National Forensic Doctor
Chapter 436 - 436 402 Too Long

436: Chapter 402: Too Long 436: Chapter 402: Too Long “A third person?

This…”

Outside the barn, tomorrow’s sun hung high, a gentle breeze caressing, and atop Zheng Tianxin’s head, a fine sheen of sweat emerged, as if he had eaten a fiercely spicy Qingzhong noodle dish.

At this moment, facing Liu Jinghui, Zheng Tianxin truly wished he could have been choked to death by those explosively spicy noodles.

The sweat on his brow was not only due to the unexpected twists and turns in the case but also a deep-rooted sense of guilt.

Phrases like “ensuring the safety of the locality” often sound empty when spoken.

However, as the leader of the Luyang City Bureau Criminal Police Brigade, Zheng Tianxin, who was middle-aged, harbored no hopes for promotion or desires for transfer.

His life had been a series of highs and lows within the police force.

If there were any aspects of his career, any accomplishments, any shining moments in his life, they were all encompassed within this realm.

The term “maintaining public order and ensuring the safety of the citizenry” almost covered all the radiant aspects of Zheng Tianxin’s life.

Yet time and again, the criminals involved in case 805 shattered those shining aspects—whether they were realistic, illusory, genuine or fanciful.

“These beasts!” Zheng Tianxin muttered through gritted teeth, then raised his head to ask Liu Jinghui, “What should we do?”

He had now realized that he was far inferior to Liu Jinghui in criminal investigation, and there were hardly any others in the Luyang City Bureau or Shannan Province who could match Liu Jinghui.

Otherwise, it wouldn’t be Liu making the daily rounds across the province.

At this point, Zheng Tianxin didn’t want anything else.

He just wanted to crack the 805 case and capture all the criminals involved, no matter how many there were.

Liu Jinghui, pondering, said, “We could ask the technical investigation team to summarize the call records of Zhang Hai and Chen Youdi.

Those who have had phone contact with both of them would be key suspects.

We should continue investigating social media as well.

Additionally, is it possible to get anything out of Chen Youdi through interrogation?”

“The interrogation is being followed up by the prosecution, no news yet,” Zheng Tianxin replied, then added, “I’ll get in touch with the technical investigators; we should be hearing back from them soon.”

At first glance, the 805 case seemed shrouded in mist, but upon closer inspection, it didn’t appear complicated.

Especially the two currently involved suspects didn’t actually possess strong anti-investigation skills and weren’t careful in their actions…

Liu Jinghui’s strategy, similar to previous ones, had worked smoothly before; continuing with it now, Zheng Tianxin felt reassured.

Zheng Tianxin immediately gave the instructions on the spot.

Liu Jinghui continued, “Over in Panyuan Village, I think we could deploy another team to conduct a thorough investigation.

Look into Chen Youdi’s neighbors to see if they’ve heard anything unusual lately.

Also, if a third perpetrator has come here, he would have to drive past the entrance of the village every time, right?

We can try to find surveillance footage from the national highway and the village.”

“That’s a great idea!

They would have had to use a car to transport the victims,” Zheng Tianxin nodded again and again.

This investigative approach was also in line with his way of thinking.

Zheng Tianxin picked up his phone and started to communicate with the various parties.

Zhou Yuanqiang was also hurrying back to the bureau nonstop.

The technical investigation required filling out a plethora of forms.

With Zheng Tianxin commanding the scene on-site, it was up to him, the political commissar, to run around.

Dozens of detectives were rallied to take down statements from the villagers.

Panyuan Village had fair natural conditions, but like Jiang Village, most people had moved to the government-provided resettlement housing district after the demolition.

Those who ended up returning to the village, and who could return, were mostly old people in their sixties and seventies, with those in their fifties considered strong.

These people could still do some work within their capacity and take good care of their daily needs.

However, when questioned for statements by the police, every single one of them became panicked and lost for words.

The involved officers were not surprised and could only soothe them before asking the questions carefully and repeatedly.

It often took two or three times before they could obtain accurate answers.

Several pairs of people also had to check the surveillance footage at the village entrance and main roads, running to the traffic police department and meticulously searching through the system…

At the same time, interrogation efforts were being intensified.

Zheng Tianxin could tell that Chen Youdi was not an experienced and determined criminal mastermind.

He even seemed a bit cowardly, like an ordinary old farmer, who had intensified desires such as greed, selfishness, and lust to the point of becoming an aberration amongst humans.

Yet in the interrogation room, Chen Youdi could stubbornly keep silent.

He appeared meek and terrified, like a captured rat wishing to curl up into a ball.

