National Forensic Doctor
Chapter 1059 - 992: On Traces

Chapter 1059: Chapter 992: On Traces

Sip...

As Jiang Yuan settled into the conference room, someone served him a cup of brewed green tea that didn’t taste very good.

Jiang Yuan was thirsty. He began to slurp his drink eagerly.

He had to speak in a while; without replenishing his fluids, it wouldn’t be good for his health.

Zhang Xiaoya scrutinized Jiang Yuan carefully.

She had waited for Jiang Yuan for several hours at the Criminal Police Brigade, originally thinking he would return in the afternoon, then as evening came, and later as it turned late into the night.

If it were related to her own professional duties, hardly anyone would dare to have Director Zhang wait for such a long time. Zhang Xiaoya would not indulge such behavior either.

Yet, in the process of waiting for Jiang Yuan, not only was Zhang Xiaoya not angry, but she was also filled with a sense of gratitude.

This gratitude even seemed to grow with the passing time.

Her presence at the Criminal Police Brigade awaiting news from Jiang Yuan was strictly confidential, known by very few, and all of the time Jiang Yuan was delayed was spent on-site investigations.

In other words, every hour of Jiang Yuan’s delay was spent investigating her brother’s cause of death through a secret investigation.

No matter what Jiang Yuan’s motives were, Zhang Xiaoya was willing to extend her gratitude.

The Zhang family was united in thought: no matter what you are thinking, as long as you can crack the case of Zhang Xiaoming’s death and find his killer to clear his name, the Zhang family is willing to extend their gratitude.

"Judge by the facts, not the intention," it is said.

Click.

Huang Qiangmin pushed the door open and entered, his neck covered with fine sweat from running.

"Sorry I’m late," said Huang Qiangmin, who had rushed over after receiving the message.

"Commissioner Huang," Jiang Yuan greeted his superior first and made room for him.

Seeing Jiang Yuan stand up, the people accompanying Zhang Xiaoya realized and hurriedly made room, pulled out chairs, and poured tea.

Once Huang Qiangmin was settled, Jiang Yuan began, "Let me talk about my findings at Jianmen Court."

"Please, go ahead," Zhang Xiaoya said immediately, sitting up straight to look at Jiang Yuan.

"First. I reviewed the photos from the crime scene on the day of the incident as well as the autopsy photos. One thing is certain, Zhang Xiaoming died very quickly, fatally stabbed by a sharp weapon directly in critical areas, namely the heart and liver, leading to an excessive loss of blood and death," Jiang Yuan paused, "Based on the photos, I conducted a round of Bloodstain Analysis at the crime scene, mainly in the victim’s home."

Zhang Xiaoya’s eyes lit up upon hearing this; she knew Jiang Yuan was skilled at Bloodstain Analysis.

If it were a cliched movie, Zhang Xiaoya, facing Jiang Yuan, would be the kind of person who could recite: "Jiang Yuan, male, 25 years old, Han ethnicity, forensic doctor from Ningtai County, Shannan Province, skilled in Bloodstain Analysis, fingerprint analysis..." and so on.

She had spent the entire day studying and analyzing Jiang Yuan.

Thus, even though she wasn’t a professional in Criminal Science, Zhang Xiaoya had a considerable understanding of Jiang Yuan’s skills, specialties, experiences, and achievements.

And Bloodstain Analysis happened to be one of Jiang Yuan’s well-known trump cards in the field.

How strong Jiang Yuan’s Bloodstain Analysis really is and what level it reached might not be known to the public, but it is widely accepted that among active officers, Jiang Yuan’s skills in Bloodstain Analysis are absolutely top-notch.

It is well known that criminal scientific techniques are not exactly a science; they lie between art and science. The most scientific aspect of it is that it can be falsified.

Conducting Bloodstain Analysis at a crime scene, will it lead to catching the culprit? After catching them, does the suspect’s recognition of the crime scene correspond with the Bloodstain Analysis?

After repeating such a series of steps several times, this field of study has very few who just go through the motions without true competence.

And there is no need to speak of Jiang Yuan’s proficiency. How could it be called a miracle without being repeatedly proven?

Zhang Xiaoya even regretted a bit; there was a lot of blood in her brother’s room. Why didn’t she invite Jiang Yuan earlier?

Jiang Yuan did not continue with the Bloodstain Analysis at this point, but instead turned to Tao Lu and asked, "Tao, has Wang Futing confessed?"

"No, he only said he couldn’t remember clearly." Tao Lu’s expression didn’t look too good.

Wang Futing was the most crucial breakthrough in this case, and to some extent, also the only breakthrough. If he didn’t confess, this case would lack the value to be reopened.

Unless Jiang Yuan had other ideas.

Jiang Yuan simply nodded his head and asked, "Did he confess to any other cases, then?"

"No, he couldn’t remember anything at all," said Tao Lu.

Jiang Yuan fell into a thoughtful silence.

Zhang Xiaoya asked anxiously, "Is this good news or bad news?"

