Diary of a Criminal Investigator

While the excavation was ongoing, Wang Zhaokai was conducting investigations in the village, while Chen Jiang was primarily responsible for investigating the construction team.

"The main focus for the 121 National Highway this time is expansion."

The government project manager has already introduced why the highway is undergoing renovation.

It is mainly because the 121 National Highway is one of the crucial routes out of Haizhou City’s urban area.

"Haizhou City has only two roads exiting northwest, and the 121 National Highway has the highest traffic flow."

The project manager, named Wang Hu, was notified and rushed to the scene after the incident.

"Originally, the 121 National Highway was a two-way single-lane, and it can be changed to double four-lane after the expansion."

"When was the last time it was renovated?"

Chen Jiang noted these basic details and continued his inquiry.

"Ten years ago, the 121 National Highway already existed, but it was a gravel road. It was later turned into a cement road. The cement road was redone ten years ago due to cement weathering, turning it into an asphalt road."

Based on these clues, the deceased was likely buried under the foundation during the highway’s second renovation to asphalt ten years ago.

"Was there a record of the construction company from back then?"

Wang Hu nodded affirmatively, "There certainly are records. When the 121 National Highway was renovated last time, a formal bidding process was used to contract this particular segment. I’ll need to look up the files when I return to see which company was responsible."

Meanwhile, Sun Biao was investigating the construction team.

The construction supervisor named Lin Fan was currently looking crestfallen, as the excavation had unearthed remains...

This section of work definitely cannot proceed.

If there’s no significant progress in solving the case soon, the site will likely be sealed indefinitely.

This means they can’t guarantee the construction timeline.

Of course, Lin Fan isn’t a good person either.

During construction, they appropriated a section of a village cemetery from East Valley Town in order to build a service road.

Although they could have bypassed a section, Lin Fan insisted on demolishing the cemetery, sparking numerous civil disputes.

There have been several conflicts over this matter.

The local police station has been continuously mediating the situation.

But in terms of legality, it doesn’t quite reach criminally culpable status since the purchased cemetery land partially occupied farmland.

Lin Fan pulled out a Chunghwa cigarette, intending to offer it to Sun Biao.

He became acquainted with Sun Biao as the latter has mediated these conflicts several times.

Sun Biao refused the offered cigarette, frowning, "Don’t try that with me."

"Have you noticed anything unusual during your construction in these last few days?"

Lin Fan shook his head like a rattle.

"No, Captain Sun, you’re joking. We weren’t aware remains were buried here. We’re just responsible for renovations, and the previous work wasn’t done by me. Besides, that was ten years ago."

"The construction for this sealed-off area needs to pause. You all should focus elsewhere for now, and if anything comes up, immediately notify me by phone."

"Understood, understood. I’ll do exactly as you say."

"Don’t take this lightly. The site must remain untampered with; it’s a murder scene, and any disruption will lead to legal liability."

Sun Biao made sure to remind him due to Lin Fan’s unbothered demeanor.

"Also, ease up relations with the villagers; avoid conflicts every time and resorting to violence. What would you do if you hurt someone?"

"Even though their burial site was improperly placed, it is indeed their ancestral grave. If I don’t go after you for that, it would be peculiar. Compensate them with some money to settle the matter, wouldn’t that suffice?"

"Yes, yes, I understand. Completely following your instructions."

After comprehending the situation, Sun Biao didn’t ask further questions. The remains were buried ten years ago, which indeed didn’t relate to the current construction team.

At 4:30 AM, the remains were finally fully excavated.

The fieldwork concluded.

"Bring everything back for DNA testing. Let’s see if we can identify them."

"Yes!"

Back at the Criminal Investigation Team, Lu Chuan wasted no time resting.

Alongside the remains, a shovel was found in the burial pit.

It likely was the murderer’s tool used for excavation.

Lu Chuan was currently inspecting the shovel.

The wooden handle still hadn’t rotted, though it was covered in clay.

Lu Chuan very much hoped the murderer might have left fingerprints on the handle during the excavation years ago.

Despite it being ten years later, and the probability that the fingerprints had faded, Lu Chuan was optimistically cleaning the wooden handle for any remnants.

Wang Hao was working on the DNA identification, which was expected to be completed by tonight.

In other aspects, there weren’t more clues momentarily.

Wang Zhaokai discovered missing persons in the village, yet it couldn’t be confirmed as the same ones found as remains.

Only a DNA comparison can conclusively verify.

Extracting fingerprints from wooden surfaces is generally challenging.

Especially on non-smooth, unvarnished wood, the possibility of retrieving fingerprints is low.

This is due to wood’s nature to absorb oily substances.

Fingerprints left on typical wooden surfaces, say the handle of a shovel, will have its oils absorbed over time by the wood itself.

Fingerprint impressions are formed by the skin’s natural oils and sweat, and if absorbed, the prints do not remain.

Lu Chuan was not specifically seeking fingerprints from ten years ago on the wooden part itself; this is theoretically implausible.

His focus was on observing the clay adhered to the shovel’s handle.

If the murderer did use this shovel and didn’t wear gloves, there surely would be fingerprints on it.

Fingerprints won’t disappear in a short time, and if covered in clay, it might have captured some prints.

It might not be particularly clear, but even a little can significantly aid the investigation.

Persistence pays off, and Lu Chuan finally managed to separate a small piece of adhered clay from near the shovel’s blade end.

Inside was a one-third-sized print impression.

Though a bit rough, it was ultimately a lead!

"Good!"

Lu Chuan had approached the task with a trial mindset, and unexpected success unfolded.

This was also related to the nature of the clay beneath the roadbed.

If the soil was loose sand, retrieving anything would have been impossible.

Thankfully, the clay beneath the 121 National Highway roadbed was relatively moist.

After careful extraction, Lu Chuan began identification analysis.

Though it was only one-third of a typical fingerprint size, it was enough for Lu Chuan to conduct analysis and identification.

Now, it just depended on whether the fingerprint database had a matching print.