National Forensic Doctor
Chapter 1022 - 956: The List

Chapter 1022: Chapter 956: The List

"There is new information to report regarding the case."

When Liu Jinghui reappeared in the conference room, his hair was disheveled, he carried the sour stench of not having bathed for a long time mixed with the fresh scent of instant noodles, and his face was greasy. In short, he looked just like any average detective from a special case unit.

Jiang Yuan, Huang Qiangmin, Lang Heng, Su Shanming, and others sat together at the other end of the conference table, waiting to hear what Liu Jinghui had to say. Others were either sitting or standing, with some even straddling chairs to watch, the epitome of a classic case analysis meeting.

Many detectives who had been dispatched for investigation were pulled back to the task force. This could be seen as gathering forces to strike or sacrificing many early investigative results to prepare for a bigger goal. No matter which it was, it represented the task force’s emphasis and a course correction in the investigation.

Many members of the task force had something to say about this—most detectives were more familiar with and accustomed to conventional investigative methods, especially those who joined later from previous task forces. They had limited familiarity with Jiang Yuan and Liu Jinghui and were deeply concerned about the 430 case. Managing to restrain their emotions from immediately expressing opposition was a testament to the political savvy developed from years of experience.

Liu Jinghui began to slowly describe the latest progress in the case, supplemented by his own ideas and Jiang Yuan’s technical analysis.

The extra day allowed Liu Jinghui to thoroughly organize his thoughts, and conducting a case analysis for local police teams was his true expertise.

After giving a clear and simple explanation and going over it in detail, the expressions and attitudes of the task force members had completely changed.

Liu Jinghui was very familiar with such expressions on their faces.

Seeing that no one had yet stood up to pick at his findings, Liu Jinghui then revealed his trump card, going into detail about Jiang Yuan’s analysis of the locks and lock cylinders.

"Is this considered evidence?" Su Shanming, hearing such an analysis for the first time, was just as surprised as Liu Jinghui had been earlier.

Liu Jinghui looked at Jiang Yuan and smiled, saying, "Captain Jiang, would you please explain."

Jiang Yuan then gave a brief overview of the trace analysis of the lock cylinder and added, "This is a judgment I’ve made regarding the trace identification. We can prepare a trace identification report later."

Jiang Yuan knew what police officers liked the most.

"Good judgment! These traces have been covered and new ones have been added, which we will likely encounter in the future!" Su Shanming praised enthusiastically.

Liu Jinghui cleared his throat and said, "This is a trace identification report that only Captain Jiang is adept at producing. If you have similar physical evidence, you need to go to Captain Jiang for the report."

A veteran officer listening on the side frowned and asked, "Is this a rather special situation?"

The implication was questioning whether Jiang Yuan was fabricating or slanting the evidence.

Jiang Yuan shook his head and said, "I will write a paper about it and publish it in a journal later, and I will attach the identification report as well. This time, the identification of the lock cylinder is a bit more challenging, but the rest is nothing special."

This addressed the issue of the authenticity of the identification. As for the difficulty, Jiang Yuan thought it unnecessary to elaborate.

But the detectives present could mostly understand.

Discerning someone’s hidden thoughts or ideas from what they say, their tone, voice, and stature is a basic skill for a detective.

Huang Qiangmin let out a chuckle, slightly curling his lips, thinking to himself: For such tasks requiring high-end reports, there should also be a control line in place. Constantly allowing others to benefit for free can make it difficult to gauge someone’s value and isn’t conducive to establishing correct values for others, nor is it beneficial for the overall development of society...

Huang Qiangmin’s thoughts wandered far off in an instant.

At this point, Liu Jinghui had finished explaining and began to address the substance: "This is the list I’ve compiled. The list is mainly composed of several sections. The first section lists everyone who has ever had contact with the key, primarily based on the recollections of the victim’s husband, Mai Zuqing, supplemented by the memories of the victim’s relatives and such. The main components include the victim’s family, several relatives from both parents’ sides, a few of Mai Zuqing’s colleagues, and their daughter’s close girlfriends."

"The second list is an expanded one, which includes those who are not certain to have had contact with the key, but whom we believe had the opportunity to do so. For instance, the daughter’s classmates might have left the key in the classroom during physical education or other classes. Given the management style of the class at the time, it can be assumed that all classmates could possibly have come into contact with the key, and the same applies to some teachers. However, this would generally not apply to students from other classes. Also included on this list are some of Mai Zuqing’s colleagues, some regularly visiting relatives, the beauty salons and barber shops that the victim Sui Yingxue frequented, and so on."

"The third list includes individuals with past criminal records in the vicinity, including juvenile offenders who have been punished."

"The fourth list includes those who have previously lived or worked nearby and have experience or training in key fitting. Although the key has been filed several times and does not appear too professional, we take into account that this may be due to the source of the key copying, and on the other hand, key fitting might also require relatively professional equipment?"

Liu Jinghui articulated several directions for consideration in one breath, and the list he drew up was a long and dense string.

The investigation conducted 10 years ago was fundamentally sound, and had recorded nearly everyone in the vicinity of the victim’s residence. Still, the vast number of individuals on Liu Jinghui’s list was beyond imagination—of course, beyond the imagination of ordinary people.

The detectives present were all calm. Being their third time opening case 430, the leadership would feel inadequate if they didn’t review over ten thousand individuals. Although Liu Jinghui’s list was quite long, to everyone present, it seemed within reasonable scope.

"How should we investigate?" Lang Heng asked a critical question when Liu Jinghui paused for a drink of water, after speaking himself hoarse.

With such a long list of individuals, it wouldn’t be feasible to interrogate everyone. Even interrogation sessions couldn’t be protracted without end; there would need to be some key points for detectives to grasp.

Of course, if there really was no alternative, a time-consuming approach could be adopted: go down the list and make inquiries—that would be door-to-door visits, an effective method from older investigative practices.

"In fact, we can make our list smaller," Liu Jinghui paused, then said, "Geographic factors are important. Think about it—if the murderer tried unlocking the door multiple times and leisurely went back to file the key before trying again, this process would certainly be more convenient if they lived closer to the victim’s home, right?"

"This person must be a pervert," a detective shouted, "Probably aiming for a home invasion rape or molestation, but he’s impotent or suffers from premature ejaculation, messing it up in his pants."

Liu Jinghui nodded: "That’s a possibility, but think about it, can’t a pervert find appropriate targets near his own home? Is he that picky?"

"Was the victim his unrequited love?"

"Then the relationship between the murderer and the victim would be relatively close, and it is very likely strong ties," Liu Jinghui quietly objected, then said, "A typical pervert commits crimes in places that are convenient, familiar, and where they feel safe, which is more logical. I recommend an investigation method that uses the victim’s home as the center and expands outwards!"