The Forensic Doctor Better Than a Detective-Chapter 619 - 345: Senior Brother, Senior Sister! We’ve Got Something!

Chapter 619: Chapter 345: Senior Brother, Senior Sister! We’ve Got Something!

At this moment, Detective Team Leader Li Jian was leading the team, busy in the meeting room.

As the old team leader of the detective squad, even though this case was handled by Deputy Team Leader Jiang An as the deputy leader of the task force, he knew well that solving a case was never a one-man battle.

Watching Jiang An grow from a rookie in the police force to an independent deputy captain, Li Jian felt both gratified and full of responsibility.

In the meeting room, nine officers were meticulously sorting through all the theft and robbery cases that occurred in the areas surrounding the crime scene in the past five years, under Li Jian’s command.

The thick case files were piled up like a small mountain on the conference table. The young officer Chen Sheng wiped the sweat from his forehead and asked a bit hesitantly, "Captain, with so much case material, can we really identify any suspicious individuals?"

"Should we first establish some specific screening criteria?"

Upon hearing this, Li Jian looked up, his gaze sweeping over the mountain of case files on the table.

He pondered for two minutes, lightly tapping his fingers on the table, and said, "We do need a clear direction."

"Since Jiang An determined this is a case of murder for financial gain, the perpetrator is likely motivated by money."

"I suggest we focus on two types of individuals: first, habitual offenders with multiple theft or robbery priors within the city."

"Second, suspicious persons with recent criminal records within a 10-kilometer radius of the crime scene."

"The captain is right!"

The officer’s eyes lit up, "This way, our investigative scope becomes much clearer."

Once the investigation direction was clear, team members immediately sprang into action.

With simple division of labor, half the personnel were responsible for organizing the criminal records of financial crime offenders across the city.

The other half focused on screening recent cases and involved persons within a 10-kilometer radius around the crime scene.

Meanwhile, Instructor Zhang Chao arrived at the detective team office.

As a leader in charge of ideological and political work, he looked around and found both the captain’s and deputy captain’s offices empty.

Although he usually focuses on the team’s ideological development, Zhang Chao has always believed that solving cases is the core of a detective’s work.

He dialed Li Jian’s phone without hesitation: "Mr. Li, are you guys out on another case?"

"Need a hand?"

Li Jian’s hearty laughter came from the other end of the line: "Mr Zhang, your main job is to focus on the team’s ideological build-up, so don’t worry about these investigative tasks."

"Hey, don’t say that."

Zhang Chao’s tone suddenly became serious, "This case is unusual."

"Back when the incident happened, I hadn’t become an instructor yet, but I was part of the investigation. It ended unresolved and has been a knot in my heart."

"This time, I must give it my all to make up for the regret of the past."

Li Jian fell into silence on the other end of the phone.

Zhang Chao’s words had hit him right in the heart.

The reason he threw himself wholeheartedly into this case was largely due to his self-reproach for his past work.

In the still of the night, he constantly pondered over what crucial clues had been missed back then.

In hindsight, the biggest mistake was perhaps the preconceived notion that it was an accident without digging deeper.

In contrast, Jiang An never blindly followed any established conclusions and always maintained independent thinking.

After a long pause, Li Jian said into the phone, "I understand how you feel."

"If you really want to help, I suggest you visit the deceased’s family."

"Although we handed over the loose change among the deceased’s belongings to them back then without any objection, I would still like you to further investigate whether the deceased had any valuable items when they left."

"Leave it to me!"

Zhang Chao agreed cheerfully, "I’ll take Officer Zhang along right now for the visit."

"The deceased’s family should still remember me; after all, I was part of the investigation back then."

After hanging up, Zhang Chao immediately began preparing for the visit, determined to contribute to this case.

Meanwhile, on the riverbank of the crime scene, Jiang An, along with Wan and Zhang Yean, was engaged in the arduous task of filtering through the sludge.

Though the search area seemed small, the sludge layer was exceptionally thick.

To ensure no evidence sank due to the passage of time, they had to dig through the sludge until reaching the bottom yellowish earth layer.

Jiang An and Wan were carefully filtering each handful of sludge with specially made fine fishing nets.

Two other officers were responsible for transporting the cleaned sludge to a designated location.

By this time, Zhang Yean was covered in mud, her uniform no longer showing its original color.

"Oww, my poor back!"

Wan suddenly straightened up, painfully rubbing his lower back, "If this continues, I’ll have a lower back injury before the case is solved."

Zhang Yean laughed upon hearing that, "Brother, aren’t you exaggerating a bit?"

"Isn’t backache the exclusive issue of middle-aged people?"

"We young people shouldn’t be feeling it, right?"

"You have no idea!"

Wan grinned and bore his teeth, "I’ve had a herniated disc for a long time. The doctor specifically warned me not to overstrain my back."

Two young officers nearby jokingly chimed in, "Hang in there, Wan, we’re rooting for you in spirit!"

"You heartless duo!"

Wan said angrily, "Come on, switch!"

The two young officers then approached with mischievous grins to take over the task.

Jiang An was also relieved from duty for a brief rest.

Although he had good stamina, continuous bending work had caused a faint pain in his back.

Zhang Yean stood up and moved around a bit, "Strange, my back feels a bit uncomfortable too, maybe it’s the wrong posture."