National Forensic Doctor-Chapter 865 - 803: A Better Person

"Ding ding!"

"Beep beep!"

The phones of the officers kept ringing intermittently, much like the reporters at the scene.

"Hello?"

"Please speak!"

At that moment, no one was leaving anymore, everyone was inside the autopsy room making calls.

Coroner Jacob frowned, feeling somewhat challenged by the situation.

He looked back, seeing a certain bureau chief making a call in the corner... hmm, a certain mayor’s assistant standing by the door making a call... uh, a certain news producer looking out the window while on the phone... hiss, a certain political activist pacing and making calls with arms crossed... huff...

Touching the cold body with his hand, Coroner Jacob calmed himself down.

There was no need for this, he was a forensic doctor whose job was to perform autopsies—that’s all a normal forensic doctor needed to do, focus on the autopsy and not mind others!

So, Coroner Jacob continued to dissect the body attentively.

The body had 85 wounds, each needed to be carefully photographed and documented, especially the fatal wounds which required extra attention. Otherwise, lawyers could claim that the 63rd wound was caused by a different weapon indicating a second person at the scene, and once the body was processed, there would be nothing left to explain.

"Coroner Jacob, what do you think about the suspect?" the reporter who had been filming Jacob finished his call and began to pry into Jacob’s matters.

Jacob glanced at him and asked, "Who is the suspect?"

"Oh, haven’t you been informed about the suspect?" the reporter insensitively blurted out, igniting Jacob’s anger momentarily.

But soon, Jacob calmed down again.

According to the information available, the murderer was a minor who might have left the apartment building before the actual time of the victim’s death and was acquainted with the victim...

These three factors, filtering through acquaintances for minors and adding a timestamp for an alibi, made deducing the identity of the murderer not so far-fetched.

Ding.

Jacob set down the scalpel he was gripping, the stainless steel handle clashing with the stainless steel tray, producing a crisp sound.

The youthful face of the reporter suddenly stiffened.

"What is the status of the suspect?" Jacob asked again.

The reporter hurriedly explained, "It’s indeed a minor, 15 years old, working as a delivery boy. He often delivered parcels to Aziza’s apartment, so he was quite familiar with Aziza. Usually, Aziza would tip him well, and sometimes, she would ask him to do other errands, like moving a flowerpot or fetching some items."

Evaluating Jacob’s gaze, the reporter added, "This time, the suspect reportedly accrued a significant gambling debt and, out of desperation, asked Aziza for money. When she refused, their conversation turned sour, and the suspect got physical. What he didn’t anticipate was that Aziza was stronger than he thought, nearly overpowering him. In panic, the suspect grabbed something and stabbed Aziza, then fearing that she would call the police, he killed her..."

While this reporter narrated the case, he started cautiously but then moved on to a more graphic description as if he had witnessed it himself.

Jacob was skeptical, but one thing seemed quite certain—the suspect was probably not going anywhere.

The body of Aziza showed clear defensive wounds, and there were traces under her fingernails that could be subjected to DNA testing in the lab, possibly confirming the suspect through DNA comparison.

This would make it easy to confirm the murderer. Additionally, considering Aziza had traces under her nails and the suspect had stabbed 85 times, it was highly likely he would have injured his own hand in the heat of the moment. Such an injury didn’t need a forensic expert to confirm—a seasoned detective would understand it at a glance.

Moreover, with the high-profile nature of Aziza’s murder, the Dama police would be sure to perform their duties diligently, especially since the suspect might be a minor. Without solid evidence, even if the police dared to apprehend someone, they would not rush to disclose it.

Thinking this way, it seemed almost inevitable that the case would be solved.

Jacob sighed inwardly and picked up the scalpel again, resuming his work.

Even if the case was solved, the autopsy still had to be completed.

As the trial phase approached, such a case might attract ambitious lawyers willing to work pro bono, starting with challenging the evidence...

Jacob’s focus sharpened as he methodically dissected the body.

Those around him started to feel bored, having originally come for first-hand information, and now that the case seemed to be solved...

Clang...

Ding...

The door opened and then closed as the people originally crammed in the autopsy room began leaving one by one.

Once Jacob had finished the full autopsy, only his colleagues and a camera remained around him.

"Why haven’t you left?" Coroner Jacob couldn’t help but ask the last photographer.

"I’m shooting a documentary," the photographer smiled.

"A documentarian, so you’re better at waiting, huh?" Jacob sighed.

Photographer: "The tripod is too heavy, I can’t move it alone, I need to wait for someone to help."

...

"Zhong Renlong, try this." The policewoman handed him a cup of milk tea, enthusiastically punctured the straw for him, and directly stuffed it under his nose.

