Police officer Chen Shu

Chapter 761 A Series of Twists and Turns (Part 2)
As soon as Chen Shu made his judgment on the murder case, the office fell silent, except for the very clear sound of Jiang Hai swallowing repeatedly.

Expert Ma Rongcheng shrugged, smiling slightly as he looked at Chen Shu, who was speaking, with an expression of expectation.

Forensic pathologist Lao Tang showed no extra change in expression, clearly having already noticed the issue raised by Chen Shu.

Chen Shu, who had been quite confident, knew the answer as soon as he saw the reactions of these two experienced people. He sighed inwardly, silently took back his thoughts, and said nothing more.

"A murder! It's 100% a murder!" The simple-minded Jiang Hai's heart raced, his breathing became rapid, and his eyes were fixed intently on the motionless corpse lying on the operating table, his expression as excited as if he had won the lottery.

This was in stark contrast to his previous mummy-like appearance.

Chen Chuan rubbed his hands together, thinking that his junior brother was really too funny. In just a short while, his emotions fluctuated more intensely than the stock market.

However, this made him not think about doing anything; he simply felt that Jiang Hai was really suitable to be a policeman, at least much more suitable than him.

Retreating to a corner, Chen Chuan slowly pondered whether he, in his youth, had also approached police work with the same enthusiasm as Jiang Hai.

It seems not.
I'm a little envious
Chen Shu didn't pay much attention to his old classmate's self-deprecation. At this moment, his gaze was focused on the expert who had come from the provincial department to provide assistance, hoping to get some answers. Ma Rongcheng enjoyed this look.

As I get older, there's no room for advancement in my political career. However, working on this high platform of the provincial department has finally allowed me to demonstrate the value of my skills.

“Theoretically, your statement is correct.” Ma Rongcheng nodded in agreement, but there was a hint of smugness in his expression. “However, the answer is wrong. The reason is still the same: you have observed too few samples.”

A simple statement like "the sample size is too small" is like a gentle blow to everyone, making them realize that they are still academic underachievers and have a lot to learn.

However, when compared with the experts from the provincial department, whether it was Chen Shu, who had been the top case handler in Dongzhou for many years, the extremely proud Young Master Chen, or even the outstanding new generation of students from the police academy, they were all quite convinced.

Some people even occasionally think that if they returned to the police academy and their work unit, they could have plenty of topics to talk about and boast about during late-night conversations or snacks in the dormitory.

"Officer Chen, the situation you described is technically called 'the noose groove is not closed.' This is just a type of noose, specifically an open noose, which is the knotting method most people use when hanging themselves."

Could it be another suicide attempt? Listening to Teacher Ma's explanation, even though he knew it was extremely important knowledge, Jiang Hai's mood involuntarily began to sink.

It's probably because of all those trips up and down the mountain bikes that the nerve stress response came into play.

Chen Shu asked earnestly, "Expert Ma, do you mean there are other ways to use a noose that would result in the noose groove being locked?"

“Right.” Ma Rongcheng snapped his fingers, picked up a rope that had been left at the scene, and quickly tied a closed noose. After demonstrating it to everyone, he tied a sliding noose. “You see, if the deceased hanged himself using either of these nooses, it would form a closed noose, which is what makes it look like he was strangled. Simply put, it’s the difference between a slip knot and a dead knot.”

Hearing this, Old Tang, who hadn't said much until now, jumped out and pointed at Chen Shu angrily, saying, "When I went to investigate the scene, I found that you had put the body down beforehand! With this level of competence, you're a criminal investigator? You're a disgrace!"

Chen Shu said with shame, "I'm sorry, it was my fault. I was just showing off my limited skills."

Seeing this, Old Tang chuckled and waved his hand, saying, "It's alright, it's normal for young people to make mistakes."

The sudden change in his expression surprised the onlookers, who thought to themselves that it was best not to do the job of a psychiatrist if they could avoid it.

Ma Rongcheng also appreciated Chen Shu's humility, and smiled, "Everyone has their own expertise. Officer Chen, your professional knowledge is already far superior to most police officers. Let's get back to the main point. Just looking at the ligature marks on the deceased's neck, their direction and depth are consistent with the characteristics of hanging." Chen Shu took a few steps closer, examining the deceased's face, then used his gloved hands to lift the corpse's hands and observe them for a moment, muttering, "I highly doubt that someone so young, well, a pampered woman, would know these complicated knotting techniques."

"So, is it a murder case or not?" Jiang Hai suddenly felt exhausted.

“However,” Ma Rongcheng smiled mysteriously, pausing deliberately, “it’s not enough to judge solely from the traces of the rope trench. We also need to consider environmental factors at the scene, such as whether there are other injuries on the body surface, whether there are foreign objects under the fingernails, the distance between the deceased’s toes and the ground, whether the knot used for hanging was professional, and whether there are other footprints at the scene.”

Fingernail crevices, other footprints.

Chen Shu keenly noticed the emphasis in Ma Rongcheng's words, eliminating the negative points that he could confirm, leaving only the points of doubt, and his brain began to work quickly.

“Teacher Ma! Isn’t this suicide?” Jiang Hai also noticed Ma Rongcheng’s unusual smile, stood up abruptly, and asked with wide eyes.

Ma Rongcheng smiled, not wanting to shatter the cadet's expectations: "The ligature marks on the deceased's neck look like what Officer Chen described, but in reality..."

As he spoke, Ma Rongcheng reached out and lifted the corpse's chin, but it was too hard to move. He smiled awkwardly and continued, "In fact, the ligature marks on the corpse's neck are consistent with those left by a voluntary hanging. The reason you made the wrong judgment is because you haven't seen enough cases."

Everyone squinted as they studied it, but still couldn't figure it out.

"Hey"

A faint, powerless sigh echoed once again in the forensic room.

Jiang Hai, the cadet who has always aspired to a police career, I wonder if he suffered any trauma today.

The autopsy was put aside for the time being. Forensic doctor Lao Tang greeted everyone and then went to the icebox next door to handle the other bodies involved in the case.

Chen Chuan looked over Lao Tang's shoulder at the large double iron gate not far away and sighed, "Tsk tsk, no wonder it's the provincial capital. Even the workplace can have a freezer. Unlike where we are, we have to send them to the funeral home, it's bad luck. Haha, but speaking of which, the corpses and the leaders are all in the same office building, there's no chance to slack off."

Huang Mao's face twitched, and he patted his back, which was a little sore from standing for so long, and said with lingering fear, "Old Tang's job is not something a human can do. Standing for hours on end is a common occurrence."

"I remember last week, three people who had drowned in the factory suddenly showed up. We investigators could still manage to doze off for a few moments, but he stayed up all night. If it were me, I definitely wouldn't choose to be a forensic pathologist. Not only do you have to stay up all night, but you also have to squeeze in with a bunch of corpses. Just thinking about it sends chills down my spine."

Unlike police interrogation of criminal suspects, which usually involves two people, forensic doctors, who are a scarce resource, typically perform autopsies with only a few cold, lifeless "victims" by their side, which can be quite unsettling.

A few years ago, they could use the excuse of needing someone to help film the autopsy process to ask their superiors for a few people to come and assist them.

Nowadays, if you place several high-definition cameras in a room, you can't get a person to move.

After discussing the case for a while, Chen Shu arranged for Huang Mao to review the video surveillance and big data from the day the victim was murdered, in an attempt to obtain the victim's movements that night.

After all, there was an element of intoxication involved; it's impossible for a young woman to get herself drunk alone at night.

This plot point still needs to be questioned.

(End of this chapter)