National Forensic Doctor
Chapter 1044 - 977 Startling the Snake in the Grass

Chapter 1044: Chapter 977 Startling the Snake in the Grass

Wei Changxue was slightly comforted and calmed down, beginning to describe the situation of that day to Jiang Yuan.

Xiao Si occasionally added a comment or two.

In fact, there wasn’t anything particularly special about it, at least for a police officer—it was just a routine overnight interrogation scenario.

The reason for conducting an overnight interrogation was simply that the suspect was apprehended in the afternoon, and they wanted to take advantage of the momentum to conduct the interrogation as soon as possible. It’s the same principle as when an ordinary corporate employee has to work overtime due to a heavy workload. The difference is that detectives’ overtime often requires the cooperation of the suspect.

There wasn’t anything particularly problematic about the interrogation venue either. Recently, due to frequent operations at the Zhengguang Bureau, interrogation centers with complete facilities were reserved for various special case teams—when an expert like Jiang Yuan came, even if the arrested person was just a petty thief, they would be taken to an interrogation center.

Correspondingly, the petty thief involved in a break-in case that Xiao Si and Wei Changxue had apprehended had to be temporarily held at a local police station or placed in an old facility in the old building. Even if there were empty rooms in the interrogation center, they would not be available for use without special permission in the recent two weeks.

When it comes to judicial matters, they’re not heavy by measurement, but once on the scale, they can be overwhelmingly heavy.

The crux of the problem was that the suspect had escaped.

If the person couldn’t be caught again, many things would become unclear.

It was only because Cui Qishan was willing to support Xiao Si and Wei Changxue, and Tao Lu agreed for Cui Qishan’s sake, otherwise, they would have to take a serious fall first before they could even discuss the possibility of getting back up.

After listening to the narration of the two, Jiang Yuan thought for a moment and then asked, "How much time do we have?"

Cui Qishan understood his meaning and said, "Tao can give us 24 hours, and if there’s hope, at most 36 hours before we must escalate it."

"That’s fairly ample. But it’s not guaranteed we’ll find the person," Jiang Yuan said this with empathy.

"It’s their own fault if we can’t find them," declared Cui Qishan, bearing the responsibility for both of them without mincing his words, "A recorded demerit for 24 hours, a major demerit after 36 hours, and if they still can’t be found, it’s up to their luck."

"What about the funding?" Jiang Yuan was asking very practical questions. Solving a case is a very expensive activity, and the way it’s solved varies with the budget.

Take this case, for instance: theoretically, if the case were big enough and sufficiently urgent, the whole city could be mobilized, with added checkpoints at intersections, Technical Investigation getting involved, network Image Investigation and K-9 units working overtime, big data being deployed, and issuing orders to various internet companies... If they’re in a hurry, Xu Taining could also be called in.

If there’s no money, it’s simple—just register an online pursuit and wait for news. With good luck, if detectives from another jurisdiction happened to find the suspect, they’d send a couple of officers over, and for a few thousand in travel expenses, they’d bring the person back.

Cui Qishan cleared his throat and said, "Tao’s intention is mainly to accommodate your needs. If it’s within a million yuan, just sign the order directly; if that’s not enough, I will apply for more."

A budget in the hundreds of thousands of yuan would primarily cover travel expenses and various testing fees. Excluding fixed assets such as staff wages and vehicles, just sending two people on a business trip with accommodations and subsidies would cost over a thousand yuan, and examinations like DNA and trace evidence testing would cost hundreds each time. After these meticulous calculations, a budget of several hundred thousand yuan can’t achieve much.

However, considering this needs to be resolved within 24 or even 36 hours, such a level of expenditure can be considered quite generous.

"Call Director Liu," said Jiang Yuan after looking at Cui Qishan and then Xiao Si and Wei Changxue. "I actually don’t have experience in pursuing fugitives. Although I haven’t done a specific site survey of the restroom, from what I have observed just now, I think the clues we can get will be scarce."

"Alright," Cui Qishan actually hoped that Jiang Yuan could use detectives from the Zhengguang Bureau, but since Jiang Yuan had already raised the issue, he didn’t say any more.

Cui Qishan and others recognized Liu Jinghui’s capabilities, and given his rapport with Jiang Yuan, the Jiang-Liu combination had a higher chance of success.

When it comes to the detectives at Zhengguang Bureau themselves, there may be many with superior abilities and backgrounds than Liu Jinghui, but when it comes to experience, that’s another story.

