Criminal Investigation Notes

The Major Crimes Unit was still busy, especially after just solving a major case. There was a lot of follow-up work to be done.

Xia Mingxi’s desk was piled up like a small mountain, and everyone else was equally occupied, diligently organizing files one by one.

Lu Junchi returned from the meeting and knocked on Qu Ming’s desk, calling him out of the office.

The two of them walked into the nearby small conference room.

Qu Ming couldn’t figure out why his immediate superior suddenly looked so serious, and he felt quite anxious.

Lu Junchi didn’t sit down but leaned against the table, crossing his arms as he asked, “Old Qu, you were previously with the Third Criminal Investigation Team, right? Do you know much about the Fine Sand Explosion Case?”

Qu Ming stood across from Lu Junchi. He was well-informed and had also heard about the bomb found on a bus last night.

Many people speculated that it might be an imitation by the Fine Sand Case culprit, and Lu Junchi was probably asking him about it for this reason.

Qu Ming replied, “I participated in the preliminary investigation of the Fine Sand Case. I happened to be on vacation on the day of the final operation, so I didn’t take part, but I knew more than the public.”

The Fine Sand Case had made everyone afraid to speak up two years ago.

However, with time, most people had forgotten about it.

Back then, the General Bureau had formed a task force based on the Third Team specifically to investigate this bombing case, and it took nearly half a year from start to finish.

Qu Ming still remembered those few months as the most difficult period in his police career. The whole team was under immense pressure, tirelessly pursuing a killer who seemed like a ghost. Even the captain lost his life because of this case.

On that day, Qu Ming truly felt that he had narrowly escaped death, brushing shoulders with the Grim Reaper.

Lu Junchi had conducted investigations back then and had some understanding of the case. The Fine Sand was a serial bomber who had placed explosives multiple times throughout the city.

During the initial incidents, traces of colored sand were found at the explosion sites, which led to the nickname.

The bomb disposal experts from the SWAT team had come to analyze the case and explained that sand was left at the scene because the culprit used it as an insulating layer within the bomb. So after the explosion, sand would remain at the scene.

At that time, a task force was formed primarily by the Third Criminal Investigation Team to specifically pursue this criminal. However, the Fine Sand’s techniques became increasingly sophisticated, making it more difficult to comprehend.

The police increased their manpower and were determined to apprehend this bomber. But as they closed in on the suspect, a tragedy occurred.

A building turned into an inferno, several police officers were injured or killed, and the suspect died in the explosion.

This incident became a disgrace for the entire Huadu police community and a case that everyone in the General Bureau tacitly avoided mentioning.

Lu Junchi asked Qu Ming, “Did the Behavioral Analysis Unit participate in this case?”

Qu Ming sighed and said, “Of course. Throughout the investigation, there weren’t many clues left by the Sand. The former captain of Team 3, Chang Yu, sought assistance from the Behavioral Analysis Unit. But at that time, much of the evidence wasn’t substantial…”

Upon hearing this, Lu Junchi furrowed his brow.

Two years ago, it was the most glorious time for the Behavioral Analysis Unit, and the leadership had high expectations for this department. The detectives heavily relied on the profiles provided by the unit. In the minds of the people at the Bureau, profiling was seen as magical and almost omnipotent.

With supporters came opposition.

In such a situation, everyone was paying attention to every move of the Behavioral Analysis Unit. The poet had complained to him about the immense pressure and the continuous influx of cases that couldn’t be solved solely through profiling.

Then, Lu Junchi recalled Su Hui telling him that he was very averse to non-evidential profiling. He repeatedly emphasized the need to combine evidence and practical circumstances in the analysis…

Qu Ming continued, “…In the beginning, the Behavioral Analysis Unit provided two profiles based on the criminal characteristics: one for Moonlight and one for the Poet. The profiles pointed in different directions, and they were constantly debating about it…”

“On the day of the accident, the explosion occurred in a restaurant where a wedding reception was taking place. The Behavioral Analysis Unit pinpointed the specific location, mobilized officers, and while the bomb exploded, causing the collapse of the building, numerous officers who participated in the operation were sacrificed. Additionally, many civilians died, were severely injured, or went missing as a consequence.”

The explosion case from that year was extremely tragic, and it took a long time afterwards to establish the list of casualties and missing persons.

“Captain Lu… The rest of the information is not official.” Qu Ming hesitated for a moment, recalling how Lu Junchi had saved him before and how he had treated him well during this time, so he continued, “Captain Lu, I know some rumors about this case and the situation with the Behavioral Analysis Unit. However, rumors may not necessarily be true. As you know, many of these matters concerning the unit are prohibited from being discussed. What I’m telling you now, let’s just pretend it was never said once we walk out of this room.”

