National Forensic Doctor
Chapter 773 - 716 Suspicion

Chapter 773: Chapter 716 Suspicion

Some people die and by the time they begin to smell, they’re merely mistaken for a large, dead rat; some people are alive, and yet every day they are asked, "Are you dead yet?"

If you’re good-looking or handsome, it’s easy to become the center of attention, just like in school, where people always mention the pretty student’s name, asking "Where did XX go?", while some less noticeable students, returning after three days off, are greeted with "Oh, so you weren’t here these past few days?"

"Being so beautiful and going missing without anyone reporting it, the husband must have done it," Zhan Kan, seated behind Jiang Yuan, boldly speculated.

He had gotten used to speaking his mind in the office and, without realizing it, said this in front of Tao Lu.

Wang Chuanxing, opposite him, was using the computer to search for related information and slowly said, "None of the three have husbands. They are all 29."

"Boyfriends?" Zhan Kan guessed again.

"That doesn’t explain the lack of missing persons reports," Liu Jinghui paused, furrowing his brow, and asked, "Do they all have parents and siblings? Any relatives?"

"Let me check..." Wang Chuanxing quickly looked over the material, making notes on the paper, ticking and crossing things, and soon said, "I’ll number them 1, 2, and 3. No. 1 has both parents, No. 2’s father is deceased, No. 3’s mother is deceased..."

"All three have parents then," Liu Jinghui slightly furrowed his brow and quickly continued, "Check their phones, look at the call records, WeChat, chat histories." Liu Jinghui had worked on too many cases; he actually had some ideas already, and now it was just about systematically eliminating possibilities and looking for evidence.

This is actually similar to a doctor—what do you do when a patient comes for a diagnosis? You just ask about symptoms one by one and eliminate them; in most cases, there’s no need for a brilliant or creative mind.

Criminal investigations are a bit more special, but for common scenarios, an experienced detective like Liu Jinghui already had his own summaries.

Wang Chuanxing clicked the mouse and typed on the keyboard, and this time, it took him longer.

Liu Jinghui rested with his eyes closed, not speaking to anyone, quietly making his own deductions.

Jiang Yuan reviewed the case again, summoned Pang Jidong over, and reviewed the botanical work he had done.

Tao Lu, on the other hand, began making phone calls with a low murmur.

After a while, Wang Chuanxing quietly exclaimed, "Huh," and said, "I found something strange with number three."

"Go on," Liu Jinghui sat up.

Wang Chuanxing said, "I can’t see anything from the call and chat histories of number one and two. But for number three, there are call records with her father, though infrequently, once every three months. The last call was five months ago, when the victim had been dead for half a year! Besides, after the call with her father, there were no other call records. WeChat, QQ, and other apps hadn’t been logged into since a week after her death."

This time, Liu Jinghui didn’t need to deduce anything; everyone present sensed something was wrong.

"Cui, take this clue," Tao instructed, turning to assign the task.

"Sure, I’ll go personally," Cui Qishan, the captain with a rank higher than Huang Qiangmin, had duties similar to those of the squad leaders at Ningtai County Bureau. In cases like this with pending murder investigations, it was normal for the captain to lead the charge.

"We should also contact numbers one and two. It’s best to visit them in person, verify their IDs, and check if the photos match," Tao Lu continued with the arrangements.

"Don’t forget to collect DNA, including from numbers one and two. If the individuals can be found, get the DNA on site, to avoid any cases of similar looking individuals impersonating others," Liu Jinghui seriously reminded in a very detective-show manner, "Don’t underestimate a murderer’s imagination."

Cui Qishan nodded solemnly. After spending some time in the Zhengguang Bureau, Liu Jinghui’s deductive abilities were well recognized by everyone.

If he said this, Cui Qishan definitely couldn’t take it lightly.

Liu Cheng, watching from the side, was envious; in the past, these tasks would have been his.

Upon reflection, Liu Cheng asked, "How do we explain the phone call after the death? Was it made by the murderer?"

"Very likely. Only by doing so could the murderer reassure the victim’s father. As for the specifics, well, there are quite a few ways to do that—it all depends on whether the victim’s father would be deceived," Liu Jinghui casually surmised, "They could pre-record a message, or splice audio together, or even use AI voice synthesis."

At this point, Liu Jinghui’s expression changed slightly as he added, "Nowadays, they can even change faces, and some can do it in real time. Although there are still flaws, it is a powerful weapon against unsuspecting people."

Pre-recording or clipping sound snippets would have been quite effective decades ago, providing an explosive effect, but compared to AI, they’re significantly lacking.

