National Forensic Doctor-Chapter 909 - 847: Closed Loop

"The guy was killed by Number Two, the fucking idiot."

In the interrogation room, the boss Li Zhaoxin had already calmed down, asked for a cigarette, and smoked it with the silver bracelets on, just that his worried expression deepened as he smoked.

Helping dispose of the corpse carries a prison sentence of up to three years, which he had already looked up, so after entering the police station, Li Zhaoxin gradually settled down.

The way the police pointed out to him was not a bad way either.

Organized prostitution carries a sentence of 5 to 10 years, as long as it doesn’t get tagged as black and evil, someone like him without the violent element, might just receive a term of seven to eight years, with another two or so years for disposing of a body, not even certain if it totals up to ten years. Behave well inside, and he could get out in just over eight years.

So, in order to look good, Li Zhaoxin was very cooperative, spilling everything he knew.

Ma Jiyang interrogated him personally: "Why did Number Two kill someone?"

"A bunch of reasons, mainly because he’s a fucking idiot," Li Zhaoxin couldn’t help cursing again before continuing. "It started when he messed with that new girl, Xiao Ying. I warned him over and over not to screw our own, but he didn’t listen. Then one day, Li Yanming picked her, and he wasn’t happy about it. When he sent her over, he was talking shit..."

"Write down the girl’s name and phone number." Ma Jiyang waited for Li Zhaoxin to finish writing, then asked, "Don’t you guys not do home deliveries? It should be to the hotel."

"Li Yanming is a regular, right? When we first started, he was already placing orders, and the requirements weren’t so strict back then. It was after a few incidents that we stopped going to the clients’ homes, but for regulars, we still make home deliveries," Li Zhaoxin had no trouble talking about any of this.

"Okay, continue, why did Number Two kill someone?"

"Li Yanming’s also got a screw loose. Every time he has a cold, he wants someone to come over to help him by sucking, saying that endorphins relieve pain and can alleviate cold symptoms, fucking moron. Anyway, it’s not our concern, if he wants someone we send her. That day, that girl was being all coy, saying something about the flu being contagious and asking for an extra 600 yuan. Li Yanming bargained down to 300, said he’d pay afterward, and the girl wasn’t happy..."

"Get to the point." Ma Jiyang was taking notes, he did enjoy when suspects prattled on about their crimes, but he wasn’t so interested in this kind of prelude that seemed like motivation.

Li Zhaoxin licked his lips, and after getting another cigarette, said, "They just argued a few sentences, I don’t know the specifics, but nobody uses nice words in a fight. The girl got angry and went downstairs to find Number Two. Meanwhile, Li Yanming is here complaining to me. Number Two went up and picked up an IV bottle, and hit Li Yanming with it."

"And then?"

"Then he was dead. Number Two knows how to hit people with a beer bottle, knows the force needed, but he never used an IV bottle before, hit too hard, and Li Yanming just went limp on the spot, shit and piss all over the carpet," Li Zhaoxin said with a sigh, "That’s why I say not to mess with the girls, they’re soft and twisty when you’re doing it, then try to act tough afterward, dragging us all into this mess, fuck!"

Ma Jiyang checked his phone; the officers who went to arrest Number Two had completed their mission and were on their way back with him in custody. But the team sent to catch the girls was still busy; there were a few dozen girls under their wing, some long-term and some part-time. Ma Jiyang entered Xiao Ying’s information, tagged the responsible officer, and asked for her to be caught first.

In the current environment, a regular person with just an ID and mobile phone, once targeted by the police, almost certainly can’t escape without certain skills, and even with multiple IDs and phones, the outcome is the same.

Turning back, Ma Jiyang asked, "You mentioned Li Yanming was complaining to you, how did Li Yanming contact you?"

They had checked the mobile phones before, if Li Yanming had contacted Li Zhaoxin before his death, they should be aware of it, which was one of the reasons the case was still puzzling.

Li Zhaoxin articulated slowly: "Telegraph."

This time it was Ma Jiyang who swore, as ordinary people would find it a hassle to deal with, but career criminals, even those with just a primary school education, would have one each, like it or not.

"Did you set up the telegraph yourself? Do you contact clients using this?"

"Not necessarily, I’ve got several mobile phones, old clients like Li Yanming, they all use Telegraph," Li Zhaoxin paused, then continued, "The app was set up by a former girl who worked for me, she had been a cam girl and stuff, quite good with this stuff."

"Li Yanming, has his telegraph been installed on another phone?"

"En."

"Where’s the phone?"

"Thrown into the river."

"What about the IV bottle?"

"Smashed and thrown into the river as well."

"Mark the location on the map." After Ma Jiyang asked about these things, he informed the criminal police outside to search for them.

Just in terms of solving the case, this case was already deemed closed, but the investigative phase was not finished. To be precise, the investigative component was essentially complete; the case handling part was just beginning.

Following the approach of first arresting people and then securing evidence, Ma Jiyang methodically separated the individuals involved in the case one by one. Since the special task force was well-staffed, they went directly to the local prostitutes’ doors to arrest them, and for those who had gone out of town or recently flown to work elsewhere, they called them back.

Clients involved in the case, as they were needed as evidence, were also each called and instructed to present themselves by a certain date. If anyone was vague or non-committal in their response, all it took was one threat: "If you don’t come, we will send a police car and officers in uniform to arrest you!"

Yu Wenshu made the rounds and immediately felt more relaxed.

Director Liu even went around the room three times, repeatedly watching several people’s interrogation videos before he sighed deeply and summed up: "This case, the caution wasn’t applied where it should have been; caution just dropped through in the places it wasn’t necessary. If you engage in prostitution, what’s the big deal? Why not just call or use WeChat openly? Instead, they used telegrams. Then, when they should have been careful, they weren’t – catching a cold and still seeking a prostitute, and then cursing her..."

"In conclusion, sparing Xu Taining." Yu Wenshu felt incredibly satisfied, happier than if he’d gotten a new A8 for himself.

"He used telegraphs because he could also use it to call ’misses’ from other places." Ma Jiyang helpfully added.

Director Liu’s eyes widened: "This guy orders everyday... and he frequently solicits prostitutes?"

"All the money he earned went to that. Also, his clinic often took cash payments, so it was both tax-evading and convenient for his use," Ma Jiyang explained in detail.

"It’s a closed loop." Director Liu felt a bit regretful; if they had a bit more time with the case, they might still be able to uncover more leads. Had they conducted normal-scale inspections earlier... without having to resort to Xu Taining, even with a normal scale of investigation of a thousand people, the success rate could probably be around seventy to eighty percent.

Sweating all the way without any achievement to his name, Mu Zhiyang could only make a subdued comment: "The dead do not die unjustly."

"Close to sin, close to killing, that’s the way it is." Saying so, Director Liu couldn’t help but stretch lazily and said, "I’ve been busy for several days; I’m going back to sleep. If I don’t get back, the wife will scold me. Is Captain Jiang coming tomorrow?"

"I have a day off tomorrow too. I’ve already reported to Chief Yu," said Jiang Yuan.

"Eh, taking a day off to go home?"

"My dad booked plane tickets to Su Island. We’re going to stay at a hotel for a couple of days." Jiang Yuan smiled; sometimes he and his father would go out to have some fun.

"I’m asking what I already know." Director Liu waved his hand: "Never mind, I’ll take the bus home."

Yu Wenshu quickly offered: "Director Liu, I’ll arrange a car to take you..."