuckled awkwardly: "I just think it would be better if they waited until we solved the case before lowering their guard..."

Tang Qingqing shook her head, "The murderer may not have climbed in through the window."

Ren Feiyue was puzzled: "But there are two large footprints here. If they didn't climb in through the window, how did these footprints get here? And from the angle, they don't seem to be from leaving."

Jiang Minghao looked at the conspicuous shoe prints, his gaze sharp:

"These footprints are indeed suspicious. In the previous thefts, the thieves were very cautious and had strong anti-detection skills, allowing them to succeed in this heavily guarded residential area. They never left any clues, yet this time they left such obvious footprints without cleaning up, which doesn't match their style."

Ren Feiyue also realized this, sighing: "The thief from the previous case hasn't been caught yet, and now we have a new group. Fortunately, they're not as skilled, otherwise, these rich people would be in real trouble."

These days, anyone who can make money and keep it usually has some connections at the top.

The bureau is under a lot of pressure; if we don't solve this case, the provincial department will come to question us.

"That's not right," Ren Feiyue suddenly interjected, "We've been staking out this area for days. It doesn't make sense that we wouldn't notice such an incompetent thief!"

If these people committed the crime right under his nose, Ren Feiyue felt he should resign; what kind of eyesight did they have if they couldn't catch a thief?

Jiang Minghao's expression was also grim. They still had people stationed here, yet another theft occurred, and someone died. They had nowhere to hide their shame.

Tang Qingqing: "The two obvious footprints we see were deliberately left. The person didn't climb; they simply pressed the shoe soles onto the ground. Therefore, although there are shoe prints, they are different from those made by someone wearing shoes. Moreover, I found no other footprints on the window, nor any signs of deliberate erasure."

Ren Feiyue stroked his chin: "Why would someone do this? To frame someone else? Or perhaps it was someone familiar, trying to pin the blame on the theft gang?"

Otherwise, there would be no need to leave traces; just erasing their own would suffice.

Jiang Minghao: "If that's the case, then the murderer acted with premeditation, not out of surprise during a theft."

Tang Qingqing nodded: "That's very likely. Although the scene looks chaotic, as if there was a struggle, it was actually staged."

"No struggle?" Jiang Minghao was surprised; he had also examined the scene and hadn't noticed this.

Tang Qingqing confirmed: "Yes, the murderer made it look very realistic, but fake is fake, and it always leaves clues."

At this point, Doctor Liu added: "I also noticed this while examining the body. The bruises on the victim's body don't appear to be from a struggle. However, I couldn't conduct a detailed autopsy just yet, so I didn't mention it earlier."

Ren Feiyue suddenly understood: "No wonder the maid said she didn't hear any commotion upstairs. Given the scene, there should have been quite a bit of noise, and the victim should have called for help."

Jiang Minghao's gaze fell on the victim's face, the wide-open eyes expressing his disbelief at dying this way.

"If all these speculations hold true, then this murder was not an accidental killing due to a discovered theft, but a premeditated murder. The killer is likely someone the victim knew, and theft might not have been the primary goal, or only one of the goals. Killing the victim was the true objective."