The seventh day of the Lunar New Year.
Halongjiang Province, Manzhou City.
It was freezing cold and snowing heavily.
On the road about 12 kilometers northwest of the city, several police cars were driving slowly on the road.
This road is a small country road. Whenever winter enters, the road is blocked by heavy snow and is inaccessible.
At this moment, the snowplow truck was clearing the way in front, and the police car behind was able to pass smoothly.
"Oh, Officer Zhao, it's great that you can come over and give me some guidance!" A burly police officer with a beard said to Zhao Yu from the passenger seat, "It's so cold and on annual leave. You have worked so hard!"
Zhao Yu sat in the middle of the back seat, with his girlfriend Miao Ying on the left and "suspected girlfriend" Simona on the right.
There was no way, because the Criminal Department's mission was urgent, Zhao Yu could only bring Simona to Manchuria.
"It doesn't matter," Zhao Yu said to the bearded captain, "Captain Qiu, since there is an important case, there is no vacation left!
"At least, they let me go home for the New Year, which is pretty good!"
"Officer Zhao's integrity is worthy of admiration," Captain Qiu said with a few compliments, "Actually, this case has already appeared since winter!
"Years ago, on the day of the New Year, we were together again, but we didn't rest for a day!
"I thought things would get better after the Chinese New Year, but I didn't expect that the murderer would commit another crime so soon! Officer Zhao," Captain Qiu swallowed and said worriedly, "Our place is sparsely populated, so wait until In winter, there are no people in many places, and I’m really worried that there are still bodies that haven’t been discovered!”
"Captain Qiu," Miao Ying looked out the window and asked, "How long will it take to arrive at the scene?"
"It's almost, it's almost," Captain Qiu said, "Just give it another ten minutes! There is no turning point ahead, it's Mei Heqiao!"
"In this case," Miao Ying said, "then tell us about the case!"
These are common practice. Although Zhao Yu and Miao Ying have already read the case report, every time they arrive at the local area, they will be reported in detail by the local criminal investigation team leader.
"Okay, okay," Captain Qiu simply turned around and said to the two of them, "On December 21 last year, someone found a hanged female body under the Dongli Bridge in Dongli Tiao Village, Manzhou!
"When it was discovered, the body had been hanging for several days. Preliminary estimates suggest that its time of death should be around December 16.
"The deceased was naked and frozen...
"After investigation, the deceased was a Russian woman named Elisa. She was a waitress at the Victory Hotel in Manzhou City and was only 19 years old.
"The woman came to Manzhou less than three years ago and is in a relationship with a local man, planning to get married next year..."
Listening to Captain Qiu's introduction, Zhao Yu and Miao Ying looked through the case records. There were photos of the crime scene in the records. Looking at the frozen female body in the photos, Zhao Yu couldn't help but feel ripples in his heart.
Since he started working in criminal investigation, he has seen all kinds of corpses, but this is the first time for a frozen corpse.
Why did the murderer kill a foreign girl so cruelly and hang her under a bridge
Simona was a complete layman. After hearing Captain Qiu's story, she also showed a strange expression, feeling both curious and shocked.
"According to the autopsy report," Captain Qiu continued, "the deceased was not hanged, but was strangled to death by the murderer and then hung under the bridge!"
"Under the bridge..." Zhao Yu interrupted and asked, "There is nothing under the bridge. How did the murderer hang the person up?"
"It's expansion tubes," Captain Qiu said. "The murderer punched two expansion tubes under the bridge. The expansion tubes can withstand a force of about 150 kilograms..."
"Oh..." Zhao Yu nodded and muttered silently, "You have to use an electric drill to lower the expansion pipe. If there is no power source in the field, you have to use an electric drill with its own power supply..."
"The deceased, are there any signs of invasion?" Miao Ying asked.
"Yes!" Captain Qiu nodded and said, "There are obvious signs of violation, but the murderer was extremely careful and did not leave any hair or body fluids...
"Also," Captain Qiu said awkwardly, "our forensic capabilities here are limited, and we are still unable to find out whether the deceased was violated before he was alive or after death!"
"Yes," Miao Ying nodded, "Our forensic team is on the way and will arrive before dark today."
"Then..." Zhao Yu pointed at the report and said, "Let's talk about the second case!"
"Okay," Captain Qiu said, "The second case is exactly the same as the first one, although the deceased was found on that day.
“However, because the crime scene was too far away from the city, surrounded by wilderness, and it was during the heavy snowfall and the Chinese New Year, it was discovered too late.
"According to preliminary estimates from the medical examiner, the deceased has been dead for nearly two weeks...
"The Chinese New Year is early this year," Captain Qiu said, "so the distance between the two cases is not very long..."
"Is the deceased also a Russian?" Zhao Yu asked.
"Yes," Captain Qiu nodded and said, "Although the deceased's name was Zhang Mei, she was an authentic Russian girl, and she had not changed her nationality yet!
"She is 23 years old. She is a dancer in the Manzhou Red Star Song and Dance Troupe. She is unmarried and has no partner..."
"Where was it found?" Miao Ying asked.
"The bridge near Baiqi Town, just south of the city, has no name. We will call it Baiqi Bridge for the time being," Captain Qiu introduced. "It is close to a mountainous forest farm and is relatively remote.
"Especially in winter, the entire Baiqi Town people will go to the city to spend the winter, and only the forest rangers are left there, and the body was discovered by the forest ranger station!
"It was exactly the same as the first case. The deceased had no clothes. After examination, he was strangled to death first and then hung under the bridge...
"Furthermore," Captain Qiu said after a moment of silence, "it's close to the forest area. Because the body was not hung high enough, the deceased's right foot showed signs of being torn by wild beasts, and three toes were missing..."
When Captain Qiu introduced it, Zhao Yu and Miao Ying had already looked through the corresponding photos. When Simona couldn't help but look at them for a few times, she retched twice, quickly covered her mouth and turned her head, not daring to look at it anymore...
"Officer Zhao," Captain Qiu swallowed and said, "This case is indeed very serious! It's only the seventh day of the Lunar New Year, and the third case has actually appeared again!
"Here..." He kept facing forward, "Mei Heqiao will be arriving soon. According to the report from the scene, the deceased was also a foreign woman, and the death situation was exactly the same as the previous two cases!
"This is definitely a brutal and premeditated serial murder!
"Let me tell you this," Captain Qiu said, "This is the first official murder case since the founding of our city in Manchuria. Unexpectedly, it turned out to be a series...
"And, and... Because this matter has spread among the people, there are still many evil rumors emerging. I wonder if you have heard of it!"
"Well..." Zhao Yu nodded slightly, "If it weren't for this legend, the higher-ups wouldn't have sent me here on the seventh day of the Lunar New Year!"
"Rumors? What rumors?" Simona couldn't help but ask.
"Huh..." Zhao Yu breathed out heavily and said, "Since you like reasoning so much, there is no reason why you don't know about the murder of a woman on a suspension bridge that happened in Eastern Europe in the 1940s, right?"
"The woman's body on the suspension bridge... Oh..." Simone's eyes widened suddenly, "This case is as famous as the London Ripper, and has been included in the top ten unsolved cases in the world. The murderer has not been caught yet!
"Could it be...could it be...that someone is imitating the killer in the suspension bridge female corpse case?"
(End of chapter)