Chapter 126: Chapter 112: The Severed Finger Dismemberment Case

Still on the road at this moment.

But upon arriving at the scene, Li Xiang said that he had already finished examining the scene with Coalball, and all the dismembered body parts had been found.

Out of caution for the sake of work, Cao Gang still had the handlers from the police dog squad, who had rushed over, bring their dogs to the scene again to search for clues.

The results were quite surprising.

Apart from what Coalball found from the human remains, the other three police dogs didn’t discover anything; all traces at the scene were found by Coalball.

“Li Xiang, your dog is even better than the police dogs. This time, with the case cracked, Coalball deserves first credit.”

The first phalanx was discovered by Coalball, and in subsequent scene examinations, other fragments were also found first. Judging from the scattered locations of the body parts, Li Xiang speculated that the killer likely had a bag containing the body parts that broke during the disposal process, causing some body tissues to fall to the ground.

This also indicates one issue: the killer did not use a car or similar vehicle capable of carrying a load to dispose of the body; instead, the killer used a bicycle, during which the bag ripped and some body parts fell out.

What’s more speechless is that this small road has no surveillance, obviously the killer had scouted the spot before the disposal to know this was a surveillance blind spot.

This means that the killer committed the crime with premeditation, making such a case quite challenging for the police to investigate.

The forensic experts gathered all the meat fragments found on-site, and prepared to take them back for analysis to extract DNA information to see if they could identify the victim.

The detectives of the investigation team would not think that the meat fragments before them were from a simple case.

“These meat fragments must have fallen off during the body disposal process. The exact location where the killer disposed of the body is still unknown, and this is something we must find out.”

The limited fragments leave too few clues for the police; if the specific body disposal site can be found, perhaps more clues could emerge.

“This small road has no surveillance, making it tough to track the killer’s disposal path. Don’t we have three police dogs here? Oh, no, including Coalball, we have four. Let’s see if their sense of smell can help us find the killer.”

“Yes, let’s split up and check all surveillance within a three-kilometer radius. The killer aiming for perfection is still unlikely; to remain unknown, the guilty must not act. Additionally, the police dogs should be used for tracking.”

Cao Gang, taking Mao Ji’s suggestion, decided to pursue multiple channels for clues. Focusing on one area would only solidify one’s thought process and limit the discovered clues.

“Li Xiang, can your Coalball track scents?”

“Let’s give it a try. A fourth dog means an extra bit of strength.” Even though there were already three police dogs, he didn’t want to arrogantly claim that his Coalball was the best.

“Alright, then I’ll leave this area to you. Inform us promptly if anything comes up.”

“Yes.”

The scene had already been secured by the police. Li Xiang had reported the necessary information, so he didn’t need to stay there anymore. Although Coalball had chased quite a distance without finding any body parts, it only meant that in that stretch, the bag with the body parts was blocked by larger remains, thereby not losing more pieces. However, the scent in the air wouldn’t dissipate that quickly.

Moreover, Coalball had some innate ability in tracking blood, but one thing that worried Li Xiang was that the killer had meticulously processed the body parts before disposal, leaving few traces of blood and no trail on the ground, so finding the disposal site could only rely on the dogs’ noses.

“Coalball, sniff.”

Coalball set off, along with the other three police dogs.

Four handlers and four dogs traced in different directions.

Entering work mode, Coalball’s vibrant nature mellowed, earnestly sniffing various spots as it moved forward.

After walking for about half an hour, Coalball stopped by a stinking water ditch.

“The scent disappears here?”

“Woof~”

Receiving a positive reply, Li Xiang didn’t step on immediately but used a flashlight to inspect the nearby area for any clues.

Upon doing so, he spotted some chaotic footprints.

The killer likely directly threw the body into the filthy water ditch.

Thinking of this, Li Xiang immediately called Captain Cao to report the situation.

Cao Gang never expected that Li Xiang’s team would be the first to send back news among the four police dog teams, bringing a clue in just about thirty minutes. Could Coalball be more like a police dog than actual police dogs?

It indeed seemed unbelievable.

Fifteen minutes later, Cao Gang and the technical staff arrived at the bank of the water ditch.

With a powerful searchlight turned on, the whole riverside was as bright as daylight.

The beam cast into the river faintly illustrated a woven bag at the bottom.

“Spotted a suspicious woven bag.”

“Someone grab a pole and fish the bag out?”

The woven bag wasn’t submerged deeply, making a professional salvage team unnecessary; a hook could pull up the plastic bag.

As the body in the water was buoyant, it wouldn’t be very heavy either.

But there was nothing long enough available on-site to hook the woven bag; people stood around helplessly while one resourceful person ran off to borrow tools from nearby neighbors, though there was no guarantee they’d find something suitable.

Hence, Li Xiang said: “I’ll go down and haul it up.”

In the last case, he dealt with decayed corpses, so he wasn’t very intimidated by meat fragments; the stinking water ditch was pungent, but having smelled decayed corpses during the summer, its smell wasn’t particularly concerning.

Seeing none out of the twenty-plus people present voluntarily heading down, only the newcomer Li Xiang suggested it first, leaving Cao Gang with a good impression of him.

“Alright, be careful down there.”

Li Xiang avoided footprints and other clues on the bank, took off his pants and shoes, and jumped into the foul-smelling water ditch from the side.

Upon entering, a stench of decay filled his nostrils; it was the smell of decomposed plants and sludge, distinct from corpse odor.

But it wasn’t pleasant, so holding his breath, he slowly approached the woven bag in the water and picked it up.

Slowly he dragged it to the bank, where people were ready to assist.

Together, they hoisted the woven bag ashore.

The forensic experts dismantled the woven bag and poured out the body fragments, assembling them on-site.

Leaning on Mao Ji’s hand for support, Li Xiang climbed ashore.

He took a towel from Zhou Man and wiped himself down before changing back into his clothes, but the odor was strong enough to make even Coalball keep its distance.

The primary goal of finding the killer’s disposal site was to identify the victim.

However, after the forensics poured all remains from the woven bag, they discovered it lacked a head.

Without a head, the victim’s identity remained unknown.

This absence significantly hindered the case’s progress.

“The killer skillfully evaded surveillance from the disposal route to the site selection, choosing a vile-smelling ditch unlikely for fishing or walking, minimizing discovery risk, and further concealing the victim’s identity by separating the head from the body during disposal. This series of actions indicates a meticulous, premeditated, and planned murder.”

Cao Gang observed the woven bag. There was a small surface tear, likely formed during the disposal by inadvertently scraping against something which caused some small body parts to fall out, alerting the wandering Coalball.

Otherwise, who knows when this case would have come to light.

“Luckily, there are some clues at the scene; the area’s remoteness suggests lingering traces from the suspect.”

The technical personnel had already scrutinized the disposal site for clues, uncovering the suspect’s footprints.

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep