The Forensic Doctor Better Than a Detective

”No retrieval has been carried out yet, and the scene remains unchanged.”

Jiang An furrowed his brows slightly, pondered for a moment, and asked, ”Have you communicated with the traffic police department regarding this matter?”

”We’ve already contacted them!”

Li Dong replied, ”But the traffic police recommended criminal investigation intervention first to rule out criminal case possibilities, and then handle it according to traffic accident procedures.”

”Alright! We’re on our way!”

After hanging up the phone, he turned and looked at Wan and Qin Feng, who were already prepared, and his tone swiftly turned serious: ”Brothers, we have a task.”

”The East River Police Station just called, reporting a male corpse found in the river. Motorcycle tire marks were left on the riverbank. The cause of death is still unclear, and we need to go over for preliminary investigation immediately.”

”If it is ultimately determined as an accidental incident, it will be handed over to the traffic police department for further handling.”

As he spoke, he swiftly put on an overcoat and strode towards the door.

Wan quickly followed and asked, ”Captain, how should we arrange personnel and equipment? How many people do we need?”

Jiang An didn’t break stride, his speech rapid yet clear: ”Get the new forensic doctor and the evidence collection team and photography technician.”

”We’ll go together, a total of five people. Also—”

He paused briefly, adding, ”Bring out the electric business vehicle the bureau issued yesterday. It’s specially equipped for scene investigations, with ample space and more complete equipment.”

Wan appeared slightly surprised: ”That new energy vehicle is already in place?”

”I thought it wouldn’t be delivered until at least next week.”

”It’s already here, just in time for this mission.”

Jiang An opened the door, glanced back at the two, ”Move quickly, meet downstairs in ten minutes.”

Ten minutes later, Jiang An and his team arrived at the parking lot on time.

They were greeted by a brand new white business vehicle, bearing a new energy green license plate, with a stylish and technological appearance.

The side of the car was equipped with a noticeable charging port, indicating it was a plug-in hybrid model.

Jiang An opened the driver’s side door and got inside the vehicle.

The cabin was designed with seven seats, spacious and comfortable, with premium leather seats equipped with local massage features, almost like sitting in a mobile sofa, greatly easing long-term field fatigue.

Once started, the vehicle ran exceptionally smoothly, with almost no engine noise.

Jiang An, hands on the steering wheel, couldn’t help but exclaim, ”This configuration is comparable to a high-end model costing around three hundred thousand.”

”The driving feel is excellent, power output is smooth, gear shifts are virtually seamless.”

”Before delivery, I specifically test drove it, and whether it was acceleration response, cornering stability, or suspension performance, it was far better than our old scene investigation car.”

Wan in the passenger seat chimed in with a smile, ”Indeed, the forensic van had been in service for fifteen years and was long due for scrapping.”

”That van creaked all over when driving, unlike this one, quiet and stable, making fieldwork more dignified.”

Thirty minutes later, they drove to the incident area by the East River.

The police tape was already set up, with many onlookers gathered around, discussing in hushed tones.

For Jiang An and his team, who had long battled in criminal investigation forefronts, such scenes were all too familiar — sudden crowd gatherings in public places often indicated an incident, whether it was a dispute, a fight, or an accidental or criminal case scene.

Without deliberately seeking out markers, they drove straight to the densest part of the crowd, the focal point of the case.

The vehicle came to a steady stop outside the police tape, and Jiang An stepped out.

By now, the police station director, Li Dong, had been waiting at the scene for some time.

Upon seeing Jiang An, he promptly stepped forward with a heavy tone, ”Mr. Jiang, thank you for your hard work.”

Jiang An waved his hand, indicating not to stand on ceremony, straightforwardly asking, ”Mr. Li, let’s not be formal.”

”What’s the situation on-site now?”

Li Dong nodded and pointed towards the river surface, his voice low, ”This afternoon, some locals were fishing here when they suddenly noticed bubbles rising.”

”Then, before long, a corpse floated to the surface.”

”Right there, not far from the shore.”

Everyone looked in the direction he pointed, indeed seeing a body floating on the water, some distance from the riverbank.

Jiang An’s gaze sharpened, his voice grave, ”Let’s go, get closer and check carefully.”

Wan’s mouth twitched slightly, another fisherman.

Discovering bodies seems to have become their specialty!

Soon, the group crouched low to pass under the police tape, steadily making their way to the riverbank.

The body was floating face down and had not been retrieved yet.

Even without a close inspection, with years of field experience, Jiang An had formed a preliminary judgment.

Typically, male bodies on water surfaces tend to float face down, while females face up.

With just a glance, he speculated that the body before them was likely male.

He followed up with a somewhat confirmatory question, ”Is the deceased’s personal information ascertainable?”

Li Dong cautiously replied, ”Unable to determine.”

”We’ll need to wait until the body is fully retrieved before conducting detailed investigation.”

Jiang An affirmed, ”From the current floating state, it’s likely male, this seems pretty certain.”

After saying this, he squatted down to carefully examine the muddy traces along the riverbank’s edge.

A few officers exchanged glances, seemingly unsure how he swiftly determined the gender of the deceased.

Jiang An did not directly explain, instead pointing to some faintly discernible tire marks in the mud, suddenly changing topics, ”Did it rain around here yesterday?”

Li Dong pondered for a moment and replied, ”No.”

”However, these tire marks are relatively clear.”

”Nearby grass shows obvious signs of being crushed, appearing like some vehicle charged into the river from here.”

He continued, ”Our preliminary conjecture is possible accidental fall due to a traffic incident.”

”But since we’re unsure if there’s really a vehicle underwater, it’s hard to conclude definitively for now.”

Upon hearing this, Jiang An immediately instructed, ”Quickly contact nearby professional salvage teams, thoroughly check the riverbed, and see if there’s anything suspicious besides the body, like remains of vehicles.”

Li Dong responded, ”I’ll arrange contact right away.”

Then, Jiang An turned to the forensic personnel awaiting orders, instructing, ”Hurry and photograph and document the overall scene, especially focus on tire marks on the ground — direction, depth, tread pattern, every detail must be meticulously captured and evidence fixed to discover any valid clues.”

The evidence collection team quickly responded, ”Understood!” and promptly began their tense and orderly work, taking out scales and cameras from the investigation kit.

Fifteen minutes later, a small truck arrived on-site, bearing the words ”Sea Sky Salvage Team, Professionally Retrieve All Items from Water.”

As the truck came to a stop, three team members in professional waterproof clothing and diving equipment disembarked.

Li Dong moved forward, reporting to Jiang An, ”Mr. Jiang, the salvage team is here. Shall we start the operation now?”

Jiang An surveyed the on-site personnel, steadily approached the salvage team, attentively instructing, ”Please ensure the body’s integrity during retrieval to avoid secondary damage from dragging.”

”Furthermore, thoroughly check for any vehicle or transport residue, and pay attention to any possible documents, phones, keys, or other belongings.”

An eyewear donning man stepped forward with a relaxed yet professionally assured tone, ”Rest assured, Mr. Jiang. We’re a professional salvage team with strict operational norms, and there will be no oversight.”

”We’ve handled many such scenes and will be cautious and thorough, ensuring no key evidence is overlooked.”

Jiang An nodded, showing a hint of approval, ”Good, then I’m counting on you all.”