The Forensic Doctor Better Than a Detective-Chapter 142 - 131: Midnight Fire
Suddenly, Zhang Yean excitedly said, "Mr. Chen, I seem to have discovered a fingerprint."
"You found it?"
"Where?"
Chen He hurriedly leaned forward.
She raised her hand and pointed, saying, "Here on the knife handle!"
"However, this fingerprint seems a bit incomplete."
Chen He quickly asked, "Can it be compared in the database?"
Zhang Yean observed for a while, her brow furrowing slightly.
"This fingerprint seems incomplete, and if compared in the database, it probably doesn’t meet the conditions."
"But if we collect fingerprints from suspicious individuals for manual comparison, I think we can reach a level of identification and exclusion."
A trace of disappointment flashed across Chen He’s face.
"But this is quite good."
"Next steps, once we find the suspect, we can completely rely on this fingerprint for identification."
Zhang Yean turned to look at Chen He and said firmly, "We can absolutely compare and identify it."
10:40 PM.
Li Jian, Jiang An, and Wan drove back to Jiangcheng City Bureau.
As soon as the car stopped, Wan looked up and noticed that the lights in the trace lab were still on.
"Boss, still working overtime at the trace lab this late?"
Li Jian looked up too.
Suddenly, he recalled the task given to Zhang Yean to examine the dagger fingerprint before they set off.
"Come on! Let’s go up and have a look!"
Five minutes later, the three arrived at the entrance of the trace lab.
Inside the fingerprint lab, Chen He and Zhang Yean were observing the dagger.
Li Jian asked, "How is it? Any fingerprints?"
"Mr. Li! You’re back!"
Zhang Yean replied, "This dagger was pressed and rubbed with brick bits, most traces are invisible now."
"But we found one incomplete fingerprint. The patterns aren’t clear enough for database comparison."
"However, we can do a manual comparison."
"Manual comparison?"
Zhang Yean explained, "I mean, if we find the suspect, we can compare their fingerprints with those on the knife handle, and through formula calculations, reach identification and exclusion."
Li Jian nodded.
"That’s not bad!"
"At least, it provides crucial material evidence to support identifying the murderer next."
"It’s abnormal for this dagger to appear in the construction site’s bricks."
"We can basically ascertain that this is the murder weapon."
A moment later, Chen He asked, "Mr. Li, how’s the grease analysis from your team?"
Li Jian replied, "Rapeseed oil!"
"Rapeseed oil?"
"Rapeseed oil?"
Chen He and Zhang Yean were astonished.
On the way back, they had discussed whether it might be vehicle mechanical oil.
Unexpectedly, after analysis, it turned out to be rapeseed oil.
Chen He shook his head.
"Nowadays, many households have rapeseed oil; the investigation scope is too broad next."
Li Jian paced back and forth in the lab.
He said, "On the way back, we analyzed that the killer deliberately chose to commit the murder after the victim, Liu Jun, drank, it’s no coincidence."
"It must be based on unequal circumstances between the two parties, deliberately choosing to kill Liu Jun when he’s intoxicated."
"Therefore, next, we’ll focus on investigating all paths Liu Jun went through after the dinner that night and search for suspicious individuals along this line."
Just as he finished speaking, Zhang from the duty room suddenly rushed in flusteredly.
He reported, "Mr. Li, Mr. Chen, there’s a fire at the Jiangtai construction site."
"What?"
"Where’s it burning?"
"I heard it’s at the entrance of the security department."
"Any casualties?"
"Not sure yet; firefighters are rushing there to extinguish the fire."
No time to think much, Li Jian hurriedly said, "Let’s go! Bring all the survey equipment."
"We immediately head to the fire scene."
Thirty minutes later.
Two police cars arrived at the entrance of Jiangtai construction site.
From afar, thick smoke could be seen billowing at the security post.
A red fire truck was parked nearby.
Firefighters were swiftly extinguishing the fire.
Li Jian just got out of the car when Mr. Qin from the district precinct walked over.
"Mr. Li!"
"What’s going on?"
Mr. Qin replied, "Forty minutes ago, a passerby reported a fire here."
"We immediately contacted the fire brigade to extinguish it while reporting to the detective team."
"The fire is not yet completely extinguished, specific casualties are unclear."
As they were talking, Mr. Zhang suddenly hurried over.
"Mr. Li!"
"Mr. Qin!"
