National Forensic Doctor
Chapter 612 - 557: Dual Case Concluded (Seeking Monthly Votes)

Chapter 612: Chapter 557: Dual Case Concluded (Seeking Monthly Votes)

"What are your plans next?" asked the team leader politely.

"Grab something to eat and meanwhile wait for Captain Pang’s news?" Jiang Yuan glanced at the sky and said, "I reckon by the time we finish dinner, Captain Pang will have some results."

The team leader’s face lit up with pleasure, "I like this plan. Do you mind if I join you for dinner? Have you decided where to eat?"

"The original plan was to have a barbecue at the canteen. I’ve invited the technicians from the lab, we’ve all had a tough few days," Jiang Yuan glanced at the team leader.

The team leader was a bit surprised, "The canteen does barbecue now?"

"I bought some barbecue equipment and meat. We agreed to barbecue on the roof of the canteen."

The team leader twitched at the corner of his eye. How could one possibly barbecue on the canteen’s roof? No matter how you looked at it, it’s an appendage of a serious institution, setting up the dark barbecue grills and heaping up the bright red charcoals... What would that look like?

Half an hour later...

The team leader sat behind the glowing charcoals, his face glowing red from the reflection.

The rooftop of the canteen was semi-transparent, with half of it built and the other half covered with a dark green shelter. There were tables and chairs previously, but now they were moved aside for Jiang Yuan to set up two barbecue grills.

The grill and charcoal were bought online, and the skewered meat was shipped from home, using the "Extra Ice" cold chain service from Jiang Fuzhen, which arrived still rock-solid, looking very authentic.

The lab technicians sat down casually. Those who preferred not to sit with leaders found seats nearby. The lab director, deputy director, and a few ambitious technicians joined the table with Jiang Yuan and the team leader. Everyone chatted while grilling meat, enjoying a relaxed atmosphere.

The team leader also put aside his dignity, chatting warmly with Jiang Yuan.

Jiang Yuan was a visiting officer, and the team leader was still a squad leader; none of this affected him. It was impossible for Jiang Yuan to transfer from Shan Nan Province to Bai River Province, so the relationship between the two men depended either on personal feelings or on the sharp teeth of Huang Qiangmin.

The team leader was still willing to put on an even brighter smile.

Of course, his mood was indeed very bright at the moment.

Hot charcoal, fragrant barbecue, and some rather good dipping sauces—all of these were rare treats in recent days.

The team leader grilled, leaning back in his chair and feeling suddenly relaxed.

Recently, he had dealt with several unsolved murder cases, and the mental pressure was indeed no small matter...

"Suddenly thinking about it, in just one month, we’ve successively cracked two major unsolved cases, one of which was a transnational serial case, and now we’ve also made smooth progress on two murder cases..." the team leader mused, his smile unconsciously spreading across his lips.

For a regular criminal investigation team, solving a serious case is as difficult as an ordinary person dating. Current cases are like dating now, while unsolved cases are like dating an ex-girlfriend who dumped you.

So, for the team leader, the situation felt like having dated two ex-girlfriends in a month, and now concurrently pursuing two other ex-girlfriends with quite some progression.

What a shura field (a scene of carnage).

"How about two skewers of barbecued lamb?" Jiang Yuan offered the team leader two skewers of meat without continuing along with the team leader’s topic.

The team leader’s sense of happiness came at a cost, and Jiang Yuan cared even less. He already had Captain Huang at home and couldn’t afford so many captains. Giving away two skewers of meat was good enough.

Yet the team leader ate with great gusto, savoring the fat as it spread on his taste buds, a smile appearing in his eyes, "This barbecue of yours is really tasty, have you practiced it specially?"

"Kind of. My dad barbecues often." Most of Jiang Yuan’s barbecuing skills came from Jiang Fuzhen, including the current marinade and dipping sauces.

"It’s a family tradition, very nice," the team leader nodded repeatedly.

"Not exactly. The ingredients are all ready-made, just grill and that’s it."

After eating another skewer of beef, the team leader was even more pleased and couldn’t help asking, "Where did you buy these meats and dipping sauces from?"

