The Forensic Doctor Better Than a Detective-Chapter 544 - 308: Is This the Perfect Crime?
At this moment, in the office of the deputy captain of the criminal investigation team.
Jiang An, Zhang Yean, and Wan sat side by side on the black leather sofa.
The only sound in the room was the faint rustle of papers being turned.
The notebook in front of Jiang An was densely filled with key information.
The yellowed case file papers in their hands were so fragile they were almost transparent, and each page turn emitted a soft "shhh" sound.
These archives, not fully digitized due to their age, were not only valuable historical materials for criminal investigations but also the key to uncovering sealed mysteries.
At this moment, the intense focus of the three made the air in the office seem frozen.
Jiang An’s calm and focused demeanor influenced his companions, as Zhang Yean unconsciously bit her lower lip, and Wan was wholly absorbed.
The electronic clock on the wall ticked silently.
From 9:50 to 11:50, two hours passed quietly in silence.
The police cafeteria’s lunch service had long begun, the aroma of food faintly drifting in the corridor, yet it failed to disturb the trio’s concentration.
They were completely immersed in the ocean of case details, oblivious to their hunger.
"Knock, knock, knock."
The wooden door of the office was suddenly knocked, breaking the quiet of the room with a dull sound.
Captain Li Jian pushed the door open and entered, the shoulder epaulets on his navy police uniform gleaming coldly under the overhead light.
"What, you three are still here hanging around?"
His gaze swept over the mountain of case files on the coffee table, "Aren’t you planning to eat?"
The three of them stood up in unison as if waking from a dream.
Jiang An gently closed the case file, explaining, "Captain, we are studying this case file."
"Case file?"
"What case file?"
Captain Li Jian strode forward, his gaze dropping like a hawk’s on the ten-centimeter-thick stack of files on the coffee table.
However, when his eyes met the faded words on the cover, his brows instantly knit into a knot.
Then, unconsciously, Li Jian’s right hand rubbed his chin.
This was his signature move when facing major cases.
"This case..."
Captain Li Jian began pacing the office back and forth, the rhythmic "clack" of his leather shoes on the tiled floor echoing.
"More troublesome than you imagine."
He turned to the water dispenser in the corner, filled a glass, and drank it all in one go, his Adam’s apple moving up and down with the swallowing.
Jiang An glanced down at the case file, nodding slightly, his voice steady and firm, "Indeed complex!"
"The thickness of the case file alone is enough to tell."
"Captain Li, you should remember this case, right?"
Captain Li Jian placed the paper cup heavily on the coffee table edge, the bottom of the cup clinking crisply against the glass.
"At the time, I was still interning at the Jiangcheng City Public Security Bureau, not officially transferred here yet."
His voice suddenly lowered, "It’s not just a memory!"
Moving to the window, Captain Li Jian crossed his arms, his gaze piercing through the glass at the overcast sky.
"This case caused a sensation throughout the province that year, with provincial leaders personally supervising the investigation."
His silhouette appeared incredibly grave.
"A family of three, two adults and a child, massacred overnight..."
Suddenly, Li Jian’s voice trembled slightly, "Such a heinous crime is extremely rare in Jiangcheng’s criminal investigation history."
Then, Li Jian paused, his Adam’s apple moving up and down, "The task force investigated for a full six months, the resources and manpower put into it were countless, but in the end..."
His voice gradually lowered, and he sighed lightly.
Saying this, Captain Li Jian returned to the coffee table, put on reading glasses, and carefully flipped through the case file.
"You see, the scene of the crime was in a remote rural area."
"Back then, the village didn’t even have decent street lights, let alone surveillance equipment."
"The entire village’s surveillance coverage was close to zero."
"Within a 20-kilometer radius, the number of available surveillance images was negligible."
His fingers traced a blurry sketch of the crime scene’s location in the file.
"The time of the crime was estimated to be late at night; we visited all nearby households and questioned nearly a thousand villagers."
"Not a single witness was found, and no valuable clues were discovered."
Zhang Yean adjusted her glasses, eyes full of doubt, "Didn’t any suspicious suspects get pinned down?"
"Easier said than done!"
Captain Li Jian shook his head with a wry smile, "We checked everyone with a criminal past in the village."
"Including thieves, brawlers, drug users, even those with a criminal record in neighboring villages and towns."
"We even used police dogs to search the scene and conducted a blanket search of the surrounding mountains and ditches, but found nothing."
Wan tightened his grip on the pen in his hand and pressed on, "Did any neighbors hear anything unusual on the night of the crime?"
"No!"
Captain Li Jian’s voice was decisive.
"The killer was extremely professional and decisive, every adult killed with a single deadly strike."
"Only that five-year-old child died from being suffocated with the killer’s hand covering its mouth and nose."
As he spoke, Li Jian’s voice trembled a bit, a hint of reluctance flickering in his eyes.
"We speculated at the time that the killer might be a professional or bear a deep grudge against the victims."
"But a deep investigation revealed the couple were just honest farmers, had never traveled far, held no grudges with anyone, much less had enemies who would hire someone to kill them."
Jiang An slightly frowned, falling into thought, "Could it be a random crime?"
"For example, a burglary gone wrong, leading the killer to silence witnesses?"
"We initially thought so too."
Captain Li Jian pulled out an inventory list of the scene’s valuables.
"But there were no obvious signs of disturbance, and the cash and valuables at home weren’t missing."
