National Forensic Doctor-Chapter 860 - 798: It’s Him

"Could it be that he changed the tires? He borrowed his uncle’s motorcycle, but does his uncle usually ride it? Maybe the tires were changed?"

Wu Junhao was still very concerned about the suspect, Li Jiansheng. His mother’s behavior also wasn’t typical of an ordinary elderly woman.

Wang Chuanxing, who knew more about the situation, came over and said, "Li Jiansheng’s uncle only rides the motorcycle occasionally, going out once every one or two months. But the tires were changed before last year at a repair shop nearby their home, and we have already gone to ask the owner about it. So, unless the criminal himself changed the tires, it is highly unlikely that this motorcycle was involved in the crime."

"There’s no need to borrow a vehicle for committing crimes," Liu Jinghui said. "A motorcycle is not a car; there are many ways to disguise its origin without resorting to borrowing one. Borrowed vehicles are also harder to modify in appearance. Moreover, the criminal didn’t seem to take much care of the motorcycle during the crime, casually abandoning it by the roadside and even going off-road without worrying about scratching the paint. This doesn’t fit the logic of borrowing."

Beside him, Liu Wenkai said, "You could stand up and pedal a borrowed bike, but you can’t afford to damage the seat, as it would easily upset the owner."

Liu Jinghui gave Liu Wenkai a serious look, then continued, "It’s more or less the same logic. After all, the price of a motorcycle compared to Li Jiansheng’s income isn’t high. If he were using it for committing crimes, he wouldn’t borrow it at the same fixed times over three consecutive years."

This last reason was more convincing. Wu Junhao nodded too; the criminal might not have thought about the need to refuel, but the concept of a crime-time is well ingrained in people’s minds. Many innocent cases are confirmed because of "not having the time to commit a crime." Logically, a criminal would not borrow the same person’s vehicle every time he commits a crime, even if it’s his uncle’s, as it is unnecessary.

Buying his own vehicle and using it only when committing crimes would be the most suitable plan.

Wu Junhao’s expression grew tense as he said, "Could he have anticipated the need to refuel in advance, perhaps siphoning fuel from other vehicles?"

"It’s a possibility," Liu Jinghui replied, obviously having considered this issue, and glanced at Xu Taining.

Xu Taining had been silent until he finally said, "Solving a case, particularly the investigation phase, involves looking for opportunities in the criminal’s mistakes. If a criminal makes no mistakes, then indeed, the case might remain unsolved."

"Should we change our approach?" someone immediately suggested.

Solving a case is a bit like making a movie; before filming starts, preparation is a minor cost, but once filming begins, the operational cost of the team skyrockets. The most money is spent when producing the final product—those romantic long takes, swirling red skirts, and flames, the overhead shots of innocent smiles, and scenes from a nonexistent ’Immortal Realm’ escalate the costs immensely.

If we’ve really headed in the wrong direction, correcting it promptly is always better than dragging it out without changes.

But had they really gone wrong?

This was a problem Xu Taining needed to consider carefully.

"There are still quite a few people on the list we haven’t questioned," Xu Taining first observed the expressions of the police officers from the Qianjin District Bureau, then turned to Jiang Yuan and said, "It’s not that the criminal can avoid these issues, but given his history of crimes, he is likely driven by emotion, just using somewhat unique methods and techniques."

This was essentially Xu Taining’s profiling of the criminal’s identity, albeit not in so many words.

In Xu Taining’s understanding of the case, there was a high likelihood of catching the criminal if he committed another crime. The previous cases went unsolved due to certain randomness, especially since each victim had taken a bath afterward, which inconveniently complicated the collection of DNA and other evidence.

However, the least advisable course of action for the current investigation would be waiting for the criminal to commit another crime.

Considering this, Xu Taining said, "In my opinion, there’s no need to adjust our current investigative direction. If, in the end, we still can’t find any trace of the criminal, that in itself could be a clue."

"I thought you were going to cover everything," Liu Jinghui laughed, "then let’s continue the investigation. There are still many people on the list who haven’t been fully investigated. Let’s clean up the list before moving on."

"Shall we proceed like this, Captain Lei?" Jiang Yuan looked at Lei Xin.

"Suffer through it." What else could Lei Xin say? If it was about suffering, he was truly suffering, but he was actually used to it. This case had changed investigative directions several times already, so regardless of whether Xu Taining changed the investigative direction again, Lei Xin could accept it.

"I’ll go check on another person who went abroad," volunteered Wu Junhao, taking one of his own team members and pulling in a local criminal police officer.

Among those listed, two were overseas. Wu Junhao had investigated one; the other, Lu Xuekun, despite having settled in Qinghe City, had no mother and a father who remarried and lived away from home all year round.

Lu Xuekun himself was a seaman, spending 10 months of the year away, only returning home for about two months during the New Year before heading to different ports to board ships.

The Lu family didn’t own a house in the city, instead, they had built a five-story house on the rural homestead, each floor approximately 120 square meters, with a very small backyard, but it was uninhabited most of the time.

For such a case, "To collect criminal evidence and apprehend criminals, investigative officers may search the body, belongings, residence, and other relevant places of criminal suspects and persons who may conceal criminals or evidence of crime, but there must be no fewer than two people."

It required a search warrant, but in urgent situations, a search could proceed without one. This included circumstances like suspects possibly carrying weapons, concealing explosive or highly toxic substances, hiding, destroying, transferring criminal evidence, or concealing other suspects; other sudden urgent situations also qualified.

This case had the potential of "hiding, destroying, transferring criminal evidence," and of course, given the magnitude of the case, "other sudden urgent situations" could likely occur.

Wu Junhao and his team arrived at the location, first got villagers’ committee members to act as witnesses, then opened the door of Lu Xuekun’s house.

A motorcycle was parked cleanly on the first floor.

Wu Junhao took photos, sent them along with videos to Jiang Yuan, and then continued investigating upstairs.

A village official followed, smiling, "Now fewer people live in the village; everyone goes to the big cities to work. Lu Xuekun’s family is considered well-off here. He earns quite a bit as a seaman; at first, young people followed him to work on ships, but couldn’t handle it after one trip. Only Lu Xuekun has been doing it for almost 10 years now."

"This man also enjoys outdoor activities." A police officer with him opened a room upstairs, revealing a collection of various outdoor clothes, equipment, and shoes.

"Seaman’s income is higher than ours; he can afford to indulge," Wu Junhao scoffed.

"He even plays with drones." The officer pointed at a clear cabinet nearby, indeed holding several drones.

"This stuff must cost quite a bit of money," the village official shook his head, "Young people these days, they don’t save. I told him before to save a bit, at least a hundred thousand or so, to pay a dowry and get a wife. He also said no, so I told him..."

At that moment, a phone rang.

Wu Junhao answered.

Then he heard Jiang Yuan on the other end, "Confirmed it’s the same one, this motorcycle!"