The Forensic Doctor Better Than a Detective

Chapter 568: Chapter 321: Very Special! Target Location Found

Very soon, Jiang An, Wan, and Zhang Yean drove the police car away from the bustling downtown area.

The purpose of this trip was very clear — to head to the ancestral grave site owned by Zhao Jian’s family, carefully inspect each grave, and search for any sign of tampering.

Thirty minutes later, the police car slowly stopped in front of a farmhouse courtyard.

Inside the courtyard, a dark-skinned middle-aged man was bending over, intently tending to the vegetables in the garden.

Jiang An was the first to get out of the car, standing in front of the rusty iron gate, he gently knocked on the door ring.

”Hello, we’re officers from the city’s criminal investigation team, and we need your assistance with a case.”

The man in the yard raised his head upon hearing the sound, squinted his eyes and looked them over for a moment, then put down the hoe in his hand.

He wiped his soil-covered hands on his pant legs: ”I remember you, you’re from the criminal investigation team, right?”

”Please come in.”

His voice carried a thick rural accent.

Soon, the four of them sat around a mottled wooden coffee table in the yard.

Jiang An skipped the pleasantries and went straight to the point: ”We’ve been investigating the murder case of your cousin’s family, and that’s the purpose of our visit today.”

The man across from him nodded slowly upon hearing this, unconsciously rubbing the edge of the coffee table with his fingers.

”It’s been so many years... I thought...”

”We have never given up on this case.”

Jiang An’s voice was firm and powerful, ”From the time of the incident until now, there have been three bureau chiefs and two captains, and none of them have given up on this investigation.”

He paused, his gaze burning as he looked at the other man.

”Now, we’ve discovered a new clue.”

”However, it might be somewhat offensive.”

The courtyard suddenly fell silent, only the clucking of hens could be heard in the yard.

Jiang An took a deep breath and continued, ”We need to inspect your cousin’s family grave, which might... require opening a coffin.”

”Open a coffin?”

The man suddenly stood up, his face turning ashen, and his rough hands trembled slightly.

”How... how can that be done?”

”Wasn’t my cousin’s body always at the funeral home?”

”If you need a post-mortem, go there!”

Jiang An motioned for him to sit down, his tone gentle yet firm: ”We’re not opening the coffin to examine the remains this time.”

”Then what for?”

The man frowned suspiciously, his muddled eyes filled with confusion.

”I’m sorry, I can’t disclose details about the case.”

Jiang An shook his head slightly, giving Zhang Yean a signaling look.

Zhang Yean understood and took over the conversation: ”Bro, I understand that opening a coffin is a big deal in the countryside.”

”But please believe in Mr. Jiang and our police force.”

”We’re doing this to solve the case as soon as possible and seek justice for your cousin’s family.”

Wan also leaned in, gently patting the man’s shoulder.

”Now, you are the closest person to Zhao Jian’s family.”

”If they were watching from above, they’d surely support us in finding the real culprit.”

The man sank back into his chair with his hands cradling his head, silent for a long time, and finally muttered, ”But... if we disturb the feng shui of the ancestral grave, and something happens at home later...”

”Bro, though I believe in science.”

Wan interrupted him, ”But speaking of feng shui, Zhao Jian’s family met with such misfortune, and it didn’t protect them.”

The man let out a long sigh, his gaze shifting back and forth among the three of them.

After a long while, he relented, ”Alright... which coffin do you need to open?”

Jiang An’s tense shoulders finally relaxed; he didn’t expect the other party to give in so quickly.

Before setting out, they were prepared for a long struggle and had even drafted a compulsory exhumation request.

”We can’t be sure yet which one exactly, so we need you to take us to the ancestral graves to identify Zhao Jian’s relatives’ graves.”

After hesitating a little, the man slowly got up, took a straw hat from behind the door, and put it on his head, his voice hoarse.

”Let’s go, I’ll take you.”

Meanwhile, in the office of the Criminal Investigation Team of the Jiangcheng City Public Security Bureau, Li Jian was holding a freshly brewed cup of tea.

He frowned, feeling that today’s tea was tasteless as if something was missing.

Suddenly, the office door creaked open.

Zhang Chao, the instructor, walked in with a stack of files in his hand.

Seeing the grave expression on Li Jian’s face, he stopped in his tracks.

”Hey, Mr. Li, why the long face so early in the morning?”

”Encountered another tough case?”

Li Jian put down the teacup and rubbed his temples, smiling wryly: ”It’s not about a case, this is actually more troublesome than solving a case.”

”Oh?”

Zhang Chao sat down across from him, placing the files on the desk.

”What’s worrying Mr. Li so much?”

”Jiang An came to see me this morning!” Li Jian lowered his voice, ”Said he wanted to dig up Zhao Jian’s family grave to find some clues.”

”Dig up a grave?”

Zhang Chao widened his eyes in shock, almost dropping the pen in his hand.

”This... this method of solving a case, I’ve been a criminal investigator for over twenty years, and it’s the first time I’ve heard of it.”

Li Jian sighed, his fingers lightly tapping the table.

”Yes, I also find it incredible.”

”But it’s good that young people are enthusiastic, I shouldn’t dampen their spirits.”

”The problem now is how we minimize the impact of this incident?”

”If anything goes wrong, we’ll have to give an explanation to our superiors.”

Zhang Chao nodded thoughtfully, ”Mr. Li has thought this through, and such matters indeed require precautionary plans in advance.”

”By the way, where did Jiang An go now?”

”He’s already led the team to the late Zhao Jian’s hometown.”

Li Jian glanced at his watch, ”He said he was going to communicate with the only two surviving relatives of the deceased.”

Hearing this, Zhang Chao’s brow furrowed deeply, creases appearing on his forehead.

”Did he mention what clue he was looking for?”