Li Jian turned his head and asked, "Is anyone on duty at the guard room tonight?"
Mr. Zhang’s face turned pale, and his body trembled slightly.
He said, "Yes, there’s a security guard on duty every day."
"Who is it tonight?"
"I think it’s Zhang Biao."
"Can you reach him by phone?"
Mr. Zhang shook his head helplessly.
"I tried calling as soon as the fire started."
"The phone kept showing that it couldn’t be connected."
Hearing this, Li Jian, Chen He, and Mr. Qin’s expressions instantly turned serious.
Everyone shared the same conclusion in their minds.
Zhang Bia is likely in grave danger.
Twenty minutes later, firefighters had extinguished the flames.
Two firefighters, wearing gas masks and holding flashlights, entered the building.
After a quick survey, one of the firefighters hurriedly ran out.
"A male body was found on the bed at the scene."
"The body has been charred beyond recognition."
Hearing this, Mr. Zhang suddenly collapsed to the ground.
A moment later, Jiang An came over, crouched beside him, and asked, "Mr. Zhang, how old is Zhang Biao approximately this year?"
"He’s around 35 years old."
"How is your security guard’s shift scheduled?
"The security guard works in 12-hour shifts here."
"From 8 AM to 8 PM during the day."
"From 8 PM to 8 AM at night."
Jiang An nodded and stood up, walking over to the forensic examination box.
He opened the box and put on a pair of gloves.
Li Jian, Chen He, Zhang Yean, and Wan also came over, putting on gloves, shoe covers, and masks.
Li Jian said, "The firefighters have ruled out any danger, we can go in now."
Jiang An nodded, picking up the flashlight beside him.
Then, the group entered the guard room.
Although the open flames inside had been extinguished, many areas were still emitting thick smoke, and visibility was extremely poor.
Under the strong beam of light, the layout of the entire room could still be seen.
It was two small houses.
The outer room was a work area where you could see partially burned tables and chairs.
The inner room was a rest area, with a bed against the wall.
And.
On the bed lay a charred body.
The deceased’s face was unrecognizable, lying on its back, with arms and legs bent.
Jiang An stood in front of the bed, observing closely.
Zhang Yean stood beside Jiang An.
She pointed to the charred body and asked, "Is the posture of the deceased’s limbs what’s described in books as the pugilistic stance?"
Jiang An nodded.
"The deceased’s arms and legs are bent at 90 degrees, similar to the pugilistic stance."
"This is a characteristic manifestation of a burned body."
Zhang Yean continued to ask, "In this state, does it mean the deceased was burned alive?"
Jiang An shook his head.
"A burned body indeed shows a pugilistic stance."
"However, even after death, the body’s burning can still show this posture."
Zhang Yean was surprised, "Even after death, the body can show a pugilistic stance from burning?"
Jiang An nodded.
"The reason why bodies in a fire show this stance is primarily because the muscles in the limbs contract under high temperatures, pulling the joints into a bent position."
"Therefore, regardless of whether the person is alive or dead, as long as there are muscles in the limbs, this pugilistic stance can form."
Zhang Yean nodded and said, "That’s enlightening! I didn’t know the pugilistic stance was so complex."
Meanwhile.
Li Jian shined his flashlight around the room.
He turned his head and asked, "Mr. Chen, did the fire department determine the cause of the fire?"
Chen He replied, "The fire department preliminarily believes there are two possibilities."
"One is arson with an accelerant, which requires collecting burning residues for further testing."
"Another possibility is a short circuit that caused the fire, and they are investigating the related circuit alarm systems."
Li Jian nodded.
"Ask them to quickly provide accurate conclusions to guide our subsequent rapid response."
"Alright! I will actively follow up on their progress!"
Then, Li Jian walked over to Jiang An.
"Jiang An, should this body be sent immediately to the forensic autopsy center?"
"Mr. Li, please wait a moment, I will verify the deceased’s original position first."
Li Jian nodded, "Proceed with the body examination at once, we must determine the cause of death immediately."
Jiang An, holding a flashlight, bent down to examine the deceased’s skull.
Suddenly, the occlusal surface of one tooth came into Jiang An’s view.
Recalling the suspicious age of the deceased mentioned by Mr. Zhang as Zhang Biao’s probable age.
Jiang An’s pupils suddenly contracted.
The wear on the deceased’s teeth had a significant discrepancy with the actual age of security guard Zhang Biao.
