flstandardbreds Chapter 883 The Second Victim?
Chapter 883 The Second Victim?
"Police! Everyone, don't move!" At Li Ming's command, officers stormed into the casino. Chaos erupted as gamblers panicked and scattered in all directions. However, order was quickly restored under the officers' control.
Li Ming walked up to the casino owner, showed his identification, and said, "We are investigating a murder case. Zhao Hu said he was gambling here when the crime occurred. Can you testify?"
The casino owner, pale-faced, hesitated for a moment before saying, "Zhao Hu has indeed been at the casino these past two days. Our casino is open 24 hours a day, and many people have seen him."
Li Ming continued, "Has anything unusual happened at the casino in the past two days? Have any strangers come by?"
The casino owner shook his head: "No. We have regular customers here; we rarely have strangers."
Just then, a young gambler stepped forward: "Officer, I remember two strange men came to the casino the night before last. They looked very fierce and even spoke a few words to Zhao Hu."
Li Ming's eyes lit up, and he pressed on, "Do you remember what they looked like? Did you hear what they said?"
The young gambler recalled: "One of the men was tall and had a scar on his face; the other was thinner and wore glasses. They spoke in low voices, and I couldn't hear what they were saying."
Li Ming noted this information down and continued questioning the other people in the casino. After some investigation, the police basically confirmed Zhao Hu's alibi. However, the appearance of the two strange men aroused Li Ming's suspicion.
Back at the police station, Li Ming convened a case analysis meeting. "Currently, Zhao Hu's alibi is basically valid. However, the two strange men who appeared in the casino are very suspicious, and we need to focus our investigation on their identities," Li Ming said.
Officer Zhang raised a question: "Captain Li, could these two strange men be connected to the other victim? Maybe they are the murderer."
Li Ming nodded: "That's possible. Lin Lan, have you made any progress in your investigation into the identity of the other victim?"
Lin Lan shook her head: "There is no matching information in the database. However, through the analysis of the tissue fragments, I found that another victim is a woman, aged between 25 and 30."
Li Ming pondered for a moment and said, "Pass the word down to investigate the recent disappearances of young women. At the same time, continue investigating the clues about the two strange men in the casino, starting with their physical characteristics, and retrieve surveillance footage from the surrounding area to try to find their whereabouts."
In the following days, the police split into several groups, one to investigate recently missing women, and the other to track down the two strange men from the casino. After extensive interviews and investigations, the police finally identified one of the missing women—Chen Xiaoyu. Chen Xiaoyu, 27 years old, worked as a clerk in a company and suddenly disappeared a week ago.
"Team Leader Li, Chen Xiaoyu's DNA matches tissue fragments found in another victim at the pork processing plant," Lin Lan excitedly reported to Li Ming.
Li Ming breathed a sigh of relief: "Finally, there's progress. Pass the word down to intensify the investigation into Chen Xiaoyu's social connections, with a focus on her relationship with Wang Qiang."
Li Ming stood before the clue board in his office, his brows furrowed deeply. The investigation's finding that Chen Xiaoyu and Wang Qiang had no connection had brought the case to a standstill. However, the unusual changes in Chen Xiaoyu's bank account three days prior seemed like a glimmer of light in the darkness, offering a new direction for the investigation.
"Xiao Li, notify everyone to hold an emergency case analysis meeting," Li Ming said, turning to his assistant, Xiao Li. Soon, the members of the criminal investigation team gathered in the meeting room; the atmosphere was heavy and oppressive.
Pointing to the information on Chen Xiaoyu and Wang Qiang on the clue board, Li Ming said, "After investigation, there is no connection between Chen Xiaoyu and Wang Qiang. However, after Chen Xiaoyu disappeared, 28000 yuan was withdrawn from her bank account three days ago. This is definitely not a coincidence and is very likely related to the case. Let's discuss our thoughts."
Officer Zhang spoke first: "Captain Li, the person who withdrew the money was completely covered up, which means they came prepared and deliberately avoided surveillance. This indicates that they have something to hide and it is very likely related to Chen Xiaoyu's disappearance and Wang Qiang's death."
Li Ming nodded in agreement: "That's right. We must follow this lead. Xiao Liu, you're in charge of investigating Chen Xiaoyu's financial situation, to see where the 28000 yuan came from, and whether she has any debt disputes. Xiao Wang, go to the bank to retrieve the detailed transaction records from the ATMs, including the time and location of withdrawals, and try to find more clues."
After receiving their orders, Xiao Liu and Xiao Wang quickly launched an investigation. Xiao Liu visited Chen Xiaoyu's company and colleagues, learning that Chen Xiaoyu was hardworking, had a stable income, and no obvious debt problems. "Team Leader Li, Chen Xiaoyu is usually very frugal; this 28000 yuan must be her savings from a long time. Moreover, according to her colleagues, Chen Xiaoyu hasn't shown any unusual behavior recently," Xiao Liu reported to Li Ming.
Meanwhile, Xiao Wang also brought back the ATM transaction records from the bank. "Team Leader Li, the withdrawal time was 2:00 AM, and the location was an ATM in the suburbs. I checked the surrounding surveillance footage and found that the person who withdrew the money left on a motorcycle, and the license plate was obscured." Xiao Wang handed the surveillance screenshots to Li Ming.
Li Ming carefully examined the screenshot and said, "Although we can't see the person's face clearly, we can start with the motorcycle. Notify the traffic police department to retrieve surveillance footage from the surrounding roads during the time of the incident and track the motorcycle's route."
With the assistance of the traffic police, the police quickly pinpointed the motorcycle's route. The motorcycle eventually disappeared into an old residential area. Li Ming led his officers to the area and interviewed the residents.
"Hello, sir. We're investigating a case and would like to ask if you've seen a motorcycle entering or leaving the community recently? The rider is very well covered up," Li Ming asked an elderly man sitting at the entrance of the community.
The old man recalled for a moment and said, "It seems like there was such a person. A few days ago, in the early morning, I went out for a walk and saw a motorcycle drive into the community. However, I didn't see what the rider looked like."
Li Ming continued, "Do you know where the motorcycle is parked?"
The old man shook his head: "I don't know. This neighborhood is quite chaotic, motorcycles are parked everywhere."
Just when the investigation reached a stalemate, Officer Zhang found the motorcycle in a corner of the residential area. "Captain Li, the motorcycle has been found! But there are no fingerprints on it, it has obviously been cleaned up," Zhang reported to Li Ming.
Li Ming looked at the motorcycle, pondered for a moment, and said, "The fact that the other party cleaned the motorcycle shows that he was very cautious. But he didn't expect that we would follow this clue and find this place. Notify the technicians to conduct a full investigation of the motorcycle and see if we can find any other clues."