The Forensic Doctor Better Than a Detective

However, when his gaze shifted to the Scene Investigation section and he turned to the first scene photo in the appendix, Jiang An was suddenly taken aback.

The image was incredibly impactful: In the living room of a slightly old two-story house, two adults lay on the floor in the center of the living room, surrounded by shocking bloodstains.

What tightened the heart even more was that between the legs of one of the female deceased, there was a fully formed fetus with the umbilical cord still uncut, silently connecting to the mother, as if freezing life and death in a cruel instant.

Jiang An unconsciously took a deep breath, his brows deeply furrowed, his gaze unable to move from the photo for a long time.

.....

Meanwhile, in the work group of the East City Public Security Bureau’s criminal investigation team.

”Today, the expert group assigned by the Provincial Public Security Department will arrive in our city to specially supervise and assist in the tough investigations of homicide cases.”

”All team members, please gather in the third-floor conference room in half an hour to participate in the first meeting of the case reopening investigation.”

”The goal of this task is a vicious family annihilation case that occurred ten years ago.”

As soon as the news came out, the originally calm workgroup stirred like a lake hit with a stone, suddenly rippling with waves.

The young police officers couldn’t contain their excitement and expressed their thoughts one after another: ”The family annihilation case from ten years ago? This case is so significant, and it’s still unsolved, the difficulty behind it must be beyond imagination!”

”That’s right! Such a classic unsolved case, the opportunity to participate in the reopening investigation is too rare, I must attend and listen!”

”Count me in! Such a learning opportunity should not be missed!”

...

However, in sharp contrast to this enthusiasm was the calm reaction of a few seasoned old policemen in the group.

Old detective Li Guofu replied: ”It’s okay to take a look, but don’t have too high expectations.”

”The Provincial Department has organized two tough investigations before, with quite a big effort, but in the end, they were still stuck on key evidence.”

”Going back and forth, a lot of manpower and resources were invested, and the results... sigh.”

Then, senior investigator Zhang Zhenhua offered a different opinion: ”Old Li, it can’t be said like that.”

”Every time a case is reopened, even if there is no immediate breakthrough, at least it helps to reorganize clues and review details that might have been overlooked back then.”

”How much has forensic tech advanced in the past ten years? What if the physical evidence from back then can open up new fronts with new technology?”

”I think if there’s hope, we should go all out.”

Another veteran, Wang Zhijun, also agreed: ”Yes, handling cases sometimes depends on timing.”

”The conditions that limited us in the past may not be obstacles now. Maybe a change in perspective or method could lead to a breakthrough this time.”

...

By this time, many young officers were already quietly taking action.

Some quickly saved the files at hand, some closed the dossiers they were organizing, and others grabbed notebooks and pens. The more impatient ones even called out to each other, heading early to the conference room—”Go early to get a front seat, it’ll be easier to hear clearly.”

”Yes, in such meetings, if you sit at the back, you might not even see the projection clearly!”

At 11:30 a.m., the business car carrying Jiang An and Director Hou slowly stopped at the entrance of the Dongcheng City highway.

Just as the vehicle passed the toll booth, they saw Captain Chen Biao and Director Lu in charge of criminal investigation already waiting early by the roadside.

Both were dressed in plain clothes, with solemn expressions, clearly valuing this reception very much.

”Mr. Jiang, Director Hou, you’ve had a hard journey,” Director Lu first stepped forward to shake hands, his voice steady and powerful.

Chen Biao followed closely, nodding in greeting to the two.

After brief pleasantries, Director Hou raised his hand to check his watch, looking a bit urgent: ”Director Lu, Mr. Chen, why don’t we hurry to the bureau first and look at the case files. Today’s schedule is quite tight, so getting an early understanding of the case will help clarify the direction early.”

Director Lu pondered briefly and suggested: ”Director Hou, since you both have traveled from afar, how about having lunch first and resting a bit before starting work?”

”I’ve already arranged for a simple meal near the bureau.”

Director Hou waved his hand, ”It’s still early for lunch.”

”The case waits for no one, let’s first focus on reviewing the preliminary materials, and we can discuss things during lunch, so nothing gets delayed.”

Hearing this, Director Lu no longer insisted and nodded in agreement: ”Alright, let’s go with your suggestion. We’ll head to the bureau right away.”

Twenty minutes later, the two vehicles drove into the courtyard of the East City Public Security Bureau one after the other.

After getting out of the cars, they didn’t linger but headed straight through the hall to the special case conference room on the third floor.

As soon as the heavy wooden door of the conference room was pushed open, everyone looked up, their gazes all fell on the doorway.

Director Hou stepped into the conference room first, followed closely by Jiang An.

The initially faint conversations came to an abrupt halt, replaced by silent scrutiny.

Many in attendance had initially expected to see an experienced psychological analysis expert with graying hair and a calm demeanor or a keen-eyed, seasoned technical expert. But apart from the familiar Director Hou, accompanying him was a very young unfamiliar face.

Jiang An, tall with a simple dark jacket, had a clean and scholarly look, quite far from the imagined ”expert” appearance.

Almost at the moment he stepped into the room, a few veterans exchanged a glance, someone gently shook their head, and another sighed inaudibly.

”Why is it such a young guy... looks like he just graduated not long ago.”

”Yeah, did the Provincial Department just send Director Hou with a young man this time? It feels like the level of importance for the task force isn’t as high as the last time...”