This is a common divide between the Beijing Bureau and local agencies. The Beijing Bureau is never short of smart and bold talents, but precisely because there are so many outstanding individuals in the Beijing Bureau, they often lack hands-on case experience, particularly the opportunity and reason for one person to shoulder a case. Many individuals are even reluctant to work on the front lines.

Liu Jinghui’s ability to pick and handle cases all over Shannan Province and his many years of experience and pressure have given him his strength today—opportunities that the highly educated and intelligent individuals of the Beijing Bureau rarely get.

"I’ll call Director Liu... um... or we could just have a conference call. There’s actually no need for him to come to the scene," Jiang Yuan thought it over, realizing that flying over would take several hours.

"If we’re having a phone meeting, I need to report to Director Tao first," Cui Qishan noted, wary of leaks. However, unlike the initial invitation to Jiang Yuan, he now had more confidence in finding the person—or rather, he had faith in Jiang Yuan’s ability to bring the person back.

As long as the person could be found, the punishment would be lighter. Moreover, the first round of inspection after Jiang Yuan’s arrival would be crucial. It must be said, even a criminal investigator like Cui Qishan always harbored a spirit of skepticism.

Cui Qishan didn’t make a phone call, opting to report in person swiftly, and then came back to nod at Jiang Yuan for confirmation.

During this time, Jiang Yuan had already conducted on-site investigations at the interrogation room, the restroom, and the wall-climbing spots.

All were simple traces, consistent with the ordinary behavior of a common thief. Since the identity of the suspect was confirmed and the modus operandi was on record, the main takeaway from the site investigation was that there was no one assisting and it was most likely unplanned.

Such a conclusion naturally didn’t satisfy Jiang Yuan, but Cui Qishan, upon hearing it, was quite pleased: "It’s good that it was unplanned. This way, the inspectorate won’t rush to a conclusion too soon."

Cui Qishan then arranged for the phone meeting.

Soon, Tao Lu came down, and Cui Qishan redialed Liu Jinghui’s number, whom he had just contacted.

"Director Liu, thank you for your hard work, taking time out of your busy schedule to attend to this..." After a round of pleasantries, Cui Qishan continued, "Shall I brief you on the case?"

"Okay," Liu Jinghui agreed.

Cui Qishan then quickly summarized the case.

Liu Jinghui occasionally interrupted with questions but otherwise patiently listened.

"That’s everything, Director Liu," Cui Qishan concluded, almost out of breath.

"Oh..." Liu Jinghui paused for a few seconds before responding, cleared his throat, and slowly said, "I was actually out working on a case today as well, so I’ll cut to the chase. Firstly, from what I’ve heard, finding the suspect within 24 or 36 hours will depend on luck. If we’re unlucky, it would be normal to find them months later."

"We understand," Cui Qishan hastily replied.

"You should already be using all the standard manhunt methods, and if there are no results now, you’ll have to continue relying on luck," Liu Jinghui spoke quickly and plainly to his colleague.

The earliest method of tracking down fugitives was to check with their family and friends, which still works very well today. Humans are social creatures; even during a period of flight, many will still make an effort to contact their family and friends. Many fugitives who are inexperienced and not well-read think they have clever tricks but often fail just like that.

Manhunt strategies in the new era have multiplied, such as the application of technical investigations and internet information, along with various facial recognition and big data comparisons. But all these methods are rather passive.

If the suspect can endure the loneliness, Xiao Si and the others will face full disciplinary actions.

Liu Jinghui was well aware of the situation. He outlined the challenges: "The suspect didn’t carry a mobile phone and has already left the surveillance cameras’ coverage area. There are also no alerts from the facial recognition and he has no direct relatives. Most importantly, he may still have several hundred thousand yuan worth of belongings hidden somewhere... Under normal circumstances, you can only try your luck this time."

Cui Qishan sighed, "That’s true. The hundreds of thousands in stolen goods are the biggest problem, especially since they include cash."

The main targets of manhunts are poor people; if someone has money, their options for escape are plentiful. That’s why in movies, a spy’s escape kit always contains cash, besides identity documents and firearms.

Liu Jinghui hummed in acknowledgment, saying, "It’s usually like this, but fortunately... this time you have Jiang Yuan."

"I’m out of ideas too," Jiang Yuan sat beside them, startled. His repertoire of techniques was limited, and he couldn’t just conjure enemies out of thin air.

Liu Jinghui chuckled and suggested, "My advice is to try startling the snake by hitting the grass with Jiang Yuan."

"What do you mean?"

"Leak some special intel, stir up some rumors that Jiang Yuan is after this person, and then wait to see the feedback," Liu Jinghui laughed quietly, making sure everyone caught the hint."