Lu Junchi replied, “Don’t worry.”

Qu Ming then said, “When the explosion happened in the Sandcase, Moonlight had actually already left the police station. The final profile was completed by the Poet. On the day of the operation, the Poet released the profile result, and the officers captured the suspect. However, the bomb happened to explode at that moment. Although some of the crowd had been evacuated, they couldn’t prevent this tragedy from occurring.” He lowered his head when he reached this point. “So personally, I don’t know how to evaluate this matter.”

Lu Junchi furrowed his brow, digesting this information.

He didn’t think there was a problem with what the Poet did. If the Poet hadn’t created the profile, the perpetrator might have escaped, and the Sandcase might have continued, resulting in more civilian deaths.

The accuracy of the Poet’s profiles had always been evident. No one could guarantee constant correctness, nor could anyone decipher the puzzle at the very first moment. The time of the explosion couldn’t have been foreseen, and the Poet might not have been prepared either.

Regarding this case, the only shortcoming of the Poet’s profiling might have been the failure to find the perpetrator earlier and prevent the tragedy.

Lu Junchi thought this way, but he was well aware of how some people would think.

Within the General Bureau, there were quite a few who opposed criminal psychological profiling. Many people doubted the accuracy of profiling and the consequences it could bring. Those malicious speculations probably believed that profiling was the reason for the failure of the operation and that the Poet had led those people to their deaths.

Moonlight left, the Poet disappeared, and profiling came under scrutiny.

Perhaps this was the reason for the disbandment of the Behavioral Analysis Unit.

But it wasn’t the Poet’s fault, nor was it his intention.

Lu Junchi furrowed his brow, contemplating for a moment. He still couldn’t understand some things. If Su Hui was the Poet, was he injured during that operation? Why wasn’t Su Hui’s name on the list of casualties at the time?

Was it because of special protection? Or perhaps, it was possible that the external list they saw had already been manipulated?

Director Tan undoubtedly knows some of the facts. If Su Hui is indeed the Poet, and if it was truly the Poet’s actions that led to severe consequences, Director Tan would definitely not allow Su Hui to continue as a consultant for the Major Crimes Unit.

However, the situation in the middle of the matter is unclear, and Lu Junchi seems even more reluctant to personally ask Su Hui about it…

Lu Junchi found one thing mentioned by Qu Ming quite strange and continued to ask him, “Why did Moonlight leave?”

Qu Ming replied, “I’m not entirely sure about the specifics, but there’s a saying that he had a falling out with the Poet, which is why he left the police force.”

As the two were discussing this, someone knocked on the door of the conference room.

Lu Junchi turned around to open the door and saw Qiao Ze standing there, saying, “Captain Lu, there has been a case in Shuanghua District. The Major Crimes Unit is needed at the scene.”

Lu Junchi didn’t expect a new case to come so soon. He returned to his office, asked Qiao Ze and Zheng Bai to accompany him, and instructed Xia Mingxi and Old Qu to continue working on the previous case files.

Upon hearing about the new case, Su Hui also took the initiative to stand up with his cane.

The four of them went downstairs, with Lu Junchi still driving.

It was not yet ten o’clock in the morning, and the traffic on the road was already gradually decreasing.

Qiao Ze sat in the back seat, seized the time, and held his laptop, giving a brief introduction of the situation, “The case was reported to the 7th Precinct. They rushed to an abandoned factory and found a male corpse that had been soaked in oil for a long time inside a barrel.”

Zheng Bai asked, “This case sounds quite ordinary. What’s unusual about it? How did they notify us so quickly?”

Lu Junchi gripped the steering wheel and said, “Qiao Ze hasn’t finished explaining the case yet.”

Even if a local precinct receives a case, even if the process is fast, it would take at least an hour for them to be notified, making it difficult to see the first crime scene where the body was dumped. If they were notified so quickly in this case, it must have been urgent.

An urgent major case probably wouldn’t involve just one body.

Sure enough, Qiao Ze continued, “That’s because near the location where the body was found, the detectives from the precinct discovered another barrel filled with oil, and inside it was another male corpse.”

“Double Barrel Oil Corpse case?” Zheng Bai finally showed surprise. “This sounds complicated.”

Su Hui had been looking out the window all along.

Upon hearing them mention this, he couldn’t help but lift his head and say, “In this world, there are no simple murder cases…”

Then he explained again, “Whether it’s one body or two bodies, whenever someone dies, the motives and processes of each case will be different. In addition to the differences in the gender, personality, and age of the perpetrator, there are also factors such as the era, family background, education, religion, and so on. There are first-time offenders, repeat offenders, habitual offenders, intentional crimes, negligent crimes, organized crimes, accomplices… When discussing them, there is simply no simplicity.”