But no matter what the interrogating officer said, he turned a deaf ear, even murmuring unintelligible words as if he were a primitive tribesman from the jungle.

“He’s like someone scared witless,” said the officer in charge of the interrogation after yelling for over an hour to no avail.

He slammed the table and walked out of the interrogation room.

Zheng Tianxin looked at him, curled up, terrified to death, and then thought of the scene in the barn, feeling a wave of nausea: “This thing is not human.

We treat it like a person, and yet it still puts on an act.”

“It feels like his mind’s somewhat collapsed, his state of fear is real,” the interrogating officer sighed.

He had seen such people before; essentially, they were broken by fear.

Normal thinking had ceased, and whatever was said, they couldn’t hear or take it in.

Or perhaps he truly understood the consequences.

Committing such a crime, caught red-handed, the death penalty would be immediate and inescapable.

Maybe what he feared was the very part about being threatened.

The prosecutor who specifically came for Case 805 was grim-faced.

Having seen the photos, it was hard to feel sympathy for the suspect standing before him, yet the case was proceeding so poorly.

“We can’t really let him have a mental breakdown, if possible let’s delay a bit,” even the prosecutor had to suggest.

No matter how brutal the killer was, when facing his own pain and death, his mind is still fragile.

Zheng Tianxin responded with a displeased grunt, “The key now is to confirm the third person.

That third person might still have the kidnapped woman, and every minute we delay, there’s a greater chance they will kill to silence her and flee elsewhere.”

“Think of some other way,” the prosecutor urged.

“I’m not taking the side of the suspect, but if the suspect dies, won’t the case be even harder to handle?”

Thinking about the hardship of the past two years, Zheng Tianxin also helplessly nodded.

This case had nearly drained all of Luyang City Bureau’s resources, as well as his energy and spirit for the past two years.

If the killer died now, all the suffering of these years would really have been in vain.

Whether or not the murderer stands in the dock, sometimes, is quite important.

“How’s the surveillance going?

Did you find the license plate?” the prosecutor asked softly, seeing Zheng Tianxin’s bad mood.

“Fake plates,” Zheng Tianxin exhaled through clenched teeth.

You can still investigate fake plates, but it takes a lot of effort.

“And technical investigation?” The prosecutor was keeping an advance tab, acquainted with all aspects involved in the case.

Zheng Tianxin let out a resigned sigh, “The sim card was bought, and we can’t contact the person anymore, the last tower it connected to was near Panyuan Village…”

Disposable phones, common in American dramas, are not popular in China, but some still use them.

Normally, if the police encounter such a phone, it’s doubly suspicious; but when it comes to investigations, it indeed hampers the process.

The prosecutor thought for a moment, then asked, “In that case, is there no word through social media apps?”

“None,” Zheng Tianxin started to get irritated.

“The villagers in Panyuan Village, someone did say they saw people looking for Chen Youdi, but they can’t describe what they looked like.

The people in Panyuan Village don’t interact much with Chen Youdi; he’s the isolated type, no friends since he was young, the village’s loser…”

Zheng Tianxin, speaking more and more, felt it was pointless.

The case had reached this stage, with so many clues snapping abruptly.

Of course, now following any clue and investigating more carefully, trying to widen the scope, there’s still a chance to catch up, but time-wise…

Buzz…

Zheng Tianxin’s phone started to ring.

“I’ll take a call.” Zheng Tianxin smiled apologetically at the prosecutor and took out his phone.

It was a call from Jiang Yuan.

This must be about the case.

Hesitating for just a second, Zheng Tianxin answered the call, activated speakerphone, and said, “Doctor Jiang, I’ve put you on speaker.

What’s up?”

“I’ve found a fingerprint in the barn,” Jiang Yuan’s voice came through the phone, calmly speaking, “Now we’ve identified a suspect with prior indecent assault records, a local of Luyang who works at a property management company.

I’ve sent the details to your phone.

I suspect this person could be the third man.”

Zheng Tianxin was startled, “The fingerprint you just found?”

Zheng Tianxin checked his phone; it had been at least four hours since they discovered the body in the barn.

Jiang Yuan responded with a “Mhm,” “It took over three hours to find, on the edge of a nightstand.

Separating fingerprints also took time.

Leader Zheng, I suggest we arrest him immediately…”

“Okay, okay,” Zheng Tianxin agreed, gesturing to a detective nearby to make the call, but couldn’t help asking, “Was the fingerprint difficult to find?”

Laughter from a few people on the other end of the phone could be heard, likely from his own trace evidence team.

Jiang Yuan said, “It had its difficulties since the killer has a habit of cleaning fingerprints off.

However, he lingered in this barn for too long.”