Chapter 174: Campus Murder Case (Part Five)

Chapter 174: Campus Murder Case (Part Five)

When Tang Qingqing went to retrieve the relevant documents, Captain Xiang of the Third Squad, upon learning this, excitedly wanted to put his arm around Tang Qingqing and go for a drink together.

Competition between squads was non-existent among them; in recent years, Dongguan City had seen a high crime rate, with pressure being applied from the provincial level down to the municipal level, and then onto their bureau. They worked under constant stress, and no one could remember the last time they had a good night's sleep.

They were more eager than anyone to solve this rape and murder case. Now that someone was willing to lend a hand, it was nothing but joy. If new clues could be found, they wouldn't have to face the victim's family with their heads hung low.

"Teacher Tang, if there's anything you need us to assist with, just let us know, and we will do our utmost to cooperate!"

Captain Xiang felt it wasn't enough and turned to a young female officer:

"Xiao Zhang, you've been involved in this case before. If Teacher Tang needs anything, you're responsible for assisting her."

Zhang Ying happily agreed; she had long heard of Tang Qingqing's reputation.

"Teacher Tang, if you have any questions, feel free to come to me."

Zhang Ying was a newly assigned police officer from last year and also a female officer, so she mostly handled internal affairs. It was rare to get a chance to work on the front lines, and now she was very enthusiastic about this opportunity.

Before even receiving the documents, Tang Qingqing already knew the basic situation of the victim, Yang Hemiao.

Yang Hemiao came from a small county in a neighboring province. Her father worked in the government, holding a position at the department level, with a comfortable family background and a bright future ahead.

Her death left her parents in deep sorrow, and they frequently came to inquire about the progress of the investigation.

"Did she change her name before?"

Upon seeing the documents, Tang Qingqing noticed that Yang Hemiao had once changed her name. She paid attention because the deceased used to be called Yang Jing.

Changing her name to something more rustic was indeed a reverse move.

Hearing this, Zhang Ying knew what Tang Qingqing was thinking.

"The deceased's father works in the Agriculture Bureau and comes from a farming background. He probably wanted to give his daughter a more down-to-earth name."

Even as she said this, Zhang Ying found it hard to convince herself. She believed the real reason was likely superstition.

Many people change their names hoping to alter their fate and bring good fortune to themselves and their families.

However, since the deceased's father was a government official, he couldn't admit to such practices publicly, as it would be considered a mistake.

"When did the deceased change her name?"

Zhang Ying: "I don't really know. I'll check into it later."

Tang Qingqing began examining the scene photos. The victim was murdered around nine in the evening and discovered by classmates the next morning during morning reading.

That night, it had rained, washing away many traces and making it difficult to find additional clues.

The arrest of Chen Bin was possible because a lighter he lost was found at the scene, leading to his capture.

"Why would the victim come here late at night?"

The location of the victim's death was on the outskirts of the campus, where a small stream flowed, surrounded by many trees and plants, a relatively secluded area.

At night, despite the streetlights, it was still quite dark.

"This grove is a famous spot for dating couples in the Arts and Sciences College. At night, school couples often go there to meet. According to the investigation, the victim was likely going there to meet someone."

"Likely?"

Such an ambiguous answer indicated a lack of concrete evidence, only speculation.

"On the night of the incident, the victim did not admit to going out for a date when she left, only saying she was running an errand. However, based on her roommates' observations, she was likely going on a date but didn't want others to know."

On the night of the incident, Yang Hemiao spent the entire evening in the dormitory getting dressed up, wearing a beautiful dress and applying makeup. When she left, she was humming a tune, clearly in a very good mood.

Although she didn't admit it, everyone could guess what was happening.

"But we investigated thoroughly and couldn't identify the victim's boyfriend. Her classmates only speculated that she was in a relationship, which she never confirmed. Based on the information provided by her classmates, we questioned a male student named Zhang Songyuan, who was suspected to be her boyfriend. However, he claimed to be unfamiliar with the victim, stating they were not in the same grade or major and hardly spoke. His classmates can vouch for this. On the night of the incident, Zhang Songyuan was in the library all night and later returned to the dormitory with his roommate, providing a solid alibi."

"Didn't anyone report to the teachers that she didn't return to the dormitory that night?"

Zhang Ying: "It was a weekend, and the victim often didn't return to the dormitory on weekends, so no one paid much attention."

"Where would she go if not staying in the dormitory?" Tang Qingqing asked curiously.

"She has a classmate at the University of Economics and Trade, and she often goes to visit her classmate there."

The University of Economics and Trade is located in the city center, close to the bustling areas of Dongguan City. Unlike the Arts and Sciences College, which is in the suburbs and surrounded by desolate areas, every trip to the city center feels like a rural person entering the city.

Yang Hemiao was fond of playing around and skipped classes frequently during her college years, failing several courses due to lack of interest in studying.

