National Forensic Doctor
Chapter 602 - 547: Joint Operation

Chapter 602: Chapter 547: Joint Operation

Interrogation room.

The suspect Bao Wenxing’s hands were shackled to the interrogation chair, and his body was also bound to the chair back with restraint straps, but he still challenged the police officer across from him with his gaze, remaining silent, saying not a word.

The restraint was more out of fear that he might become emotionally agitated.

Such situations, while rare in the eyes of outsiders, were quite common for the police. Particularly with repeat offenders, who often attempt to avoid punishment by self-harm.

What the interrogating officer hadn’t expected was that Bao Wenxing’s emotions were very stable; instead, he used his gaze to provoke the officer, keeping silent and withstanding the officer’s verbal onslaught.

"You should know, even if you don’t speak, we can still convict you with no confession," the interrogating officer adjusted his stance and began to look more serious.

What to do when a suspect doesn’t talk? Reason with him.

Reason with him, present evidence, and even deliberately say things to provoke the suspect...

In some countries that particularly respect the right to silence, if a suspect requests a lawyer or chooses to exercise their right to remain silent, the police are not allowed to continue the interrogation and have to wait until the lawyer arrives before resuming.

But domestically, if a suspect doesn’t talk, while the police certainly can’t force him to speak, the police speaking themselves isn’t affected.

The interrogating officer simply sat opposite Bao Wenxing and started to leisurely discuss policies and laws with him.

This one-on-one or even two-on-one legal education session was something Bao Wenxing couldn’t avoid listening to.

As time went on, the defiance in his eyes gradually turned to confusion. Not the kind of confusion that comes from attending a morning of advanced mathematics, but more like the befuddlement of sitting through a day of Marxist philosophy.

Upstairs.

Pang Jidong washed his face with a towel, eyes still glazed over.

Seeing this, Jiang Yuan stopped further lecturing and started focusing on counting pollen under the microscope. This work was tedious, even more so than fingerprinting, sustained only by a sense of novelty and accomplishment.

Teaching Pang Jidong had been a bit of fun amidst the monotony, but now that Pang Jidong was overwhelmed, Jiang Yuan could only play with the microscope alone. Fortunately, the technicians at Luo Jin City’s DNA laboratory were competent and helped on the side.

After a while, Pang Jidong finally gasped for air as if a winter swimmer had just surfaced from underwater.

A few seconds later, Pang Jidong glanced at Jiang Yuan, somewhat panicked, and seeing that he hadn’t yet noticed him, he quietly breathed a sigh of relief, while also sighing inwardly. Being an old detective, he could tell that Jiang Yuan was intentionally mentoring him.

Although it seemed a bit funny for the twenty-something Jiang Yuan to mentor someone in his fifties like himself, Pang Jidong felt that the term "mentor" was absolutely applicable because that’s what Jiang Yuan was doing.

Only, Pang Jidong didn’t know why.

The past few days had reminded Pang Jidong of his younger days. Back then, he had just become a people’s police officer, with full ambitions and boundless energy. He had a good mentor and was learning new things every day.

That period was when Pang Jidong grew the fastest. He rapidly moved from the role of a rookie to a veteran officer, evolving from one who needed care to one who could handle cases independently and take care of others, eventually climbing the ranks from squad leader to battalion commander...

In recent years, personal growth had become a distant concept for Pang Jidong.

Given his age, the likelihood of being promoted was low, and even maintaining a competitive edge in his core position was difficult for Pang Jidong—he had to expend extra effort to meet daily challenges.

The newcomers in the team did occasionally let Pang Jidong feel the vitality of "growth," that exciting and vigorous spirit, which sometimes even stirred envy in him.

Pang Jidong never imagined that one day, at the age of fifty, he would again be subjected to force-fed teaching, to be "cultivated" again, to be forced to grow again.

This time, he felt it was at least ten times more exhausting than in his youth.

But he didn’t dare to ask Jiang Yuan "why," fearing that if he did, Jiang Yuan would stop what was painful, endless, and unbelievably force-fed teaching.

In the time his brain still had some capacity—while using the bathroom—Pang Jidong resolved that even if Jiang Yuan was teaching an old man new things because he lost a game of Truth or Dare, he wouldn’t give up!

Because what Jiang Yuan might be doing for a game, Pang Jidong was gaining as genuine personal growth.

Only by reaching fifty did he understand how precious such growth was for an old detective of his age.

"Drink some electrolyte water," Jiang Yuan, who seemed either tired of looking through the microscope or had noticed Pang Jidong’s gaze becoming clear again, came over.

He understood postnatal care for sows, and at an LV4 level no less. Although being tired from learning wasn’t the same as from giving birth, Jiang Yuan felt there were similarities.

It was like the warm, multi-electrolyte water he provided, which could ensure a rapid replenishment of water in the sow’s body, quickly restoring her strength and preparing her to nurse her piglets.

