Chapter 21 - 21 21 This Feather

Words : 1234 Updated : Sep 10th, 2025

21: Chapter 21 This Feather 21: Chapter 21 This Feather As the trace evidence investigators arrived at the scene, the captain of the Criminal Police, Huang Qiangmin, Deputy Director Zhang Tao, and Director Guan Xi, also successively rushed over. All three of these figures rarely appeared, especially the director himself. Although he seemed to be busy in the office building on a daily basis, ordinary officers seldom had the chance to speak with him. Except in the case of a murder. For a county bureau, a murder case was almost always the most important case. In other cases, the director might not show up at all, or even need to sit in his office to hear the report. But once a murder occurred, not only did the director have to be present at the scene, but he also had to sign the scene examination report. Because of this, he couldn’t avoid getting to know about the case even if he wanted to. However, Ningtai County usually only had one or two murder cases per year. The emergence of two consecutive cases now caused the director’s brows to furrow even more deeply. “What’s the situation now?” the director asked while getting dressed, addressing Huang Qiangmin beside him. As the head of the Criminal Police, Huang’s daily work was much more about management than field operations. The only exception was murder cases, where he was the designated on-scene commander. And the first one to be put under pressure, undoubtedly, was the captain of the Criminal Police. Without any hesitation, Huang Qiangmin said, “The victim, Xue Ming, 36 years old, was a manager of a logistics company. Currently single, the house where the crime took place belongs to the victim’s parents... Around 11 p.m., his sister was returning home from work and stopped by his house to pick up a package she had stored there. That’s when she discovered the body and called 110 to report it. The officers from the second team arrived at the crime scene and found signs that it had been cleaned up. The wardrobe had been rummaged through and the victim’s phone was taken. However, based on valuable items left at the scene, we believe we can rule out breaking and entering or robbery. It’s likely the work of someone familiar...” He spoke quite detailedly and directly stated his own speculation. This was Huang Qiangmin’s habit. The director and deputy director, being removed from frontline duties, needed clear information to avoid misjudgment. Director Guan Xi simply nodded his head, and once he was fully dressed, took the lead and entered the room. After a brief observation, Director Guan Xi approached the body and asked Wu Jun, “Old Wu, how’s it going? Tell me what you think.” Unlike other technical police officers who came and went, Wu Jun, having served nearly 30 years as a forensic doctor, was familiar with the leaders both past and present. In murder cases, the importance of the forensic doctor was indisputable. Wu Jun was prepared and, after contemplating briefly, stated, “The victim was stabbed in the chest cavity; major blood vessels in the chest were ruptured, leading to death by exsanguination. There was a significant loss of blood. I specifically checked the bathroom; there were signs of washing, but a large amount of cleaning fluid was used to rinse it...” The director listened and nodded, instructing after Wu Jun finished reporting, “Make sure to collect the evidence as meticulously as possible. If necessary, expand the scope of the investigation...” After speaking for a while, Director Guan Xi turned to Huang Qiangmin and said, “The bureau will provide support for you guys. Don’t have any concern...” After the director finished speaking, the deputy director said, “We need to protect the crime scene well. I see that the residential area here is quite complex. We must preserve the opportunity for re-examination of the scene... Likewise for the forensic doctor, based on the initial examination of the scene, re-examine to check for any oversights...” Huang Qiangmin listened attentively to the instructions from the director and deputy director, then turned his head to start giving orders. He specially took a team, merged with the K-9 unit, and expanded the search area together, looking for the murder weapon. In the meantime, police officers investigating the victim’s social relationships and those looking for video clues nearby also scattered to begin their tasks. Huang Qiangmin kept a stern face and a straight posture, continuously communicating with the various teams. In the eyes of ordinary people, solving cases seemed to be full of intellectual competition, danger, and mystery. But to detectives, solving cases was more about burning through funds and physical stamina. Those mysterious and intricate locked-room murders, and the obvious atrocities of serial killings, might occur at some place and time, but for the police in less prominent locales, such cases were often followed through movies and television. For ordinary police officers, the most difficult murder cases to handle were random killings. These cases, with their high degree of chance, could indeed result in a lack of clues and unsolvable situations if the criminal was lucky enough. However, with most other murder cases, the ability to solve them was not just about luck but also about resources. Speaking of today’s case, Huang Qiangmin had only taken a quick look at the crime scene and didn’t dare to claim full confidence, but he still felt somewhat assured. A crime committed by someone familiar meant that following up on the victim’s social relations could likely yield clues. Additionally, the body was discovered quite early, only a few hours after the incident. Starting with the surveillance footage from the surrounding area could potentially lead to clues. Furthermore, the disappearance of the victim’s phone could indicate the presence of information unfavorable to the killer within it, and based on Huang Qiangmin’s experience, remotely accessing the victim’s WeChat or text messages could very likely provide vital leads... Huang Qiangmin’s approach to solving the case was crystal clear, but this did not lessen his sense of tension. Those who had been police officers for a long time knew that solving the case was never the issue; the real challenge was always in handling the case. Finding the suspect, arresting, and interrogating them was just the beginning. Securing evidence and forming a complete chain of evidence were more crucial and difficult. Especially in murder cases, one didn’t have to wait for the death penalty review process. The demands of the earlier second and first trials, as well as the preceding prosecutorial review, were all made with extreme rigor. Because of this, the first thing Huang Qiangmin arranged was the search for the murder weapon. Besides, luck was an elusive factor. Those unsolved murder cases, would you consider them complex? Perhaps they truly were, but to say they were utterly unsolvable seemed not quite accurate. And from another perspective, were the solved murder cases simple? Huang Qiangmin commanded with a stable yet tense demeanor. As the captain of the Criminal Police, he was responsible for hundreds, if not thousands, of cases each year, but murder cases still brought a profound sense of pressure. “This pubic hair doesn’t belong to the victim,” Jiang Yuan said at that moment, plucking a hair from the deceased’s crotch area, his voice reaching Huang Qiangmin’s ears.

Chapter 21 - 21 21 This Feather

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