National Forensic Doctor
Chapter 444 - 444 410 Following the Dog

444: Chapter 410: Following the Dog 444: Chapter 410: Following the Dog “The 1017 case was just cracked like that?”

Xu Xuewu, clad only in the liner of his police uniform, placed one foot on a bench in the residential complex.

While watching the police officers load the criminal suspect into the car, he couldn’t help but feel a wave of emotion.

According to the naming convention for special cases, Case 1017 would pertain to an incident that occurred on October 17th of the previous year.

It was a rape case that had taken place in the suburbs, and the victim hadn’t reported the crime until the following morning, leaving behind incomplete evidence.

Throughout the incident, the victim had her back to the assailant and her description of the events was unclear.

Qian Mingyu had relied on his superior LV2.5 fingerprint technology to painstakingly obtain a partial fingerprint from the bark at the crime scene.

However, obtaining a fingerprint was one thing, but matching it was another matter altogether.

Qian Mingyu had been processing this fingerprint for several months.

Of course, he wasn’t working on it continuously, but whenever it came to mind, he would mark it and try to match it against the database.

Deep down, Qian Mingyu still felt that the fingerprint hadn’t matched partly because the assailant’s prints had never been collected.

Nevertheless, after Jiang Yuan took over, all the conjecture was swiftly resolved.

The perpetrator turned out to be a repeat offender who lived near the scene of the crime.

Only after the police car carrying the suspect had disappeared from view did Xu Xuewu step down from the bench, let out a long sigh, and ask Qian Mingyu, “What should we do?”

In his mind, Qian Mingyu thought, You’re the brigade commander, and you’re asking me, a forensics guy, what to do?

As if what I say would make a difference.

But Qian Mingyu was a man in his forties, the kind who could bow his head when necessary.

His brain quickly formed new folds as he pondered and then said, “This case is mainly my fault.

If I had matched the perpetrator earlier, well…”

On this topic, Xu Xuewu was actually curious and asked, “Old Qian, just tell me, what exactly is Jiang Yuan’s strength?”

Qian Mingyu recalled the way Jiang Yuan had handled the operation, his facial expression changed, and after a while, he said, “If you’re asking me where exactly he is strong, I can’t really say.

But when someone’s skill reaches that level, the first thing that comes to mind is confidence, I guess.”

“Confidence?”

“A fingerprint that I’ve kept comparing over and over, I’m always worried that the characteristics I’ve marked are incorrect, that it won’t match, or that the fingerprint isn’t in the database or is incomplete.

Jiang Yuan isn’t like that.

When he gets a fingerprint, if it doesn’t match after a short comparison, he can immediately judge whether the fingerprint has potential, why it didn’t match, whether he needs to switch to another fingerprint, or just follow through to the end,” Qian Mingyu said, his expression changing again.

“He’s truly formidable.”

“He really can solve cases!” exclaimed Xu Xuewu.

Qian Mingyu spread his hands and then said, “Looking on the bright side, he would still need our help with something as trivial as a dog theft case.”

Xu Xuewu tried to laugh, but it turned into a bitter smile.

The formidable top force of Shannan had picked a dog theft case as their first choice upon arriving in Miao River County.

From a criminal investigator’s perspective, it truly seemed laughable.

What was worse, it looked like his own detective brigade was about to be drawn into this dog theft case by Jiang Yuan.

He wanted to refuse.

In Xu Xuewu’s life, the handsomest thing about him was his face, and his reputation was also related to being handsome.

The most handsome detective brigade commander in Shannan—it was a title he thoroughly deserved.

But the reputation of the Dog-Finding Brigade—he feared he couldn’t bear that.

“Let’s talk about it when we get back.

We’ll see what to say after meeting Jiang Yuan,” Xu Xuewu found it hard to decide and after calling out to Qian Mingyu, he slid into the passenger seat of his new Passat.

The Passat’s seats were so comforting, much more comfortable than the previous Santana.

