Diary of a Criminal Investigator Chapter 358: This Is a Major Case

Huang Jun nodded.

"It must have been a gas leak. At that ti, Wang Jian’s father was in the house and was burned to death."

"Was it an accident or arson?"

"Back then, it was determined to be an accident. No evidence of arson was found."

Although seven or eight years had passed, Old Huang was quite familiar with the situation at the ti.

"I’m an office clerk, so I wasn’t supposed to go out to handle cases, but I knew Wang Jian’s father quite well back then, so I went to the scene."

"It was a terrible burn, caused by a gas tank explosion. Later, the fire departnt checked it and found it was due to improper use."

Cheng Zihao nodded. He didn’t doubt the investigation results of the fire.

The fire departnt is professional in this area, and since the investigation results showed that the explosion and fire were caused by improper use of the gas tank, it should not have been deliberate.

"What happened after that?"

"Nothing much happened afterward. Wang Jian and his mother were at his grandmother’s house next door at the ti, so they were fine, otherwise..."

The two of them chatted as they walked to the police station’s cafeteria.

Indeed, the food at the Construction Road Police Station was quite good, better than many other police station als Cheng Zihao had eaten before.

It’s not that the dishes were particularly plentiful, just purely that the taste was good. The braised pork with potatoes was especially appetizing.

"Brother Huang, after Wang Jian’s father died that year, were there any cases in Huangzhou?"

"Cases?"

Huang Jun thought for a mont, "It’s been so long, I can’t really rember. Besides, Huangzhou is so big, wouldn’t there be a few homicide cases every year?"

Cheng Zihao thought so too, realizing he might have been a bit overly sensitive.

In other words, it’s quite normal for homicide cases to occur in cities where Wang Jian had been.

However, the similar thods of dismbernt cases made Cheng Zihao feel that these cases were very likely done by the sa person.

After eating, Cheng Zihao used the computer again.

This ti, he particularly looked up homicide cases in Huangzhou seven years ago.

One case, in particular, caught his attention.

Wu Qizhou, an employee of i’an Liquified Gas Company, was murdered seven years ago, and the case remains unsolved.

What caught Cheng Zihao’s attention was not Wu Qizhou himself, but rather the occupation of Wu Qizhou recorded in the case files.

He was responsible for delivering liquefied gas tanks to the residents in the Yangtze River Road area, and Yangtze River Road was where Cheng Zihao had just visited in the morning, where Wang Jian’s family lived.

In other words, the gas tank in Wang Jian’s house seven years ago was delivered by Wu Qizhou.

Cheng Zihao looked again at the date of Wu Qizhou’s murder, which was August 4th, seven years ago.

And the fire at Wang Jian’s house occurred on August 2nd, seven years ago!

Wang Jian’s father had just been burned to death due to improper gas tank operation, and soon after that, the worker who delivered the gas tanks to his house was murdered?

Could there really be such a coincidence?

Cheng Zihao retrieved the case files related to Wu Qizhou’s murder and examined them carefully.

Wu Qizhou was fifty-two years old at the ti of death, single, never married nor had children, and his parents had passed away, leaving only an older brother.

The cri scene of Wu Qizhou’s murder was extrely brutal. According to photos in the files, his head was nearly severed.

The murder weapon was found at the scene, and it was confird to be a kitchen knife from Wu Qizhou’s ho.

Wu Qizhou’s residence was very remote, with no neighbors nearby.

There was very little evidence found at the cri scene, except for a partial bloody fingerprint lifted from the weapon.

"Many experts have examined this partial fingerprint, but unfortunately, no successful identification was made."

A stranger’s voice interrupted Cheng Zihao.

He turned around and saw a middle-aged policeman standing behind him, tall with a round face, looking quite friendly.

"And you are?"

"Zhang Yu, field officer at Construction Road Police Station, and that’s my computer you’re using."

Cheng Zihao quickly stood up, noting that Zhang Yu was older than him. He took out a cigarette from his pocket and offered it: "Brother Zhang, sorry for the trouble."

The officer took the cigarette, pulled out a lighter, and offered a light to Cheng Zihao, who took out his own cigarette, holding it with both hands to the fla.

With a gentle tap of his right hand’s four fingers on the officer’s hand, he signaled that it was good.

Zhang Yu retracted the lighter and lit his own cigarette: "Old Huang told you’re from Liangzhou—quite a distance away."

"Can’t be helped—I’ve got a cold case from three years ago, and just found a lead a couple of days ago, so I ca to check it out."

"Is it related to this case?"

Zhang Yu pointed at the computer screen, referring to the case of Wu Qizhou’s murder.

"Not sure yet. I just reviewed the files on this case and feel there might be a connection."

"Well, I was at the scene back then and tracked the case for a while until it beca a cold case and was handed over. But if you have any questions, I might be able to help."

"That would be great."

The case files only docunted the objective circumstances of the case and so details of the scene but didn’t provide thorough records of the investigation process at the ti.

For instance, which suspects were investigated, what asures were taken, or any items were examined—such details weren’t recorded in the files and could only be known by querying the officers who handled the case back then.

"Wang Jian was actually a suspect at that ti."

After they sat down, Cheng Zihao mainly inquired about the range of suspects considered during the previous investigation.

With Wang Jian’s father burned to death and Wu Qizhou the one who delivered the gas tanks, plus the proximity of the events, it would have been strange if Wang Jian hadn’t been investigated.

"But Wang Jian had an alibi back then. His relatives and mother could attest that he was asleep and hadn’t left the relative’s ho."

"Oh, right, after the fire, Wang Jian’s family stayed at a relative’s place for a while."

"How about the fingerprints? How was that processed?"

"The fingerprints were found on the murder weapon, but they were severely fragnted. Experts from the provincial departnt also examined them, and they even entered the fingerprint battle database, but unfortunately, they never were identified."

The two of them chatted for quite a while and exchanged contact information. Only after bidding farewell to Huang Jun did Cheng Zihao leave.

At the guesthouse.

"Brother Hao, where are we heading to next?"

According to the regular procedures, the investigation into Wang Jian was technically over, and the team could return to Liangzhou.

Cheng Zihao smoked a cigarette and thought for a while: "Hold on, let make a call first."

Qin Yong’s office.

"Zihao, what’s up?"

"Brother-in-law, I’m currently in Huangzhou, tracking a case, the dismbernt case you helped with last ti..."

"There’s this partial fingerprint. Can you see if Teacher Lu could take a look at it for ?"

"Sure, send it over to first, and I’ll get back to you."

Qin Yong certainly agreed to facilitate the fingerprint identification.

Coincidentally, Lu Chuan was busy in the lab these days and could take a look.

Under the Cri Scene Investigation lab.

Lu Chuan had just completed the separation of over thirty superimposed shoe prints, and as the process ended, the results were clear.

"It really was him!"

The four-year-old cold case was cracked!

But how did Wang Huifang’s husband convince his colleagues to prove he wasn’t at the cri scene?

Was it a colluded testimony?