National Forensic Doctor
Chapter 672 - 615: Empty Cannon

Chapter 672: Chapter 615: Empty Cannon

Huang Qiangmin received the message and promptly arrived at Zoumadao Police Station.

Although it was an old case, it was still a newly occurred homicide.

Thereafter, Chief Chai also arrived at Zoumadao Police Station and observed the interrogation of the suspect, An Zhiqiang.

"What are you all planning to do?" Chief Chai, while listening, asked Jiang Yuan directly.

He was about to be transferred and was even less interested in Ningtai County’s affairs. Many people were paying attention to Jiang Yuan, some of whom were quite high-ranking. Chai Tong felt they were too much for him to handle, but he could avoid them.

Seeing this, Huang Qiangmin took the initiative to take over the conversation, saying, "I think we can start with some investigation, especially the identity of the victim, to see if there have been any missing person cases during that period and if there is any relation between the two suspects."

The people in the conference room nodded their agreement.

Jiang Yuan followed up by adding, "I think we can inspect the restroom An Zhiqiang mentioned. If it is the restroom where the body was dismembered, there’s a good chance evidence is still there."

As is well known, restrooms where dismemberment has occurred are very hard to clean thoroughly.

A thoroughly cleaned restroom, on the other hand, is likely to retain traces of intense cleaning. Although this is not sufficient for court evidence, it is admissible as evidence during the investigation.

At the very least, if traces of intense cleaning are found, there is reason to start an intensive investigation.

However, the dismemberment took place six years ago, and after six years of use, even if the restroom retained traces, they would be very slight, and it would still be very likely that the investigation would turn up nothing...

Huang Qiangmin said, "Let’s conduct a secret probe. Place the two suspects under surveillance, and if necessary, reassign people."

He wanted to see the results of the investigation before deciding whether to arrest anyone.

"Alright," Jiang Yuan readily agreed. A secret probe would not affect his approach; the key was still the result of the inspection.

Huang Qiangmin immediately organized a team and headed to the crime scene.

...

An Zhiqiang and his mother, Zhang Yi, lived in an old residential area in the center of Ningtai City. The district had a 20-year history, consisting of six-story buildings without elevators, and Zhang Yi’s home was on the fifth floor.

Seeing this building, Jiang Yuan’s first thought was, "The primary murder venue is probably also inside."

The police officers beside him nodded in agreement.

Without an elevator, carrying a body up to the fifth floor to dismember it was an absurd endeavor — akin to a fitness trainer looking to exercise muscles with nothing better to do.

In such old residential areas, dismemberment usually happens only because moving the body is not an option, and the perpetrator is forced to dismember it.

If the villainy of killing and dismembering scores a 10, this would typically be an 8.5, equivalent to two Michelin stars.

"Hello, is this Ms. Zhang Yi? Are you at home? There’s a delivery," Liu Wenkai found a mobile phone and called Zhang Yi.

After a brief conversation, Liu Wenkai hung up the phone and said, "She’s at home."

"Let’s lure the tiger away from the mountain," Jiang Yuan suggested, following the established plan.

Liu Wenkai then called the police station, asking them to notify Zhang Yi that her son had been caught.

After ending the call, Liu Wenkai added, "We still don’t know how many people are in Zhang Yi’s home. The murderer’s accomplice, Li Gan, has gone to work. The two of them live together without a marriage certificate."

Liu Wenkai had already conducted a preliminary investigation.

Jiang Yuan nodded and they all huddled in the car, waiting for changes upstairs.

In a short while, they saw Zhang Yi dressed in sportswear, rushing out of her home and heading towards Zoumadao Police Station on an electric scooter.

Needless to say, the ploy to lure the tiger away from the mountain was effective.

Jiang Yuan, accompanied by Wang Zhong and Mu Zhiyang, then went upstairs.

The main inspection location was a restroom, and it was an old-style one with a total area of only six or seven square meters. With too many people, it would be difficult even just to turn around.

However, they still had to be cautious of other people in the room, so he brought Mu Zhiyang along, who would also be responsible for filming, to avoid someone ambushing them with a blow to the head while the two trace inspectors were busy examining the space.

Using a key they had taken from the son, they unlocked the door and entered into a narrow living room with a sofa, coffee table, and TV set—the three-piece suite. Next to it was a sealed balcony.

