104: Killer may be woman, university investigates identity

Guan Hongyuan frowned and said, "Perhaps he just made a mistake?"

"No, I believe this killer, who was able to plan the murder of two men and clean up the scene so thoroughly, wouldn't make a mistake. Or rather, the possibility of him making a mistake is small; another possibility is much greater."

"And that is..."

Ye Lin strode to the projector and tapped his finger sharply on the large pit on the screen.

"This spot was originally dug to bury one person!"

Only bury one person?

The air in the meeting room suddenly grew quiet; everyone was shocked by Ye Lin's deduction.

Looking at the pit before them, and combining it with their past case experience, the depth of this pit seemed a bit insufficient.

Guan Hongyuan did not speak. He flipped through the documents in his hand to the first set of photos, which showed the scene before excavation.

In the photo, a skeletal hand extended from the soil, and he remembered very clearly that the Forensic Doctor had only dug through a very thin layer of soil before reaching the body.

At the time, he thought it had been washed away by rainwater. Now, according to Ye Lin's explanation, a pit originally meant for one person now contained two, so it indeed wouldn't fit, and there wouldn't be much soil on top.

"Then why are there two people inside?" Xiao Peng asked, raising his hand.

Ye Lin smiled calmly, "Let me make a bold guess about the situation at the time."

"Now there are at least three people, or even more."

"After Victim A was killed, the remaining people began to dig a pit. Because it was only for one person, the pit only needed to be deep enough to cover one body."

"And just after the pit was dug, they worked together to place Victim A inside. It was at this moment that the killer made his move."

Ye Lin picked up a pen from the table and thrust it sharply into the air, "The killer attacked Victim B from behind and then pushed Victim B into the pit. That's why a pit meant for one person ended up containing two."

After Ye Lin's words fell, there was a long silence in the meeting room.

Everyone was deep in thought, trying to find inconsistencies, but the more they thought, the more alarmed they became. Ye Lin's deduction seemed very reasonable, at least logically sound, even more so than a strong man killing two people.

Seeing everyone gradually understand, Ye Lin continued, "So, there are two cases here: one is the killer and Victim B together killing Victim A, and the other is the killer killing Victim B."

"Moreover," Ye Lin paused.

"Our previous speculation that the killer might be a strong man may need to be overturned."

"As it stands, even a relatively thin man or even a woman could have committed this crime."

Ye Lin's words once again shocked everyone present. This deduction completely overturned the previous direction of the investigation.

Previously, they were investigating adult, tall, and strong men; now, even women were a possibility, greatly expanding the scope of the investigation.

This undoubtedly added difficulty to the investigation, and everyone's brows furrowed even tighter.

Seeing the atmosphere become a bit low, Guan Hongyuan quickly clapped his hands, "Xiao Ye's analysis just now was excellent. This is also a valid line of thought. Let's first confirm the identities of the deceased, and then we can study the killer's motive and method of crime."

"Hey, Xiao Xu, you're in contact with the school. Is there any news on the identities of the deceased?"

"Ah." Xiao Xu scratched his head, stood up, and said, "Team Leader Guan, I asked the school's security department. Not to mention the past three years, there haven't been any missing students in the past five years."

"That's impossible, two grown men. The school didn't lie to you, did it?"

"No, I spoke to their school leadership. The school leadership is also very troubled right now and hopes we solve the case soon, otherwise, many students go to the small forest every day to watch the commotion."

"The main reason is that since they're not students of the school, many parents are now saying the school's security has problems and are causing trouble for the school. They wouldn't lie to us at this time." Xiao Xu explained thoroughly.

After listening to Xiao Xu's words, everyone fell into contemplation again. If the identities couldn't be confirmed, the subsequent work couldn't proceed at all.

"Does anyone else have any new ideas for identifying the victims?" Team Leader Guan looked at everyone.

Several people shook their heads, having nothing to say.

Guan Hongyuan placed his last hope on Ye Lin, "Xiao Ye, do you have any thoughts?"

Ye Lin lowered his head, deep in thought, and murmured, "Two young men around 22 years old, found dead on a university campus, and the school has no missing person records."

"Team Leader Guan, I have a true story here. Listen and see if it has any relevance," Ye Lin said.

"Tell me about it," Guan Hongyuan said seriously. It had to be said that Ye Lin was truly impressive; several key points of the case so far had been discovered by him.

"Everyone, I just graduated from the Police Academy. In my graduating class, I heard in the class chat that a Comrade went directly to work after graduation. He happened to encounter a major case at the station, and he just followed along without contacting his family.

As a result, his family thought he was missing and went directly to the school. The school, in turn, contacted his unit, which then had him call his family, and only then did his family know he wasn't missing."

Ye Lin looked around at everyone and continued, "My point in saying this is, is it possible that these two people were graduates, the kind who have already graduated and are free to leave the school at any time?"

Guan Hongyuan understood, his eyes lit up, and he said to Xiao Xu, "Immediately contact the school and ask if they've received any such calls or parents looking for graduates."

"Yes."

"Team Leader Guan, why don't we go together?" Ye Lin suggested.

"Alright, Xiao Xu, let's go to the school together."

Ye Lin always felt there was something wrong with the school's security department. To casually say that no students had gone missing in five years, he suspected they were just trying to brush off Xiao Xu because he was young.

Many times, the information they consider unimportant and unnecessary to tell the police is precisely the most crucial information... Yue Province University of Technology.

Section Chief Zhao Changde of the Security Department sat impatiently in his executive chair, "Team Leader Guan, I've said it countless times. Your young Comrade has also been here many times. I've said everything there is to say. There really isn't anything else."

Seeing his attitude, Ye Lin understood that Xiao Xu probably hadn't been able to get any useful information out of him before.

"Section Chief Zhao, besides inquiring about any missing persons, we also have some other things we'd like to ask about," Ye Lin began.

Section Chief Zhao was stunned. Who was this young man? Their Team Leader Guan was here; when was it his turn to speak?

However, he couldn't be bothered with the police department's affairs. He just wanted to send the police away quickly; these people were annoying, and their case-solving was slow. He still had a card game to play later.