The Forensic Doctor Better Than a Detective

After a long while, Political Commissioner Li slowly rubbed his slightly swollen eyes, leaned forward slightly, and once again intently examined the evidence.

”Mr. Jiang, this looks like a long-settled grease stain, its color dull.”

”I’ve observed it repeatedly and truly don’t see any signs of redness; it doesn’t look like what a bloodstain should appear.”

At this moment, Director Hou also leaned in and carefully scrutinized it for a while.

Then he straightened up, crossed his arms over his chest, and thoughtfully added, ”Indeed.”

”The front of this vehicle has been exposed to the elements for a long time, undergoing sun and rain, so the surface paint might already be aged.”

”Even if there were any traces, they might have already been worn away by natural factors, right?”

Hearing the two people raise doubts one after another, Jiang An, standing by, did not immediately refute.

He simply shook his head lightly, his gaze still intently locked on a part of the image.

He reached out his finger and said, ”Director Hou, please pay attention to this spot—inside the air intake grille. Although it’s similarly covered in grease and dust, upon careful inspection, there’s an inconspicuous groove here.”

He paused slightly before continuing to explain, ”The dust accumulated in this groove not only appears denser in texture than the surrounding area but is also slightly darker in color and noticeably thicker.”

”If we purely base it on contact area and deposition environment, the level of dust here should theoretically be consistent with its surroundings.”

”But according to my simulation reconstruction of the impact process, this spot precisely matches the characteristics of the force application point from the first contact.”

Jiang An raised his head, his gaze sweeping across everyone present, and spoke cautiously and steadily: ”As to whether this unusual deposit is indeed related to bloodstains, I cannot yet be a hundred percent certain.”

”After all, trace identification requires rigorous scientific evidence.”

”But given the site conditions and mechanical analysis, the deposition characteristics in this spot certainly present an irrational point worthy of further attention.”

After listening to this clear analysis, Political Commissioner Li nodded thoughtfully, some of his previous doubts seemed to dissipate a bit.

He turned to everyone, speaking decisively: ”Since there are such doubts, we cannot overlook them easily.”

”Immediately sample this area and send it to the laboratory for precise examination.”

”Any trace clues may be the key to solving the case.”

However, Director Hou still wore a grave expression, rubbing his chin and raising a practical question: ”But this trace seems long-standing; even if samples are sent for testing, after such prolonged natural degradation, can the laboratory still extract effective biological evidence? It’s indeed a matter worth considering.”

As soon as he finished speaking, Jiang An turned his head, his gaze falling on Director Hou’s thoughtful face, with a hint of emotion in his voice: ”Director Hou, you see, today’s technological level is indeed far more advanced than in our days.”

”Take solving cases as an example. Some suspects have been on the run for ten or even dozens of years, changing names and appearances, thinking they have thoroughly erased their identity, but in the end?”

”Often it’s just a fingerprint, a drop of dried blood, or an invisible fiber that, through precise matching in the evidence database, pulls someone out from the vast sea of people.”

Upon hearing this, Director Hou nodded thoughtfully, with a hint of agreement in his tone: ”Now that you mention it, I do recall. I’ve reviewed the provincial backlog of cases reports in recent years, and indeed, many cases were cracked by re-examining and re-matching old evidence directly pinpointing the culprit.”

”Some evidence, with the limited technology back then, couldn’t be tested for much, but now it’s different. Trace evidence, DNA technology, 3D reconstruction of traces... There are many methods available.”

Before finishing, Jiang An had already bent down to grab the extraction toolbox at his feet. He deftly took out tweezers and special test paper, and began carefully collecting the dust and grime clumps accumulated within the groove.

He appeared focused, his method precise, as if he was not handling dust but deciphering the scattered code of time.

Just as he finished extracting the surface layer and was about to wrap up, his gaze suddenly fixated—beneath the tawny deposit, there emerged a barely noticeable small hole, resembling a needle’s eye, hidden in the shadow of the air intake grille, undetectable without careful cleaning.

An idea flashed through Jiang An’s mind like a spark of electricity: If blood did really spatter here during the incident, besides adhering to the surface, it’s entirely possible for it, due to its fluidity and permeability, to seep through this hole inward and form a concentration in the narrow space inside.”

”In that case, the concentration and purity of the biological sample inside might be far beyond what surface wiping can achieve.”

He immediately looked up, towards Political Commissioner Li standing nearby: ”Did we bring a saw when we set out? Preferably a small handsaw.”

Political Commissioner Li, slightly puzzled, responded anyway: ”We did, but it’s a manual one, is that okay?”

”Yes, as long as it works.” Jiang An’s tone was assured.

Political Commissioner Li couldn’t help but ask, ”This spot... does it need a saw?”

”Yes,” Jiang An pointed to the hole, ”I want to take this entire structure back to the lab for further processing.”

Director Hou, hearing this, also looked puzzled and stepped forward: ”Mr. Jiang, hadn’t you already done the extraction? Why still need to take the whole piece?”

Jiang An nodded, gesturing to the interior of the hole as he explained: ”Director Hou, look, although this hole is very small at the opening, its inner wall seems to form a natural funnel-shaped structure.”