The crackdown on organized crime began with the arrest of the mother-in-law.

Chapter 901 Arson

At this moment, Qin Chuan also arrived at the scene. His expression was solemn as he scanned the entire fire site. "Li Ming, what's the situation?" Qin Chuan asked. Li Ming quickly walked to Qin Chuan's side and reported, "Director Qin, the identities of the deceased have not yet been confirmed, and the cause of the fire is unknown. The scene is severely damaged, which greatly complicates the investigation. But we are doing our best to investigate."

Qin Chuan nodded: "The death toll is high, and this case has a significant impact. We must speed things up and start from all angles. Begin by checking the surrounding surveillance footage to see if any suspicious persons or vehicles entered or left before or after the fire. We must conduct thorough and detailed interviews with nearby residents, leaving no detail overlooked."

Just then, the forensic doctor in charge of examining the bodies rushed over: "Director Qin, Captain Li, the preliminary judgment is that all the deceased died of asphyxiation, caused by inhaling a large amount of smoke during the fire. However, we found some abnormalities on one of the bodies." As he spoke, the forensic doctor handed over an evidence bag containing a small piece of charred rope. "On the wrist of this body, we found marks resembling rope binding; this small piece of rope was retrieved from there."

Qin Chuan and Li Ming exchanged a glance, their eyes revealing doubt and vigilance. "It seems this fire isn't so simple; it's very likely someone deliberately set it on," Qin Chuan said. "Increase the investigation efforts and dig deeper into this lead."

When Lu Chuan made these arrangements, the police and firefighters were also present.

If it were just a fire scene, the fire department would handle it. If someone died from the fire, the police would issue a death certificate, and the subsequent matters would be considered civil disputes, not criminal cases. However, during the autopsy, it was discovered that one person may have been tied up.

In addition, based on the initial on-site assessment, it is possible that the fire was arson, so the police and fire department need to conduct a joint inspection of the scene.

At the fire scene, firefighters and criminal investigation team members worked closely together, engaging in a tense and meticulous investigation. The air was thick with the acrid smell of burning and fire extinguishing agents, and the ruins looked particularly desolate in the afterglow of the setting sun.

Captain Zhang, a fire investigation expert from the fire department, dressed in fireproof clothing and carrying professional testing equipment, took the lead and walked towards a fire site. "Everyone, please pay attention. We'll start our analysis from this fire site. Based on the distribution of burn marks and residue at the scene, we initially determine that this is an initial ignition point." As Captain Zhang spoke, he squatted down to carefully examine the ashes and charred items on the ground.

Officer Zhao, a trace evidence expert from the Criminal Investigation Division, followed closely behind, holding a magnifying glass and meticulously examining the surrounding walls and floor. "Judging from the smoke marks on the walls, the fire spread in a fan shape from here to the surrounding areas, and the height and color changes of the smoke marks can reflect the intensity and duration of the fire," Officer Zhao said.

Captain Zhang used a testing instrument to sample and analyze the ash, which emitted a slight beeping sound. "Diesel fuel was detected here, indicating that the arsonist used diesel fuel as an accelerant. Diesel fuel has a high flash point and calorific value; once ignited, the fire will spread rapidly and last for a long time," Captain Zhang explained to the surrounding investigators.

They then arrived at the second fire site. The structure of the building here had been completely burned down, leaving only twisted steel bars and broken bricks. "The burn marks at this fire site are different from the first one," Captain Zhang said, pointing to a black area on the ground. "The burn marks here are irregularly circular, and there are obvious flowing burn marks on the ground, indicating that the accelerant was liquid and flowed during the burning process."

Officer Zhao found some residual plastic fragments nearby. He picked them up and examined them carefully: "These fragments are likely remnants of containers that held accelerants. Judging from the material and shape of the fragments, they are most likely common plastic gasoline cans." Testing confirmed the presence of gasoline at the point of ignition. Gasoline is highly volatile and has a low ignition point, allowing it to quickly spread rapidly and significantly exacerbating the fire's spread.

Next, the investigators arrived at the third fire site. Located on the other side of the house, the fire's spread direction echoed that of the previous two. "The location of these three fire sites is quite significant, forming a triangle that almost covers the entire house area. Furthermore, judging from the burn marks and the direction of the fire's spread, all three fires started simultaneously," Captain Zhang analyzed.

Li Ming from the Criminal Investigation Division stood aside with a solemn expression: "This shows that arson could not have been done by one person alone; it was likely a coordinated crime by multiple people. They planned it carefully beforehand, choosing different locations and simultaneously igniting accelerants, causing the fire to spread rapidly and leaving the people inside no time to escape."

To further determine the ignition time and the rate of fire spread, fire investigators used thermal imaging technology to scan the scene. Thermal imagers can detect the temperature distribution on the surface of objects and convert it into images. By analyzing the temperature gradient and range in the thermal images, the heating conditions in different areas and the fire's development process can be inferred.

"According to thermal imaging analysis, the fire spread rapidly throughout the entire house within approximately three minutes of the three ignition points, creating a large-scale three-dimensional fire. This speed and extent of combustion are incomparable to ordinary fires, further confirming the inference that multiple people committed arson," Captain Zhang reported to Qin Chuan and Li Ming.

Meanwhile, police technicians conducted a detailed analysis of the physical evidence collected at the scene. They used gas chromatography-mass spectrometry to precisely analyze the composition of the accelerants, identifying the specific types and sources of the diesel and gasoline. In the analysis of other evidence, such as ropes, they attempted to find clues related to the suspect through fiber composition comparison and trace identification.

"Director Qin, judging from the current situation, this case is heinous in nature and the modus operandi is professional. We need to identify the deceased as soon as possible, investigate suspicious persons in the surrounding area, and look for a breakthrough in the case by examining interpersonal relationships and economic disputes," Li Ming said.

Qin Chuan nodded: "Okay, pass the word down and intensify the investigation. The interviews with residents in the surrounding area should be more thorough, leaving no detail overlooked. At the same time, strengthen cooperation with the police in the surrounding areas to see if similar cases have occurred, and strive to solve this case as soon as possible to give the deceased and his family an explanation."

As night fell, the fire scene was illuminated by lights, where several investigators were still busy at work. The investigation into this fatal fire case was progressing in depth, and every clue could be the key to uncovering the truth.