The Forensic Doctor Better Than a Detective

At this moment, Captain Wang Yang is leading the detective squad to the foot of the mountain where the body was discovered.

Inside the car, he sat in the front passenger seat, tightly gripping a local map that had already become creased, occasionally making marks on it with a red pen.

Driving the car, Zhou firmly held the steering wheel with both hands, his eyes occasionally glancing at the steep cliffs outside the window.

After negotiating a sharp turn, he finally couldn’t help but ask, ”Captain Wang, do you think the solution proposed by Captain Jiang is really reliable?”

Wang Yang didn’t even look up, his fingers still sliding across the map.

”I think it’s not just reliable; it’s simply a stroke of genius.”

His tone held rare admiration, ”As soon as Captain Jiang came to Chuan City to assist, he pinpointed the location of the victim’s head.”

”What’s even more remarkable is his analysis of the characteristics of the body, every detail pointing to critical clues.”

Zhou frowned, lightly tapping his fingers on the steering wheel, ”But if we conduct a grid search around the area as he suggested, the workload...”

”Workload?”

Wang Yang finally raised his head, a slight bitter smile appearing at the corners of his mouth.

”Compared to not solving the case, what’s this workload?”

He unfolded the map and pointed to the area circled in red, ”First, focus on a radius of 5 kilometers centered on the crime scene, then expand to 10 kilometers.”

”Captain Jiang’s approach is very clear — prioritize those with criminal records, migrant workers, especially those who might have connections to Qingzhou.”

Zhou glanced at the map and couldn’t help but gasp.

”This range... If the killer really dumped the body from afar, what’s his motive?”

He paused and quoted an old saying, ”’A rabbit doesn’t eat the grass near its burrow’; would a normal person dispose of a body in a familiar place?”

Wang Yang heard this and thoughtfully turned his head.

He adjusted his posture, his gaze sharpened, ”Good question.”

”Generally speaking, killers indeed choose locations away from their living circles to dispose of the body.”

”But...”

His voice suddenly lowered, ”There’s a special case — when the killer has an abnormal fear or obsession with the body, they might want to constantly monitor the situation of the body, even the post-crime public opinion.”

”You mean...”

Zhou’s eyes gradually widened.

”Exactly!”

Wang Yang nodded, ”The killer places the body within a range he can control, like near his living area, making it easier to gather information.”

He recalled Captain Jiang’s expression during the analysis in the meeting room.

”When Captain Jiang proposed this idea, I completely agreed.”

”If the killer indeed transported the body hundreds of miles to this location, it indicates his psychological endurance isn’t strong, very likely a first-time offender.”

Zhou suddenly laughed, ”Captain Wang, if we had found the body a few days earlier, would we have really considered it a suicide case?”

”Ha!”

Wang Yang also laughed, ”To be honest, there’s indeed that possibility.”

”But in that case...”

His smile gradually faded, ”We wouldn’t have invited Captain Jiang and his team.”

As they talked, the police car had already driven into the village.

The small village nestled in the mountain hollows appeared exceptionally tranquil, with a few native dogs lazily lying by the roadside soaking up the sun.

The car eventually stopped in front of a two-story building with a ”Village Committee” sign.

”We’re here.”

Wang Yang deftly put away the map and adjusted his collar.

As they got out of the car, the village committee door was wide open, and they could faintly hear the sound of conversation from inside.

Walking into the office, a middle-aged man wearing reading glasses was holding a teacup and reading a newspaper.

Upon seeing them, he quickly put the teacup down, his eyes behind the lenses squinted into slits.

”Oh, isn’t that Captain Wang?”

He hurriedly came forward, wiping his hands on his pants, ”I was the one who received you last time.”

”Is it still about the matter on the mountain?”

Wang Yang presented his credentials and nodded, ”The case is still under investigation and requires further inquiry.”

”The village branch secretary and the village chief have gone to the town for a meeting,”

The middle-aged man rubbed his hands and said, ”I’m the village committee accountant, Mr. Li, let me know if you need anything.”

”We need to review the basic information of all the villagers,”

Wang Yang went straight to the point, ”Including the population structure, occupational distribution, and other detailed information.”

Mr. Li adjusted his glasses and thought for a moment, ”These records are updated every three years; I’ll fetch them from the archive room.”

Ten minutes later, Li Changhe slowly walked over holding a heavy record book, which looked a bit old, the corners already slightly yellowed.

He carefully held it with both hands, as if he were handling a precious treasure.

”Captain Wang, this is the basic composition of our village, namely the roster.”

Saying this, he solemnly handed the thick stack of materials to Wang Yang.

Wang Yang received the documents, feeling the weight of the paper.

He gently opened the first page, seeing several columns neatly listed: number, name, address, family members, and movements.

These pieces of information were densely arranged, the handwriting orderly yet slightly old-fashioned.

His gaze swept over the cover, noting that the statistic had been compiled two years ago.

Wang Yang frowned slightly and turned to ask, ”Is this the data from two years ago? Is there updated information in the village?”

Li Changhe smiled bitterly, shaking his head, the wrinkles on his face deepening, ”Captain Wang, you don’t know, collecting this data took quite a lot of effort from us.”

”The village is short-handed, and it usually takes four to five years to update.”

”This booklet is the most current data we have.”

”Oh, the latest, then?”

Wang Yang thoughtfully nodded, his fingers unconsciously rubbing the edge of the pages.

”Is all the data here verified? Are there any missing persons?”