National Forensic Doctor
Chapter 1058 - 991: Wishful Thinking

Chapter 1058: Chapter 991: Wishful Thinking

Jiang Yuan walked back and forth within the Jianmen Court residential complex for a long time, scrutinizing the fourth floor where the crime happened for quite some time, and meticulously re-examined the room where the incident occurred before circling the entire complex repeatedly. He would occasionally take out his PAD, pull up photos, and compare them.

It is worth noting that the room where the crime occurred has been preserved as it was, and since the day of the incident, it has not been lived in by anyone else. Later, when it was possible to sell, the victim’s family bought it.

By the time Jiang Yuan was ready to leave, the sky had already turned completely dark.

"Let’s head back," Jiang Yuan said as he got into the car and closed his eyes to rest.

Cui Qishan wanted to ask, he hesitated for a moment, then decided not to and got directly into another car, letting Jiang Yuan rest well.

"How did it go?" The co-driver in the car behind turned to ask Li Jiang.

"I don’t know. I didn’t ask," Cui Qishan replied, then added, "Actually, I can guess. If there were any straightforward conclusions or useful leads, Jiang Yuan would definitely have shared them."

"That’s true. But it’s been over 20 years, and people still live here. If there were any clues left, that would be too incredible," Li Jiang said very realistically. Even the most expert detectives can’t simply look for clues in such an out-of-the-ordinary way.

"Indeed, for someone like Jiang Yuan, who is of such high expertise, the smallest lead would likely be leveraged immediately," Cui Qishan thought. To Jiang Yuan, common political issues would hardly be an obstacle. For instance, if necessary, arranging a massive search involving tens of thousands of people would be just like routine work for him.

For an ordinary detective, however, it might take several days of contemplation to write up a feasibility analysis for the leadership, or it might only be applied as a last resort. More often, they might not even apply unless the leadership proactively offers such resources.

Therefore, in terms of solving a case in a positive direction, Jiang Yuan is highly reassuring for the investigative agency.

At this point, Cui Qishan also came to a conclusion, voicing his slight regret: "It seems that Jiang Yuan probably doesn’t have any substantial leads to present. Next, we’ll have to rely on the interrogation."

Looking back at Captain Cui, Li Jiang saw his genuine expression and couldn’t help but feel disappointed, saying: "Without any clues, this case looks passive. The suspect they arrested, Wang Futing, is the Vice President of Duanda, not a fool. How could he possibly admit to murder?"

This is one of the reasons why many cold cases are hard to push forward. Often, a case becomes a cold case due to insufficient evidence and failure to find the murderer. After a long time, if no new evidence emerges and only a suspect is identified, the suspect’s testimony becomes very important.

If one follows related news, it’s often seen that suspects are tearful, show guilt, and are tormented by conscience to the point of being unable to eat or sleep. Then, when questioned by the police, some don’t even require questioning; they turn themselves in.

In other words, if the suspect has no conscience, feels no shame, and is unwilling to provide testimony to the police, then the case becomes exceedingly difficult to handle.

Among the three common patterns of solving cold cases, the one involving accidental discoveries is the least stable, for reasons that lie here.

If new forensic technologies are used to positively identify the murderer, then there is solid evidence. Or, if the murderer was already identified, and only the final step of apprehension remains, catching the person and confirming their identity is enough. The case details, in those instances, tend to be quite clear.

The most challenging aspect of accidental cases is still the facts of the case.

In this particular case, Wang Futing’s fingerprints on the wall were a very important piece of evidence, but not conclusive enough to prove he was the murderer.

The most important question is: Is Wang Futing the murderer? If he does not confess, even Jiang Yuan won’t be able to prove it.

The car was full of veteran detectives. After exchanging a few words and straightening their thoughts, Cui Qishan said, "Even the craftiest housewife cannot make soup without rice. Back at the bureau, let’s cut the chatter."

"Understood. In fact, we just came out to survey the scene. It’s been so many years, it’s perfectly normal not to find any leads," Li Jiang agreed, voicing what Cui Qishan wanted to say.