Xu Xuewu leaned the seat back and closed his eyes in contemplation.

Qian Mingyu sat in the back seat of the Passat and casually pulled out his phone, opened WeChat, and sure enough, saw people in the “Shannan Fingerprint Exchange Group” thanking Jiang Yuan and singing his praises.

Jiang Yuan, when idle, was so formidable that he would occasionally help someone match a fingerprint.

Yet, most of the time, the difficulty wasn’t particularly high.

Qian Mingyu estimated that if he had a few days to concentrate on it, he might have a chance to match it as well.

Of course, he wouldn’t actually do it.

It wasn’t that he couldn’t lose sleep over someone else’s fingerprint.

Rather, it was that while he was losing sleep over it, someone else could easily match the fingerprint.

So, if you wanted to consult with Qian Mingyu about a fingerprint of this level, you had to pay him a visit and extend a formal invitation.

After all, you don’t bother someone with a matter that isn’t theirs to worry about.

It was the same for Jiang Yuan.

At the level of Qian Mingyu, already recognized as a fingerprint expert by the provincial department, if you still had to ask Jiang Yuan to take on a problem you couldn’t solve, you needed to make a sincere visit to consult.

Now, since Jiang Yuan had solved it, it was only appropriate to give a shoutout in the group.

Qian Mingyu earnestly typed in the “Shannan Fingerprint Exchange Group”:

Miao River County Qian Mingyu: [We’ve just arrested a suspect in a rape case, thanks to the fingerprint work by @Ningtai Jiangyuan, which I had been unable to match for a long time.]

After thinking about it, Qian Mingyu decided to follow the young folks’ lead and added another message:

Miao River County Qian Mingyu: [Jiang God is awesome, YYDS!]

Asking for help is not disgraceful!

Following Qian Mingyu’s message, other forensic specialists quickly joined in:

Changyang City – Shuidong District – Forensic He Guohua: [Jiang God is so cool!]

Shannan Li Zemin: [Ningtai Jiangyuan, a towering inferno!]

Changyang City – Shuidong District – Forensic He Guohua: [Jiang God never misses the mark!]

Provincial Office – Fingerprint Post – Yang Ling: “Ningtai Jiangyuan, the flames rage fiercely!”

…

As Qian Mingyu saw everyone else showering Jiang Yuan with praise, he felt more at ease and, likewise, slumped into his chair with a huge sigh of relief.

Xu Xuewu glanced oddly at the rearview mirror, unaware that his own forensic technician had just fully admitted defeat.

Criminal Police Brigade.

Jiang Yuan sat in the Surveillance Analysis Squad office, watching the surveillance footage.

Even though he hadn’t found anything, he was still deep in thought as he watched.

The detective team in Miaohe County had a different approach to team building; the Image Investigation squad had separated early on.

They not only monitor surveillance but also make arrests, unlike Ningtai County’s old methods where the image office only provided logistical support.

Of course, Ningtai County was now setting up an Image Reconnaissance Brigade of its own, directly scaling up to a team of hundreds with independent case-solving authority.

As for Miaohe County’s Surveillance Analysis Squad, their surveillance coverage was too small.

Occasionally, when a case arose, the squad could handle arrests and case resolutions on their own, and even found it difficult to support the Brigade’s work.

For Jiang Yuan to find the missing dog through surveillance was immensely difficult, although it should have been the simplest method.

“Captain Jiang.

Still watching the footage?” Before entering the door, Xu Xuewu rubbed his face, immediately becoming three times handsomer.

Jiang Yuan smiled and stood up, “Have we caught the suspect?”

“Caught him, he’s been taken in for interrogation, no big problems,” Xu Xuewu paused, then asked, “How about you?

Found anything?”

He was too embarrassed to say “dog,” feeling that it was somewhat unbecoming.

Jiang Yuan shook his head: “I’ve checked all nearby cameras, tracked down the vehicles around the main roads, and even made a few calls, but the efficiency is rather low.”