"The dipping sauce was prepared by my dad. As for the meat, this batch should be from our family’s ranch, and we just wanted to try it out to see if it’s good." The ranch Jiang Yuan mentioned was newly bought by Jiang Fuzhen. Dissatisfied with the previous supply chain, Jiang Fuzhen took over a new ranch, hoping it wouldn’t be demolished.

The lab director nearby couldn’t help laughing, "Captain Jiang’s family is in the breeding business? Isn’t that the kind of family that sells a cow to afford school, owning hundreds of cows?"

Jiang Yuan smiled without a word, for there indeed were hundreds of cows in the newly bought ranch at home, but it was not necessary to sell them to pay for his schooling.

Amid the drifting smoke of fireworks, Pang Jidong’s phone call came through.

Jiang Yuan asked a couple of questions, then turned on speakerphone and informed Pang Jidong.

Pang Jidong raised his voice and laughed, "Captain Wang, I was planning to communicate with Jiang Yuan and then report to you. I have successfully apprehended the suspect in the 913 drowning case—it was the victim’s older brother."

"Do you have evidence?" the Captain immediately asked.

Pang Jidong said, "The victim’s father is an eyewitness. Ah, both brothers wanted to run the family’s small supermarket and hoped the other would open a new one elsewhere. On the day of the incident, they went to the riverside to discuss it because they feared neighbors overhearing and affecting the family’s reputation. But to their misfortune, the older one strangled the younger and pushed him into the water, and the younger brother, who couldn’t swim, drowned."

Pang Jidong paused, then continued, "There are scratch marks on the older brother’s arm, and he has admitted to it."

"That’s good. Hmm, for such a family case, you must preserve the evidence carefully, and be cautious when taking notes," the Captain meticulously instructed.

The case was just too important; he could not afford to lose it.

Pang Jidong immediately acknowledged, treating such cases with the utmost care himself.

Reluctantly ending the call, the Captain still held a skewer in his hand, his mind no longer on eating.

The drowning case had actually been solved.

To be honest, the Luojin City Bureau had not put much effort into the 913 drowning case. Even if they had wanted to, they couldn’t have contributed more, since Jiang Yuan had thrown out a set of skills, not even giving them a chance to investigate.

The Captain had indeed been prepared to allocate some manpower to this case afterwards. But according to his plan, this deployment was likely to happen after the Hotpot Chef case.

Who could have imagined that Jiang Yuan, leading a lab and pairing it with a fourth squad, would wrap up the case from start to finish so completely?

Reflecting on what Huang Qiangmin had said, the Captain fell into deep thought.

Meanwhile, the lab technicians erupted in cheers.

Algology is often used to assist in judging cases, but it’s quite rare to directly solve a case with it.

Of course, the most important aspect was that everyone had put their hands to work on it, just like barbecuing, part of the joy coming from their own effort.

Buzz buzz.

The Captain’s phone started ringing.

"The suspect has confessed," a man’s voice conveyed the good news from the other end of the phone.

The Captain was startled and took a moment to remember that this report was about the Hotpot Chef case. He couldn’t help but ask, "Crime of passion?"

"Crime of passion. The young man was weeping and wailing, saying he wanted to go public with the relationship with the victim, but the victim was unwilling and even suggested breaking up. Feeling exploited, the young man demanded compensation for the breakup, which the victim refused to provide. He grabbed an ax, claiming he just intended to scare the victim. But when the victim kept his head down and ignored him, he swung the ax at him, then asked the victim another question..."

The detective on the other end of the phone was describing the recently acquired confession, especially the details of the crime.

This was a crucial part of the investigation. In theory, including theft cases, suspects are required to recount the crime scene. It’s best if they can clearly describe the crime process as well.

There are many benefits to this approach. It not only eliminates the occurrence of situations like "false confessions," but it also helps the police clarify many facts, such as whether there were accomplices, whether there was another party involved, and so on.

It’s actually quite difficult to fabricate a realistic scene. Especially when there is a lot of evidence and clues at the scene, fabrications can easily lead to contradictions.

In this case, since Jiang Yuan had even reconstructed the crime scene, the possibility of fabrication was virtually nil.

After a while, the Captain hung up the phone and faced Jiang Yuan, slowly saying, "The Chef case has been solved too."

The Captain’s tone carried a hint of wistful loss.