Tao Lu interjected, "It’s normal for Wang Futing to not want to confess; no one wants to add crimes to their name. It can only be said that it didn’t serve the purpose of elimination. Without Wang Futing’s testimony, it’s not easy to continue pushing the case forward."

"What if we threaten him, telling him that he will have to take the blame for this case if he doesn’t confess? Would he confess then?" Zhang Xiaoya asked, thinking in the manner of an ordinary person. "Or maybe, Wang Futing is the murderer, knowing that confessing would lead to his death, so he refuses to do so."

All the criminal police present looked towards Jiang Yuan. It was easy to refute Zhang Xiaoya’s words, yet not so easy at the same time.

Huang Qiangmin cleared his throat twice, prepared to speak for Jiang Yuan. Coming from a remote province as a grassroots cadre, he didn’t concern himself much with high gates.

Jiang Yuan gestured to Huang Qiangmin with his hand, as he was in a state of full emotional intelligence, and said, "The investigation has just started, and there are many issues to discuss in the future. Miss Zhang came to see us, probably expecting to hear the most direct and simplest feedback from the grass roots."

"Yes, that’s what I meant." Zhang Xiaoya quickly caught on and hastily added, "I just want to understand the situation; I absolutely support Mr. Jiang Yuan’s investigation."

An hour ago, Zhang Xiaoya may not have been so certain, but now, she was very sure that Jiang Yuan was definitely the most suitable leader for the special case team. He was a criminal police officer with authority, capability, strength, and reputation. What’s rare is that he was also young, impulsive, willing to act, making this investigation seem all the more important.

Jiang Yuan nodded and said, "There indeed exists the possibility that Wang Futing is the murderer, but just as we previously analyzed, there was a large amount of blood at the scene, and the blood splattered onto the murderer. Since there was no blood on the wall that Wang Futing climbed over, this reduces the likelihood that Wang Futing is the direct murderer."

Jiang Yuan allowed Zhang Xiaoya to digest this before continuing, "As for the reasons why Wang Futing refuses to confess, there are many. First, as a gangster who later became a vice president of a publicly-listed company, he definitely has a wide range of sources for information. He should know about the complexity of the Jianmen Court case and wouldn’t want to get involved, or in other words, he wouldn’t want to be implicated in any way, which is not hard to understand."

Zhang Xiaoya was taken aback for a moment and could only nod in agreement.

Jiang Yuan continued, "Furthermore, threatening Wang Futing with a capital crime is likely ineffective. After so many years, even if Wang Futing himself isn’t knowledgeable about the law, he surely would have consulted with lawyers about relevant issues. Without conclusive evidence, the probability of being sentenced to immediate execution for the sole act of killing a victim is not high in judicial practice; the probabilities of a suspended death sentence or life imprisonment are greater. In contrast, admitting to being the murderer or an accomplice might be an even worse outcome for Wang Futing."

Zhang Xiaoya rolled her eyes, feeling Jiang Yuan was being somewhat aggressive.

Jiang Yuan continued to make his point: "Lastly, even if Wang Futing were an outsider and not truly involved in this case, and knew who the real murderer was, turning in the murderer may not make him feel safer. On one hand, he would worry about being entangled in the case and meeting his doom even faster. On the other hand, the real murderer’s relationship with Wang Futing is also uncertain."

Jiang Yuan hypothesized, "Assuming the murderer was an accomplice of Wang Futing on the day of the incident, then why hasn’t Wang Futing turned in the murderer over these years? A simple guess would be that the murderer might hold something over Wang Futing, or perhaps, Wang Futing may have already killed the murderer."

Zhang Xiaoya listened and was stunned, "There indeed is such a possibility..."

"Wang Futing whitewashed himself in the underworld following Duanda; the cases on his back are definitely more than one or two. Time-wise, the Jianmen Court case was actually one of the earliest he was involved in."

"So what do we do?"

Huang Qiangmin cleared his throat again and said, "Interrogation is also a slow process, Wang Futing’s current silence doesn’t mean he will remain silent later."

That was a cushioned statement to avoid Jiang Yuan making any promises.

On his way here, Jiang Yuan had already had some ideas, now he only said to Zhang Xiaoya, "I think there are two directions. First, we’ve arrested so many people connected to Duanda, we can try to find out if any of these suspects know about Wang Futing’s situation or if anyone knows about the Jianmen Court case."

Zhang Xiaoya kept nodding, "That’s a good idea, by doing so, we can thoroughly investigate Duanda’s case and try to identify as many involved individuals from back then as possible."

"I agree," said Tao Lu, busily jotting down notes in the notebook.

"And the second direction?" Zhang Xiaoya asked Jiang Yuan.

Jiang Yuan replied, "If you’re willing, you can have a talk with Wang Futing. I think, if we only aim to punish the ringleader without seeking excessive revenge, Wang Futing might be willing to talk. Of course, it’s fine if he doesn’t want to talk, too. If our conversation is effective and he still doesn’t want to talk, that would still indicate something."