The Forensic Doctor Better Than a Detective

”They carried out large-scale collection and examination of nearly two thousand biological samples, and finally, at an extremely concealed spot at the scene, successfully extracted a trace amount of blood evidence.”

”After repeated comparison, this bloodstain was found to be a complete match with a criminal suspect, thereby locking onto the target.”

”According to what we know, the suspect was in a severe state of psychiatric episode when committing the crime.”

”Psychiatric?” Upon hearing this, Mr. Wang’s expression suddenly tightened, as if he had been nailed to his chair.

He was not unfamiliar with cases involving psychiatric patients committing violent acts, but that a psychiatric patient could, after committing such a serious crime, remain hidden for nearly ten years without being apprehended—this was the first time in his career.

This case spanned nearly a decade, during which the provincial Criminal Investigation Corps went through several successive leaders and投入了大量人力物力, and criminal investigation technology underwent multiple leapfrog developments in that period, yet the case remained shrouded in heavy fog.

He slowly put down the pen in his hand and unconsciously rubbed his brow. In his mind, every detail of this case, every meeting, every report flashed past like a movie.

Back then, the direction of investigation mainly revolved around motives of property infringement or revenge killing. After all, there was no property loss at the scene, so the possibility of a vendetta killing had once been greatly magnified.

Looking back now, the possibility of a psychiatric patient committing the crime certainly existed, but why was it not given full attention or thoroughly explored at the time?

In fact, in past analyses of the case, the hypothesis of a psychiatric patient as the offender had been mentioned sporadically, but it had never become the main line of investigation, nor had it ever, as in this instance, been placed under the spotlight for comprehensive examination and systematic demonstration.

After pondering for a moment, Mr. Wang suddenly turned around, his tone urgent yet steady: ”Bring me the entire closing report of the case immediately. I want to go through it carefully.”

Right afterward, the head of the secretariat handed over the closing report.

The closing report was not particularly thick, but its content was concise and well-structured. It not only outlined the entire process of the investigation, but did so succinctly and with the key points highlighted.

The text not only clearly recorded the complete workflow and critical details of the submission-for-examination phase, but also provided an objective description and corresponding record of the specific performance of Director Hou and Jiang An in the case.

Mr. Wang read it intently for a long time before slowly putting down the report in his hand. He raised his head and, with some emotion, said to the head of the secretariat standing by his side: ”Look, the team we sent from the Criminal Investigation Corps to support them really is formidable. Their performance was remarkably good.”

Upon hearing this, the head of the secretariat immediately smiled and chimed in: ”Haha, in the end it still comes down to your excellent leadership and overall command, Mr. Wang!”

”It was thanks to your decisive decision-making and meticulous deployment, sending personnel in a timely manner and orchestrating the whole process, that this case could be successfully solved.”

Mr. Wang, however, waved his hand, his expression sincere: ”This case being solved is not mainly my credit. It was fought for by the brothers on the front line.”

”It was their solid work at the front line, their overcoming of all kinds of difficulties, that was the key to success.”

After a brief pause, he went on to instruct: ”The successful solving of this case not only removes yet another unsolved case from the provincial homicide backlog, it also has a positive significance for maintaining social stability and upholding judicial fairness.”

”This is something that deserves full recognition and commendation. Subsequent commendations and merit citations must be awarded where due, and any additional credit points must be given. All of this should be accurately reflected in performance evaluations.”

”Understood! Mr. Wang, I’ll go and implement the relevant matters right away.” The head of the secretariat responded solemnly, then turned and left the office.

The door closed softly, and the office returned to silence.

Mr. Wang’s thoughts, however, had yet to settle. In his mind, he could still vaguely see the busy and focused figures of Director Hou and Jiang An.

Mr. Wang was in an unusually elated mood; the furrow that had been on his brow for days finally smoothed out.

He could not wait to pick up the phone and dial Director Hou’s number.

At that moment, Director Hou and Jiang An were fast asleep in the car on their way back.

The sudden ringing of the phone shattered the silence in the car. Half-asleep, Director Hou answered the call, mumbling a ”Hello?”

”Are you back yet?” On the other end of the line came Mr. Wang’s familiar, sonorous voice.

Director Hou jolted, instantly sobering up by more than half. He quickly straightened his posture and replied: ”Mr. Wang! We’re on our way back.”

