The Forensic Doctor Better Than a Detective

Zhang Biao couldn’t help but blurt out.

The woman replied, ”Yes, the records show she only worked here for six months.”

In that moment, Zhang Biao suddenly felt a kind of indescribable strangeness.

He instinctively turned his head, looking at Wan, who was organizing notes beside him: ”Wait, didn’t the family clearly say she worked at this factory for two years? I remember in the previous records...”

Before he could finish, Wan had swiftly flipped open the notebook, finding the information noted during their previous visit: ”Yes, the family said she worked at Guangmei Electronics Factory for two years, that’s certain.”

”Are you sure there was no mistake?”

”Certain.”

”But this doesn’t make sense,” Zhang Biao furrowed his brow slightly, ”If she really worked here for two years, it’s impossible there are no records in the system.”

As he spoke, he gestured for the person in charge to open Jiang Qin’s resignation details page.

A small prompt box popped up on the screen, indicating the reason for resignation was ”employee voluntarily resigned.”

Staring at these words, Zhang Biao was suddenly stunned.

A huge question suddenly collided into his mind: If Jiang Qin resigned half a year ago, why is her family convinced that she has been working at the electronics factory for the past two years?

Just a few days ago, when they revisited Jiang Qin’s mother, the elderly woman was still firmly saying her daughter had been working at this factory all these years, only coming home during festivals.

Could she have remembered wrong?

Or, did Jiang Qin go to another factory after leaving Guangbei Electronics Factory?

If even the closest family doesn’t know where she worked during that time, then what experiences are hidden in that two-year gap?

This sudden time discrepancy, like a silent question mark, suddenly hung in everyone’s mind.

Thinking of this, Zhang Biao turned his head, his eyes falling on the woman opposite him, and said: ”Manager Li, could you help us check as much as possible, during her half-year employment period, who she shared a dormitory with?”

”Is there anyone among them who can still be contacted?”

”Also, are there any veteran employees in the workshop she worked in who are still working at the factory now?”

Manager Li raised her hand to adjust the glasses on her nose, nodding in agreement: ”No problem, I’ll check it out right away.”

As her words fell, she had already turned to face the computer, skillfully operating the keyboard.

While moving the mouse and tapping the keys, she politely said to the officers present: ”Officers, please make yourselves at home, there’s tea beside you, feel free to help yourselves.”

”I’m afraid I can’t entertain you much right now, I apologize for that.”

Wan’s gaze was involuntarily drawn to Manager Li’s outstanding figure and fair skin, and he swallowed secretly, hastily replying: ”It’s fine, go ahead with your work, we’ll help ourselves.”

About 10 minutes later, Manager Li suddenly looked up, ”Interestingly, among the colleagues who shared the same dormitory with her, there’s an employee named Chen Qiao, who has been working at our factory for over a decade and is now the head of the equipment workshop.”

”Oh? Is she at the factory today?” someone asked further.

”Yes,” Manager Li answered affirmatively, ”she happens to be on night shift tonight, she should be in the workshop at this time.”

She paused slightly, then took the initiative to propose: ”Do you need me to call her over now? This way you can talk to her face to face.”

Hearing this, Zhang Biao was both surprised and delighted, immediately responding: ”That would be wonderful!”

Manager Li then picked up the phone on the desk, skillfully dialing a short number.

Five minutes later, there was a clear knock on the door from outside.

The office door was pushed open, and Chen Qiao stood at the entrance, with a look of slight confusion and caution on her face.

”Manager Li, were you looking for me?”

”Yes, come in.”

Manager Li nodded, her tone calm, gesturing towards the direction of the sofa, ”These are the officers from the East City Public Security Bureau, they have some matters they’d like to discuss with you.”

Chen Qiao’s gaze shifted to the casually dressed, stern-looking visitors, and upon hearing the words ”Public Security Bureau,” a trace of undisguised surprise and unease flashed in her eyes.

For most people, being suddenly approached by the police would inevitably stir various speculations in their hearts.

Have I inadvertently gotten involved in something?

Or has something happened around me?

