National Forensic Doctor
Chapter 1068 - 1001, Second Question

Chapter 1068: Chapter 1001, Second Question

Confirming Li Dianzhong’s death as a homicide did not ease the tension among the people.

On the contrary, when Jiang Yuan announced this conclusion, everyone tensed up despite being prepared.

This was tantamount to opening a new case.

If it were a suicide, one could argue it was suicide due to fear of punishment, or some other similar explanation. But if it were a homicide, it could almost be certain that there was a mastermind behind it.

No need for any professional to judge, ordinary people can see that this was a murder to silence someone.

But starting a new case, especially one that’s 20 years old, is incredibly difficult. So difficult that it deters many.

"Since it’s confirmed to be a homicide, let’s continue investigating," Director You said while drinking tea. His voice wasn’t loud, but it sounded somewhat resolute to everyone.

"Let’s continue then," Tao Lu looked toward Jiang Yuan.

At this point in the case, he could only rely on Jiang Yuan.

In fact, the case had not yet started and the actual difficulty was still undetermined, but investigating cold cases is like sailing in the desert; if you encounter a simple one, it might just be that you happened to take the right path, not that the case itself is simple.

There might be paths in the desert, but there might also really be no paths. Regardless, it’s best to have a caravan of camels and an experienced guide.

Jiang Yuan unhesitatingly nodded and said, "First, let’s take Li Dianzhong’s photo to Wang Futing to see, without telling him who it is, hmm, take along a few others as well, let him identify them. If he recognizes anyone, we then inquire about the details. Also, let’s go talk to Li Dianzhong’s acquaintances, friends, colleagues, etc., see if there is any information."

"Yes," Shen Yaowei quickly responded and went to distribute tasks.

Upon seeing this, Director You nodded and asked, "Wang Futing, is he the informant involved in the homicide case that you caught before?"

"Yes, that’s him," Jiang Yuandao.

"Hmm, this person is a breakthrough, let’s start by asking him," Director You seemed prepared to wait and then turned to Jiang Yuan, asking, "Have you shown him the photos before?"

"We have, but he didn’t recognize anyone." Tao Lu explained, "We showed him a large group photo, along with several workshop, team, and office group photos. Several pictures had the suspect Li Dianzhong in them, but Wang Futing didn’t recognize him. There was probably a single photo of him that he has seen as well, considering the factory had thousands of employees and had been laid off, many of the photos we got back were years or even over a decade old."

Jiang Yuan wasn’t as cautious as Tao Lu, straightforwardly saying, "There were too many people, Wang Futing’s memory isn’t that reliable. He didn’t look carefully enough."

Identifying someone from photos is not reliable. Just like recognizing a friend from over 20 years ago, it wouldn’t be surprising to recognize them, and it wouldn’t be strange not to recognize them either.

Of course, some people are very good at recognizing faces, but then there are others who are not so skilled at it. In modern society, there are not a few who claim to be ’face blind’, unable to recall colleagues with different clothing or makeup, and with the factor of time included, it’s even harder.

Expecting Wang Futing to recognize a brief case acquaintance like Li Dianzhong isn’t impossible, but it can’t be demanded.

Director You nodded and said, "Let’s ask him now, I’ll wait and see."

He clearly needed a definite answer, in a sense, he also needed evidence. Evidence from an eyewitness, even if it is from 20 years ago, is still a form of evidence.

Tao Lu was very understanding of Director You’s thoughts, so he urged everyone to get to work.

Turning back, Tao Lu added casually, "The factory was already going downhill at that time, they weren’t hiring externally anymore. They needed young people to work, so they hired temporary workers first, then lured the temporary workers with contract positions, and lured contract workers with permanent positions. But when it came to handing out wages and benefits, these people were not on the list. Li Dianzhong, as an outsourced worker, was not very close to the company’s people. It was probably easier to find his photo back then, but it’s not easy now."

"Isn’t it said that the grappling hook he’s learning is quite difficult? Is he still willing to be an external staff member?" Director You suddenly connected this to the previous evidence.

"He is still learning the grappling hook, probably hasn’t completely mastered it yet," Jiang Yuan said.

Tao Lu then smiled and said, "Having such a job is almost like doing burglary, not standing out even in the 90s."

Many thieves start stealing because they can’t find work or lack skills. But some thieves might originally have had jobs, then just because of minor thefts or major robberies, end up being fired and thus focus exclusively on stealing.

From a more neutral perspective, back in the day, Li Dianzhong might also have had a period of confusion.

A group of people began to delve deeper into Li Dianzhong’s identity.

Compared to the investigation at the beginning of the case, this investigation was much simpler and more straightforward.

The previous investigation was following the tire tracks of the former special case team, barely picking up any usable clues. Whatever there was to investigate had already been checked numerous times by the prior detectives.

But the Li Dianzhong case was different; though it was a follow-up to the Jianmen Court case, the case itself was treated as an unnatural death, namely a suicide, therefore it was closed without any thorough investigation.

Now, following the trail of Li Dianzhong, the amount of clues obtained was considerably different.

When Wang Chuanxing returned, in front of Liu Jinghui and Jiang Yuan, there were already two tables piled up with materials.

Liu Jinghui, as usual, looked through each document.

That’s how deductive reasoning works; one needs ample data to make logical deductions. Of course, it’s even more expected to make reasonable deductions with meager data, but that level of difficulty is something even Liu Jinghui wouldn’t easily challenge.

Because reasoning still involves certain probabilities, any reason for failure is still a failure, and the consequences are so severe, that cases with complete data actually take up more of Liu Jinghui’s time.

"Let’s start by investigating the personal relations," Jiang Yuan briefly looked over the materials, offering a direction for the investigation, and looked towards Tao Lu.

Tao Lu nodded: "Sounds good."

There’s not much to say about this; in times without mobile phones and surveillance, visits and personal relations were already one of the main investigative directions for detectives.

If it were a current case, this type of case would also need an investigation into the flow of funds to check if the suspect had any significant financial transactions. Going further, one could also seek detailed information to understand the suspect’s circumstances.

With old cases, there’s no such thing. Investigating personal relations can also reveal the suspect’s background, making it a suitable initial step in the investigation.

Several police cars headed out into the dark night, planning to drive all night and hoping to find relevant people by morning to save as much time as possible.

The rest, as usual, depended primarily on online investigations.

After all instructions were given, Tao Lu looked at the dark sky outside and smiled at Director You, "That’s about it for today; perhaps you should rest a while?"

"Find an office, just get me a camp bed," Director You said.

Tao Lu opened his mouth, thinking that it would take less time to find a camp bed and make it than it would take you to get home.

But, thinking about the case, Tao Lu just stood at attention and responded, "Yes."