By the same token, having drunk this bottle of electrolyte water, Pang Jidong could also ensure a quick replenishment of his body’s water, rapidly restore his strength, and prepare for the upcoming study session.

Pang Jidong picked up the thermos, gulped down most of it, wiped his mouth, and his eyes gleamed with a crystalline light.

Back in the day, his master did the same for him. At that time, the newly-employed Pang Jidong lacked experience and didn’t know how to take care of himself. He didn’t know to bring a water bottle when staking out and, parched, had no choice but to keep swallowing saliva. It was his master who went out to fetch water for him, handing it over in the same way. And it wasn’t just once.

"Finish it," Jiang Yuan reminded him.

With a smile on his face, Pang Jidong downed the remaining electrolyte water.

His body was indeed recovering rapidly.

"Yeah, that should be good, let’s wait for the lab report," Jiang Yuan said, leaving the remaining biological materials to the technicians and sitting down directly across from Pang Jidong.

Pang Jidong’s expression tightened: this was...

"At the crime scene of Bao Wenxing’s home, we didn’t find any tools used in the crime, nor traces of the vehicle used," Jiang Yuan began, not with a lecture, but discussing the case.

Pang Jidong’s intelligence was still sufficient for other things besides legal botany, and upon hearing Jiang Yuan, he immediately said, "Indeed, to perfect the evidence chain, finding the tools used in the crime and the vehicle is best."

All four victims had been taken to a car, but they were blindfolded and didn’t know any specific details about the vehicle. However, considering normal logic, Bao Wenxing likely used his own car. Rental cars equipped with GPS and other devices are generally not suitable for committing rape or murder.

Besides the car, the high-voltage electric shock weapon was also of great concern to the police.

There were marks from electric shocks on the victims’ bodies, so it was confirmed that the same electric shock weapon was used in all four cases. If the first two cases had occurred closely together in time, then the usage of the same electric shock weapon in the subsequent two cases highly suggested that the perpetrator had retained it.

If the vehicle and weapon were found, both could be considered strong evidence. Even after a thorough cleaning, it’s difficult to completely remove all traces from the former, and the marks from the latter can be matched with those on the victims.

But none of these items were found in Bao Wenxing’s home. While there actually was a sedan parked in Bao Wenxing’s garage, registered in his own name, it was newly purchased this year. Although it was also towed away, nobody was holding out much hope.

And from this perspective...

"As for the car, it might have been sold already," suggested Pang Jidong. "Compared with destroying it, selling it as a used car is more discreet. The electric shock weapon was probably disposed of as well."

"If the car isn’t in his name, it must be registered under someone else’s," Jiang Yuan said.

"A ’backdoor’ car?" Pang Jidong was referring to a category of used cars that cannot be re-registered, which typically happens when the previous owner has debts and hence the vehicle remains registered under the original owner’s name. These cars are a risk for ordinary buyers but significantly safer for criminals.

"There should be traces left from selling the car, right..." Jiang Yuan admitted his lack of understanding in this area.

Pang Jidong thought for a moment and replied, "We could check with second-hand car dealers, but if it’s a ’backdoor’ car, they’re basically part of a gray industry and won’t cooperate well. The timing is also unclear."

Having worked on many cases, Jiang Yuan knew that finding weapons or similar items in old, unsolved cases was extremely difficult.

Even the most inexperienced criminals knew to dispose of blood-stained clothes and weapons. Jiang Yuan had previously encountered a case where the weapon was thrown into the Tai River; with current cases, one could ask divers for evidence retrieval, but with cold cases, if you knew, there would still be nowhere to search.

Building on the clarity provided by the recently consumed electrolyte water, Pang Jidong suggested, "Bao Wenxing appears to be the son of a wealthy family; there are things he probably wouldn’t have done himself. It might be better to check the people around him. Following his social connections, it’s possible someone helped him sell the car or did something else."

The special case team was led by Deputy Director Xu Tian, with squadron leaders below him, but command had been delegated to Jiang Yuan, leaving Pang Jidong without the authority to make decisions on his own.

Jiang Yuan agreeably said, "That’s possible," and then continued, "Another issue is what Bao Wenxing was doing overseas most of the past year?"

This question also explained why after the four rapes, Luo Jin City had not seen any similar cases.

Pang Jidong nodded seriously, "Cui Xiaohu and the others are already in contact with the Malaysian police. It might take a few more days."

"If the response is quick, we might get somewhere," said Jiang Yuan.

Pang Jidong couldn’t help but nod. If it was merely assistance, the foreign police were unlikely to be very active. On the contrary, if they had a need for case resolution, it’s highly likely they would be quite proactive.

Seeing Pang Jidong’s composed demeanor, Jiang Yuan said, "Alright, let’s discuss this later. In fact, with the current evidence, we can already convict Bao Wenxing. He resides alone in a detached villa, and the pollen fingerprint evidence is already quite conclusive; we can delve deeper into this..."

Pang Jidong stood rooted to the spot as though spellbound.