”Chen Qiao, there’s no need to be nervous.” Manager Li evidently saw her anxiety, explaining softly, ”They wish to know about your former roommate Jiang Qin.”

”Just tell them the truth, it’s okay.”

As soon as the words fell, Zhang Biao showed his credentials, his voice steady: ”We mainly want to know about Jiang Qin’s situation from back then, we’ve heard you were her roommate?”

Chen Qiao nodded lightly, sitting on the chair beside, unconsciously clasping her hands together: ”Yes, we lived in the same dormitory, it was a bunk bed.”

”The relationship... was quite good. But she seemed to have stayed for only about half a year before leaving the company.”

”Half a year?”

Zhang Biao keenly captured this point in time, continuing to ask, ”Do you remember why she left at that time?”

”The reason...” Chen Qiao’s voice lowered, her gaze slightly drifting to one side.

Her fingertips gently twisted the hem of her clothes, she didn’t answer immediately.

Seeing this, Manager Li urged gently, ”It’s okay, just tell the officers what you know, there’s nothing to hide.”

Chen Qiao looked up, her tone a bit hesitant: ”It’s a private matter of hers... saying it directly might not be very appropriate.”

”And... as I recall, very few people knew about it at the time, maybe... only I knew.”

Hearing this, Zhang Biao’s eyes noticeably brightened, and he couldn’t help but sit up straighter.

He asked in a more earnest tone, with a hint of urgency: ”We’re situation officers, and all information we gather will be kept strictly confidential.”

”More importantly—Jiang Qin is no longer with us. Even if you tell us, it won’t affect her in any way.”

”No longer?” Chen Qiao was stunned for a moment, not reacting immediately, ”You mean...”

”She passed away 10 years ago.”

The air seemed to pause for a moment. Chen Qiao widened her eyes, murmuring after a while: ”Passed away? How could this be...”

”It’s a criminal case, still unresolved.”

Zhang Biao stared at her, his tone heavy, ”That’s why we came to find you today.”

”If you know anything, please tell us everything, it’s crucial for uncovering the truth.”

Chen Qiao lowered her head, silent for a moment.

After a long time, she said: ”Jiang Qin was such a beautiful person, I never thought... it would end like this.”

”Alright, I’ll tell you everything.”

”Back then, we joined Jiangbei Electronics Factory together, she loved to dress up and keep up with the trends, but the factory’s salary wasn’t high.”

”So whenever she had time off, she’d go to a salon, do eyebrow makeup and other cosmetics for people, sometimes she’d join wedding teams to do bridal makeup.”

”To be honest, I was quite envious of her at the time, she could earn extra money and live a glittering life.”

”But after about two months of this, I noticed her expenses grew, and her purchases became more luxurious.”

”I asked her, does makeup really make that much money? In my impression, makeup costs a few bucks, maybe ten or so, but the bag she was carrying then was clearly expensive.”

”She didn’t want to elaborate at first, until she was about to leave the factory, she quietly asked me if I wanted to go ’take on a career with her’.”

”I was stunned then—I had no skills, no qualifications, what could I possibly do?”

She smiled at my questioning and said: ’With your looks alone, it should be enough.’

”Upon hearing that, my heart sank, I immediately understood what she meant and told her frankly, I couldn’t do that.”

”She didn’t insist, just nodded and didn’t mention it again.”

”And afterward?” Zhang Biao pressed on.

”Afterward... she seemed to be out there for about a year and a half, then suddenly contacted me saying she was returning home, her family was pushing for marriage.”

”Since then, we didn’t stay in much contact.”

Hearing this, a light suddenly went off in Zhang Biao’s mind: So from when they met to when she left, and including their sporadic contact, it was roughly two years.

Which perfectly matched the mother’s mention of ’working at Jiangbei Electronics Factory for two years.’

He continued to ask: ”In her personal life... did she have a boyfriend?”

”Boyfriend...” Chen Qiao mused for a moment, ”It seemed like she did.”

”Once when I ran into her outside, she insisted on buying me dinner, and at that time there was a man with her, she said he was her boyfriend.”

”Is it someone you know?”

”Yes, he was also from our factory...”