National Forensic Doctor
Chapter 587 - 533 Taking a Different Path

Chapter 587: Chapter 533 Taking a Different Path

The Luojin City Criminal Police Detachment doesn’t have its own vehicle inspection department; similar to Changyang City, they had placed the suspect’s abandoned car in the Traffic Police Detachment’s vehicle inspection center.

Thus, everyone took a car to the location. Jiang Yuan sat in the back seat and quickly went through all kinds of physical evidence related to the case: fingerprints, footprints, DNA, etc., as well as looking at the information provided by the technical investigation team and other aspects.

With LV5 fingerprint and footprint identification, he looked at these photographs very quickly. Jiang Yuan didn’t need to handle them; a brief check was enough to move on.

For Jiang Yuan, who was accustomed to cold cases, this current kidnapping case provided almost too many clues.

Given enough time and ample investigative resources, Jiang Yuan might have been able to determine the perpetrator’s information from several angles.

However, the situation now was such that the identity of the criminal was already known and that wasn’t important; what mattered was where they were hiding and where they would go next.

Revealing the relationship between people and places fell within the scope of Legal Botany and was one of the reasons Jiang Yuan chose this case.

At this moment, Huang Qiangmin and others probably still didn’t have a clue. Very few people in the country mastered this technique, and normal people probably hadn’t even considered this angle.

Traffic Police Detachment vehicle inspection center.

In a large indoor parking spot, the Jianghuai pickup truck awaited inspection.

The vehicle itself was a bit battered and shabby, perfectly reflecting the image of a struggling poor family.

Looking at the battle-scarred interior and the messy back of the truck, Jiang Yuan partly understood one of the reasons it wasn’t stolen but was instead reported to the police.

"Have fingerprints and DNA already been collected?" asked Jiang Yuan, standing a few meters away from the vehicle.

"Pretty much, I guess. Someone has already brushed it over anyway. Many photos have been taken too." In the mind of the custodian, a car from which fingerprints and DNA had been collected was considered thoroughly inspected.

Indeed, this wasn’t wrong; normally, a complete inspection of a vehicle included these steps.

Jiang Yuan felt a slight relief upon hearing this.

What he feared most was that trace evidence had already been collected; then he could only rely on the results organized by others. As a beginner at LV3 in Legal Botany, it would be somewhat troublesome for him.

However, if only fingerprints and DNA were collected, normal procedure wouldn’t involve wiping the entire vehicle. Investigators would usually use a forensic light or similar tool to scan and collect evidence only when they spot fingerprints or footprints.

For trace evidence or legal botany, that level of preliminary investigation wouldn’t count for much.

"Get our tools over here."

Jiang Yuan asked for a brush and began to collect microparticles from various parts of the vehicle.

He started from the chassis and the tires to the floor mats, bumper, air filter, radiator...

Huang Qiangmin and Mu Zhiyang stood by, somewhat unable to keep up with Jiang Yuan’s pace.

As Huang Qiangmin coordinated with the leaders of the Luojin City Criminal Police Detachment, he asked Jiang Yuan, "Are we looking for trace evidence? Don’t you usually do this much later?"

In his memory, Jiang Yuan typically turned to trace evidence only when no other evidence could be found.

As the name implies, trace evidence is scarce and provides less information than conventional evidence. Besides, trace evidence is expensive, so logically it should be considered in the later stages.

But this time, Jiang Yuan was looking for pollen and spores, so he said, "Luo Jin City has probably already gone through all the evidence that could be found. I just thought I’d try a different approach, try another solution. That should be okay, right?"

Jiang Yuan used a bit of emotional intelligence and turned to Luojin City Criminal Police Detachment’s Commissar Ge with a smile, asking the question.

He usually couldn’t be bothered to employ this skill. He wasn’t looking forward to a promotion or a pay rise, and with Huang Qiangmin covering for him, using emotional intelligence every day would simply be a waste.

This time was slightly different, however, having changed provinces. It was not quite the same as in Shannan Province. Seeing that Cui Xiaohu also seemed young, under these circumstances, it was necessary to use a little bit of emotional intelligence.

Of course, Huang Qiangmin had considered all of this, and emotional intelligence was part of the bill—not to be wasted.

Commissar Ge was unaware that every gift in fate comes with a price tag, some particularly expensive.

Yet he showed a faint smile at Jiang Yuan’s intention to take a different approach.

If someone were to find evidence in something that his side had already searched, it would be quite embarrassing. Even if it was the renowned Expert Jiang Yuan from the ministry who found the evidence, the embarrassment would be the same.

However, if Jiang Yuan found a new way to solve the case, that would feel much better. It wouldn’t be that they weren’t good enough; it would just be that they had taken the wrong approach, simply bad luck.

Commissar Ge chuckled, "Indeed, it’s Jiang Yuan, Expert Jiang, taking a unique approach right from the start. Yes, this is best. Let us all forge ahead together, working on ways to solve the case..."

