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

Huang Jun nodded.

"It must have been a gas leak. At that time, 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 time.

"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 department 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 department 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 time, 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 meals 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 moment, "It’s been so long, I can’t really remember. 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 methods of dismemberment cases made Cheng Zihao feel that these cases were very likely done by the same person.

After eating, Cheng Zihao used the computer again.

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

One case, in particular, caught his attention.

Wu Qizhou, an employee of Mei’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 time of death, single, never married nor had children, and his parents had passed away, leaving only an older brother.

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

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

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

There was very little evidence found at the crime 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 flame.

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 me 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 came 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 became 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 documented the objective circumstances of the case and some details of the scene but didn’t provide thorough records of the investigation process at the time.

For instance, which suspects were investigated, what measures 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 time."

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 home."

"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 fragmented. Experts from the provincial department 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 me make a call first."

Qin Yong’s office.

"Zihao, what’s up?"

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

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

"Sure, send it over to me 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 Crime 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 crime scene?

Was it a colluded testimony?