"That’s the truth. Also, give a reminder in the group chat; don’t let anybody slip up and embarrass Captain Jiang," Cui Qishan further advised, then closed his eyes to rest as well.

This case was indeed exhausting; even though he was only observing, he felt emotionally drained.

The caravan entered the Zhengguang Bureau’s compound, which was already engulfed in silence.

It’s too late, even for detectives, it’s time to rest.

Cui Qishan staggered out of the car and saw a few figures flickering in the light ahead, seemingly waiting for them.

"Tao is still waiting this late? Captain Jiang sure gets different treatment," Cui Qishan muttered to himself, swaying as he walked forward. Only when he got closer did he sense something amiss; in the light, why was there a shadow of a woman with a stunning figure?

Cui Qishan’s first instinct was to reach for the gun at his waist, as he had specifically requested to carry a gun when he went out with Jiang Yuan today.

It must be said that although the police force has female officers, even attractive ones, none would wear clothes that displayed their figure so prominently.

If there were any, he, Cui, should certainly know of them.

As the conclusion of these observations, the group waiting at the door essentially represented danger.

"Cui. Make sure the safety on your gun is on!" Tao Lu’s sharp rebuke startled Cui Qishan.

Looking up again, he saw that Tao Lu had already moved to the front.

Cui Qishan hurriedly secured his gun and stood at attention to salute.

"This is the victim’s elder sister," Tao Lu introduced promptly to avoid any further misunderstandings.

"Zhang Xiaoya," said the woman in high heels stepping out of the shadow, introducing herself: "I am Zhang Xiaoming’s sister. I heard that you are investigating Zhang Xiaoming’s case and specifically came over to look."

"Um... We are just trying to understand the situation; it’s not really an investigation," Cui Qishan lied subconsciously.

"I know your concerns, but it’s okay, I just want to understand the situation a bit," Zhang Xiaoya said with a smile, looking towards Jiang Yuan who had already walked up the stairs, "I heard Jiang Yuan went to examine the scene early, so I came over to wait for you, not expecting you to investigate until so late."

Jiang Yuan smiled apologetically, "Sorry."

"No, no, I mean, I’m grateful that Mr. Jiang Yuan is so serious about investigating the scene," said Zhang Xiaoya with a slight smile, before adding, "It might seem hasty to say this, but I really want to know if Mr. Jiang Yuan has found anything?"

Seeing this, Cui Qishan quickly coughed twice and said, "Well... Miss Zhang, as you know the situation with Jianmen Court, after so long, even though Jiang Yuan is very thorough in his examination, we can’t say for sure that there will be findings..."

"I understand," Zhang Xiaoya didn’t show too much disappointment, and gently touched her hair, saying, "Actually, I’ve understood this since the previous investigations, but I’ve always held some hope..."

"It’s not like there’s absolutely no discovery," Jiang Yuan suddenly spoke, breaking the tacit chatting pattern between them.

Zhang Xiaoya brightened up instantly, turning eagerly towards Jiang Yuan, "Did you find any clues?"

"A little, but not much, don’t get too excited," Jiang Yuan was willing to update Zhang Xiaoya on the situation.

Indeed, in normal criminal cases, especially in homicide cases involving the victim, the responsible police officer will, to a greater or lesser extent, share some of the case progress with the victim’s family. It’s hard not to, as victims’ families would make calls or come knocking on the door.

In this regard, Zhang Xiaoya was no different from ordinary families, except that she might also have some information gathered from the family’s own investigation. Furthermore, Zhang Xiaoya herself could also bring considerable resources.

Tao Lu was also unexpectedly overjoyed; it wasn’t about solving the case, but just having any breakthrough was exhilarating.

"Let’s discuss in detail in the meeting room," Tao Lu’s demeanor became more earnest.

Li Jiang took the opportunity to direct his attention to team leader Cui Qishan, because sometimes his boss’s judgments could be astonishingly wrong. And yet, Cui Qishan always seemed to end up on the winning side.