“I see…

Missing persons are hard to find, but missing dogs are even harder.

Our surveillance is not sufficient…

Can we just buy another dog that looks the same, for that young girl?” Xu Xuewu tentatively asked.

Jiang Yuan said, “Now I’m the one who wants to find this dog.”

Xu Xuewu sighed helplessly; some people are just hard to communicate with…

Jiang Yuan saw Xu Xuewu’s hesitant look and didn’t want to force him, so he quietly handed him a piece of paper.

“This is…” Xu Xuewu took it and immediately frowned upon looking at it.

“Case 613.

I’ve reviewed the case file, and the weapon used in this case seems rather interesting,” Jiang Yuan, with a Level 6 expertise in tool mark analysis, found recognizing weapons to be simpler than munching on fried dough sticks, they softened right up with just a snap.

Case 613 was a cold murder case from two years ago.

Xu Xuewu hurriedly flipped through to see the conclusion, but there was nothing more…

“Not…

Not finished yet?” Xu Xuewu was incredibly eager.

Jiang Yuan affirmed with a sound, “Spread too thin, I’m afraid.”

Xu Xuewu blinked his handsome eyes, took a couple of steps forward, leaned in toward Jiang Yuan, and whispered, “Captain Jiang, leave the dog case to me.

You focus on the murder cases.”

“No need,” Jiang Yuan said with a smile, “I still want to be involved in the dog case.

As for Case 613, I’ll just keep it under full surveillance.”

“This…” Xu Xuewu hesitated, feeling it unfit to be distracted by such a significant case.

“You still need to talk to Director Huang.

Otherwise, he might accuse me of shirking my duties,” Jiang Yuan chuckled and once again focused intently on the surveillance footage.

Xu Xuewu smiled and didn’t take it to heart, pulling Qian Mingyu along as they left the office.

Xu Xuewu handed over the piece of paper given by Jiang Yuan to him, took out his phone, dialed Huang Qiangmin’s number, and asked Qian Mingyu, “What do you think?

Any hope?”

“Yes!” Qian Mingyu, looking at the tool mark analysis written by Jiang Yuan, gazed at the data, swallowed repeatedly, and then began to check the familiar yet unfamiliar regression formulas on his phone.

Xu Xuewu smiled upon seeing this, and just as the phone connected, he walked out while warmly talking, “Director Huang, good day to you…”

By the time Qian Mingyu had figured out a few regression formulas and started pondering why they were chosen rather than others, Xu Xuewu came strolling back, hands in his pockets.

It must be said that the well-insulated police uniform lining, much like a down jacket and a cotton coat, tends to make ugly people uglier but handsome men even more so.

Xu Xuewu was an excellent example of this.

Even if he was just casually walking while wearing a thin cotton liner, his broad shoulders and trim waist—the inverted triangle body shape—were strikingly evident.

Qian Mingyu smiled and approached, saying, “Xu, the tool analysis Jiang Yuan did is really meticulous; it’s definitely worth pursuing further.”

Xu Xuewu’s eyes lit up, “Can you continue it?”

“I…

I might…

If I do it alone, the success rate might not be high,” Qian Mingyu hurried to explain, “Jiang Yuan uses those regression equations quite broadly; the choices later on are even more complex…”

“Alright, let Jiang Yuan continue then,” Xu Xuewu sighed, “Tell the office to tidy up the Passat, take out all the things that need to be taken, and then send it along with the previous Santana for a full maintenance.”

“Okay.

Which car will you be using these few days?”

“I’ll just ride the old Santana from now on.

The Passat will be lent to Ningtai County.

When it’s old, they’ll send it back to us,” Xu Xuewu shook his head, “I’ll go and talk to the chief…”

Qian Mingyu was stunned, watching Xu Xuewu’s retreating figure, then said, “That dog…”

“Let Squad Three deal with the dog…

and Jiang Yuan.”