The Forensic Doctor Better Than a Detective-Chapter 368 - 223: There Is More Than One Killer

"If the deceased was not poisoned and there were no other factors that caused him to lose resistance, then if multiple people collaborated to commit the crime, it is indeed possible to overpower him with sheer force."

Jiang An seized the opportunity, his gaze growing sharper, and continued to elaborate: "From the clothes the deceased was wearing, although he had on a jacket and pants."

"But if he were attacked while upright, it would be difficult to achieve that element of surprise and deliver a fatal blow."

"Therefore, I infer that at the time of his death, the deceased should have been asleep, which would explain the head being hit and the compressing force from something under the back of the head."

Following this train of thought, Li Jian seemed to see the light of solving the case, with his eyes gleaming.

Then, he said: "If the place of death was on the bed, and the intrusion occurred in someone else’s home, then the motive for this middle-aged man’s death could very likely be tied to family conflicts, possibly involving his relatives."

"After all, being able to get so close to his bedroom late at night is an opportunity that outsiders rarely have."

Once Li Jian finished speaking, Wan seemed to find resonance, eagerly chiming in: "You know, in some of the cases I’ve previously worked on, there actually were instances where the victim’s family committed murder in cold blood to prevent a sick relative from burdening the family."

"Is this one of those cases too?"

Zhang Yean, who had been listening quietly all along, couldn’t help but grumble at these words, full of disagreement.

She retorted: "According to common sense and human nature, such extreme cruelty is unlikely, isn’t it?"

"Even a tiger doesn’t eat its cubs, let alone a longtime companion."

At this moment, Jiang An seemed to have a discernment beyond the ordinary, casually breaking in with, "If this was purely a death due to serious illness, I doubt the cruelty would reach the level of the current mystery."

"But we absolutely must not overlook the possibility of other more hidden and complex motives."

Jiang An paused, his eyes becoming deep as if seeing through the human heart, "For an adult man, especially within a close proximity in his bedroom late at night, aside from family, the most likely person would be his wife."

With just this sentence, it was like a lightning strike to Li Jian.

He instantly understood Jiang An’s deeper meaning, tentatively asking, "You’re suggesting there’s a possibility of harm arising from internal family emotional conflicts? Perhaps even premeditated murder?"

Jiang An nodded solemnly, "At present, this possibility cannot be excluded."

"If this is indeed the case, then his wife’s suspicion becomes quite significant."

Finally, Captain Li Jian said seriously, "Regardless of what the motive is behind this case."

"The immediate task is to identify who the deceased is; only by doing so can we follow the clues and catch those suspicious figures hiding in the shadows."

Meanwhile, Captain Qin briskly returned to the police car holding 48 missing persons reports.

Inside the car, Xiaolan softly asked, "Mr. Qin, do we have to check each of these 48 people one by one?"

"That’s quite a lot of work."

Captain Qin picked up a pen, marking the densely packed list of missing persons.

"We need to focus on these 48 people."

"Since Jiang An has already deduced the age and gender of the deceased, we’ll mainly search for males aged between 40 and 20."

"We’ll expand the range a little, ensuring nothing is missed, and not overlook any potential leads."

After five minutes, Captain Qin said, "After sorting through them, there are only 10 whose conditions match out of the 42 individuals, reducing by three-quarters."

"Let’s go start investigating."

Xiaolan started the car, turning to ask, "Mr. Qin, where should we go first?"

Captain Qin glanced down the list and saw the third eligible individual, Wang Jianghe.

He decisively said, "Let’s go here, Wang Jianghe."

"The missing person report is filed by his wife, who said Wang Jianghe hasn’t returned since going out on the 11th."

"Let’s see if we can find him, perhaps it will lead to a significant breakthrough."

"Let’s go, Jiangcheng City’s Yuqing District, Xinghua Village."

Forty minutes later, the police car slowly stopped at the entrance of Xinghua Village.

The sunlight bathed the village entrance, as if draping the entire village in a golden veil, serene and peaceful.

Following the address from the report, they quickly found a small two-story villa.

As soon as the police car stopped, a little yellow dog—a Chinese rural dog—came charging out from the yard, barking incessantly at them.

The woman inside the house heard the noise and hurried out to check.

At the entrance to the yard, Captain Qin quickly presented his badge, saying politely yet sternly, "Hello, we are officers from the Jiangcheng City Criminal Investigation Team; we need to investigate a case and would like to verify some information with you."

The woman gently nodded, her voice soft, "Alright, officers, please come in."

As soon as they entered the yard, Captain Qin got straight to the point: "We won’t sit inside, let’s cut to the chase."

"You reported on the 11th that your husband Wang Jianghe went missing. Has he returned yet?"

The woman seemed touched by a sad memory, a flash of sorrow crossed her face.

She softly said, "Not yet; we’ve been searching for weeks. Do you have any news about him?"

Captain Qin looked at her and slowly said, "Currently, we’ve discovered a male corpse around Phoenix Mountain, whose age closely resembles your husband Wang Jianghe. We’re here specifically to verify."

At this moment, Xiaolan quickly pulled up a photo on his phone, akin to unveiling a brutal painting.

He softly said, "Ma’am, this is what the deceased looks like as found at the scene. Could you see if this clothing belongs to Wang Jianghe?"