There are no simple cases, only the self-proclaimed simplicity of the investigators.

And their job is to uncover the relationships and secrets hidden behind those cases.

As Su Hui reached this point in his explanation, Lu Junchi suddenly remembered something. He softly continued, “The reasons for murder are varied. Even through a single knife wound, a single trace, one can glean insights into a person’s entire life. Many people mistakenly believe that a case is simple and ordinary because they only see the surface of the case, without understanding the individuals entangled in it, their experiences, the stories behind them. Among these, the most unpredictable is the human psyche…”

This was the theory that the Poet had once shared with Lu Junchi, and he had firmly memorized it long ago.

In comparison, the Poet’s voice was more melodious, while Su Hui’s voice was huskier.

The two voices transcended time and seemed to momentarily overlap.

Although sometimes Su Hui’s theories contradicted those of the Poet, there were surprising moments of agreement.

Lu Junchi often felt a sense of familiarity when Su Hui spoke, as if he had heard those words before. This feeling intensified after he started suspecting that Su Hui might be the Poet.

Upon hearing Lu Junchi’s words, Su Hui felt a sense of familiarity and momentarily fell silent, caught off guard.

Lu Junchi, seeing Su Hui’s silence, wondered if his attempt to probe into his identity had been too abrupt.

The discussion reached a point where the air suddenly became frozen. There were four people in the car, yet it was quiet enough to hear the faint sound of the car’s air conditioning.

Both of the superiors suddenly fell silent, leaving their two subordinates in the backseat stunned.

Zheng Bai, accustomed to joking around with Qiao Ze, had originally made a casual remark without expecting it to lead to such a lengthy discussion.

It was Qiao Ze who reacted first, saying, “Um, um, I think both Teacher Su and Captain Lu make a lot of sense. I’m going to write it down and recite it every day when I get back!”

Zheng Bai chimed in, “Boss, I was wrong. I won’t joke about cases being simple anymore. Every case involves a loss of life, and I will take it very seriously… I’m telling you again, if I fail the year-end assessment, remember it.”

Only then did Su Hui snap out of his daze and uttered a low “Mm.”

Fortunately, the awkwardness didn’t last long, as they soon arrived at the crime scene.

They approached the outside of the factory, where yellow and white police tape had already been set up.

It was a single-story building of an old, small factory. Most of the windows were shattered, and even the rooftop was covered in yellowish-green weeds. The ground was littered with bricks and debris.

Lu Junchi walked in front, passing through the patch of grass in front of the factory door. The ground crunched underfoot, and he was afraid that Su Hui might stumble, so he turned back and reached out to support him. In Su Hui’s eyes, everything appeared hazy. After Lu Junchi held his hand, he became much steadier. Lu Junchi walked slowly, carefully pulling Su Hui along.

A young police officer approached them to give them a detailed briefing on the situation.

The old factory had suddenly changed its lock, and a scavenger in the vicinity noticed that there were more oil drums in the corner of the factory, smelling of oil. Thinking of stealing the oil, they entered and opened one of the drums, only to discover a body soaked in oil below, which frightened them and led to them calling the police.

While searching the scene, the police found another male body in a nearby abandoned small-scale livestock farm, less than a hundred meters away. That’s when they called in the Major Crimes Unit.

Lu Junchi instructed Qiao Ze and Zheng Bai to go to the other scene while he led Su Hui into the factory. The environment inside was dilapidated, with sunlight streaming in through the broken window openings.

The oil drum was large, over half the height of a person and more than a meter in diameter. Since the lid of the drum had been opened, the air inside was filled with a strong smell of oil. Su Hui coughed a few times and covered his mouth and nose. A young forensic investigator approached them and handed them masks and gloves.

The oil drum was heavily rusted, giving it a daunting appearance. Some of the oil had been scooped out, and through the semi-transparent yellowish viscous liquid, they could see the feet protruding from underneath—a male body curled up with the head facing downward.

“Captain Lu!” a forensic examiner raised their head to remind them, “There’s oil here. Be cautious with the people below, no open flames.”

“Don’t worry, none of our team members smoke,” Lu Junchi responded.

A forensic technician had already changed into protective clothing, preparing to recover the body. To prevent any ignition, they needed to wear cotton overalls and rubber boots, as well as avoid wearing any metal objects.

Once various photographs were taken, the body was quickly recovered and placed on a nearby canvas. Due to being submerged in oil, the body had been well-preserved, with minimal decomposition and a less unpleasant odor compared to a typical corpse.