met free Chapter 1199 The Abandoned Brick Kiln
Chapter 1199 The Abandoned Brick Kiln
Technicians inspected the tear and found that the remaining white fibers were completely consistent with the composition of the "dustproof net fiber" extracted from Zhang Juan's fingernails earlier. The shape of the tear also matched the characteristics of "tearing by hand" as described by Zhao Lei - the edge fibers were broken, not naturally aged and damaged.
"What was Zhang Juan's posture like when you threw the body away?" Xiao Zhou asked. Zhao Lei looked down and recalled, "She was curled up. After I threw the bag in, I turned it over, and her right hand was sticking out, clutching a few strands of dust netting. I didn't pay attention at the time, thinking no one would notice." This description was completely consistent with the "body curled up on its side, right hand clutching white dust netting" found in the previous investigation. Even the detail of "right hand sticking out" highly matched the posture of the body in the on-site photos.
When identifying the tool used to dispose of the body, Zhao Lei led the officers to an abandoned warehouse on the west side of the factory area. Under a pile of debris, they found a black cloth bag and a red rope. "The cloth bag is the one that contained the body, and the rope is what was left over from tying her ankles," he said. "I hid it here after I finished using it, thinking I'd deal with it after things calmed down, but I didn't expect to have to." Technicians examined the bag and found dark red stains on the inside, which were identified as Zhang Juan's blood. The stains matched the "hemorrhagic features of the chest" found in the forensic examination—the bloodstains were concentrated in the middle of the bag, corresponding to the location of the injury on the body's chest; the fibers on the rope matched the composition of the "red cotton fibers" extracted from the ligature marks on Zhang Juan's ankles perfectly, and there were even small amounts of cement clinker particles remaining, consistent with the particle composition of the material pile.
When pointing out the location where the silver van was parked, Zhao Lei pointed to an open space near the factory gate: "I parked the van here, with the front facing the material pile, to make it easier to move the body. The van was covered in cement dust, which I later wiped with a rag, but it wasn't clean." Technicians extracted tire tracks from the location he pointed out, which perfectly matched the "tire tread pattern of the silver van" found in the earlier investigation. The pattern of the tracks indicated that the vehicle had stayed there for a considerable period of time, consistent with the timeline of Zhao Lei's confession of "moving the body and waiting for nightfall."
Throughout the identification process, Zhao Lei broke down emotionally multiple times. When he returned to the waste area and saw the fluorescent bloodstains on the ground, he squatted down, covered his face, and cried: "I'm sorry to Zhang Juan, and I'm sorry to her family. I was out of my mind to do such a thing..." His cries echoed in the empty waste area, mingling with the roar of the mixer in the distance, as if he were repenting for his crimes.
As the identification process neared its end, technicians compiled Zhao Lei's confession with key information from the earlier on-site investigation and forensic examination: the bloodstains at the murder site matched Zhang Juan's DNA; the steel pipe matched blunt force trauma; the dragging route traces matched the work boot prints and the body's shape; the dust net fiber and bloodstains on the bag at the body disposal site corresponded to the body evidence; the rope used to bind the body matched the ankle ligature marks and the red rope on the desk. Each detail of the identification precisely connected with the earlier investigative evidence, forming a complete closed loop of evidence.
As Zhao Lei was put back into the police car, the sun had already set, casting a warm yellow glow over the cement plant's material piles, but it couldn't dispel the heavy atmosphere. Standing in the waste area, Xiao Zhou watched the technicians pack the newly extracted evidence into boxes. He knew in his heart that this identification not only revealed the truth of the case but also irrefutably proven Zhao Lei's crimes, bringing long-overdue justice to Zhang Juan's family.
As the police car drove away from the cement plant, Zhao Lei leaned against the window, watching the factory area recede into the distance, his eyes filled with remorse. He knew that his confession and identification could not make up for the lost life, and that he would face the full force of the law. For the police, the conclusion of this identification meant that the case could finally proceed to the prosecution stage, and that a just verdict could console Zhang Juan's soul in heaven.
Less than a week after the case was closed, the administrative branch received another report that a body had been found in an abandoned brick kiln in Beishan.
After receiving the report, Li Ming and his team led a group to the aircraft rotary kiln in Beishan.
The morning mist over Beishan Mountain had not yet dissipated, and the scent of earth and withered grass mingled with the acrid smell of abandoned brick kilns, permeating the valley. Zhao Jianguo, an elderly shepherd, stood on the earthen slope at the kiln entrance, clutching his worn-out sheep whip, his cloudy eyes filled with terror—just half an hour earlier, while herding his flock to find new pasture, he had inadvertently discovered a dark figure huddled deep within the kiln. Upon closer inspection, he realized it was a cold corpse, and in his fright, he abandoned his flock and stumbled down the mountain to call the police.
The siren pierced the silence of the mountains. Li Ming's police car bumped along the winding mountain road for forty minutes before finally stopping in an open area near the brick kiln. "Immediately set up a cordon and seal off the brick kiln and the surrounding 100-meter radius!" Li Ming pushed open the car door, his shoes instantly covered in dark brown mud. He looked up at the abandoned brick kiln—its walls were mottled, many bricks were missing, and the kiln entrance was covered by waist-high weeds, leaving only a narrow gap for one person to pass through. "Notify nearby villagers not to approach for the time being and preserve the original state of the site."
Xiao Yang, carrying his investigation bag, was the first to crawl into the cordon. The beam of his investigation light pierced through the morning mist, landing precisely on the body deep inside the brick kiln. "Male corpse, estimated age 35-45, height approximately 172cm," he said, crouching three meters away from the body, carefully avoiding the rubble on the ground. "Wearing a dark blue work jacket with obvious tear marks at the collar, the left breast pocket turned inside out and empty; black sweatpants with a large amount of reddish-brown mud on the cuffs, clearly different from the yellow soil outside the brick kiln; white sneakers with clear tread patterns on the soles and fresh wear on the heels, suggesting prolonged walking or running before death." The body was lying on its side, the right hand pressed under the body, the left hand outstretched, the fingertips clutching half a piece of grayish-brown hemp rope, the end of the rope showing obvious signs of wear, as if it had been repeatedly pulled.
With a footprint light, Xiao Sun surveyed the ground inside and outside the brick kiln. The ground inside the kiln was covered with dust, gravel, and fallen brick fragments due to long-term abandonment, but multiple sets of footprints were still clearly preserved. “I found a set of size 41 men’s athletic shoe prints,” he measured with a ruler close to the ground. “Stride length 68 cm, stride width 16 cm, stride angle 2 degrees inward, consistent with the gait characteristics of a man around 172 cm tall. The edges of the shoe prints were covered with reddish-brown soil, consistent with the soil composition on the body’s trouser legs. The pattern on the soles of the shoes perfectly matched the pattern of the athletic shoes worn by the body, suggesting they were footprints left by the deceased before death.” Two meters away from the body, next to the kiln wall, he found another set of size 43 men’s Martin boot prints. “Stride length 75 cm, stride width 18 cm, stride angle 4 degrees outward, estimating a height of 178-182 cm. The shoe prints showed concentrated pressure on the forefoot and drag marks on the heel. The edges were also covered with reddish-brown soil, suggesting the man had carried heavy objects at the scene.”