The Forensic Doctor Better Than a Detective

minutes later, Jiang An slowly closed the case file in his hand and looked up at Director Lu: ”I’ve finished reviewing the case files. I would like to personally visit the scene once more.”

Director Lu put down his teacup and turned his gaze to Director Hou.

Their eyes met, and they nodded slightly in unspoken agreement.

”Very well,” Director Lu stood up, ”We’ll arrange a vehicle for departure right away.”

”By the way—” He seemed to remember something abruptly, turning to Jiang An, ”Do you need the site inspection team to accompany us?”

”They are equipped with a full set of forensic tools, so if new discoveries are made on-site, a professional inspection can be conducted immediately.”

Jiang An pondered for a moment and shook his head: ”Not necessarily at the moment.”

”You have already conducted multiple inspections at this site, and any technical clues are likely to have been fully extracted.”

”My visit is primarily to stand in that space and get a sense of the atmosphere and the conditions at the scene back then.”

”The chance of discovering new physical evidence is minimal, so we can inspect first, and call them in for support when necessary.”

Lu Shaohua immediately nodded in agreement: ”This plan is more prudent.”

”I’ll have them on standby nearby, ready to respond at any time.”

With those words, the three of them stood up in succession, hurriedly exited the office, boarded a black business car, and headed toward the crime scene.

At 4:30 PM, the business car halted in front of a dilapidated two-story building.

The building was surrounded by a small courtyard, but the walls were long worn and neglected, with patches of cement peeling away to reveal the dull bricks underneath.

Even the iron gate of the courtyard was rusted and partially corroded, creating hollow spaces.

Two seals were slanted across the door panel, faded over the years by wind and rain to a nearly fragile waxy white.

The three disembarked, standing before the courtyard.

Director Lu gazed at the building, his tone gloomy: ”This is the original scene... no one has visited for many years.”

His gaze subtly swept over the building’s outline, the scenes from the inspections of the past returned, clear as yesterday.

Director Hou, who had visited here several times before, took over the conversation, a tinge of nostalgia in his voice: ”This house, when the incident happened, no one expected it.”

”The lock on the door was intact, with no signs of tampering. Though the walls may seem low by current standards, at the time, they were typical structures for civilian residences.”

While speaking, he surveyed his surroundings.

Over the ten years, nearby houses have been rebuilt or modified several times; only this small building has decayed under the ravages of time due to being uninhabited.

Jiang An halted his steps, his gaze slowly traversing the desolate courtyard and the mottled exterior walls of the building. He pondered momentarily before asking: ”Director Lu, have there been significant changes in the layout of buildings around here over these ten years?”

”Especially in the distribution and orientation of the roads—do the paths documented in the case files back then still correspond now?”

Director Lu lifted his gaze at the inquiry, carefully surveying the area before replying: ”The overall layout hasn’t changed, the roads are still the same, and the alleys are in their original locations.”

”However, many of the surrounding buildings have been renovated over the years, some even torn down and rebuilt.”

”Those surveillance cameras installed on the corners of walls and lamp posts were gradually added later — back then, this area was almost a blind spot.”

At this moment, a police officer in a duty uniform, carrying operational gear, hurriedly ran in from outside, his tone slightly rushed: ”Director Lu, my apologies, the road was severely congested, I arrived late.”

As he spoke, he retrieved a set of keys from his belt and headed swiftly to the rusted iron gate at the courtyard entrance.

The key inserted into the lock emitted a dull ”click” as it turned.

As the officer pushed open the iron gate, a prolonged, hoarse ”squeak—” emanated from the hinges, remarkably clear in the silent courtyard.

With the gate ajar, the courtyard was revealed to be overrun with weeds, nearly waist-high to an adult.

”This place... probably hasn’t seen visitors in years.”

Director Hou stood at the gate, glimpsing inside, uttering his amazement.

Director Lu nodded, his tone serious: ”Indeed.”

”The last time the case was reopened for investigation, various reasons prevented revisiting the site.”

”Time passed, and naturally the place became this desolate.”

Jiang An stepped over the threshold, walking into the knee-high weeds, his tone calm: ”No matter, my main purpose today is to physically experience the architectural relations of the surroundings and the spatial layout of the scene.”

”After all, it’s been ten years, dense foliage is to be expected.”

He paused briefly, turning to the police officer: ”Please lead us to the location of the living room from back then.”

The officer acknowledged and led the way, pushing through the weeds.

The three followed him through the desolate path and arrived at the main house’s entrance.

The officer retrieved the keys again to unlock the living room door. As the wooden door swung open, a heavy aroma, a blend of mold and aged wood, rushed out from inside.

At this moment, the driver approached briskly, carrying several transparent evidence bags, neatly filled with disposable gloves, shoe covers, headcovers, and masks.

Director Lu handed one over to Jiang An, followed by Director Hou.

The two of them donned the gear in sequence, preparing to enter the scene.

Director Hou intentionally lagged by half a step, gesturing ”please” to Jiang An.

This site, he had examined more than once in the past, every detail almost etched in his memory. Revisiting now might not reveal any new clues.