Huang Qiangmin smiled silently. All this about forging ahead together—Jiang Yuan had never shown such an attitude before.

Commissar Ge continued discussing the case, "The kidnappers this time are extremely insolent. We suspect they must have made long and thorough preparations beforehand; otherwise, they couldn’t have possibly evaded such an intense search. It even seemed they purposely wanted to make a scene, snatching the child right in front of other parents..."

"Do they want you to pay the ransom more quickly?" Huang Qiangmin was very well aware of the case’s social impact.

If it were a kidnapping kept secret, the police would have ample time to stall the kidnappers, and would not readily choose to pay the ransom.

But if it were a case with significant impact, yet not overly so, in order to quickly mitigate the repercussions and resolve the case, particularly to save the hostage, it was even possible that senior officials would press the police to pay the ransom earlier.

This balance would at least require kidnappers of an LV1 theory level.

Commissar Ge was very clear about what Huang Qiangmin meant and nodded gravely, "That is indeed very possible. Our assumption is that they aim to get the money and flee the country directly. Initially, they even demanded Bitcoin, which we argued was illegal. After much back and forth, we ended up not making the payment..."

"Two million in cash is quite a heavy bag. Can they take it with them?"

All three were now known factors, naturally making it impossible to deposit the cash into their cards. In fact, with today’s banks, trying to deposit an extra 500,000 would prompt inquiries about the color of the dog the Great Ancestor saw when he was 18 years old, not to mention that the serial numbers of the bills were definitely recorded.

Commissar Ge’s expression grew more solemn as he continued, "We have several conjectures about this. One, they might hide the money and find someone to retrieve it later. Another is that they could have a well-planned route, like smuggling themselves out by sea."

Baijiang Province is most famous for the Bai River. From the Bai River, a small boat can take you to sea, and then you can switch to another fishing boat, etc. Leaving the country isn’t as hard as one might imagine. This process is mostly about spending money. A decently speedy boat could cost several hundred thousand, and giving money to a fishing boat at least also requires several hundred thousand before someone would be willing to risk it with you.

And ordinary smuggling folk couldn’t produce such a large sum of money.

"Is the victim’s fate confirmed, dead or alive?" Huang Qiangmin asked again.

"We could confirm it yesterday, haven’t made the call yet today," Commissar Ge paused for a moment before adding, "We always verify the child’s condition with each call, but the risk still exists."

...

Jiang Yuan didn’t join in the conversation between the two and remained focused on inspecting the car.

The car body was covered in pollen and spores.

In the natural environment, the pollen from anemophilous plants can drift away for a hundred meters. Think about the peak seasons for willow and poplar catkins; it’s only because the willow and poplar trees are too obvious that they draw people’s complaints.

During different periods, pine, cypress, mulberry, and wormwood are the main forces spreading pollen. It’s normal for pollen to spread a hundred meters.

Most importantly, as proof of location, the types and ratios of pollen and spores differ in each region.

Put simply, a criminal standing at the entrance of a garden will collect a completely different pollen spectrum compared to standing a meter away.

Of course, producing a pollen spectrum of this precision would require LV3 expertise in Legal Botany.

"Do you have a centrifuge?" Jiang Yuan asked, wiping and then washing, and separately categorized the washed silt to one side, ready for later use in a centrifuge.

"We have it in the Trace Evidence Laboratory," Commissar Ge said.

"Then please have them process it," Jiang Yuan delegated the task.

Luojin City is the capital of Baijiang Province, and economically well-off. The newly established Trace Evidence Laboratory also had three to four years of experience. Compared to ordinary physical and chemical laboratories, the Trace Evidence Laboratory had a much higher level of technical content. Sifting through some silt should be no problem.

Jiang Yuan also requested a variety of strong acids, ready to process the other samples collected from various places.

The strong acids were used to nitrate the background of the samples, such as sand, clay, fibers, lignin, humic acids, and so on.

It might sound unbelievable, but in reality, when the above substances are corroded by strong acids, the spores and pollen will remain.

Spore casings, pollen grains, insects, fungal remnants, and the exoskeletons of crustaceans all have a special kind of polymer that can resist strong acids that even quartz and clay cannot, called sporopollenin in plants, and chitin in insects and fungi.

Even this step, and certainly those following, are best performed in the laboratory.

This is not just because using strong acids is dangerous, but also because, in the end, a clean laboratory is required to prevent contamination.

In city spaces, spores and pollen also float around in the air.

Over the next day, Jiang Yuan spent almost all his time in the lab and in front of the microscope.

The white-shirted detectives of the Luojin City Criminal Police Detachment awaited Jiang Yuan’s findings with anticipation and a bit of confusion.

Cui Xiaohu didn’t understand either, but he had to reassure the detectives of Luojin City, and incidentally explain the situation to departmental leaders concerned with the case...

After making the rounds, Cui Xiaohu felt more exhausted than the kidnappers.

Huang Qiangmin, understanding, gave Cui Xiaohu a pat on the shoulder—it wasn’t easy for anyone.