Jiang Yuan stopped to observe the living room. Given the structure of the room, it seemed that killing someone in the living room would be the most convenient.

Mu Zhiyang, holding an electric baton, rechecked the two-bedroom apartment, turned over wardrobes without finding any hidden men or women, and then took out the camera to start filming.

Jiang Yuan and Wang Zhong entered the restroom, beginning to create a grid for inspection.

The bathroom used for dismemberment six years ago, now searching for evidence in it might as well be searching for a sword sunk at the bottom of a river.

It was only because Jiang Yuan was extremely confident, plus a "let’s just try" attitude, that he embarked on this mission.

If it were up to Wang Zhong himself, he certainly wouldn’t have thought of this. If Huang Qiangmin were to make a request, he’d at least resist for a bit first.

"Turn on the light," Jiang Yuan said without letting Wang Zhong lift a finger, he donned his gear, especially changing into a 3M mask, before getting down on his hands and knees to search inch by inch.

Mu Zhiyang filmed for a while but even standing made him tired, so he set up the camera and sat on the sofa to rest his eyes.

"Get up!"

Jiang Yuan, kicking with his foot, woke Mu Zhiyang.

Flipping himself upright and rubbing his lower back, Mu Zhiyang looked at Jiang Yuan, bleary-eyed for a moment, before asking, "Did you find it?"

"No," Jiang Yuan curled his lip, "It’s been too long."

He had activated a temporary +1 skill, but not finding anything meant just that, and Zhang Yi had likely cleaned the place not just once over six years.

Honestly, the fact that Zhang Yi could continue living in this house was something Jiang Yuan truly admired.

Ordinary people might not be able to continue living in such a "murder house" they had created themselves.

Mu Zhiyang wiped his lips, feeling like he had slept too long, and asked, "So, what do we do now?"

"Move the furniture away, I’ll check the living room again," said Jiang Yuan as he began to inspect the area.

Hastily, Mu Zhiyang and Wang Zhong started moving furniture, switching positions, busy and quite pleased with themselves.

Two hours later...

"Let’s call it quits. Notify Director Huang. See what he thinks," Jiang Yuan shook his head—a good cook can’t cook without rice; no evidence is no evidence.

With a "tch" sound, Mu Zhiyang said, "This is pretty troublesome, without evidence, should we arrest Zhang Yi and her lover?"

Without evidence, an arrest would rely on interrogation, which is actually the least reliable method.

Especially in a murder case, just having a confession obtained through an interrogation is not enough for a conviction. Even a tiny bit of physical evidence isn’t enough; a complete chain of evidence is required.

Faced with such a situation, Jiang Yuan momentarily had no ideas, and even upon returning to Zoumadao Police Station, he felt the same.

"What should we do? Zhang Yi is still causing a fuss, demanding to see her son," Tan Jing offered the latest news as he came over to ask about the situation.

Jiang Yuan spread his hands.

Liu Wenkai asked, "Should we detain and interrogate her?"

For a moment, no one responded.

"Could her son be lying?" asked Tan Jing, as an experienced officer, he had a deep understanding of people’s capacity for deceit.

Reflecting on the interrogation process, Meng Chengbiao slightly shook his head, "It doesn’t seem like it."

"Who is the victim? Has the victim been identified?" Huang Qiangmin steered the conversation to the core issue.

If a body could be confirmed, a case would be established, and an investigation would proceed seamlessly.

But if there is no body, or the body can’t be found, a homicide case can’t really be constituted, and that’s when the real trouble begins.

"Or, could the son who reported the crime have mental issues?" someone else inquired.

Huang Qiangmin shook his head again and added, "We can check later, but it doesn’t seem like it."

"Then... if it really comes to it, shall we detain Zhang Yi and her lover Li Gan, and interrogate them separately, create a prisoner’s dilemma?" suggested Liu Wenkai, ready with another plan when one fails.

"That’s also very risky," Jiang Yuan said.

If the police had nothing, it would not be easy to create an effective prisoner’s dilemma.

"Then should we interrogate An Zhiqiang again?" Huang Qiangmin could only take a step back and then looked at Jiang Yuan, saying, "Do you have any plans?"

"Call Director Liu over to have a look?" Jiang Yuan’s reply was decisively given.