The crackdown on organized crime began with the arrest of the mother-in-law.

Chapter 870 The Corpse in the Poplar Grove

After solving the murder case in Lijiacun, Qin Chuan immediately realized the importance of improving the professional skills of police officers and promptly began to carry out specialized training in criminal investigation skills across the entire bureau. However, just as the training course began, new challenges followed. A murder case occurred in the jurisdiction of the High-tech Zone Branch: villagers picking mushrooms discovered a decomposed body in a poplar grove near the national highway in Gejiagou Village.

Upon receiving the report, Li Ming, the head of the Criminal Investigation Detachment, quickly led his officers to the scene. When they arrived, the area was already cordoned off, and officers from the local police station were maintaining order. As soon as Li Ming got out of the car, he strode towards one of the officers responsible for securing the scene: "What's the situation at the scene?"

After saluting, the police officer reported: "Captain Li, the body was discovered by a villager who was picking mushrooms. We arrived at the scene as soon as we received the report and cordoned it off. So far, no one has entered the scene except for the person who reported the case."

Li Ming nodded and looked at the poplar grove: "Let's go check on the body." Li Ming and the officers cautiously entered the poplar grove, where a pungent stench of decay permeated the air. Deep within the grove, a highly decomposed body lay supine on the ground, with obvious signs of disturbance in the soil around it.

The investigators continued their search at the scene and found a rope about twenty meters from the body. "Team Leader Li, there's blood on this rope; it's very likely the murder weapon." Li Ming took the rope and examined it carefully. "Send it for DNA testing immediately to see if the bloodstains belong to the deceased."

Li Ming took the rope, his expression grim. He instructed Xiao Zhao, the investigator beside him, "Xiao Zhao, seal the rope separately to ensure it won't be contaminated. Then, send it to the technical department immediately. Be extremely careful during the journey." Xiao Zhao nodded solemnly, put on double gloves, and carefully placed the rope into a special evidence bag. With the assistance of his colleagues, he quickly left the scene.

Meanwhile, the police officers responsible for taking photos at the scene had already set up positions around the body from multiple angles. The lead photographer, Xiao Wang, adjusted the camera settings while reporting to Li Ming: "Captain Li, the standard angle shots are complete. Now we're preparing for close-up and macro shots." Li Ming nodded slightly: "Make sure the photos are clear. Record the body's condition, surrounding traces, and details of the physical evidence completely from different lighting and angles."

Xiao Wang operated the camera methodically, the lens slowly moving from the corpse's face to the ligature marks on the neck, and then to the restraint marks on the wrists. After taking each set of photos, he would check against the investigation record to ensure nothing was missed. His assistant, Xiao Li, stood by, holding a reflector and adjusting the angle according to changes in the light to provide the best lighting for the shoot.

Looking at the busy photography team, Li Ming turned to Qin Chuan and suggested, "Director Qin, I plan to use the body as the center and gradually expand the investigation area according to the grid method. This will not only avoid omissions but also make it easier to sort out clues." Qin Chuan crossed his arms, glanced around the scene, and nodded in agreement: "This method is feasible. We must be meticulous. Any oversight by the murderer could become the key to solving the case."

After obtaining Qin Chuan's consent, Li Ming quickly organized the investigation team to begin operations. The team members worked in pairs, each holding an investigation lamp, and spread out in a fan shape around the body. With each step forward, they would first use their investigation lamps to illuminate the ground from different angles, carefully searching for potential footprints, hair, bloodstains, and other physical evidence.

"Team Leader Li! We've found something here!" Investigator Xiao Liu suddenly shouted from about ten meters away from the body. Li Ming and Qin Chuan rushed to the scene and saw Xiao Liu squatting on the ground, pointing to a patch of ground covered with fallen leaves: "Team Leader Li, look, there are some faint drag marks here, probably left when a heavy object was dragged." Li Ming squatted down, first carefully examining the drag marks with a magnifying glass, then taking out plaster powder from his toolbox, preparing to fix and trace the drag marks: "Judging from the width and depth of the drag marks, they were likely left when the body was dragged. This indicates that the murderer deliberately disposed of the scene after committing the crime."

Just then, forensic pathologist Zhang Lin stood up, took off her gloves, and walked towards Li Ming and Qin Chuan: "Director Qin, Team Leader Li, there's been progress in the preliminary examination of the body." Li Ming and Qin Chuan immediately turned their attention to Zhang Lin. "Forensic pathologist Zhang, how is the situation?" Qin Chuan asked.

Zhang Lin cleared her throat and began her report: "Based on the examination of the body's surface and the degree of decomposition, the preliminary estimate of the time of death is about one week. However, due to environmental factors such as temperature and humidity at the scene, the exact time of death needs to be determined through an autopsy, taking into account the digestion of the stomach contents. Judging from the ligature mark on the neck, the deceased most likely died of mechanical asphyxiation. The ligature mark is about three centimeters wide with clean edges, and the preliminary assessment is that the murder weapon matches the rope found at the scene."

Zhang Lin paused briefly before continuing, "Furthermore, there were obvious restraint marks on the wrists of the body, indicating that it had been bound. This suggests that the victim was controlled by the murderer before the murder. Moreover, I found skin tissue and bloodstains under the victim's fingernails, and samples have been sent for DNA testing. If the test results match the physical evidence at the scene, it will be of great help in identifying the murderer."

After listening, Li Ming nodded: "Forensic Doctor Zhang, thank you for your hard work. These clues are crucial to solving the case. By the way, did you find anything unusual on the deceased's clothing?"

Zhang Lin pointed to the evidence bag placed next to her, which contained the deceased's clothing: "The deceased's shirt had several tears, which should have been caused during the struggle. In addition, in the deceased's pants pocket, besides the ID card, we also found some loose change and a supermarket receipt. The receipt was dated a week ago and showed that some household items were purchased. We can use the information on the receipt to find out the specific store location."

Li Ming looked at the police officer beside him: "Immediately contact the supermarket according to the information on the receipt, retrieve the surveillance footage, and see if we can find the victim's whereabouts before the murder." After receiving the order, the officer quickly left the scene.

At this moment, the investigators made a new discovery. "Team Leader Li, we found some cigarette butts in the bushes at the edge of the woods," another investigator, Xiao Wu, said, walking over with an evidence bag. Li Ming took the evidence bag and examined it carefully: "Is there any saliva residue on the cigarette butts?" Xiao Wu nodded: "Preliminary assessment indicates yes, and it has already been sent for DNA testing."

Qin Chuan said from the side, "The murderer may have stopped here before or after committing the crime, and smoked here. This is an important clue, and we might be able to find the murderer's identity information from it."