The Forensic Doctor Better Than a Detective

Immediately, everyone’s gaze instinctively turned to Jiang An.

Unwittingly, Jiang An had become the one holding the lamp in the fog for the entire team—no matter how challenging the case, he always seemed to find a glimmer of hope.

Political Commissioner Li and Director Hou exchanged a glance. Their gaze at Jiang An held not only anticipation but also a hint of unavoidable doubt.

They had scrutinized the case repeatedly—from evidence examination to timeline analysis, almost every aspect had been deliberated over thoroughly.

Now, reopening the investigation and looking for a critical breakthrough was no easy task.

With such a long time span, even if they found the vehicle involved back then, hadn’t it likely been repaired, had parts replaced, or even undergone major repairs over the years?

If the key parts of the vehicle had been replaced, would the original collision marks be preserved?

Moreover, the collision injury on the victim’s head and the marks from the vehicle hitting roadside branches were already difficult to distinguish on the surface.

Jiang An was lost in thought, organizing his ideas for a moment.

Mr. Qin was the first to lose patience, urging with urgency, ”Jiang An, quickly tell us what you think!”

”You’re holding your words in and it’s making me feel like a cat on a hot tin roof.”

”This case has stalled for so long without progress. As the criminal investigation team leader, I feel the weight on my shoulders every day.”

Political Commissioner Li nodded slightly, his tone steady yet filled with anticipation, ”Indeed, Jiang An, everyone is waiting to hear your opinion.”

Director Hou also reached out to pat Jiang An on the shoulder, ”Speak out any thoughts you have boldly, even if it’s just a direction, it’s worth us trying.”

”It’s better than being stuck and at a loss like we are now.”

Under everyone’s gaze, Jiang An slowly lifted his head.

Upon hearing this, Jiang An slowly lifted his head, his gaze sweeping across the faces of those present.

”The method I want to propose might require some element of luck.”

”Luck?”

Mr. Qin laughed heartily at the remark and patted Jiang An on the shoulder.

”Jiang, you might not fully understand the nature of our criminal investigation work.”

”To be honest, luck often plays an important role in solving cases.”

”Without surveillance capturing the crime directly, many cases are hard to crack relying solely on technical means.”

”Most of the time, what we need is a well-timed opportunity, a fortunate coincidence.”

”Just speak out. Maybe this time, Lady Luck will be on our side.”

Jiang An nodded slightly and then spoke seriously, ”In the preliminary forensic examination, we clearly detected multiple fractures in the deceased’s head and chest.”

”The characteristics of these fractures, as I analyzed before, are caused by contact with a blunt, flat object.”

”Such injuries have a very distinct feature—” He paused, deliberately slowing his pace. ”From an anthropological perspective, there should be three key contact areas at the fracture points on the head and chest.”

”Three contact points?”

Director Hou and Political Commissioner Li almost simultaneously voiced their queries.

Political Commissioner Li leaned forward slightly, frowning, ”This judgment... can it really be confirmed?”

”Absolutely.”

Jiang An’s reply was unequivocal, ”We previously analyzed the bilateral rib fractures of the deceased.”

”What’s noteworthy is that these fractures do not exist in isolation but show a patterned distribution.”

”There were four fractures found on each side of the ribs, and what does this imply?”

He looked around at everyone, seeing that they all listened attentively, he went on, ”When four rib fractures appear, it at least suggests that the contact surface is linearly distributed.”

”There is an acting line on each side, plus a focal point on the head, forming a complete force system — a point and two lines.”

Seeing the puzzled faces, he further elaborated, ”From this particular force distribution, we can deduce that the contact surface causing these injuries should be a specific point and two lines on a plane.”

”The paths and distribution of these lines precisely reveal the deformation direction and specific location upon impact at the time.”

”Simply put, it’s like solving a geometric problem. By these points’ positions, we can deduce the direction and magnitude of the force.”

Despite Jiang An’s exhaustive explanation, those present still appeared somewhat confused.

Mr. Qin scratched his head vigorously, smiling wryly, ”Jiang, you’re talking about points and lines; you’ve got me all tangled up.”

”Could you explain in simpler terms what these findings really mean?”

Jiang An smiled slightly, and picked up the pen and paper on the table, saying, ”Please look here.”

He first drew a clear circle at the top of the paper, explaining, ”This represents the contact point on the head.”

Then, he drew two vertical lines on each side of the circle, adding, ”These two lines correspond to the locations of the rib fractures on either side.”

He paused for a moment and continued, with his gaze sweeping over the three present, ”You can see that this circle and two vertical lines exactly reflect the key force points and transmission direction during the collision.”

Upon hearing this, Mr. Qin, Director Hou, and Political Commissioner Li simultaneously furrowed their brows, briefly falling into thought.

Mr. Qin spoke first, ”Makes sense. From an anthropological perspective, the force distribution could indeed concentrate on such a point and two lines. But—”

He paused slightly, raising a concern, ”It’s been so long since the incident. Even if such contact marks existed back then, can they still be preserved today?”