"New technology brings new situations, we’ll discuss it when we encounter them," Tao Lu adjusted the meeting’s pace, not wanting to be distracted by events that hadn’t yet occurred.

If one simply worries without taking action, anxiety is not far behind.

"How is the victim’s family doing, does the victim’s father understand the technology in use today?" Pang Jidong, who was sitting beside him, suddenly asked.

"The victim, Zhang Lizhen, has a father living in Balitang Township, Ding’an County, Shu Province, in Zhanggang Village," Wang Chuanxing began as he opened a new webpage and briefly glanced at it, "Her mother passed away early, her father is still alive, mainly farming. The family’s financial condition seems quite modest. The father is on welfare and has only an elementary school education. He likely doesn’t understand how to use computers and such."

"That means there’s a possibility he could be deceived," Tao Lu summarized in a few words, quickly ending the meeting and sending everyone out.

The most important thing now was to confirm the victim’s identity, even though this Zhang Lizhen appeared very likely, detectives still needed solid evidence.

Once the various pieces of evidence were gathered, brainstorming would be much more efficient.

Of course, if the case could be cracked during the evidence collection process, that would be ideal.

With orders given, everyone quickly sprang into action.

Tao Lu said a few more pleasantries and then returned to his own office.

When most of the people had left, Zhan Kan picked up the victim’s restoration image and photo again, looking back and forth between it and the skull still loaded with small cylinders, he couldn’t help saying, "She could be considered a beauty. Now in blind dates, encountering someone like her would require extra caution—it’s literally a beauty’s skeleton."

"Her features are of the cold and glamorous type. If she used a bit of cosmetic medicine and makeup, she could easily gather a horde of adoring fans. It’s surprising that no one reported her missing," Liu Jinghui pondered for a while, then slowly added, "It could only mean she was deceived. The situation with this victim, Zhang Lizhen, is probably very complex."

"Could it be a case of familial homicide?" Wang Chuanxing, who was reviewing the data, followed Liu Jinghui’s train of thought and said, "If the murderer is someone from the village, or even Zhang Lizhen’s father or the like, they could cover for each other... I’ve heard some villages operate like an unofficial court, similar to a ’bride trafficking village,’ where the whole village helps to watch over the women they’ve purchased..."

"The body was found in Beijing, and although it drifted downstream, the primary crime scene wouldn’t be far away. It’s not possible she died at home and then the body was transported across provinces," Liu Jinghui, although he felt that Wang Chuanxing’s melodramatic hypothesis was unlikely, still patiently explained.

After all, he had seen many improbable things happen.

If everything was logical and conducted by reliable people, homicide wouldn’t occur, or at least wouldn’t occur in this manner.

At that moment, Pang Jidong, listening to the discussion, said, "If nobody knew about the victim’s disappearance, where the victim disappeared from would also be unclear. Looking at it this way, forensic botany won’t be a waste. Right, Master?"

Jiang Yuan smiled, then added, "The deceased drifted from upstream. If we rely solely on legal botany, the area would be too large, making it difficult to determine the location. It would be best to combine it with other information."

"We could look into the victim’s work and social circles," Pang Jidong replied with experience, then added, "However, if the conditions of pollen and spores are not favorable, it might be impossible to find the primary crime scene."

The last sentence Pang Jidong said was also filled with experience.

Liu Jinghui caught on immediately and laughed, "Pang Da, when you worked on botany in Bai River, were there times when you came up empty-handed?"

"About half and half, and of that half, the majority aren’t sufficient for evidence, only for investigative leads. But it’s still pretty impressive. This technology’s biggest strength is that it’s unrelated to previous techniques; old cold cases with no leads whatsoever can take their evidence under a microscope, and there the pollen is, intact..."

"Exclusively for cracking cold cases?"

"That’s right, but it’s a bit slow, one could easily spend a month or two on a single case," Pang Jidong got a little excited talking about this subject but then calmed down and continued, "However, we specifically select cases. With Zhang Lizhen’s body floating downstream from upriver, it’s probably difficult to confirm the location."

"Not necessarily. By examining the algae attached to the suitcase and determining which river sections it passed through and where it drifted from, we could then center our investigation around the downstream location, inspect the surrounding pollen and spores, and likely pinpoint the site," Jiang Yuan said with a light laugh, then proceeded to explain in detail to Pang Jidong.

Pang Jidong’s eyes, heart, and mind suddenly overflowed with countless similar images.

Zhan Kan, the second senior brother, seemed as if frozen in place, hastily bowed his head and tiptoed backward.