Chapter 201: Case in the Air

Lin Dongxue arrived at the bureau. Everyone who passed by said, “Dongxue, you’re late.” Lin Dongxue smiled in shame.

She sat at her seat and opened a case file. At present, there were no cases that needed to be solved. There were only a few criminal cases that had post-investigation admin to be dealt with. Work was something that could never be completed.

A few colleagues were chatting about the new TV series, and Xu Xiaodong used the files as cover to play on his mobile phone. It seemed to be a peaceful day.

Suddenly, there were footsteps in the corridor and she received a message from Lin Qiupu informing everyone to meet in the conference room. Everyone quickly put down their work and went to the meeting room. This time, Lin Qiupu, the first team’s captain, Old Geng, and the chief who didn’t usually show up was there too. This scene made it seem like there was a big situation at hand.

The chief clapped his hands together, motioning everyone not to speak. Then, he glanced at Old Geng.

Old Geng said, “Excuse me for suddenly summoning everyone here. The situation is like this: An airplane from Hainan just landed at Long’an Airport due to an emergency. The reason for the forced landing was due to a criminal case on board. There was an old person who got killed in the economy section. The airline has arranged all the passengers to stay in a hotel and now the passengers are kicking up a fuss and making lots of noise. The airline and the police negotiated six hours for us. The plane will take off at 3:00 PM, so we must solve this crime within the allotted time. The killer must not leave with the other passengers!”

The police officers began whispering in shock before the chief once again signalled for everyone to stop talking. “This is the situation. This was originally the first team’s case, but since everything is happening so suddenly, we have to concentrate all our strength towards this. The second team solved the most cases last year and has the strongest capabilities. The investigation work will be carried out by the second team and the peripheral work will be assigned to the first team. I will take charge of the procedural issues. You can rest assured and investigate the case without any worry.“

“Chief, is there a search warrant?” someone asked.

“Yes, I have already signed it. You can investigate everyone on board.”

“How many people are there on the plane?”

“In total, there are nearly two hundred people. There are 167 passengers in economy class and twelve flight attendants and pilots.”

“Everyone is suspicious?”

“You can say that! Except the victim...”

“No, the victim may be a suspect too!” Peng Sijue interjected. “We haven't seen the corpse, so we don't know if they committed suicide.”

The chief nodded. “Little Peng is right. Everyone is suspicious!”

Everyone was shocked. Would it be possible to find the killer amongst almost 200 people within six hours? Could it really be done?

“It’s okay. Don't hesitate. Everyone needs to bring all the necessary equipment to the scene. Remember, it must be solved in six hours. I'll wait for your success!”

After the Chief and Old Geng left, Lin Qiupu assigned tasks to everyone. With the exception of a few officers who had important jobs on hand and couldn’t be mobilized and the personnel responsible for network investigation, the entire second team all had to participate this time. Lin Dongxue raised her hand and asked, “Captain Lin, should I go and call on Chen Shi? “

“Go ahead... Tell him that he can’t waste even a second. He needs to utilize all his skills and means this time.”

While Lin Dongxue called Chen Shi, the others left one after another. Chen Shi said over the phone, “Challenging case, I like it! If this case can be broken, the second team will gain a lot of face.”

“Speaking so arrogantly. We haven't even seen the scene yet, so hurry up!”

“Wait at the door. I'll be there in five minutes.”

Five minutes later, Chen Shi's car stopped at the door and he beckoned Lin Dongxue to get in the car. Chen Shi couldn't wait to ask about the case, but Lin Dongxue didn't know anything and said, “I just told you everything I know.”

“Interesting! Honestly, I haven't even flown on a plane in all my life!”

“You haven't been in a plane even though you’re so old?”

“Have you been on one before?”

“Oh, I once went on one for a business trip.”

The sun outside the window was shining on her face and Lin Dongxue gradually dozed off. During her sleep, she felt something was pushing her head. She woke up to find that her head was resting on Chen Shi's shoulder. He kept shrugging his shoulder, saying, “Sleeping beauty, we’re here.”

In front of the airport, Lin Dongxue embarrassedly wiped the drool from the corner of her mouth and yawned. “Why am I so sleepy today?”

“Your period?”

“Get lost!” Lin Dongxue waved her fist around. “Do you know how to respect people’s privacy? Especially regarding this kind of thing!”

“Don't hit, don't hit. What if we crash the car and die!”

Lin Dongxue sat down obediently, but she was still very sleepy. She thought about why she was so tired recently. She hadn’t had a good rest since the start of the Spring period.

They stopped the car and the two walked into the airport. Chen Shi exclaimed, “It's so big!”

As they looked around, they heard someone shouting at them and turned to look at where the sound came from. Xu Xiaodong stood in front of a passage and beckoned them over. The airport opened a special passage for the police. It was possible to go in directly without security checks. Chen Shi got to the door and stopped. “I want to go through the security check to see their normal procedures. Xiaodong, have you ever flown on a plane before?”

“Do the ones on the playground count?”

“Let’s go together!”

“There are so many passengers. Don't make a commotion.” Lin Dongxue said, “I'll tell you the process. Isn’t that fine?”

“No, no. You need to experience this kind of thing for yourself,” Chen Shi said.

“I really can’t deal with you!”

The three showed their credentials and asked to pass through the security inspection channel. Chen Shi's impression was “It really is strict!”

When they got to the waiting room, they saw a lot of policemen in police uniforms walking around the scene. These were people from the first team. The people of the second team were investigating inside the plane. Chen Shi asked, “Where’s Old Peng?”

“Doing an autopsy! The airport provided a place for him to do the post-mortem,” said Xu Xiaodong.

“Let’s have a look.”

As they approached, Xu Xiaodong stopped and said, “Oh, my breakfast was a little salty. I'll go and get some water.”

Chen Shi glared at him. “Why don’t you just say you don't want to see the autopsy?”

Xu Xiaodong had been found out. He laughed idiotically as Lin Dongxue instructed, “Wait here for us!”

The autopsy room provided by the airport was a small vacant warehouse. A colleague stood outside the door. When they pushed in, they didn’t smell any pungent odors. It turned out that Peng Sijue hadn’t begun to dissect the body. He was still examining the outside of the body.

Lying on an empty bed was a naked old man with grey hair. The tarpaulin next to the floor held his clothes. It was placed according to what his figure looked like. There was a pool of blood on his chest and it was clearly visible.

Chen Shi squatted down to examine the blood stains. “From the degree of coagulation, the time of death was about three hours ago.”

“It's been three and a half hours to be precise. I just measured the liver temperature,” Peng Sijue said.

“How did he die?” Chen Shi stood up and looked at the body.

Peng Sijue held a ruler in his hand and pointed near the old man's throat. “A sharp weapon penetrated the throat. Due to the angle of the seat, most of the blood flowed back to the trachea, causing death due to suffocation... Time is tight. I don't plan to dissect the body. Go and look for the weapon!”

“A sharp weapon? Would that even be allowed on board?”

“Not only is it not, it would be impossible as well. Any metal object would be detected during the security check, and sharp weapons can’t be brought on the plane. Even the flight attendants don’t have scissors, knives and the like. Captain Lin has already asked.”

Peng Sijue picked up a piece of paper with a picture of the weapon he constructed according to the shape of the wound. “The wound is 4 centimeters in width, 6 centimeters in depth, and cut at a 63-degree angle. It should be an object that is not sharp on both sides but has a sharp tip.”

“Like an awl.”

Peng Sijue corrected, “A flat awl!”

Previous Chapter Next Chapter