”Haha, well done!”

Mr. Wang’s laughter carried an unmistakable joy. ”We’ve already received the letter of appreciation from the East City Public Security Bureau.”

”I really didn’t expect that this tough nut would actually be cracked by you!”

Mr. Wang’s tone over the phone was tinged with emotion.

Before they set out, although he had told them to give it their all, he did not hold out much hope in his heart that the case would be solved.

This case was complex and convoluted. Mr. Wang himself had participated in multiple rounds of discussion; he understood its difficulties and obstacles better than anyone—the evidence chain was incomplete, the suspect had extremely strong anti-investigation awareness. If no key breakthrough could be found, the case would likely fall into deadlock.

He had not expected that in such a short time, Director Hou and his team would manage to break open the situation and directly drive the case to resolution.

Hearing this, Director Hou could not help but chuckle, then said to Mr. Wang on the other end of the line: ”I originally planned to report the details of the case to you in person after we returned. I didn’t expect you to have already gotten the news.”

”More than just getting the news,” Mr. Wang said with clear approval in his tone, ”the letter of appreciation clearly lays out your investigation thinking and the process by which you broke through the case.”

”This really was a beautiful piece of work, especially that method you proposed of reconstructing the motive and trajectory of the crime. Even I hadn’t thought of that angle before.”

”You’ve worked hard. Come back and get a good rest. The bureau is waiting to celebrate your success!”

Hearing this, Director Hou turned and glanced at Jiang An, who was sitting behind him with his eyes closed, resting. His gaze held unreserved admiration as he smiled and said to Mr. Wang on the other end of the line: ”Mr. Wang, it’s not that my ideas were particularly brilliant. In the final analysis, it’s that Jiang An is simply outstanding.”

”Throughout the entire investigation, from accurately determining the nature of the case, to the detailed depiction of the possibility of a psychiatric patient committing the crime, and then to the subsequent search and pinpointing of the key trace evidence—especially the extraction and screening of those 2,000 samples—every step was led by him.”

”As for me, at best I was just lending a hand at the side. I absolutely do not dare to usurp the credit.”

After listening, Mr. Wang felt his heart jolt. Jiang An’s young yet steady face immediately surfaced in his mind. He quickly pressed on: ”All of this is true? You’re sure?”

”How could it be otherwise?”

Director Hou’s tone was sincere, even tinged with a bit of emotion. ”Credit is credit; I would never be vague about it. But in this matter, I truly feel unworthy.”

”You know that I’ve come to Dongcheng City before to supervise this homicide cold case, but never once was I able to push it forward as smoothly as this time.”

”In the final analysis, the most crucial factor was that Mr. Jiang played an irreplaceable role in it.”

There was a brief silence on the other end of the line.

Mr. Wang truly had not expected that this younger colleague, still so early in his career, would display such remarkable ability in solving such a thorny homicide cold case.

One must know that this case was not only a long-standing unsolved case for the East City Public Security Bureau; the provincial department had also organized experts multiple times to study it, yet they had never found a breakthrough. It was widely regarded as a ”tough bone.”

Who would have thought that when Jiang An and his team went this time, in less than a week, they not only cracked the case, but did so in such a clean, thorough, and solid manner.

Suppressing the waves in his heart, Mr. Wang said in a deep voice: ”Director Hou, after you get back from this case, hurry and organize the materials and write a detailed citation recommendation for meritorious service.”

”Those who should be commended must be commended; those who deserve merit citations must receive them. Typical examples like this must be vigorously publicized.”

”Moreover, a case like this, involving a psychiatric patient committing the crime and remaining unsolved for many years, is rare even across the entire province.”

”Its process of being solved was tortuous and complex and highly representative. Later on, we can arrange for specialists to write it up as an academic paper and, as a classic case, include it in the provincial public security classic case database.”

”Yes! Understood!”

Director Hou agreed at once, solemnly.

He knew clearly that any case selected for inclusion in the provincial classic case database was by no means an ordinary one. It had to combine a high degree of technical difficulty, typical criminal characteristics, and important referential value.

This was not only an extremely high honor; it could also provide a practical and feasible path of reference for the handling of similar cases in the future—its value far exceeded the gains and losses of a single case at a single moment.