Mentioning these details, Zhang Ying couldn't help but comment:

"Because the roommates didn't report to the teachers in time, they were blamed by the victim's parents, who thought they were accomplices. If they hadn't been so indifferent, their daughter might not have been harmed."

Tang Qingqing frowned slightly but ultimately refrained from commenting, asking instead:

"Were any couples in the area that night aware of anything unusual?"

Zhang Ying shook her head: "Those who met there were very considerate; if they saw someone, they would keep their distance and not disturb each other. Although it's no longer forbidden for college students to date, people are still quite reserved, especially when meeting in the grove at night. No one knows what might happen, and if word got out, it would damage the parties' reputations. Therefore, no one who was there that night would be willing to speak up."

Tang Qingqing nodded and focused her attention on the scene photos.

The scene photos meticulously documented the situation at the time and captured many surrounding areas.

Tang Qingqing held a magnifying glass and examined everything meticulously, completely shutting out the outside world.

Zhang Ying stood by for a while but, finding that she wasn’t needed, quietly left to attend to her own affairs.

The morning passed quickly. When Tang Qingqing went to the cafeteria for lunch, Ren Feiyue and Xu Fangran, who had been investigating at the College of Arts and Sciences, had returned. They discussed the case while eating.

"We checked around, and found that the two victims, Li Yujiao and Yang Hemiao, had no connection. They belonged to different departments and grades, so they never attended classes together. The only thing they had in common was that they both lived in Building 2 of the girls' dormitory. However, their rooms were on different floors, and they didn’t share the same washroom."

Their classmates and roommates all said they didn’t know each other. Li Yujiao’s roommates only knew about Yang Hemiao after the incident.

Ren Feiyue took a bite of rice and continued, "Yang Hemiao didn’t have a part-time job either. Her family was well-off, so she didn’t need to work to support herself. She had some money, but not enough to frequent galleries or luxury places. She had no significant connection with Tang Zhenzhen."

Du Jiabao said, "It seems the two cases aren’t related, except for the use of □□. Perhaps the killer of Li Yujiao got inspired by the Yang Hemiao case and prepared the □□ accordingly."

Ren Feiyue rolled his eyes, "What are you thinking? We haven’t disclosed the details of the crime, so how could anyone imitate it?"

Since the case hadn’t been solved, the public was only told that the victims were murdered; the details of the assault were not widely spread.

However, the victims’ disheveled appearance at the scene allowed witnesses to guess what had happened, and the news spread privately.

Tang Qingqing still felt that the coincidence was too great and maintained her skepticism.

"Teacher Tang, did you make any progress this morning?" Xu Fangran asked.

Tang Qingqing paused, "A little bit."

Everyone perked up immediately, focusing their attention on her.

Not only the members of Team Four, but also those from Team Three, who had been listening intently, gathered around.

Tang Qingqing couldn’t help but laugh, "Don’t get too excited. We don’t know yet if it will be useful for the case."

Ren Feiyue, being impatient, urged, "Teacher Tang, just tell us. In our line of work, there’s always more useless information than useful clues. Finding even a small lead is rare."

Tang Qingqing took out several photos and pointed to them, "These all show footprints."

The photos were quickly passed around, and everyone felt like they were blind.

Ren Feiyue squinted, turning the photo back and forth, but saw nothing.

"There’s nothing here. Just a bunch of grass."

Xu Nan said, "I can see a partial footprint here, but it’s far from where the victim was found."

Tang Qingqing took Ren Feiyue’s photo and pointed to a corner, "Look closely at this patch of grass. There’s a faint indentation."

Ren Feiyue almost wore through the photo before he finally saw the indentation. It was indeed there, but it was hard to discern what it was, at most outlining the edge of a shoe.

"Teacher Tang, this is really hard to see," he said.

Tang Qingqing nodded, "Indeed, it’s not easy."

The grass had been messed up by rain and wind, and she had to carefully straighten it out to piece together the traces and see if they could reveal anything.

This task was very labor-intensive and tedious, and there was no guarantee it would lead to the killer.

But it had to be done, as they had no other leads.

Tang Qingqing had a hunch that the two cases were connected. Since there were no other clues in Li Yujiao’s case, she decided to start with Yang Hemiao’s case.

Another photo showed clearer footprints, but they were also incomplete and quite far from the crime scene, likely unrelated to the case.

Zhang Ying glanced at the photo and said, "The footprint was likely made by a woman, which doesn’t match the killer’s profile, so we didn’t pursue it further."

Finding someone through footprints was challenging; it could only provide a rough idea of the person’s characteristics. Unless the search was limited to a specific area, especially with a partial footprint, it was even harder.

The College of Arts and Sciences had over two thousand female students, teachers, and staff. Finding the right person among them was extremely difficult, compounded by the fact that the footprint didn’t fit the killer’s profile and there was no way to determine when it was left. Thus, it was abandoned.

Tang Qingqing stared at the photo, "I’ll try to find this person and see if she was present that night."