Zhong Renlong felt a bit embarrassed but had to take a sip, thinking to himself: If only she had bitten the straw beforehand, the service would have been spot-on.

"Renlong..." the policewoman’s voice was soft, slightly imploring.

Zhong Renlong grunted: "Thank you. The milk tea is very sweet."

"Renlong, could you please speak to Forensic Expert Jiang Yuan for me, see if he could look into my case?" The policewoman’s voice became more pleading.

But as soon as she mentioned Jiang Yuan, Zhong Renlong became alert, thought for a moment, and then said, "I can ask Forensic Expert Jiang Yuan, but I can’t guarantee that he will agree."

"That’s enough," the policewoman nodded happily, her eyes speaking volumes in an instant.

Zhong Renlong watched her retreating back, and when he snapped back to reality, he was faced with another gleaming oily face.

"Renlong..." This time, it was Team Leader Ma Larna from the major crime unit, his voice also imploring, eyebrows furrowing, even his pectorals seemed tense.

Zhong Renlong, who was drinking his milk tea, awkwardly turned his neck, frowning more deeply than Ma Larna: "You don’t need to talk to me like this..."

"As long as you can get Doctor Jiang to help us with the case, I can keep talking to you like this." Ma Larna gently bumped into Zhong Renlong, knocking him back two meters.

Zhong Renlong tried to escape in the chaos but was pulled back into Ma Larna’s arms.

"I’ll make a call," Zhong Renlong tilted his neck back to avoid touching Ma Larna’s chest hair while struggling to reach for his phone.

Ma Larna’s expression slightly changed: "Don’t be in such a hurry..."

Zhong Renlong’s hand tensed even more, What... am I grabbing?

...

Qinghe City.

Dinner was light, a stir-fried selection of seasonal vegetables complemented by some marinated dishes and enjoyed with Qinghe Daqu liquor. Jiang Yuan, Lei Xin, Wu Junhao, Liu Jinghui, and others were drinking fluidly.

Today’s menu was unusual because a Cantonese chef had been detained in a Qinghe City holding facility. Of course, they didn’t exploit his labor; instead, they moved him from sewing to the kitchen station, which didn’t significantly change his life since becoming a chef.

Being an actual chef, the marinated dishes he prepared, including goose, pork, and tofu, were delicious.

Lei Xin even pointed out: "Zhang’s cooking skills are really getting better. You know, we set up a teaching class for him in the detention center so he can serve his time focused solely on cooking."

"The inmates in detention don’t have much longer to serve, right?" Jiang Yuan took a bite of the greens, nodding contently to the undercooked taste and the well-balanced seasoning and broth—it was indeed difficult to achieve in home cooking.

Lei Xin also nodded regretfully, adding: "No worries. We’re trying to catch his apprentice; I heard his skills are also quite good. Once he arrives and polishes his skills, the food might be even tastier."

"What are their charges?" Liu Jinghui asked.

"Operating a gambling house," replied Lei Xin. "They ran a restaurant where they provided automatic mahjong machines in the VIP rooms. After eating, people would play big games of mahjong. He supplied them with chips, and eventually, to book his VIP room, one had to be a VIP with over 30,000 yuan loaded. A VIP room in a restaurant that only gives back 5% is quite a cut."

"With such tasty food, why start a gambling den?"

"They can cook well, but they’re not good at doing business. They don’t want to lose all their life savings in it," Lei Xin said, blinking, and suggested with a smile: "Captain Jiang, why not try finding Zhang’s apprentice? His wild boar meat is exceptional."

"I’m too busy for that now." Jiang Yuan looked dismissive of such minor crimes, flipping through his tablet and clinking his glass with Lei Xin, saying: "There’s been a build-up of cases in Qinghe City recently; I’m checking if we can get some chef death row inmates."

"They can’t cook if they’re on death row," Lei Xin responded with a bitter smile, "Moreover, the prison administration is strict; they don’t really cooperate with us."

Wang Chuanxing chuckled: "Then we’ll just have to increase DUI checks around our favorite restaurants."

"Some people aren’t chefs, but they can cook really well..." Liu Jinghui said, suddenly hit an idea: "The case just now, analyzing the timing might yield better results."

So Jiang Yuan handed the tablet to Liu Jinghui, allowing him to rapidly input.

After completing the analysis, Lei Xin followed Liu Jinghui’s deductions to begin further verifications.

When Liu Jinghui and others had some free time, they also helped Lei Xin sweep through cases. As he said, since the fall of the Jianyuan Group, the security situation in Qinghe City had indeed gotten more complicated; now only Ningtai County was particularly stable while the Qianjin District remained particularly chaotic.

Jiang Yuan was also considering whether to prioritize a major crime case or handle a series of cases first, then deploy investigative strategies from a security management perspective.